UKH

Apologies if this has been done before, I know this is a bit of a balancing act (like everything). I am after a new 2 man tent which is light enough for bike touring/hiking, so sub ~1.5kg ish? I have a 500g Outdoor Research helium bivy if I'm bikepacking or racing, and fancy a really uncomfortable night so this new tent is allowed to be a little heavier than the 900g things I've seen online. 

My issue is that all the very lightweight tents I have looked at have dreadfully thin groundsheets, inevitably you'd need to take a footprint which then negates a lot of the benefits for me. As this is for longer or poor weather trips (when I'm not in the bivy) the idea of a larger porch and wind-sturdiness is appealing.  

The other issue is that to help justify this new purchase to the soon-to-be wife I'd ideally like to have something that isn't ludicrously tight for 2 small adults, and wouldn't have the floor punctured by a 30kg labrador... Admittedly most of its intended use will be for a friend and I scottish cycle touring or munro bagging but she doesn't know that. 

Once I pull myself away from the idea of a Nemo Hornet or similar and consider all my constraints I'm coming to the conclusion that a super-lightweight tent than stands up to poor weather and dogs doesn't exist. Does anyone have any suggestions for something which might tick my boxes and is suitably light enough to spend hundreds of pounds more than just a replacement Vango Zenith (~1.9kg)?

Thanks for your help 

Thoughts so far:

Nordisk Halland 2 LW 1.3kg

https://www.ultralightoutodorgear.co.uk/equipment-c3/tents-shelters-c25/all...

Vango Nevis, £77, 2kg wildcard

https://www.millets.co.uk/tents-camping/039253-vango-nevis-200-backpacking-...

My recommendation of a Msr freelite 2 was doin so well until I read the bit about dogs. Hmmm. Maybe the hubba tour 2 would be OK..

Don't discount msr as they're pretty good. 

I generally put my bog standard  orange emergency bevy under the groundsheet, but then I don't go backpacking with a big muckle dug in tow. Unless you can train him to stay out of the inner tent I think you're stuffed.

Also a user of the orange bivy bag under the groundsheet (Terra Nova Photon - so a wafer thin sheet). I do quite a bit of bivying/tarp and for that I use an off-cut of Tyvek sheeting. If you buy then ready made from outdoor providers there is a bit of a price add on. From builders merchants they can be got quite cheap and you can cut to requirements. Very light and robust. 

Might be a solution that opens up your tent choices? 

Sounds like what you actually want is a 3-person tent - most 2-person tents are going to be cramped if you add a 30kg dog in.

I use a Vaude Taurus UL with my dog (and previous dog). Fabric more robust than your real UL tents. Never needed to use an additional ground sheet with it. Current model slightly annoys me as sleeves for poles are so narrow.

Good idea that. 

I think on the dog front, if the mrs and the dog are coming then realistically we will be car camping from a base and therefore able to use one of the heavy/cheaper tents we already own but part of my pitch (pardon the pun) to her is that we can all use it. If someone had experience of a great, light tent with an indestructible floor then it's a bit more of a convincing argument to her. I also like the idea of overnighters just with the dog as he is more keen on munros than the mrs. 

The floor in my Vango was fine for the dog and it weighed roughly 2kg, if I were to up the weight to under 2kg would I find anything with a solid floor and extra size/strength/weather protection than the Vango to make it worth it? 

You're probably right really, especially if we wanted to do more than a few nights. Luckily (or not in my case) we are both 5'5" so the dog does have space at our feet. He usually sleeps directly on my legs regardless... 

Thanks, Just looking at the Taurus and it seems quite sensible value too compared to the Nordisk and others. A definite contender at 1.9kg. I know I'm probably putting too much emphasis on weight here