Lightweight Backpacking Tents And Backpacking Tarps
22. Feb, 2010 
15 Comments
Erik the Black tarping in Oregon
Choosing a shelter for a long-distance backpacking trip is one of the most important gear decisions you can make. You want something that is lightweight, easy to set up and provides adequate protection from the elements, given the season and location where you plan to hike.
What a backpacking shelter is and is not
One mistake beginning backpackers make when choosing a shelter is looking for a “home away from home”. When you hike for 10 hours a day you live on your feet. Not inside your shelter. So a backpacking shelter is not a home away from home.
Here is what it is…
It’s one more piece of heavy gear that you have to lug around on your back all day, that only gets used in bad weather and for sleeping. On trails like the Pacific Crest Trail you can go for weeks or months in the summer without ever needing to erect your shelter. (On my ‘07 PCT thru hike I set up my tarp fewer than 20 nights in the whole 5 months I was out there)
So, I think it helps to think of your backpacking shelter not as a portable house, but as a piece of emergency gear (like a 1st aid kit). You want it to be there when you need it to keep you warm and dry, but it should be lightweight and no-frills so it doesn’t weigh you down the 80% of the time when you aren’t using it.
How much should a backpacking shelter weigh?
If you are planning on hiking long distances (more than 100 miles) I recommend keeping your shelter weight under 3 lbs per person. Ideally you want to aim for 2 lbs or less. My 3-piece modular tarp system weighs just 16 oz – 25 oz and provides all the protection I need from wind, rain, snow and bugs.
Here are some of your choices…
Lightweight shelters suitable for 3-season backpacking and thru hiking:
* Pros and cons refer to each category of shelter in general, not the specific models pictured.
Gossamer Gear Spinntwinn
Gossamer Gear Spinntwinn
Tarps & Poncho Tarps (0.5 lb – 1.5 lbs)
Pros:
* Quick and easy to pitch (but there is a learning curve)
* Lightweight and spacious, good ventilation
* Lots of room for gear, stove, dog, girlfriend, etc.
Cons:
* No bug protection (unless you add a bug tent)
* Only partial wind protection
* No floor (need a good ground cloth)
Henry Shires Tarptent Contrail
Henry Shires Tarptent Contrail
Tarp-tents (1.5 lbs – 2.5 lbs)
Pros:
* Complete bug protection, bathtub floor
* Lightweight and compact
* One-stop shelter solution
Cons:
* Cumbersome to pitch (varies by model)
* Narrow and claustrophobic
* Poor ventilation, condensation
Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1
Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1
U.L. Freestanding Tents (2.5 lbs – 4 lbs)
Pros:
* Quick easy pitch, freestanding
* Full bug protection & bathtub floor
* Double-wall, good ventilation
Cons:
* Heavy weight & bulky
* Narrow & claustrophobic (with rain fly on)
* Very expensive
Hennesy Hammock
Hennesy Hammock
Hammocks (1.5 lbs – 2.5 lbs)
Pros:
* Comfortable (up off the ground)
* Lightweight and compact
* Bug protection
Cons:
* Requires trees to set up
* Not much room to move around
* Cold underneath (added insulation required)
Sea to Summit Bug Pyramid
Sea to Summit Bug Pyramid
Bug Shelters (for tarp campers)
If you tarp-camp in mosquito country, consider adding a:
Bug Bivy: Lightweight bug net that covers the top half of your body, used in conjunction with your sleeping bag to provide mosquito protection while you sleep, or a…
Bug Tent: Bug protection for your entire body. Clip to the bottom of your tarp or set up with trees/trekking poles. Some are floorless and others include a bathtub floor.
Tyvek - a popular U.L. groundcloth
Tyvek - a popular U.L. groundcloth
Ground Sheets
If you use a tarp, or just like to sleep out under the stars from time to time, you will need to carry a separate ground cloth. Here are a few popular U.L. groundcloth options:
* Tyvek: Water resistant, lightweight and inexpensive
* Sil-nylon: Lightweight, waterproof, but slippery
* Spinnaker fabric: Ultralight, but expensive & hard to find
* 2 mil polyethelyne sheet: Lightweight, waterproof, cheap
* Mylar space blanket: Ultralight, but not very durable
Erik the Black's 3-Piece Modular Shelter
Erik the Black's 3-Piece Modular Shelter
What I use: My 25 oz. 3-Piece Modular Ultralight Thru Hiking Shelter System
This is the shelter system I will be using this year on my Pacific Crest Trail thru hike. It consists of three pieces:
1) Gossamer Gear Siltwinn Tarp
2) Sea to Summit Bug Pyramid
3) Gossamer Gear Spinnsheet
A modular system provides maximum flexibility for all kinds of different conditions. With this system I can:
* Cowboy camp using just the groundsheet
* In buggy, warm weather pitch the bug tent under tarp
* In rainy weather pitch the tarp and groundsheet together
* In areas with no bugs bounce the bug tent and cut weight
I hope this gives you some good ideas for choosing the right shelter for your next big hike. Happy trails!
Execellent Article !
