What You Get by Spending More For An Ultralight Tent
At this point with backpacking gear, spending more often means a lighter tent without losing durability. More expensive ultralight tents are often constructed with DCF (formerly Cuben) or other pricier fabrics with a light weight and high durability. More expensive tents will often last longer, have a better space-to-weight ratio for livability, and have more features such as multiple doors and vestibules.
Be a smart shopper though: Are you paying a higher sticker price for a fancy name brand? Or will a tent from a lesser-known company provide the same durability and quality? Be sure to understand the specs (volume, material, weight) and read reviews for livable space and setup tips before buying. You can often save money without sacrificing too much in the way of construction quality.
Area Per Pound of Tent Weight
This a key factor to evaluate and compare tents. Our area per pound of tent weight gives you a good idea of how light a tent really is. That is how much volume/livable space do you get for each pound of tent weight. For the tents in this guide these range from around 10 ft2/lb for the more budget oriented tents, to near 40 ft2/lb for the lightest ultralight tents.
That is the best ultralight tents are 1/4 the weight for the same livable area. And pyramid tents are amazing at around 64 ft2/lb!
Backpacking Tent Weight Explained
Your tent can be one of the heaviest items in your pack, relative to overall base weight. Your tent is one of your “big three” items (pack and sleep system are the other two), and is a constant in your base weight. For a freestanding tent, you are carrying a tent body, a tent fly, poles, and stakes. But! Pairs of hikers can often split up a tent to distribute the weight.
For freestanding tents, it’s easy to divide the fly and tent body, and choose who carries the poles. This comes with a weight penalty vs. non-freestanding ultralight tent of (usually) two pounds or less per person, if the two-person backpacking tent is between 3-4 pounds. Most hikers should aim for carrying no more than 2.5 pounds of shelter weight per person.
Ultralight tents may or may not be able to be divvied but they’re often so light, it hardly matters.
Tarps and single wall ultralight tents are a great way to reduce shelter weight, as you use trekking poles instead of tent poles to set them up, and you’re likely already carrying the trekking poles. Single wall ultralight tents combine the tent body and tent fly, resulting in significant weight savings and some two-person single wall tent models weigh a scant one pound.
Packaged Weight vs Minimum Weight
You’ll see references to packed weight and minimum weight (or trail weight) on many manufacturers and retailers sites. Packed weight is referring to how much the entire tent package weighs when you purchase it, including tent body, fly, poles, stakes, guy lines, compression sacks or stuff sacks, and anything else included in the package. Basically, how much it weighs when it shows up at your door.
Minimum trail weight can vary in what it’s referencing, but typically means the weight of the tent body, fly, and poles… the basics of what you need to pitch the tent. You’ll likely need stakes and some guy lines as well, so you can assume the actual weight of what you’ll be carrying is somewhere between minimum weight and packaged weight — but with good stakes, closer to the minimum weight.
Backpacking Tent Durability (Denier)
Ultralight tents have to be treated with care. Regardless of price and quality, if the denier of your tent walls and tent floor go down, the durability goes down too, and the tent is more prone to ripping or punctures. For tents with floor material under 30D, be very aware of where you set it up, and avoid roots and sharp rocks. We recommend a footprint or Polycro sheet to help protect the tent floor.
“Denier” is the term used to describe the thickness of the tent fibers. One strand = 1 denier. So a 20-denier (or 20D) fabric has 2/3 the density of a 30D fabric. Many backpacking tents will have a higher-denier fabric on the floor of the tent vs. the wall. Durability in material matters too. A 20D DCF tent wall will wear differently than a 20D nylon tent wall.
Backcountry Weather Protection
There are a few things to consider with weather protection in a tent: precipitation from above, and soaking through from below. Some tents don’t come fully seam sealed, and you’ll have to apply waterproofing and seam sealing yourself.
For other brands, this is an add-on option. Be sure you know your tent is fully weather-proofed before you take it out for the first time. You can also get “wet from the inside” due to condensation see more on this in Ventilation below.
