Ben Titus

In the backcountry, your tent is “home away from home”. After long miles on the trail, all we want to do is drop our packs and crawl into a warm, dry, and cozy tent. The best tents for backcountry adventures are lightweight, roomy enough to store gear and move around in, and able to keep the elements at bay. A solid, lightweight tent is one of the most critical pieces of gear you will buy, but with hundreds of options available which tent should you choose?

When comparing tents, consider and prioritize each of the following:

Space:  Evaluate how much gear you need to stow, how many people will share the tent, vestibule space, peak height, and peak location. In general, a tent’s capacity rating will be slightly on the small side for the number of people plus gear. If you’re not friendly enough to share body heat with your hiking partner, you may want to consider bumping up a capacity rating.  The location of the peak and its height determine how roomy a tent feels, as well as the pitch of the walls. Look for an asymmetrical tent with a peak located to one end to give you more sitting room.

Weight: How much you want to carry for a shelter is a personal preference, but we prefer to carry no more than 3 pounds per person. Many 2 person tents are perfectly acceptable for solo hikers and will work with pairs, while 3 to 4 person tents are manageable when split between group members.

Setup: The two main styles of tents are freestanding and non-freestanding. Freestanding tents use poles to create structure and don’t require stakes or guy-lines. Non-freestanding tents rely on a center-pole (e.g. trekking pole, tree limb, or provided pole) and guy lines that form the tent. Freestanding tents sacrifice being ultra-lightweight in favor of time to set up, ease of use, and double-wall construction. Non-freestanding tents are generally more waterproof and withstand harsher weather conditions; however, they can develop more condensation because of single wall construction and are harder to relocate.

Durability: If well taken care of, a quality tent should last you many years and trail miles. Look for quality fabrics, zippers, and seams. In general, lightweight means less durable, but with proper care and  advancements in quality fabrics this is less of a concern.
3-season tents meet the vast majority of backcountry hikers’ needs while backpacking in spring, summer, and early fall weather. So with that in mind, we will focus on three season tents.  We’ll also restrict our recommendations to 2-3 person tents, because they excel in both  solo and paired hikes. So, without further ado, here are four of our favorite  2-3 person lightweight tents!

1. Copper Spur HV UL2

Footprint: 90 x 52 x 42 inches (wider at head than foot, asymmetrical peak)

Trail Weight: 2 pounds 12 ounces

Setup: Freestanding, double wall, 2 doors with vestibules, 3-season, 2-person

The Copper Spur “High Volume” provides a significant increase in usable living space, stability, and strength over its standard predecessor. This is one of our favorite tents because of its light weight, easy-to-deploy design, comfortable living area, and ability to keep the outside out. The double-door and vestibule system helps keep you and your partner’s gear and smelly clothes separated, while also keeping your partner from crawling over you to take care of some midnight business. Some folks harp on the durability of the fabrics, but with some care they have held up just fine for us. It is slightly heavier than other ultralight tents, but if you want comfort and ease in the backcountry look no further!

2. Nemo Hornet 2P

Footprint: 85 x 53 x 43 inches (wider at head than foot, asymmetrical peak)

Trail Weight: 2 pounds

Setup:  Semi-freestanding, double wall, 2 doors with vestibules, 3-season, 1+ person

The Hornet is a featherweight option for the backpacker cutting ounces to go fast and light. This tent does have two doors and vestibules that make living with a partner better; however, it should be regarded as more of a 1+ person tent. Slanted walls and a tapered footprint confine usable space. You ought to be very comfortable with your personal space if you plan on camping with a partner, but it can be done. Double-wall construction and only requiring two stakes to erect make this tent an excellent choice for the minimalist, ultralight hikers who don’t plan to spend much time in their shelter.

3. REI Half Dome 2 Plus

Footprint: 98 x 56 inches

Trail Weight: 5 pounds 1 ounce

Setup: Freestanding, double-wall, 2 doors with vestibules, 3 season, 2+ person

Affordable and spacious, the Half Dome is the most luxurious and spacious tent on our list. It covers a whopping 38 square feet that gives its campers the much more  space than our other three picks. While not the best tent to pack by yourself in the backcountry, if you plan on splitting the weight with your partner, it is plenty manageable. Heavy-duty fabrics make this tent more durable than others. REI’s tent also features 4 ceiling vents and a fly that can roll up letting you take in the views from the comfort of your sleeping bag. If you don’t mind a little extra weight and plan on staking out for a few days, the Half Dome is tough to beat.

