Lightweight Tents For Backpacking
Why use lightweight and ultralight tents? Because a heavy tent is one of the
biggest obstacles to lightweight backpacking. You have to cut the weight of the
"big three" (shelter, backpack and sleeping bag) to really go light. How do you
choose one, though? Start by asking yourself the following questions:
1.
Are you claustrophobic? Some ultralight tent designs are really just fancy bivy
sacks. For those who hate tight squeezes, it will be like sleeping in a
coffin.
2. How tall are you? If the length of the tent is only a few inches
more than your height, you'll be touching the walls. This probably means getting
wet from the condensation on them.
3. What do you do in a tent? If you just
sleep, total floor and head space are not important. If you normally play cards
with friends for hours, you'll need a design that allows for that.
4. Do you
backpack in bad weather often? If all you plan to do is camp on nice summer
nights, you can just look at the cheapest lightweight tents, and worry less
about quality.
5. How much have you budgetted for a tent? More money equals a
lighter tent, but if you can't get it light enough on your budget, you may want
to consider going even lighter - and cheaper - with a tarp shelter.
6. Which
is more important to you, fast set-up or lightest weight? Hopefully you'll find
a tent with the right balance, but keep your preference in mind when
shopping.
Single-layer tents (without a rain-fly) will usually have more
condensation inside. This is true of even those that claim to be waterproof and
breathable. It is less of a problem with the newer designs that have a lot of
screen/ventilation area, because air circulation is as important as "breathable"
material. These materials just don't breath that well anyhow.
Test your
tent. It's no fun spending 20 minutes setting up a complicated tent in the rain.
Also, it can be worse than inconvenient to tear seams because of a design that
stretches everything so tight you have to fight with it. Try the tent in your
yard or living room, before you head into the wilderness. That way you can
return it if it won't work for you.
There is only one totally enclosed
2-person ultralight tent that I know of under 3 pounds. It's a single layer, but
the forward sloping door allows for a large screen area, to keep air-flow at a
maximum. This keeps condensation to a minimum.
There are "floorless"
tents, which are specially cut tarps which typically use your trekking poles for
support. One of the lightest of these is a three-person design that weighs less
than 2 pounds. I haven't tried it, but it gets good reviews, and it is in the
weight range I like for ultralight tents. You have to bring a groundsheet with
this type, so figure that weight into the decision.