Lightweight Tents - How Light?
By Steve Gillman, Thu Dec 8th
Why use lightweight and ultralight tents? Because a heavy tentis one of the biggest obstacles to lightweight backpacking. Youhave to cut the weight of the "big three" (shelter, backpack andsleeping bag) to really go light. How do you choose one, though?Start by asking yourself the following questions:
1. Are you claustrophobic? Some ultralight tent designs arereally just fancy bivy sacks. For those who hate tight squeezes,it will be like sleeping in a coffin.
2. How tall are you? If the length of the tent is only a fewinches more than your height, you'll be touching the walls. Thisprobably means getting wet from the condensation on them.
3. What do you do in a tent? If you just sleep, total floor andhead space are not important. If you normally play cards withfriends for hours, you'll need a design that allows for that.
4. Do you backpack in bad weather often? If all you plan to dois camp on nice summer nights, you can just look at the cheapestlightweight tents, and worry less about quality.
5. How much have you budgetted for a tent? More money equals alighter tent, but if you can't get it light enough on yourbudget, you may want to consider going even lighter - andcheaper - with a tarp shelter.
6. Which is more important to you, fast set-up or lightestweight? Hopefully you'll find a tent with the right balance, butkeep your preference in mind when shopping.
More About Lightweight Tents
Single-layer tents (without a rain-fly) will usually have morecondensation inside. This is true of