4. Black Diamond Beta Light

Footprint: 98 x 80 inches

Trail Weight: 19 ounces

Setup: Non-freestanding, single wall, one door, 4 season, 2 person

The Beta Light: not for the faint of heart. We included this tent for the hardcore backpacker who is willing to sacrifice some comfort for weight savings. At 19 ounces and able to collapse into a 4×6 inch package, the Beta is by far the smallest and lightest tent in the list. It also costs less than many single-walled 4 season alternatives. As a floorless, non-freestanding tent, it requires either two trekking or ski poles and stakes to be set up. Condensation may be an issue depending on your climate and season. However, despite these inconveniences, this tent remains a favorite for avid adventurers because it handles all weather conditions with ease, has a massive 34.7 square foot floorplan, is extremely light, and handles wear well.

A solid, lightweight backpacking tent is a crucial  piece of gear. We’ve learned the hard way… don’t skimp on tents; it’s important to be comfortable in camp without suffering on the trail. If you’re new to backpacking and  don’t know where to start, you may want to check out more traditional  backpacking tents (link). But, if you have a slightly more twisted sense of the words “fun” and “comfort” consider a trekking pole tent.

Why would anyone want to use a trekking pole tent when freestanding tents are “so much easier”? Well, to start, they really aren’t much more work than any other tent. Unless you are camping in ideal conditions, it is good practice to stake and guy out your freestanding tent anyway. Most can be pitched in under five minutes with practice. They are much lighter than most traditional tents, with many coming in at under 2 pounds thanks to ditching the tent poles. In some ways, trekking pole supported shelters are more reliable. For instance, if your conventional tent pole breaks you are SOL, whereas a broken trekking pole can be substituted by a tree limb or creative tie-outs.

However, there are disadvantages to these tent designs. A conventional freestanding tent is much easier to relocate when fine-tuning your pitch location. With a trekking pole tent, if you want to relocate a few yards you must set everything back up from nearly ground zero. It’s more difficult to clean the floor of your tent (if you have one) because it’s not as simple as lifting it and shaking out debris. There can be more skill and trailcraft involved to pitch a non-freestanding tent in some locations, like platforms or rocky areas. Bugs- many trekking pole tents require you to buy a separate inner-netting if you need the extra protection.

MSR Flylite Tent

The MSR Flylite is a wonderful option for fair-weather hiking. Weighing only 25 ounces (without stakes), it is able to comfortably hold two people and the awning has plenty of room to cover up gear. There is mesh netting on the sides, foot, and entire front door for ventilation and to keep the no-see-ums out. The design of this tent is best suited to the hiker that plans on traveling in drier climates without severe winds. The flat roof and awning wings are apt to catch the wind, covering the mesh vents and creating sags for condensation and rain to pool up. It will not handle much snowfall. Because of the poor aerodynamics, the shelter is also prone to pulling up the MSR mini-groundhog stakes it comes with. However, this tent is worth considering for the casual hiker who wants to cut some weight, have ample room, and will be traveling in mild, dry weather.

TarpTent ProTrail

If you’re looking for a lighter weight option to your conventional double-wall pole tent, but aren’t ready to go full minimalist with a standard tarp, check this shelter out. It weighs only 26 ounces and includes a mesh inner-liner and bathtub floor to keep the bugs and rain out. It pitches all at once to ensure the inside stays dry if it’s raining and only requires a few guy lines and your trekking poles at the front and rear. When pitched, the ProTrail looks very similar to a tarp, but without many of the drawbacks. The shelter has well designed features to encourage ventilation and packs down almost to the size of a nalgene bottle. The only disadvantages are that it’s prone to flapping in strong winds and the 30d silnylon can stretch when wet or stressed. Even so, the ProTrail is an excellent ultralight, three-season option.

Black Diamond Beta Light

It’s hard to find a 4 season, ultralight tent for one or two hikers that beats the Beta Light. The tent only weighs about 24 ounces ready-to-go and is erected with your trekking or ski poles. It has plenty of room for two people to sleep or one person with gear. The tent is a favorite for backcountry skiers who live in the snow for days at a time. The steep, slick walls shed snow, rain, and wind easily. It is single-walled and only has one door, so condensation can be an issue because of poor ventilation.  A bug netting is also available for the tent if you want to use it in the spring and summer months!