Originally Posted by
pdlamb
It won't make much difference for warmth, but I think the right size for a tent is N+!, where N is the number of occupants.
That extra room is really useful if it rains overnight (do you want to sleep on or under your gear bag(s)?). It also gives you a bit of extra room, useful for dressing or undressing in the tent. And if you're tall, it gives you room to stretch out without mosquitos biting your hands or bare feet through the tent wall.
Beg to differ. I’ve had recent cause to use a Fly Creek UL1 (my “normal” tent) and a Big Agnes Copper Spur 3 several times for direct comparison. The Colorado Rockies are never very warm at night and overnight temperatures often fall below freezing. That includes the high plains. I use a 20° bag in both. At 10,000 feet with frost on the ground in the morning, the Fly Creek was reasonably warm using that bag while the Copper Spur was uncomfortable cold at 35° to 40°. The only difference is the size of the tent. Even when I shared the tent with my daughter in Arizona in early April, it was incredibly cold.
Originally Posted by
indyfabz
That warm? I would stick with a 2P. Any advantage you might gain in the way of warmth would be outweighed by the loss of space, as noted immediately above. When the GF and I did supported tours, we always took the 4P. Didn't regret it one bit, including on Cycle Oregon when we woke up to ice on the tyent on two spate morning.
Ifr you re really cold, wear the jacket. Don't drape it over the bag.
Wore a jacket in my bag when I used the Copper Spur. Didn’t help.