For super weight savers, sleeping under a tarp with no bug net and no bathtub floor means less weight to carry, but also less protection from the elements. A fully enclosed tent with a bathtub floor and bug netting carries more of a weight penalty, but comes with increased protection. Four-season tents are shaped differently than three-season tents.
Their steeper walls allow them to deal with snow loading better, and not accumulate heavy snow on their tops. Four-season tents have less mesh, and seal in heat better. This also means they accumulate condensation more.
Ultralight Tent Ventilation
Condensation management and ventilation is important to take into consideration when choosing a backpacking tent. Some models and styles vent better than others, but it also has to do with how you set your tent up and your site location. For double walled tents will do well with managing condensation.
The potential for excessive condensation is a downside to single-wall ultralight tents, but it’s starting to be addressed in different models. Backpacking tents like the REI Flash Air 2 with two mesh side walls, and doors on each side will vent better than single wall models with limited openings and solid rear walls.
Backpacking tent models with doors on both sides allow for cross ventilation options, which is key to avoiding condensation. Opening a door or vents will help prevent condensation buildup, and choosing a high, dry site.
Venting your tent helps prevent condensation buildup because the flow of air helps move water vapor outside of the tent. The warm air inside is continually pushed out, replaced by cooler air, and helps keep the temperature equal (or as equal as possible) inside and outside the tent.
Interior Space: Floor Area, Peak Height, and Walls
Interior space (or “livable” space) means the space you’ll be sleeping in, changing clothes in, and ultimately will be able to determine how comfortable you’ll be existing in this space, whether or not you share it with another person. The steepness of the walls and peak height of the roof also contribute livable space.
A wall with a slant from floor to peak means less shoulder room, while a backpacking tent with a spreader bar across the top and more vertical walls equates to more shoulder space and sitting-up space without hitting yourself on the steeply pitched walls.
The standard floor area for a tent (square footage) is a good starting point for estimating the “livable area” but it’s far from telling the whole story. Approximately 28 sq ft is average for an ultralight tent, while traditional backpacking tents tend be closer to 30 sq ft.
For example, two tents with the same floor area can have dramatically different amounts of livable area. Increasing the height of the tent and adding top spreader bar(s) and/or pre-bent poles can make tent walls more vertical. Combined, these design changes significantly increase livable area making it far more pleasant to spend time in the tent. For example the Big Agnes Copper Spur has a significantly more livable area than the Nemo Hornet 2p.
Number of Doors
For a two-person tent, two doors are ideal for many pairs of hiking partners. Having two doors eliminates crawling all over one another for midnight bathroom breaks, and gives each person their own side. However, two doors mean two zippers, which adds to the weight of the tent. This can be a matter of convenience and comfort over weight.
Many people cutting weight are happy with one door, either on the side or the front of the tent because it’s less extra material, and also less chance of construction failure with seams and zippers. As noted two doors give you are better ventilation options and is a superior option overall.
Storage: Vestibules and Interior Pockets
Having a larger vestibule doesn’t just mean more space: it means you can save the inside of your tent from getting drenched with wet gear on rainy outings. The more space you have in a vestibule, the more you can leave your soaked gear outside of the while still having it be protected. Look for a vestibule at least 7 ft2, and for two-person tents, two vestibules are really nice.
While interior pockets aren’t critical, they are really nice for organizing small items such as headlamps, ear plugs, small electronics, and other items that can get lost in piles of gear at night. A pocket or two at the head of the tent for quick access is great, and an overhead pocket can make a nice place to have a headlamp turned on to illuminate the entire shelter before you go to sleep. Vestibules are very important for ultralight tents which sometimes have smaller interior floor plans and require campers to put backpacks outside.
What Is A Freestanding Backpacking Tent? Is an Ultralight Tent Freestanding?
Freestanding backpacking tents are the “classic,” full-featured, easy-to-pitch tents most people are familiar with. There are not currently any freestanding ultralight tents weighing less than 2 lbs. Once you insert the poles, freestanding tents can stand on their own without being staked out… no fly required.
