When you go camping you enjoy the experience of being outdoors. One of the most important pieces for your traveling expedition is the tent that you will use as a shelter to rest after a hard day of long journey in the wild. So in your organization of the necessary elements for the trip is essential to choose the best ultralight tent that fits your needs.
Going with light luggage is the key to enjoying this experience to the fullest. It is recommended to go with the right equipment and ensuring that it is of the best quality. This decision can make the difference between a pleasant experience or not.
Always buying good quality equipment from reliable brands is a smart choice when we are talking about hiking. We don’t have to take things lightly; we often get carried away by market offers and forget that in case some of your precious implements fail, you are putting your life at risk and the lives of your companion.
Caution, logic, knowing about survival and using proper techniques are essential when camping.The camping tent is among the most important implements for the expedition and is something that we often do not give its importance.
We must not skimp on buying the best one we can get in the market because this will be our house on the days that we go out. Among all the wide range of camping tents offered, there is a particular type that has been gaining momentum over time, the ultra-lightweight camping tents.
Thanks to the comfort it provides, weight savings and their functional design, ultralight tents are becoming a popular shelter among hikers and backpackers.
Some features of ultralight tents are:
- Comfort
- Functional and straightforward design
- Easy to assemble
- Light to wear
- Save space
Keep this in mind when you are setting up your hiking equipment, it’s advisable to go for an ultralight tent to lighten your load since hiking with extra weight is just cumbersome and will easily tire you. Going lighter will allow you to concentrate more on enjoying the experience and taking in the scenery.
Thus, you can focus on the beautiful landscapes away from civilization, breath fresh air and be delighted by the beauty of the outdoors. Knowing how to choose your ultralight tent can be hard, and is easy to end up overwhelmed.
That is why in this article we will recommend you the most outstanding ones in the market, hand-picked by our professional staff ensuring its quality and resistance at good prices, but first let’s take a look at this.
Five things to consider when buying an ultralight tent
- Please keep in mind that going out with an ultralight tent is something preferred for short distance traveling. So if you want to go out on an extended expedition through the mountains for months, you should go for a heavier tent, but for any other purpose, an ultralight one will serve well.
- Some ultralight tents are not going to protect you to extreme conditions. You can go out with an extreme budget tent of course, and it will serve its purpose. Just be careful with those cheap options and keep in mind your health and the fact that is your refuge when buying and choosing the right one. Buy according to the place where you are going and the conditions in which you are going to camp. All the tents of this top list are conditioned to perform well in any environment keeping you safe, dry and warm.
- An ultralight tent is easier to set up fast and fold it the next day to continue hiking. It’s always good to save time establishing your camp after a long walk. Nobody likes to assemble a tent when it is about to get dark and feeling restless and hungry, so speed is the key with these types of shelters.
- Condensation can be a problem in some lightweight tents that are not correctly installed. It is important that you prevent the external and internal parts from coming into contact during or after rain. The poles keep the basic shape, but they will bend with the brisk wind and once the inner and external parts touch, the water will seep and flood the entire tent. You can avoid this by setting up your tent before at home and learning well how to do it.
- The durability of some ultralight tents is not as good as heavy duty ones; you should always keep in mind the balance between light weight and overall strength. The tents on this list are designed to withstand years of use while keeping in perfect condition, thanks to the characteristics of materials used and premium quality control.
Main and most important aspects to look for when buying your tent
- Size of the ultralight tent
- The type of sticks used
- The kind of fabric material
- The rainfly and mesh shape
- The zipper quality
- The stitching resistance
How big my ultralight tent should be?
You can base the size of the interior by the square footage and how many standard sleeping bags will fit in it. With this information, you can make your choice and buy individual tents for each hiker or a bigger one for two to three people.
TIP: As some of this tents are so weightless, carrying an emergency tent is something smart if you think you might need it or as a second option in case something goes wrong or to store the equipment only.
