Hi,
I am just starting in backpacking and I really like the Hammerhead 2 tent I have read a few reviews and talked to some people I have heard that mountain hardwear is a great brand but I have also heard that this tent is a little heavy I Just want to know If it really is to heavy or if those people are just light weight freaks

I am looking for a good tent to buy

maughanwe. Yes, the tent is a little heavy compared to other 2-person tents on the market. But, it is arguable whether or not those tents are as versatile as the Hammerhead 2/3. For Spring '11, the Hammerhead's utilize a removable fabric panel in the roof of the tent to create one of the only truly convertible tents on the market. Because of this fabric panel and the overall design of the tent you do gain a little weight but you also gain what I would call edge season versatility. Going to the desert on the spring time and it might snow? No problem. Going to the high country over Labor Day and the weather is forecast to be less than perfect? No problem. Without going with a much heavier and durable 4-season tent you get true three season versatility out of the slightly heavier Hammerhead design. Again, as I mentioned earlier, in the S'11 version of the Hammerhead, the convertible fabric panel is removable! I hope this info helps.

I agree with Jeff entirely. Even though it's a larger and heavier version of what you're looking for in a 2-person tent, just to give you a perspective on the differences, we use our Hammerhead 3 for short hikes where total load weight isn't as important a factor,some winter trips and for car camping. Great bombproof tent, but yes, a bit too far on the heavy side. MHW makes some fine gear, including some great lightweight tents, but I'm again with Jeff on the two suggestions he's offered from Big Agnes. In fact, our 3-person "backpacking" tent is the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3. The weight differential between the two tents is noticeable. Another alternative I could suggest would be the MSR Carbon Reflex 2. A little pricier, but one of the lightest in its class @ under 3lbs w/o the footprint.

In my opinion this tent is heavy. There are many other 2-person tents that weigh two & three pounds less. In fact there are three person tents that weigh less. Check out the Copper Spur UL2 & Emerald Mountain SL2 made by Big Agnes. Here are the links to them: http://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Tent/CopperSpurUL2 http://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Tent/EmeraldMountainSL2