The variety of ultralight double-wall backpacking tents with a path weight of three lbs or much less which are obtainable immediately has grown considerably, pushed by client demand and advances in cloth and materials applied sciences. When you choose 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 interior tent and rainfly to stop inner condensation switch, you possibly can have it with only a slight weight penalty in comparison with a single-wall tent.
Whereas ultralight single-wall tents will at all times have their advocates, the overwhelming majority of backpackers choose freestanding (See: What’s a Freestanding Tent) and semi-freestanding tents (See: What’s a Semi-Freestanding Tent) that don’t require a lot apply or superior web site choice expertise to arrange. Ease of use typically trumps just a few ounces of added gear weight when it comes proper all the way down to it. See for your self, under on this sortable desk.
Tent Materials and Supplies
The lightest-weight ultralight double-wall tents are nonetheless made with DCF (Dyneema Composite Materials) which is extra of an artificial laminate than a cloth. Along with being very light-weight, it’s way 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, despite the fact that you’d anticipate the alternative.
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 (polyethyl urethane), which is turning into more and more standard. These waterproof coatings enable tents to be manufacturing unit seam-taped so that you don’t need to seam seal them your self, one thing that various single-wall tent producers, together with Six Moon Designs, Lightheart Gear, and Tarptent require to at the present time with their silnylon and siliconized polyester tents.
Silpoly, which is siliconized polyester has largely displaced silnylon because the tent cloth of alternative by an increasing number of ultralight tent makers together with Durston Gear and Tarptent. Like DCF, it doesn’t sag or stretch when it will get moist, which has at all times been an issue with silnylon.
A few of the tents listed above, together with these from Massive Agnes and MSR, additionally embody carbon fiber tent poles to save lots of weight. These grew to become obtainable about 5 years in the past and have confirmed dependable, so an increasing number of tent producers are adopting them.
The desk above doesn’t embody tent fashions which were end-of-lifed by producers, many who’re nonetheless making an attempt to eliminate outdated stock.
Abstract
To summarize, there are extra ultralight and light-weight double-wall tents obtainable immediately than ever earlier than. When you’re available in the market to scale back the burden of your backpacking tent however are hesitant to get a single-wall tent as a substitute of a double-wall one since you’re involved about tent condensation or ease of use, relaxation straightforward. The load distinction between ultralight double-wall and single-wall backpacking tents has narrowed significantly and you’ll persist with a double-wall tent with solely a slight weight penalty.
Double-wall Tent Benefits
- Straightforward to arrange
- The interior tent prevents inner condensation from making your gear moist
- Can be utilized in all three-season climate circumstances 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 may be cumbersome and awkward to pack
- Hotter in sizzling climate
- Take longer to dry as a result of they’ve extra floor space
- The interior tent might turn out to be moist when pitched in rain, though some double wall tents may be pitched fly first to maintain the interior tent dry
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