Really enjoyed it.
Greetings from Germany
Sauerkraut
You should also note the Zpacks Hexamid shelter, offers a full shelter for under 9 ounces! was tested on a through hike of the CDT and it held up.
http://www.zpacks.com/shelter/hexamid.shtml
Your set-up is similar to mine:
1. Dancing Lite Gear Tacoma Tarp 16ozs
2. A-16 Bug Bivy 6ozs
3. Tyvek Sheet 5.5ozs
27.5ozs with the same flexibility you described.
I agree Erik, I don’t use a tent 75% of the time either. I do however prefer a tent with floor, at 24 oz including the poles and stakes, I can have a two person Gossamer Gear Squall Classic and don’t need to carry a ground cloth and if I have a hiking partner they can carry the stakes and poles.
This is a great set-up for couples (which I have used it for), a big person, or someone who likes a lot of room.
Greetings from England,
This is what I’m packing for this years PCT. 790grs, outer, inner & grounsheet:
http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/Product_Type/Tents/Superlite_Tents/Laser_Photon_Elite_GREEN.html
‘Nuff said, see you at the ADZPCTKO
Fozzie
Have you ever had water coming into your tarp during hard downpours? Have you ever had the need or can think of a need to pitch both the bug and tarp tent together? Is that even possible? Thanks.
Great Info, Thanks! Last year, on my section hike from Lake Tahoe to Old Station, my main problem wasn’t rain or mosquitoes. It was biting ants. I can remember only one ant free night, just south of Drakesbad. I think the sharp volcanic soil near Lassen Park kept the ants away that night. This year I’m carrying a floored bug shelter in addition to my tarp and Tyvek ground cloth.
Hi EtheB -
Pam and I use a similar setup for two.
1. Gossamer Gear Spinntwin Tarp – 8 oz.
2. Granite Gear Haven (when buggy) – 17 oz.
The Haven has a silnylon floor with mesh walls and easily clips to the tarp at the ridgelines and at the tarp’s four corner guylines (which elevates the corners of the haven forming a bathtub floor). Perfect for a couple, palatial for a single.
3. For a groundcloth I use an Adventure Medical Kits Heetsheets Survival Blanket – 96″x60″ at 3.5 oz. (more durable and not crinkley like an emergency space blanket)
This combo makes a sub 2 lb. well ventilated bugproof shelter for two. In 2008 we used the tarp only until we hit the Sierra and the mosquitos made using the net tent with the tarp more pleasurable. Have fun on the trail, we will be on the AT this year.
-Mark-
Thanks for your comments
@ RoguePhotonic: The Hexamid looks like a great design. I actually met Samuraii Joe on the PCT in ‘07. I’d be interested in the 2-person version when he gets that ready. I’ve never been able to tolerate “single person” shelters personally because they are so narrow and claustrophobic.
@ Tag: I have had wind-blown rain (and snow) make it’s way under the tarp, but in bad weather I will pitch it low to the ground and stay near the middle. Because the tarp is so large there is a lot of buffer space between me and the edge. I plan to run a clothesline under the ridgeline of the tarp which will give me a place to clip the peak of the Bug Pyramid.
@Watertank: That’s interesting. I’ve never had a problem with ants on the PCT… but the mosquitoes love me. I’ve heard that different bugs are attracted to different people’s body chemistry.
@Mark: Thanks for the heads up on that survival blanket. After 3 yrs my spinnaker ground sheet has popped a hole and GG is all sold out. I was debating between duct taping it or getting something new.
I used the Shires rainbow on my 09PCT and I’ve used a squall and various kinds of tarps from time to time. You should point out that when using a tarp you MUST be persnickity about setting up with regard to wind and where water might gather. I’m too lazy and just like to plunk the sucker down without too much thinking and babying of the shelter. After 12 hours of hiking I’m too tired for much else. I’m surprized to hear you poop out after only 10 hours.
Ive been testing out the Gossamer Gear The One, it comes in at around 15oz on my scale. Ive had it in hard rains and 40+ MPH winds (you do need ear plugs when its this windy it is noisy!) and it has performed well in both conditions. I had condensation one night when it was in the low 20’s and a bit damp out but i wasnt to bad. Ill be taking it out on the PCT this year to run it through it paces.
Love your blog. I’ve been toying with the idea of lightweight backpacking, but Brazil makes it tough to do so. It’s not uncommom to have an all-season day.. it starts off as a nice spring day, gets summer-30-degrees celsius hot around noon, pours down at around 5pm and goes down to 12 degrees Celsius at night. And in the mountains it can go as low as 0. And of course the humidity makes it all worse. Mosquitoes, snakes, lizards, bugs of all kinds.. Can’t imagine sleeping on the ground without protection. Dow is a big nono.
BPL Nano + MLD bug bivy + stakes and guylines = ~ 14 oz.
I made a one-person Bilgy and a ground cloth from left-over silnylon. I coated one side with homemade silicone sealer. Will be testing my system in two weeks. Love the fact that the whole system weighs just under 2 pounds.
Bivy’s are light and great as well!