Tent - 1 or 2 Person Ultralight Tent for Backpacking

These are relatively ultralight tents only recommended for experienced backpackers. They are slightly more finicky to put up than some of our other tents as they depend on trekking poles for support instead of the typical tent poles, but if you want to shave a few pounds off your pack weight, this is the way to go. There’s plenty of room in both, and you’ll stay clear of the elements.

Part of the weight-savings is due to being single-walled as opposed to having a tent body and separate fly setup that most of our tents feature. If it rains for a long time at night, single-walled tents can be prone to inside condensation unless the tent is setup to be well ventilated. So we wouldn’t recommend sleeping in one of these with a down sleeping bag in rainy season in the East for example. There is no need to go with these models if you are car camping, unless you just want to see what all the fuss is about ultralight gear.

But enough of the warnings – there is nothing better than a light pack, and these tents get you there in a hurry. Use one of our lightweight packs, a lightweight sleeping bag and lightweight sleeping pad, and you can be packing a base weight of as little as 5.25 pounds. Your back, shoulders and knees will appreciate it, and there’s little drop-off in camp comfort.

We have a very limited quantity of these on hand, and if I’m out with one of them on my annual trip to the Sierras, that cuts it in half. You may want to call us first to make sure we have one available for your timeframe before ordering. One we have for rent is the MSR “Missing Link”, a huge but very light two-person tent that requires trekking poles to setup and looks like a miniaturized version of a shelter out on the AT. We rent trekking poles or use your own.

See the pictures, and here are the specs:

MSR Missing Link
Weight: 3 lbs
Peak interior height: 42”
Floor area: 37 sq ft
Dimensions: Roughly 60” x 84”
Packed Size: 7" x 12"

The other single-wall is even lighter – a roomy 1+ person tent from a small shop called TarpTent. The model we have is the “Contrail”. It weighs about 1.5 pounds and shrinks down to nothing in your pack. It requires one trekking pole to setup, which we rent or use your own. It sets up quickly, but fine tuning it to look like the picture takes some practice.

TarpTent Contrail
Weight: 1.6 lbs
Peak interior height: 45”
Floor area: Roughly 22 sq ft
Dimensions: 84” x 42”
Packed Size: 4" x 4" x 14"

Either of these tents will save poundage and pounding on your body for multi-day backpacking trips. If you prefer more traditional tents that use supplied tent poles, check out our other one-person and two-person backpacking tents. They are a bit heavier, but still relatively lightweight and roomy, and maybe a hair easier to setup. Call us if you have any questions at all about our great selection of tents for any size group and destination! We'll do our best to ship the item that you requested, however, sometimes we may ship you an equivalent item if we are currently out of stock on the item you specified.

We have lots of advice about the great outdoors including more information on tents and shelters for camping and backpacking such as how to choose the best tent and how to find and make a good camp site. Feel free to call us anytime at 866-994-4537 with any question about your camping and backpacking gear rental needs!