Backpacking tents are crucial items for any serious backpacking camper. Although large tents can be very comfortable, they are just too big to carry on any long hikes. Save your big and tall tents for your car camping trips.
This website was built so that I could share some reviews on some of the more popular back packing tents. I’ll also go over some of the most important things to look for when purchasing a tent for backpacking.
Tips On Buying Backpacking Tents
The first thing that many people like to think about is the weight of the tent. It is fine for a car camping tent to weigh in at somewhere between ten and twenty pounds, but a backpacking tent should not be anywhere near that weight. Once you add in all of your other gear, your back pack will weigh enough. Don’t make it heavier by packing a heavy tent inside of it. You’ll generally want to find a tent in the neighborhood of five pounds or less.
Another issue you’ll want to concern yourself with is ease of setup. After a long hike you do not want to have to spend your down time trying to put up your tent. Your backpacking tent should not take more than a few minutes to completely setup.
Hiking tents should be able to keep you dry. Remember that you will not have your car to back you up should the weather get rough. In fact, if you get wet during a long hike you could put yourself at serious risk of illness. Make sure you get a tent that will withstand any sort of rainy conditions you may encounter. You’ll also find that putting a tarp underneath your tent can go a long way in keeping the bottom of your tent water proof.
Although I usually take a 2 person tent with me for the extra room, I do enjoy the reduced weight 1 person tents have. When shopping for a one person tent, one should always keep in mind storage space. Because these tents generally tend to be very small, one has to make sure they have enough room for all of their gear. This is usually not the case when one person uses a two person tent. If you plan on using two person backpacking tents for two people however, you will absolutely need to look into how much storage space they have. You’ll also want to check out the entry and exit point to make sure you can get in and out of the tent without disturbing your camping partner.
