10 best two-person tents, tested on Highlands hikes

All the MSR tents we’ve tested over the years have been well-made and are still going strong after many seasons of camping – the brand’s quality components are worth the spend if you want a tent that will last. Now, the bestselling two-person elixir tent has made it to the top of our list. We found this tent simple and fast to pitch, with poles that quickly click together and hold brilliantly during heavy winds.

The inside is light and roomy, with plenty of space for two people to sleep comfortably and store gear, while two doors and two porches offer more room for a cooking kit or muddy boots. The inner tent can be pitched alone on summer nights, if you fancy a spot of stargazing.

For hardy outdoor adventures, you’ll need to invest in a tough, weatherproof tent, but for a weekend festival or casual camping holiday, you can often get away with something far simpler – and cheaper. Mountain Warehouse’s tents start from just £25, and we think this one is a great choice if you’re festival-bound.

While it’s a bit snug for two and offers limited waterproofing, it features a good blackout lining that’ll stop the sun waking you up too early, and it’s lightweight and easy to pitch. If you’ve emptied your bank account while splashing out on tickets to summer festivals, this could be the purse-friendly tent you’ve been looking for.

This two-person tent ticked all our boxes – at 2kg, it’s back-savingly light; it’s reliably waterproof; and, despite its compact size, it offers a good amount of space for two people. The double doors and porches mean it’s easy to share this tent with a friend, and there’s plenty of space for boots and packs.

The meteor lite is quick and easy to pitch, and is a great choice for changeable weather, as it’s waterproof enough to withstand storms, with its dome design shrugging off heavy winds, too. It’s also well-priced at less than £250, considering it’s set to be a reliable, long-lasting backpacking companion.

This backpacking tent delivers a surprising amount of living space. Despite its diminutive size and weight, the xenon offers more height than most of the lightweight two-person tents we tested. The big vestibule is perfect for cooking sessions during bouts of bad weather. Inside, there’s plenty of room for two people to sleep or sit up, making this a versatile choice for both backpacking and longer camping trips, or just a festival weekend.

I also loved its weatherproofing. Even during heavy rain, we were totally dry thanks to a fully waterproof fly and taped seams. The tent is pitched all-in-one, which is fiddly at first and worth trying at home before you head out, but easy once you get the hang of it.

At just 1.4kg, this big orange beauty was the lightest two-person tent on test. Despite its barely there weight, this tent is pleasingly roomy for two people. The whole thing is easy to pitch, with colour-coded poles – there’s no second-guessing what goes where with this design.

We found this tent reliably waterproof during a stormy spring night. While I like the canopy, the door is designed to be pitched on hiking poles, which won’t suit everyone. It may be the most expensive tent on test, but it’s worth investing in if you’re a keen backpacker mindful of every gram.

This pastel-yellow tent is quite pretty but tent standards, but don’t let appearances deceive you. The mayfly was possibly the toughest tent on test, from the durable ripstop floor to the waterproofed, storm-ready outer fly.

We also like that Nemo aims to make this tent as eco-friendly as possible, using recycled polyester and nylon to construct the fly and opting to avoid PFAS (perfluorocarbons, known as ‘forever chemicals’) to waterproof this design. It's among the lightest on test, and we found the tent also packs down neatly into two bags, making it ideal for sharing with a trekking buddy or popping in bike panniers.

A ‘tunnel’ tent offers a good way to maximise space without adding too much weight, and this Robens two-person option is a good choice. During testing, we found it easy to pitch and reliably waterproof, while the inner mesh tent can be pitched alone during hot weather.

This tent is also quick and compact to pack away – we found it stashes well inside a backpack. While two people can lie side by side inside, there’s only one door, so it may work better as a tent for one person.

This is a wind-stable, two-person backpacking tent that performed as well as some tents twice its price for waterproofing and construction. What it doesn’t offer is loads of space – while two can share the cobra, for longer trips with a friend, we would swap to a three-person version.

However, there’s a good nylon ground sheet that will withstand a shower, and two wide porches are ideal for storing muddy boots. The cobra is also easy to split between two people in terms of transporting it from A to B. Plus, there’s an effective inner mesh lining that effectively keeps bugs at bay during testing, making it a good choice for camping trips abroad or guarding against Scottish midges.

Designed with cyclists in mind, this tent packs down to fits neatly into panniers (or, indeed, smaller backpacks). While this tent was one of the more affordable options we tested, it doesn’t scrimp on good design – there’s a large porch for storage, a separate rear entrance and a tapered end designed for storing gear. The whole thing is quick to pitch and pack away, too.

The downside? The sarek is snug – we don’t reckon it’s suitable for two to share unless you’re a couple or you’re only heading out for a night.

This is a solid dome tent that’ll do casual campers and festivalgoers proud. This two-person tent may be more budget-friendly than other options on our list, but the tay 200 still has a reliably weatherproof flysheet with a 3,000mm hydrostatic head that repelled rain effectively during testing. Pitching was quick, too – it took us less than 10 minutes – thanks to a simple tunnel design and a linked-in groundsheet.

While space is tight for two and there’s only one door, this tent is ideal for solo campers wanting extra room. Ventilation is decent, though condensation can build up during cooler conditions. This is one of the heavier tents we tested, but for short trips and summer use, it is an excellent value-for-money option.