What is a good tent weight for backpacking? A manageable tent weight for backpacking is: 5.4lbs. (2,449 kilograms). Which is heavy as approximately 5 bunches of bananas. Learn more about weight camparisons to common items here.
What Weight Should A Backpacking Tent Be?The weight for your backpacking tent is using your own discretion, with a mixture of recommendations from camping tent review sites.
I actually researched the most accurate recommendations and came across this backpacking tent weight comparisons chart.
These guys truly knows their stuff. Visit their site to get a clearer understanding of the dynamics that determines the most suitable weight for your trip.
The Difference Between Packaged Weight And Trail Weight:Because packed weight includes the entire package that you received from the manufacturer.
A. Packed weight and the actual weight you'll be carrying on the aggressive path are different.
Examples such as: Guy lines, stakes, repair kit, pole bag and so on. Which obviously contributes heavily to the ultimate weight an extra 10 or more ounces.
So to get a more realistic estimation, you should calculate the weight of every packaged item. Such as the tent fabric, poles, stakes, guylines, rainfly, poles, bags, repair kit, etc.
B. While another way of measuring the weight you'll be carrying around.
Is to exclude some extra items that you may choose to leave at home.
For instance the tent bag, guy lines, rainfly, repair kit. Meaning you only take the most necessary items on your trip, to cut the weight to a lighter version.
Now it all depends on the actual requirements of your outdoor trip. As your journey has it's own unique requirements, compared to someone else; which we'll discuss later in the post.
How heavy is too heavy for backpacking tent?In short the heavier your backpack tent becomes. The more secure it may be under certain circumstances. Examples such as windy conditions.
And likewise lighter alternatives, may be easier to carry. But ultimately frustrating to manage under extreme weather conditions.
So the most suitable weight for one backpacker is different from what's best for another. Because the weight of the most suitable material depends on:
The Following Dynamics- 1. Season:
- The material for specific weather conditions are different in design and weight from others. You may need stronger tent material; which is heavier (fabric, stakes, poles, etc ) for Wind, rain, extreme heat, etc.
- 2. Destination:
- Irrespective of the season, some places have standard poor weather conditions. Another thing worth noting is the tough terrain: Is it a camping site, rocky mountain area, the wild, etc.
- 3. Duration:
- An outdoor tent for a weekend trip away can be of a lesser quality, than something required for a few weeks. Because handling of a shorter period is not as challenging as a longer trip.
- 4. Tent Handling:
- Another thing that's not mentioned on many sites, is the actual wearing and tearing of the equipment. The actual packing, unpack and continuous setup of on different spots; tests the true quality.
Two backpackers may buy the same tent. One intends to use it on a camping site; during Summer vacation.
While the other intends to use it in mountain areas. Which is often impacted by strong winds and cold weathers.
As you can imagine the final opinions of both customers, will be just as different as their destinations and intensions.
The Risks Of Ultralight Camping TentsIs that reviewers don't really tell you about the disadvantages. Instead they only tend to focuse on the advantages. And believe me the lightweight benefits are obviously a plus.
Needless to say, as a common rule of thumb. You're cutting weight on the expenses of strength and endurance.
- Lightweight tents are made from of thin fabric, making it much weaker in strength and easier to shred. h
- It's also manufactured with less material. Common laws of physics, reduction in material automatically decreases the ultimately weight.
- A thin tent is made out of lightweight resources, which is more likely to degenerate faster; through wear and tear.
As a result you trade in longlasting quality for convenience. Because, as out door lovers; we always try to live lighter and reduce pressure on natural resources.
In this case you give up traditional solid stakes and poles; because they weigh heavier. Another known fact about thicker tent fabric, is that it's more secure and can withstand harsher weather conditions.
And so are all the other extension items reduced to weaker material, for the sake of decreasing weight. Yet in one way or another it's a tradeoff to outdoor security.
Smart backpackers always compare the weight their tent to the external threats of the adventures. Although a tent is not as solid as brick walls, too lightweight can be a flimsy decision; which comes with heavier burdens to endure.
Other Factors That Determines The Most Suitable Tent WeightThe heaviness of a quality backpacking tent for you, can also be logically decided by the amount of people on your trip.
- If you're more than one person. The carrying task can be equally shared between your team.
- Meaning you can choose a heavier than average tent, because it won't a too burdensome load for one person to shoulder.
- Then again it depends how many individuals will sleep in the tent. Now there are wide varieties of tents options. Suitable for the accommodation for any amount between 1, to hundreds of people.
As you already gathered by now, the ultimate weight and size depends on your touring requirements.
Like for instance; a large size to accommodate many people, may be suitable for a larger group of campers.
Other Aspects To Consider Are:- The trip itself: Is it a hiking trip, mountaineering challenge, outdoor camping vacation, boys scout adventure, etc. Of course, an Ultralight version is good for a loner. I actually saw a top selling hiking backpacking tent on Amazon; with an average size of; 7'3"x 4'11"x 3'10".
- Meaning it's big enough to accommodate 2 Adults and a dog. Strongly emphasizing it's spaciousness.
- Also consider packed size for instance; 16.5''x5.9''x5.9'', which is easy and convenient; to effortlessly pack in your backpack.
It can also be used for team building adventures or those boy scouts outings. Or perhaps you want to give your kids an outdoor experience, by creatively setting it in your yard.
Why backpacking tents are important?It's a sanctuary, that protects you from exposure to poor weather conditions, provides outdoor livable space. You can store your outdoor equipment in the wild.
It's a layer that secures your surroundings from wind, dust and provides a shade against the sun or rain. It gives you a sense of privacy, shelter to wash, get dressed, or change clothes.
You can comfortably sit and eat your food, you can organise your equipment in a single spot and sleep comfortably in your sleeping bag.
Can you use a Bikepacking tent for backpacking?Realistically speaking Considering the extra baggage and mobility features. An ultralight backpacking tent will be a good fit for a bikepacking tent, or even better yet a bike touring tent.
Bikepacking tents are usually equipped with all the much needed elements of your preferred traveling method.
It's different from your common backpacking tents. A typical example of such is the poles that fold into segments.
What type of tent is best for hiking?A few examples are:
- REI Passage 2
- SlingFin Portal
- ZPacks Duplex and Triplex
- MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2
- Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 and UL3
I didn't even scratch the surface with my examples above. You can easily browse Amazon Marketplace and come up with a better selection of your own.
Which might turn out to be than mine. Because you know what fits your budget, lifestyle, traveling method and intensions.
In Summary:Sometimes bigger is better, and sometimes smaller is unstable. Whatever your preferred weight for your backpacking tent may be, the most important aspect is stability.
Although it may be tempting to reduce to the cheapest, lightest, or convenient models. The perceived benefits may turn out to be an outdoor disaster.
Because the same lightweight features, may ultimately result into a flimsy protection layer against wind. Meaning it produces a obstacle in your path. Where dealing with a heavier weight, could have rewarded you with a manageable outdoor experience.