Best two-person tents 2024 | Tested and reviewed

The Tindheim 2 is a classic tunnel tent that pitches outer first or all-in-one, a first for MSR. It's ideal for wet weather, as you can get out of the elements fast while keeping your inner tent dry.

It's a big beast for a two-person tent but is quick and easy to pitch. Robust hooped poles, sturdy guy lines and multiple pegging points ensure good stability. The internal dimensions are cavernous, so liveability is superb. Basically, this is a tent for sitting out storms in.

There are six inner storage pockets and an overhead gear line to keep your kit organised. There's also a big porch with side entry, which is spacious enough to sit upright. An extended optional footprint is included with the tent too, so you can even keep this area dry, though this adds 430g to the packed weight.

Large, hooded vents at both ends of the tent ensure good airflow, reducing condensation build-up. The mesh sections of the inner (including the door) also have secondary fabric panels, so you can zip them up to keep out draughts and boost warmth in colder conditions. This adds versatility for use across different seasons.

However, weight and pack size are drawbacks, and obviously, as a tunnel tent, it isn't freestanding. We noted a potential weak spot where the vent guys are looped through the main guy lines at each end of the tent. It might be worth adding a metal ring here to prevent abrasion.

Read our full MSR Tindheim 2 review

This quick-pitching two-pole tunnel tent has a generous peak height, which provides enough room to sit up in the entrance. It has just the one door and vestibule, but the fly can be porched out with trekking poles to create a useful awning. This is well worth doing as it massively improves overall liveability, giving you a covered space to cook, stash kit, or just sit and admire the view.

The Clip Flashlight 2 weighs under 2kg and has a small pack size. The interior isn't exactly palatial since the ceiling drops sharply towards the feet, but there's still adequate floor space for two. The inner has two storage pockets plus an overhead gear line with a pouch for a tent lantern.

On test, this tent proved sturdy and reliable in the hills, with a low, wedge-shaped profile that sheds wind well. The full coverage flysheet has a waterproofing of 3000mm HH, while the inner is mostly fabric and doesn't feel draughty on cold nights. The materials are high-quality too, with robust hook stakes, DAC Pressfit aluminium poles and a PFC-free recycled polyester taffeta flysheet. As such, it also scores well on the sustainability front.

However, this isn't a freestanding design and needs to be pitched inner first. The porch isn't the roomiest, and the inner is exposed to the elements when you get in or out – though this can be largely overcome by using trekking poles to transform the door into a practical awning.

As the more affordable sub-brand of renowned Derbyshire tentmaker Terra Nova, Wild Country is known for turning out reliable tents at reasonable prices. And the Panacea 2 builds on that reputation.

It's a freestanding design that pitches outer first or all-in-one, with an external 'exoskeleton' hubbed pole system. It's quick and easy to set up yet feels very sturdy when pitched, with eight pegging points creating a wide, spider-like stance. In really wild weather, you can also add extra stability by inserting your trekking poles into specially designed pockets in the flysheet. You also get two roomy trapezoidal-shaped porches and two doorways sensibly positioned at opposing ends so you can pick the most sheltered side to use.

Inside, there's decent headroom and a rectangular floor area with good length. Steep inner walls further improve overall liveability. Airflow is good too, thanks to four flysheet vents and twin zippered inner vents, plus mesh panels in the doors. These do a good job of managing condensation. One surprising omission is a lack of inner storage pockets, though – there are only two, which are really only useful for stuffing the doors into.

Downsides are that at 2.85kg, it's more than double the weight of the lightest two-person tent tested here. It's a bit of a lump when packed too. For some, it'll just be too bulky and heavy to take into the hills.

The Alto TR2 is impressively light, with a super-slim pack size that can be separated into three individual stuff sacks, enabling you to distribute the components between you and your adventure buddy.

It pitches inner-first but goes up quickly, thanks to a clever hubbed pole set. This features a wishbone spreader bar that the brand calls' tension ridge' architecture. It's designed to keep the sides of the tent taut and less liable to bow inwards in the wind. It also improves headroom, giving enough room to sit up comfortably.

The tapered footprint offers good length and adequate width. Steep walls at both ends ensure your head and feet don't touch the inner, further improving liveability. The airy mesh inner means minimal condensation build-up, aided by two strutted vents in the upper section of the flysheet. These are largely protected from wind and rain, and the inner also has a zippered fabric panel to help close out draughts.

