I’m going to leave in a month to start a thru hike of the AT and I’m wondering what some of the “best” lightweight single person tents are (expensive and cheap). I’m also wondering what people recommend for stove. I’ve currently got an msr whisperlite but I’ve heard they’re relatively heavy compared to some.
Thanks for the advice 
Ehopp
I carried the whisper lite and loved it. It gets more BTUs per oz than the hobo stoves ,in my opinion. I carried the Safari ultra lite(henessey hammock) and had good luck with it.
virginiian
Have a Northface Canyonlands, love it, even for two. Or a Walrus Micro Swift. Stove depends on if you want to boil water and eat, eat now or eat cold food. I like the eat now butane. We did the eat later alcohol and the eat sooner Wisperlite. MSR Superfly is da-bomb(Sweeper).
Bushwhack
There’s the new REI Roadster which has a nice design. It puts the peak in the middle of the tent, where one would naturally sit up straight. I know a lot of people are happy with their 2-person tent, the 2+2, in terms of quality and price.
Alligator
Sierra Designs Lightyear and Kelty Clark were the most used one man tents. The wisperlight can work and can be easily replaced if you decide to loose the weight on the trail. Alchohal stoves are quite popular at Neels Gap, Hot Springs and Damascus outfitters.
TB
TurkeyBacon
I started with an MSR Dragonfly and the Sierra Designs CD Clip Flashlight. I switched to an Esbit stove and an Outdoor Research Deluxe bivy. The Outdoor Research Deluxe bivy weighs only 1.5 pounds and has a hoop that goes over your head so it is similar to a one-man tent. Esbit stoves are good, but you have to send the Esbit tablets via ground mail since the tablets are flammable.
Superfeet
I really appreciate the advice, thanks.
As far as the tents go I think most of those mentioned are comparable in terms of weight and probably performance.
The stoves I’m not quite as sure about so I’d like to hear more from you folks about what your using. The idea of the lightweight esbit stove is appealing, but the ease of a stove like the superfly seems nice too.
Thanks 
Ehopp
I’d also like to hear any opinions you have on wether to bring a water filter. I plan on it, but I’m wondering if boiling would be a better option? I would rather not got with chem treatment since I plan on living of it for 6 months or so, but I’m all ears.
Ehopp
like I’ve said I’ve currently have a msr whisperlite which has always served me well, but I’m still interested in alternative options. I was wondering how the availability of butane canisters is along the AT and I’m guess you’d need to mail drop esbit ?
Thank you much kind people
Ehopp
Your choices are filter or chemicals. No one takes the time to boil, or carries the fuel to boil.
If you filter, the Katadyn (Pur) hiker is the filter of choice because it pumps faster than others. The down side is weight and filters can plug up very easily if you are not careful.
Many hikers use chemicals. The reason is lighter, and chemicals don’t plug up like filters do. The down side is taste, waiting for chemicals to work, and potential long term health risk because of idoine.
Peaks
You see all kinds of stoves being used along the trail. Esbit is usually mail dropped. So, that ties you to mail drops, which most thru-hikers try to minimize. People have thru-hiked with cartidges. White Gas is readily available.
One fuel that is becoming very popular is alcohol using a home made stove. You certainly should consider this. If you already have the Whisperlite, why not start with this, and then switch over to alcohol at some point during your trek. Better yet, try a home made stove before you start.
Peaks
I’ve used a MSR Whisper Lite Shaker Jet stove since 1997 including an AT thru hike and other long distance hikes and its been perfectly reliable. The stove with an 11 oz gas bottle weighs 14.75 oz (no gas in the bottle) which seems heavy to some but I think it is the best balance of weight, BTUs and gas efficiency. I can get ten days out of 11 oz (Breakfast, dinner & a pack of ramens). I’ve built myself an aluminum can stove for denatured alcohol and I’m going to try it out this summer and compare. MSR has also updated its whisper lite for this year; it supposedly simmers better (its called a Simmerlite) and weighs 2.5 oz less. Has anyone used it yet?
Celt
I have successfully used AquaMira, even in the Sierra where there are lots of pack animals. Tastes like ordinary city water, does a better job of dealing with viruses than filter, takes up almost no space in the pack, and weighs about a third. (2 very small bottles treat 40 gallons.
You have to mix parts A and B and let them sit for 5 min before pouring into container of water (and let sit for a while). But I found this actually much easier than dealing with a filter.
CeCe
The Katadyne (formerly PUR) Hiker water filter seemed to be the choice du jour last year among those using filters. One thing about using filters is that the spring water along the trail tastes really sweet and good. IMO it’s a shame to lose the taste which is preserved by filtering.
Lady Di
I drank the water from springs from GA to VA with no filter or chemical with no problem. Of coarse at my age I’m probably immune to most of the pathogens. Having swam in cattle ponds and lakes as a kid. I filtered or chemicaled the water only when it came from a stream or pond (lake). No problems. I carried iodine as a backup. Our filter cloged or broke a couple of times. Remember Murphy’s Law? If I do the hike again I will us the AquaMira product. When I got a chance to use it, it tasted like city water. Pour your water through a piece of cloth to filter out the big pieces and add the chem. Either mail drop you AquaMira or buy it along the way. Good luck on your hike! I wish I was going.
Papa Smurf
I’d like to hear more about this product from peolpe who’ve used it. I’ve used iodine on month long excursions and was able to get used to the taste.
Let me know what you think! 
Ehopp
Ehopp,
I agree that aqua mira is the way to go. I’ve used it on 2 300mile hikes and for evey hike in the last 3 years from Alaska to New england and never got sick. On the Longtrail 2 years ago there was no water anywhere and I used Aqua Mira to treat beaver dam water and some truly sketchy stagnant puddles without incident.
Also, I talked to a guy in seattle who used it backpacking across Mexico drinking some real nasty stuff. The major issue is waiting. First you have to wait for the 2 solutions to mix and then wait for your water to be treated. If you never run out of water, you will love this product. However, if you run out of water, it’s hot and you come accoss an ice cold stream, you’ll wish you had a filter. i’ve been in this situation a handful of times over the years. The solution: plan to pick up a bit more water along the trail than you normally do. Also, plan rest stops near water sources and treat the water while you eat. after using it a few times, you’ll adjust your drinking schedule to accomodate the wait. It becomes much less of problem over time. A quick tip: Don’t throw out the mixing caps when you finish a set of bottles. Having 2 mixing caps let you treat 2 different volumes of water simultaneously. Of course you can mix the 2 solution in anything, ie, film containers, but the mixing caps have a really smooth plastic lining that facilites pouring into small mouth water bags.
hope this helps.
quasimodo
The Esbit smells real bad. When your cold, wet and all you have to look forward to is dinner and a hot drink ,I dont think anything beats the whisperlite.Fires right up, cooks quick and keeps your hands warm all at the same time. My opinion.
Virginian
ok, I tried on the Osprey Aether 75 yesterday and fell in love (that was after trying out the some gregory packs and others). At 4700 cu it should be plenty large enough although I could always go with the Aether 90. It’s hipbelt felt oh so comfy, I like the suspension system as well.
Aether owners lemme know!
Ehopp
If I were to head back to the AT today, my first pick for shelter would be Henry Shire’s TarpTent with a sewn in floor and bug netting.
One of the most common gear switches on the AT is the switch to the light, simple, alcohol stoves. Unless you really are set on cooking fancy meals, or will be hiking with two or more people, it’s hard to go wrong with an alcohol stove on the AT.
My pick for treating water is a bottle filter. Light, fast, effective if used properly, and I don’t have to ingest “toxic” chemicals all summer.
Colter