Hi Robbie, and welcome. Just a couple of observations on the excellent info earlier in the thread. So much depends on the conditions in which you're using your tent, and your personal preferences. Stating the obvious, maybe, but here's an example of how these issues play out:
I live in Eastern Ontario, on the edge of the Canadian Shield -- sublime scenery and water, an outdoor paradise in all four seasons, which we sometimes get within a day or two. But, there are bugs, so for two-three months of the year (most of the summer), and if you go into the bush on a 2-wheeler, or hiking, or by canoe, anything without an inner mesh tent is a recipe for serious discomfort. (Parks Canada just rediscovered the 200-year-old diary of a director of the Northwest Trading Company, written on his trek from Montreal to Winnipeg in the summer of 1821, to explain to his suppliers the merger with the Hudson's Bay Company: his entries for June were almost entirely about mozzies. He didn't have a mesh inner tent.)
Other times, other places, you can have other tent configurations. I often use my MSR Hubba Hubba without the inner, where there are no bugs.
In a related vein: I prefer the Hubba Hubba to one-person tents. Palatial for one, OK for two, and on a bike, the kg-per-person ratio for the Hubba-Hubba is OK. (And gets better if there are no bugs, and you leave the inner at home.)
I rarely go anywhere without a lightweight large nylon-silicone tarp ("Siltarp" brand). This is often the first thing to rig in camp: it gives shelter against wind and rain. I use it cycling, hiking, canoeing, and camping by motorcycle. You can rig it so that you don't need a tent (so long as there are no bugs...) You might enjoy Colin Fletcher's series, "The Complete Walker" -- for years he trekked all over, using as shelter only a tarp made from a big sheet of translucent plastic.
Last consideration is that I do only 3-season camping, so the combination of Hubba Hubba + tarp works just fine. I use similar gear for all my camping, tweaked for the different modes of transport. And, my trips tend to be, say, 3 days to 4-5 weeks, not really long ones. Maybe / maybe, had I known about Tarptent products before I bought my Hubba Hubba, I'd have bought a Tartptent -- I like the idea of being able to pitch a tent in the rain. But, I'd still use my Siltarp, which is so useful.
So it comes down to judgment calls, which will differ according to what you're doing, and where. And some experimentation, so that you get to know both your own preferences (which will change, of course), and your gear.
Hope this is helpful, and enjoy!
John