The inner has hanging tabs for a gear line or tent lantern, plus two long, slim storage pockets. You get twin doors and vestibules, with roomy porch areas for stashing wet gear, bulky rucksacks or muddy boots. The flysheet can also be folded back for better views from the tent.

On the downside, the ultralight fly and groundsheet feel thin and delicate. Poles are similarly lightweight, so this tent has lower weather limits than the other options here. Inner-first pitching isn't ideal for setting up in the rain either.

This tent offers a very good space-to-weight ratio. It tips the scales at a fraction over 2kg, so it's a viable option for weight-conscious wild camps and backpacking adventures. But it doesn't feel basic or flimsy like many lightweight shelters.

It pitches inner first but goes up quickly and easily, with useful features like quick-adjust, single-pull guy lines. These also have handy storage pockets to save time when packing up.

The Lyra II is roomy, with excellent interior space and headroom. It feels pleasant and cool, and though there are no vents, the doors have two-way zips which can be cracked open for improved airflow.

The mesh and fabric inner has big D-shaped doors on either side, with a rectangular footprint and steep walls that ensure plenty of liveable space. It's also equipped with two storage pockets and an upper lamp pocket. Place a headtorch in here, and the diffuse fabric effectively creates a practical tent lantern.

You also get two spacious triangular-shaped porches with zipped entrances, which can be fully folded back for panoramic tent views.

Downsides include plastic pegs, which are tougher than they look but not ideal for rocky ground. And though classed as a 3-season tent, it feels slightly less robust than the MSR, Wild Country, and Sierra Designs models tested here. Inner-first pitching isn't ideal for setting up in the rain either.

The Taurus is a high-quality tent that uses PFC-free sil-nylon fabrics and a proven tripod pole design, with a floating brow pole and integrated corner struts.

It feels well-built, with features that are adapted for use in unsettled weather. The doors are fitted with buckles to prevent zip creep, while guy lines are extremely tough and have locking runners. If set up with the rear-facing into the wind, as recommended, the swooping aerodynamic shape is very stable. It pitches all-in-one too, which is great for rainy camps – though be careful that the poles don't snag when threading them through their sleeves.

Inside, floor space is generous, with enough length and width for two. The peak height is good, but the walls slope inwards, and the ceiling drops away towards the feet. The design also means there's only one entrance and vestibule, but it is a good size for storing gear or cooking. The inner door has a mesh upper panel for ventilation, and you can also crack open the flysheet zip to get good airflow. The full fabric inner has plenty of practical storage pockets. It feels warmer and cosier than mesh – though the yellow colour seems to attract bugs.

As rainy UK natives, we like this one a lot. However, it's arguably overpriced. And some will be put off by the single door and porch and the tripod structure, which lacks the steep walls of alternative designs and doesn't feel as spacious as some rivals.

You may not have heard of Near Zero before. It's quite a new outdoor brand that's based in Arizona and focuses on making kit that is designed for ease of use and to be affordable, with the ultimate goal of making overnight hikes more accessible to more people.

We like that mission statement, and we like the gear that's come from Near Zero as a result. We tested one of its hiking bundles over a summer and were very impressed with much of it, including the tent.

As a lightweight tent for summer backpacking trips and hikes, there's lots to commend the Near Zero tent for, not least because of the price. At just 1.79kg this is a superlightweight model, which also packs down very small. Yet it offers excellent liveability, thanks to two vestibules and doors and cross section in the pole that gives more headroom inside.

The inner is full mesh and the fly and floor are both 20D nylon. It's therefore not the toughest tent and isn't the most weather resistant either. Sure, it'll happily fend off a bit of vertical rain but the fly doesn't extend all the way to the ground meaning draughts and even some moisture can reach you. The flipside of course, is that ventilation is superb, and if you get lucky with a warm night, you can stargaze unobstructed by removing the fly.

Read our full Near Zero Bundle review

Grangers' effective and eco-friendly care kit for tents and outdoor gear such as packs. It even comes with a sponge to help apply the Cleaner solution. The Cleaner and Repel are available to buy individually too.

Nikwax's tent and gear care kit. It's just as good as the Grangers kit and also water-based and PFC-free. SolarWash and SolarProof are available to buy individually.