Top Ultralight Tents
Marmot Catalyst Tent
Minimum Trail Weight: 4 lbs 11 oz
Packaged Weight: 5 lbs 3 oz
Dimensions: 44 x 53 x 88 inches
Features: Two doors, freestanding design, color coded “Easy Pitch” clips, poles and fly, footprint included, seam taped full coverage fly, seam taped catenary cut floor, interior pockets for small gear organization, jingle-free nylon zipper pulls, HD Velocity 7000 Series Aluminum Poles
Best use: Backpacking, hiking, outdoors
A lightweight and easy to set up tent with enough room for two adults and backpacks. The Marmot Catalyst Tent is a three season tent that works fantastically under rain conditions, making it a 3.5 season tent for its excellent weather protection, even on intense rainstorms.
It comes with a custom footprint included, so you don’t have to buy a new one. The two doors and two vestibules design make it very versatile and with enough room to change out your wet gear before you get to the interior. You can keep your boots and equipment dry without having to bring them inside the tent for its external vestibule.
It has good ventilation allowing air flow and avoiding condensation. The only issue is that you have to buy four more stakes to set up it correctly with the guy-lines and the rainfly. But this is not serious and will function properly anyway.
Big Agnes Fly Creek Tent
Minimum Trail Weight: 1 lb 15 oz
Packaged Weight: 2 lbs 5 oz
Dimensions: 52 x 86 x 42 inches
Features: Nylon and polyester mesh, DAC Angle SF Hub, unique to Fly Creek HV tents, high volume architecture, dry entry vestibule, vertical door construction, single door and vestibule featuring storm flaps
Best use: Backpacking, hiking, camping
This is a premium quality tent with its lighting included for those dark nights; which is amazing for such a lightweight pack. It can protect you from strong wind and even snow. Big Agnes Fly Creek Tent is a 3 season tent that will keep you warm and dry under any weather condition.
Also, there are some cool pockets on the inside for storing your stuff, and the interior is way bigger than expected. The only downside is that it isn’t as big enough for two full grown up adults and packages, so you have to take care of this.
To make it work, you have to stake it well to make sure it does its job perfectly. It’s advisable to look for a right place when you are staking your tent to the ground. This tent is a highly recommended purchase to anyone who looks for a quality and UL tent.
Big Agnes Copper Spur UL 2 mtnGLO Tent
Minimum Trail Weight: 2 lbs 14 oz
Packaged Weight: 3 lbs. 4 oz.
Dimensions: 90 x 52 x 42 inches
Features: Two doors and two vestibules, storm flaps on vestibule zipper, steep wall construction and cross over pole, media pockets located above sleeping area, reflective guylines and webbing on tent corners
Best Use: Backpacking, hiking
The Winner Tent of Backpacker magazine’s 2015 Editors’ Choice Award for the included LED lighting. The Big Agnes Copper Spur Tent is an excellent tent for any weather with a beautiful color setting. The built-in light provides enough light to see the inside of the tent but not enough to make it a nuisance.
The tent is perfect and has all the features for either backpacking or bike packing. It’s lightweight and in a small pack with easy setup. It has an excellent venting for those hot nights as well. The dual doors and two vestibules provide enough room for anything you need.
It has plenty of pockets for your cell phone, snacks, and stuff. The material is thin, and you might concern about this, but it has been proved to last and work on various terrains with no issues.
The North Face Mountain 25 Tent
Minimum Trail Weight: 8 lbs 13 oz
Packaged Weight: 9 lbs 13 oz
Features: Lightweight nylon fly and canopy, fully taped, cut-in nylon bucket floor,dual doors with poled dual-entry front vestibule, DAC poles and stakes, cold-crack tested to -60 F/-51 C, high / low venting with multiple new venting options, high-strength reflective guylines
Best Use: Mountaineering
The North Face Mountain 25 Tent is a great tent for winter camping, excellently designed with top-noch fabric materials. It includes those little details thought for the consumer’s comfort as glowing zippers, sturdy cross-braced poles, easy to set up camp with good tie points, and lots of pockets.
