Anybody over 6-foot-2 has a heck of a time squeezing into most backpacking tents. This “three-person” tent from REI could be an option, assuming you’re taking a friend along. While cruising for bargains at REI I noticed they’d sliced 20% off the Hoodoo 3 ($249 to $200), which looks like a knockoff of the North Face Tadpole. You’d never solo in this baby — packed weight is north of 7 pounds — but a couple customer reviews reveal an interesting side benefit: room for two tall campers. A snip: “My girlfriend and I are 6’0″ and 6’2″, respectively, and we were quite comfortable sleeping, changing, and playing cards in this tent. Being able to both sit upright with plenty of headroom is a rare pleasure in a tent that is flexible enough to be taken on short backpacking trips.”

The Hoodoo 3 rates an average of 4.5 stars across 53 reviews, and $200 is a fair price for a tent in this range. It’d be a stretch to get 3 adults into a tent this size, but two grownups and a small dog might fit, or a mom and two kids. It has a spacious fly that creates a good front vestibule, and it has a back door and vestibule so you can stow some gear back there that you might want to grab in the middle of the night. The pole setup looks a bit more complicated than I’d prefer, but if there’s two of you it shouldn’t be so hard to figure out. (Foolproof relationship test: if you can get a tent up without hating each other, it has promise).

I’ve had fine luck with two REI tents — they’re sturdy and reasonably easy to set up. And the great thing about REI: if you don’t like, you take back, and they accept your return with a smile .

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