Great for spring skiing trips with just a partner. It's light, imminently packable and can handle a surprising amount of weather.

If you've got more than 2 people total the megalight is right for you.

This is a great shelter. I love how light and compact it is, and that is stows away easily. my only two complaints are that it needs factory taped seams instead of seam grip. Also the trekking poles in the middle get in the way when your getting busy in the woods with you partner. I would recommend bringing some guy-line with you for tying the tent up to a tree or something, then you can get rid of the annoying poles in you and your partners way.

If you all are looking for a cheap and lite bug shield go to your local army surplus. They sell a netting that hangs over a cot. I take this netting and made two grumet holes were the hiking poles goes up and holds the tent. Lay your netting down and then lay tent over and then when you raise your tent with the poles the whole kit and kabbodle will raise. I have used it all along the AT- and in May i walked across Scotland with there no seeums.

The beta light should be the shelter of choice for those that travel with trekking/ski poles. I have used mine for 4 years with 50+ days per year. It is light, weatherproof (as long as you take the time to seam seal it well with syl-nylon seam seal), compressable, and very secure. I have used this thing in winter, summer, high winds (Mt. Rainier) and the only place where I wish I had a tent is when there are bugs (you can combine with the beta bug, but then it's nearly as heavy as my tent).

Pluses -- wickedly light, easy to setup, and well designed
Minuses -- If you are base-camping, you must collapse your shelter to use your poles each day. Must be carefully seam-sealed.

Don't expect this to be better than a fully enclosed tent with a good fly sheet for weather protection...but considering how light it is, anyone considering it, is weight conscious and therefore in my opinion for a 2 man shelter in its weight range it can't be beaten. It fills the little niche right between a classic A-frame open ended tarp and a lightweight 2-man tent.

This is a great shelter if you use Trekking poles. This works for me. The Sil Nylon is a great material and is extremely weather resistant. However, in extremely wet environemnts condensation forms and will drip on you a bit, but it really is nothing when there is a monsoon outside and you are dry inside. It is roomy and light which makes it near perfect. I have sewn bug netting around the bottom and it is well worth the couple of extra ounces. All around it is my favorite backpacking shelter to date and I've had it for more than a year. Oh... Silnet is a must for the seams.