New shelter for backpacking

Our two-person backpacking tents and tarps no longer have sufficient room since we added a family member last year. The family member being the dog, Dash Riprock. Dash is a great dog, and a great trail dog. The down side is he can be a very anxious dog. He needs to be in the tent with us at night. All the night sounds freak him out and he would never settle for being outside the tent while we're in it.

The few nights we did on the trail last year, while we were doing our trail contract work, we carried our old Eureka Timberline 4-person tent. Plenty of room, but at 10.5 lbs it's way too heavy for some real backpacking. So this year we bit the bullet and spent some money on a new shelter. We took advantage of a member coupon for 20% off one item at REI last month. I used my coupon for the tent body and Susan used her coupon for the bug insert that is sold separately. It was a nice chunk of savings.We decided to go with a teepee style tent. A Black Diamond Mega-Light.
And the Mega Bug insert. We can use the tent with or without the bug insert. Above it is pitched with the carbon fiber pole that comes with it. Below is the item that comes with the tent that allows you to leave the pole at home and use your two trekking poles to support the tent. Nice!

I've been putting off the seam sealing for over a month. If we are ever going to get out and do some backpacking this year this needed to be done. I started the project today. It has 7 major seams not including the door zipper. I had room enough in the basement to do three seams. Once they dry I can move on. Not my favorite job, but I have never had to sleep in a leaking tent.

This tent is a cross between a tarp and a tent. It has enough room for the three of us, plus some. It has enough height to stand up in. And the tent and the bug insert are lighter and have twice the room than our favorite two-person tent, a Mountain Hardwear Room-with-a-view.

Another added plus, this will be a great shelter for winter camping.