Can anyone recommend a 2 man tent that will fit in the pannier?
The poles is where I ran into an issue. I took a section of 2" PVC (I think it was 2"). Added some end caps and I keep my poles in that. It seems to work pretty well. I secure the PVC to the side of my cooler that I have sitting on the passenger seat. It protects the poles and keeps them out of the saddle bags. Though it may not work out as well if you have a passenger. I do agree that it is nice to go one size bigger with the tent. 2 people, get a 3 man. Solo, get a 2 man. Also it is nice to have a vestibule. The Tent I have is a Eureka and have I been happy with it.Find the tent you want (3 man is much better if you're ever going to have 2 people sleeping in the tent).
Then replace the tent poles (because they'll probably be too long to fit in the pannier) from this place: Linky or someplace like it.
I found that with a quick search.
What I was saying is that with two tents I just looked at the pole length was considerably shorter than the advertised pack length. If I didn't know this I would have ruled out some 2 man backpacking tents that otherwise meet my criteria.Just about any tent (without the poles) will fit in a saddlebag.
The pole-length is the limiting factor and when you look at tent specs - look at the 'packed size' number. An 18x6 packed size typically means the tent pole sections are 18" long.
There are many backpacking tents out which have shorter pole lengths as it makes backpacking easier. It's pretty easy to find 2-person backpacking tents with 15-20" pole lengths. The 3+ person tents are a bit tougher to find smaller length sections but there are a few out there. The alternative is to pack the tent material in a saddlebag and the poles separately but that means there's a possibility you forget the poles and some have done that, not a fun time.
I've sometimes seen the stated packed size differ among different sites so I do more searching when I find a tent I'm interested in, youtube reviews are helpful too.. I know it's the internet and everything is 'true' on the internet.. LOLWhat I was saying is that with two tents I just looked at the pole length was considerably shorter than the advertised pack length. If I didn't know this I would have ruled out some 2 man backpacking tents that otherwise meet my criteria.