The variety of ultralight double-wall backpacking tents with a path weight of three lbs or much less which can be accessible at present has grown considerably, pushed by client demand and advances in material and materials applied sciences. When you want a double-wall tent over a single-wall tent as a result of it’s extra spacious, hotter, much less drafty, and has a separate internal tent and rainfly to stop inside condensation switch, you’ll be able to have it with only a slight weight penalty in comparison with a single-wall tent.
Whereas ultralight single-wall tents will all the time have their advocates, the overwhelming majority of backpackers want freestanding (See: What’s a Freestanding Tent) and semi-freestanding tents (See: What’s a Semi-Freestanding Tent) that don’t require a lot follow or superior website choice expertise to arrange. Ease of use typically trumps a couple of ounces of added gear weight when it comes proper right down to it. See for your self, under on this sortable desk.
Tent Materials and Supplies
The lightest-weight ultralight double-wall tents are made with DCF (Dyneema Composite Materials) which is extra of an artificial laminate than a material. Along with being very light-weight, it’s far more waterproof than standard tent materials and doesn’t sag when it will get moist. The downsides are that it’s very costly and is bulkier than standard tents to pack, although you’d anticipate the other.
Most ultralight double-wall tents are nonetheless made with extra standard materials together with ripstop nylon. These are normally coated with PU (polyurethane) or its variants together with PeU (polyethylene urethane), which is changing into more and more well-liked. These waterproof coatings permit tents to be manufacturing facility seam-taped so that you don’t should seam seal them your self, one thing that a variety of single-wall tent producers, together with Six Moon Designs, Lightheart Gear, and Tarptent require to today with their silnylon and siliconized polyester tents.
Silpoly, which is siliconized polyester, is a relative newcomer to the ultralight tent scene however is being adopted by increasingly more light-weight backpack makers together with Durston Gear and Tarptent. Like DCF, it doesn’t sag or stretch when it will get moist, which has all the time been an issue with silnylon.
Among the tents listed above, together with these from Massive Agnes and MSR, additionally embody carbon fiber tent poles to save lots of weight. These turned accessible about 5 years in the past and have confirmed dependable, so increasingly more tent producers are adopting them.
Abstract
To summarize, there are extra ultralight and light-weight double-wall tents accessible at present than ever earlier than. When you’re out there to cut back the burden of your backpacking tent however are hesitant to get a single-wall tent as an alternative of a double-wall one since you’re involved about tent condensation or ease of use, relaxation straightforward. The burden distinction between ultralight double-wall and single-wall backpacking tents has narrowed significantly and you may keep on with a double-wall tent with solely a slight weight penalty.
Double-wall Tent Benefits
- Simple to arrange
- The internal tent prevents inside condensation from making your gear moist
- Can be utilized in all three-season climate situations and gentle winter climate
- Vestibules present lined gear storage in poor climate
- Deep bathtub flooring stop flooding if water swimming pools beneath
- Much less drafty as a result of much less airflow is required to mitigate condensation
- Simpler to arrange on rock ledges, sandy soil, or picket tent platforms
Double-wall Tent Disadvantages
- Tent poles might be cumbersome and awkward to pack
- Hotter in scorching climate
- Take longer to dry as a result of they’ve extra floor space
- The internal tent might grow to be moist when pitched in rain, though some double wall tents might be pitched fly first to maintain the internal tent dry
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