Ultralight backpacking tents have turn out to be more and more common, notably these made with an ultralight materials known as Dyneema DCF. Sadly, they’ve additionally turn out to be very costly, placing the lightest weight tents out of attain of most individuals. However many high-quality ultralight backpacking tents can be found in the present day that value far lower than Dyneema ones; they’re nonetheless fairly light-weight and simply as a lot enjoyable to make use of. They’re made with extra typical materials like siliconized polyester, siliconized nylon, or ripstop nylon with a well-established historical past of sturdy use.
If spending an arm and a leg on an ultralight Dyneema DCF tent is out of your attain, listed here are the ten Greatest AFFORDABLE Ultralight Backpacking Tents, each single-wall and double-wall tents, that we advocate.
1. Gossamer Gear “The One”
2. Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo
3. Six Moon Designs Skyscape Trekker
4. Featherstone Spine 2P
5. Tarptent Protrail
6. 3FUL Lanshan Professional 1
7. Tarptent Rainbow
8. Durston X-Mid 1
9. Durston X-Mid 2
10. 3F UL Lanshan 2
SectionHiker is reader-supported. We solely earn cash if you buy a product by our affiliate hyperlinks. Assist us proceed to check and write unsponsored and impartial gear critiques, newbie FAQs, and free climbing guides.
UL Backpacking Tent Choice Information
The backpacking tent producers who make ultralight tents use a variety of supplies and designs. When searching for a tent, it’s essential to grasp the tradeoffs of the fashions you’re contemplating and the way they’ll complement your adventures.
Ultralight Tent Supplies and Worth Factors
Trekking poles tents can be found in a wide range of totally different supplies and at totally different value factors. Dyneema DCF is the lightest weight materials and the costliest, partially as a result of it requires specialised manufacturing processes. Tents made with siliconized polyester (silpoly), siliconized nylon (silylon), and Polyurethane (PU) coated silnylon are a lot inexpensive than Dyneema as a result of they are often sewn utilizing typical strategies. These three materials are additionally roughly comparable in value. It’d be troublesome to say which is one of the best to make tents with as a result of cloth high quality varies broadly relying on the producer and specification to which it’s made. That mentioned, ultralight tentmakers are starting to modify away from silnylon to silpoly as a result of it has much less stretch when it will get moist than silnylon and absorbs much less water.
- Tents made with Dyneema DCF are very costly, but in addition very light-weight, waterproof, and powerful. They’re extra susceptible to wreck from daylight over the long run, however that’s seldom a problem for most individuals. Dyneema tents have to be folded when packed not stuffed, however can nonetheless be surprisingly cumbersome regardless of their low weight.
- Tents made with siliconized polyester (silpoly) are a gorgeous various to Dyneema DCF as a result of they don’t stretch a lot in a single day or after they get moist from rain. They’re additionally far inexpensive and a few are seam-taped, so you should utilize them out of the field with none seam sealing.
- Tents made with PU-coated silnylon are usually extra waterproof than common silnylon, however you want to evaluate their waterproofing specs to make sure. The chief advantage of the PU coating over common silnylon is improved UV resistance and the truth that the fabric will be manufacturing facility seam-taped.
- Tents made with silnylon are nonetheless frequent as a result of it’s a simple materials for producers to work with. Whereas silnylon does stretch at night time and when it will get moist, it’s not as huge a deal as individuals make it out to be. Silnylon tents have to be manually seam-sealed earlier than they can be utilized in wet climate. Whereas you are able to do this your self, my recommendation could be to pay the producer to do it for you so that you get a tent that’s prepared for use when it arrives.
Single-wall vs Double-wall Tents
Ultralight backpacking tents can be found in single-wall and double-wall fashions, with separate interior tents. Whereas each are vulnerable to inner condensation, the benefit of a double-wall tent is the moisture collects on the underside of the rainfly and never on a wall that has contact along with your sleeping bag, quilt, or different gear. The interior tent and rainfly on many double-wall tents will also be used independently from each other, for instance as a standalone tarp or as a bug bivy, which might prolong their utility. The benefit of a single-wall tent over a double-wall one is often diminished weight.
If tent condensation ever turns into a problem for you, we advocate carrying a small absorbent face towel to wipe it away. Tent condensation is a small value to pay for diminished gear weight and it received’t kill you until you’re a witch (wizard-0f-Ozreference).
Headroom
Many ultralight backpacking tents pole tents have a pyramid form which might restrict the quantity of headroom and foot room obtainable below the sloping ceiling. Mendacity in your again and looking at a ceiling that’s three inches out of your face will be unpleasantly claustrophobic. Ensure you study the size of the tents you’re contemplating, along with their peak heights.
Trekking pole tents that require two poles to arrange often have two peaks, which might improve the quantity of livable house overhead, in comparison with a one-pole tent. Some tent producers additionally cut back the slope of the ceiling to create extra headroom. The most effective instance of that is Tarptent’s use of carbon fiber finish struts to extend the quantity of room below the ceilings on the head and foot ends of their tents. The draw back of those finish struts is that it will probably make tents more durable to pack horizontally in a backpack.
Vestibules
Vestibules are good for gear storage, particularly moist gear storage, and for cooking below cowl in windy or wet climate. Most one-pole tents have a single vestibule, whereas two-pole tents usually have two. When shopping for a two-person tent, you’ll positively need two doorways and two vestibules so you may every have your individual entrance and kit storage space. It will also be fairly helpful to have two doorways and two vestibules on a one-person tent, particularly for those who anticipate stormy climate situations the place you might need to hunker down in your tent for a day. For that matter, many individuals use two-person tents as solo tents, one thing that’s possible with out a main weight penalty since most ultralight backpacking tents are fairly light-weight.
Pole Size
If you select a trekking pole tent, you wish to make it possible for it’s appropriate with the make and mannequin of trekking pole you utilize when you’ve got a choice. Fastened-length poles that aren’t adjustable will be troublesome to make use of with trekking pole tents which have very particular top necessities. As well as, you wish to make it possible for your trekking pole handles are appropriate if they’ve a non-standard grip.
Verify Out All of SectionHiker’s Gear Guides!
SectionHiker is reader-supported. We solely earn cash if you buy a product by our affiliate hyperlinks. Assist us proceed to check and write unsponsored and impartial gear critiques, newbie FAQs, and free climbing guides.
