Hiking Lightweight is more popular than it was before. Too much weight on your back when you hike actually distracts you from enjoying the outdoors as you should. You feel free, unburdened, and close to nature. A lot of weight can be saved from your tent or shelter.

A lot of lightweight tents are available especially when you hike with a partner. You could split the weight of the tent by letting one person carry the fly and poles while the other carried the tent body. But the options have increased in recent years and a two-person tent that weighs four pounds isn’t even considered ultralight.

But manufacturers are still producing tents that are too heavy for lightweight backpackers. Cheap and heavy material are still used today to make these tents. A tent will last for many years if you take care of it well enough. Tents are one area of lightweight backpacking where the specialty tent makers are far outperforming the mainstream manufacturers.

With the introduction of ultralight silicone-based nylon, 2 person shelters are now weighing less than 3 pounds. One-person tents are less than two pounds. It’s not just the fabrics that got lighter. Aluminum poles are now replaced by carbon fiber. A 45″ tent pole can now weigh less than two ounces. You can also use trekking poles are tent poles to save weight. Now that reduces the weight of your tent pole down to zero. The use of titanium rather than aluminum reduce the weight of the tent even further.

Tarps are a good alternative to tents for ultralight backpackers because they’re very light. Using tarps actually makes you feel closer to nature but you’re also not completely protected form the elements. Some tarps are even designed to do double duty as your rain gear. It’s always great to save the total weight of a piece of gear. However if you use tarps and want extra protection from the rain, a lightweight bivouac sack or sleeping bag cover can be as light as six to seven ounces. A ground cloth underneath you can be in the three ounce range. Ground cloths can be made from silicone-impregnated nylon or Tyvek.

If you need mosquito protection, use an insect repellent or a mosquito net. If you want something less confining, use just enough no-see-um netting so that the netting stays away from your face.

Bug bivies can be used in dry climates where insects are your only worry.

Most lightweight tents are not freestanding like your old dome camping tent. However, they’re easy to set up and don’t have a separate fly. Instead the tents rely on well-designed ventilation on all sides.

Consider using a one-person tent if you’re backpacking alone. Since there won’t be anyone to share the burden with, you would want your tent to be as light as possible. If you want one tent to cover all bases, the lightest of the two-person shelters provides a way to pack lighter whether you’re going alone or with a partner.

There are many options available on the market for ultralight shelter so look around to see which one suits your needs.

The tent is usually of the heavier and bulkier things you have with you on a camping trip so if you take the lightweight option it will really save your back and the need to use bigger backpacks.