Choosing the Right Ultra Light Tent

Chris Weiss June 4, 2008

The tent—perhaps the fulcrum of ultra light upon which the total weight and overall efficacy of your set up balances.  The tent can easily be the heaviest, most cumbersome piece of equipment in your rig.  It can also be your most important piece.  Bottom line, picking the right tent is a huge step toward ensuring effective, functional and lightweight backpacking.

Although, you can save some space and pounds with a bivy or tarp, neither one can offer the protection and comfort of a tent.  Certain climates/environments demand that protection.  Also, if you don’t like things crawling on you in your sleep and don’t like to be caught in a storm with nowhere to go, a tent is the only way to go. 

Finding the Right Balance

While weight is important function is more important; if a tent doesn’t do what it is supposed to you might as well pitch it into the river and save some real weight.  For my money, the most important aspect of any tent is its ability to hold up to the weather and keep me dry and comfortable.  After all, this is really why we pack a tent in the first place.  I’ve read a lot of reviews about ultra light tents that allow water to leak all over. What the hell good is that?  Great I’ve shaved 2 lbs. off of my overall weight but have spent the entire trip getting abused by the weather.  Oh, and I gained back those two pounds after the first storm when all of my gear became waterlogged.  Useless.

Another aspect of function is actually being able to fit into your tent and having the comfort level that you desire.  Personally, I find the only way to get a real feel for tent fit is to actually pitch it and give it a try.  Square footage and measurements can be difficult to properly visualize and, although reviews are helpful, everyone varies as far as their own size and comfort level.  You’d be well advised to figure out who you’re going to be backpacking with and find a tent with enough space.  Ultralight tents save pounds by limiting materials (space), so if you’re going on a weeklong trek with your college rugby buddy you might want to consider a 3 man tent, or separate tents (on the other hand if you’re looking to seal the deal with that cutie from class a tight fit might just help you out). 

A good camping retailer should allow you to test the tent in the store so that you can size it up properly.  If your local retailer doesn’t have what you’re looking for or you prefer to shop online, be sure to use an online vendor with a liberal return policy, this way you can try the tent out and return it if it doesn’t fit your needs.  REI, LL Bean and Backcountry.com are a few retailers with excellent return policies. 

Obviously weight is your bottom line here, it is ultra light after all.  Size is also important, as you want to minimize the size and weight of your backpack itself—smaller tent, smaller backpack.    Pay close attention to the packed weight and size, as this indicates what you’ll actually be carrying on your back.  If you’re travelling solo, you can find 1 man tents for under 3lbs. Two man tents will be slightly heavier, but you can generally find a good selection of tents coming in around the 31/2-4 lbs. range.  Size varies greatly depending upon tent, but I’d recommend looking to keep it under 20” in length and as short as possible (a foot or foot and a half would be ideal).  Be sure to measure against the backpack you’re thinking about using to see how it will fit/how much room you’ll have for the rest of your gear.      

Smaller Considerations

Although function and weight are the most important factors in choosing an ultra light tent there are a couple of other things that might be important to you.  Ease of set up—could mean the difference from getting a tent pitched just as the first drops of rain hit your dome and getting drenched while cursing every individual piece of your tent.  Seam sealing –this is a pet peeve for me; if I’m paying hundreds of dollars for a tent I expect it to be ready to hit the trail out of the box, especially when it comes to something as important as sealed seams.  I don’t want to have to rely on my own unproven sealing skills to make sure that water isn’t seeping in.  Seems like common sense, but apparently not—some expensive, top end tents are not factory sealed.  If you don’t mind sealing, no big deal, but if you’ve never done it and don’t especially want to learn—put your money into a factory sealed tent.  Ventilation—many an ultra light tent seals up like a vacuum, providing little fresh air or ventilation.  If you want to breathe the mountain air or check out the stars overhead choose a tent with some mesh. 

The struggle between weight and function is one that rages on.  The key for the first time ultra lighter is finding a tent that holds up to the conditions that he ventures into and is light and compact enough for his hiking needs.  Spend some time reading our reviews to see what tent might best meet your individual needs.    

Other posts & articles from Chris Weiss

Share This

Comments

One Response to “Choosing the Right Ultra Light Tent”

  1. Tent Review: Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2–ultralight, full weather protection : Backpacking and Hiking Gear Reviews - CascadeGear.com on August 4th, 2008 8:05 am

    […] Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2 is a very lightweight, compact backpacking tent (3 lbs. 6oz., 16 in long packed). It is a freestanding tent and does not require trees or other […]

Got something to say?

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Close
E-mail It