One the most lightweight full four season tent you will find on the market. This carp is so good against inclement weather that it can even withstand the Canadian climate. It holds up well against wind without vibrating. The interior space is perfect for two tall adults.
The front vestibule of the tent is ideal for storage or cooking. You can also sit there to change your wet clothes without any problem.
REI Quarter Dome 1 Tent
Minimum Trail Weight: 2 lbs 2 oz
Packaged Weight: 2 lbs 10 oz
Dimensions: 90 x 40 x 33 inches
Features: Floor uses a lightweight yet robust 30-denier ripstop nylon, REI-exclusive tension-truss architecture, pole angles and asymmetrical tent shape, vestibule with covered storage, doors on fly and tent aligned for easy entry and exit, hubbed pole assembly, a large zippered roof vent, pockets and hang loops
Best Use: Backpacking, camping
An excellent tent for one person, regardless of height or build. REI Quarter Dome 1 Tent has enough room inside for sleeping and keeping your items inside. The vestibule is large enough to hold even more equipment. This is one of the best quality tents for the money.
It comes with a vent point near the peak of the tent. This window is a rarity and adds an enormous amount of comfort reducing condensation.
It’s designed to perform well in rain and gusty winds firmly. This tent is not a complete freestanding tent so it’s recommended to think it well and practice its set up at home. Overall, this is a great well-built tent for any hiking adventure.
Kelty TraiLogic TN2 Tent
Minimum Trail Weight: 4 lbs 4 oz
Packaged Weight: 4 lbs 13 oz
Dimensions: 83 x 42 x 50 inches
Features: Stargazing Fly for unobstructed nighttime views, freestanding tent body, two doors, a color-coded clip design, taped floor seams, mesh wall panels, internal storage pockets, DAC Jake’s Foot mini pole attachments rainfly with two vestibules, taped seams, DAC Jake’s Foot attachments,aluminum DAC® Pressfit poles with secure fixations
Excellent performance tent for backpacking. Kelty TraiLogic TN2 Tent has a square package design that makes it easy to keep it in your bag with the other gear. This tent can be rolled up tighter for more room if necessary. It’s very lightweight, and comes with stronger poles for your commodity.
It’s also very easy and quick to set up for camp. It has an impressive durability and can withstand severe storms doing its job to keep the water outside the tent. This tent has no condensation problems thanks to the mesh design that helps with ventilation. You can use the vestibules to keep our packs dry as well in the rainstorms without problems.
Big Agnes Lone Spring 3 Tent
Minimum Trail Weight: 5 lbs 5 oz
Packaged Weight: 5 lbs 13 oz
Dimensions: 95 x 72 x 46 inches
Features: Single side door and one vestibule offers easy access, super lightweight hub/pole system, innovative pole design, DAC Pressfit® poles feature for securely fixed set-up, canopy made from mesh up top, fly and floor made from polyurethane-coated ripstop polyester, waterproof, solvent-free polyurethane seam tape, reflective guyline and webbing on tent corners
An excellent investment in ultralight tents, Big Agnes Lone Spring 3 Tent offers a durable refugee for the incoming years at a good price. You can use the vestibule to store your boots and equipment, providing an extra safe space from the weather.
Its simple geometry helps to take advantage of all the space and comes with compartments in the walls to store everything necessary for the camping. Comes with top quality tent poles and provides enough space to shelter three people without problems.
Thanks to its igloo design gives a good advantage and makes this tent more aerodynamic and hydrodynamic. It can stand on its own. This tent doesn’t need too much stakes to hold it to the ground. It maintains firm under heavy storms with revolting winds as well.
Ready to hit the trail?
I hope you have enjoyed this highlight of the top ultralight tents in the market. So get a kick out of your daily routine and launch yourself on your next big adventure with the company of your friends and family.
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