They are also double walled, having both an inner tent with breathable fabric walls, mosquito netting and bathtub floor, and separate outer rain fly (waterproof fabric). This allows you to avoid setting up the fly for better views and ventilation when it’s not raining.
And when you do have the rain fly up and it begins to condense, the walls of the inner tent keeps you and your gear away from the fly’s wet inner surface. The downside is that freestanding models are heavier than ultralight tents with non-freestanding designs, and might have more limited livable room. High quality aircraft grade aluminum poles can significantly increase cost.
Why you should still stake out freestanding tents
“Freestanding” is a bit misleading, and does not necessarily mean that you do not need to stake out these tents. In reality, it is a good idea to stake out any tent or shelter, freestanding or not. While the main body (less rain fly) of a freestanding tent will stand on its own without stakes, it is still better to stake it out.
We have seen more than a few un-staked tents blow a considerable distance in strong winds, sometimes resulting in tent damage and lost gear (thus our recommendation to find a good campsite that avoids exposure to strong winds). And if you add a rainfly over your freestanding tent you will need to stake out the vestibules.
And most important, you will always get a better/tauter and much stronger pitch if you stakeout the corners and other points as necessary.
Freestanding tents do have an advantage for Leave No Trace. When the winds are light, you can pitch them on hard, durable surfaces such as solid rock with a minimum of anchor points (although you may need to use a few rocks to anchor things like the vestibule tie-outs). In high winds and at an exposed campsite, this is not a good idea.
In comparison, most ultralight tents are non-freestanding and require the use of your trekking poles to support them, and also need to be staked out be fully pitched. Since poles are the heaviest part of tent, this design strategy often saves multiple pounds of weight.
Backpacking Tent Poles and Stakes
Sturdy, lightweight stakes make tent pitching faster and more secure. It’s not a bad idea to replace the stakes your tent came with.
For pitching in rocky ground and other difficult areas, we prefer inexpensive but bomber AnyGear 7075 Aluminum Tent Stakes. They have only a single notch at the head, making them extremely resistant to bending and damage when pounding in with a rock. And they have a pre-attached cord to make them easier to pull out. ‘Y’ stakes have greater holding power than most stakes so they’ll hold your tent more securely. You can get similar ‘Y’ stakes, MSR Ground Hogs, at REI.
Freestanding tents come with their own set of poles, usually collapsible single-hub or double-hub. Both styles will be hollow poles of varying weight, material, and durability, with elastic holding them together. A single-hub pole set will unfold and snap together with one central cross-point. Other models have a separate spreader bar or other components you’ll have to attach and configure.
Tarptents and single-wall shelters utilize trekking poles for structure and stability, but some have a roof spreader bar for more shoulder room and interior space.
Footprints and Backpacking Tent Care
When storing a backpacking tent, it’s imperative to make sure the tent is clean and entirely dry. Don’t crumple it into a stuff sack, rather fold it carefully and store it flat to help prevent degradation of waterproofing and seam sealing. This is especially important for thinner ultralight tents.
If your backpacking tent floor is 30D or better, then you can likely skip a footprint or Polycro sheet altogether. It’s durable enough if you pitch it carefully. On the other hand, many lighter tents and single-wall tents have 20D or even 15D floors. In this case, you should seriously consider protecting it with a footprint or Polycro sheet.
We recommend skipping the manufacturer’s footprint, which is heavy and can be expensive. Instead, use a 2 to 3.5 oz Polycro Footprint to protect the floor of very light tent floors. We recommend putting a $11 Gossamer Gear Polycro Footprint or MLD UL FOOTPRINT under this type of shelter.
This multilayer, cross-linked polyolefin film weighs less than 4 oz and is much stronger and more durable than the typical painter’s plastic sheet you’d get at a hardware store. It’s also ~ 1/2 the weight and 12% the cost of a footprint from the tent manufacturer. It should last for months of use. When it starts to wear it can easily be replaced by another $9 footprint.
