Kuiu Mountain Star 2P ($479)

Best Protection

We鈥檙e not saying we love camping in the rain, but the Mountain Star makes it a heck of a lot more enjoyable. This double-walled tent is reinforced against wind via two nine-millimeter-thick aluminum poles (you can get carbon for $20 more) that run the length of the tent. Both of them slot through pole sleeves, granting additional stability. The Mountain Star鈥檚 15-denier nylon fly and mesh canopy come pre-attached, offering the possibility of a dry setup. 鈥淚t drizzled during our first night out, and my tent partner and I were happy not to start the trip with a wet tent floor, thanks to the all-in-one pitch,鈥� our gear editor said after a rainy start to the Panama Editors鈥� Choice trip. Bathtub floors ensure the 29.5-square-foot interior stays dry and dust-free, and the two nine-square-foot vestibules keep packs out of the elements. Caveat: though the 38-inch peak height mitigates wind, it鈥檚 noticeably low for its testing class. 3.7 lbs

Marmot Limelight 3 ($359)

Best Features

Social butterflies, rejoice. The largest three-person tent in our test is full of features that make sleeping as a trio a breeze. An update for 2022 adds two unique interior storage cubbies that jut out, winglike, on each side and serve as internal vestibules. 鈥淓ach can fit a small daypack or dry sack and get everything out of the sleeping area,鈥� said one tester. The update to this two-door tent also adds 2.5 square feet of interior space (for 45 square feet total) and 1.6 square feet of vestibule storage space (now 12.9 total). Designers changed the fly fabric to 50-denier ripstop polyester, which, along with the included groundsheet, improves its durability and weather protection. An optional interior clothesline, gear loft, and four low pockets keep the floor clear, while the three-pole setup is color coded and quick. Be warned: although the update shaves off 1.6 ounces, the Limelight is still bulky and heavy. This shelter is best used as a car-camping tent or for short overnights. 7.2 lbs

Kelty Far Out 2P ($200)

Best Value

Turns out not every backcountry palace needs to cost as much as an actual castle. The double-walled Far Out offers a combination of livability, overnight-worthy weight, and performance at a reasonable price. At 5.5 pounds it鈥檚 not ideal for a weeklong trip, but it鈥檚 perfectly good for weekend missions. Tip: save six ounces and leave the included groundsheet at home; the Far Out鈥檚 68-denier floor is plenty durable. This shelter sets up with three sturdy aluminum poles (two longitudinal, one brow) and offers an acceptable 28 square feet of interior space to go with a best-in-class 43-inch peak height, double doors, and a generous 20 square feet of vestibule space. 鈥淭his is a meat-and-potatoes tent,鈥� one tester said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to set up, roomy enough, and should last a long time thanks to the durable materials.鈥� An all-mesh tent body keeps air moving, reducing condensation, and the 68-denier fly rolls back so you can stargaze without completely taking it off. 5.5 lbs

MSR FreeLite 3 ($480)

Best Space-to-Weight Ratio

Want to max out your sleeping space for a trio without overdoing pack weight? Consider the FreeLite 3. Designers shaved nine ounces off the previous version of this double-walled tent, meaning the update weighs less than 2.5 pounds. Despite cutting weight it maintains 38.5 square feet of floor space, enough to fit three campers comfortably. (Note: the two vestibules dropped to 15 total square feet, but that鈥檚 still enough for packs.) Thanks to a packed size no bigger than a paper towel roll, 鈥淣obody argued over who had to carry the tent,鈥� one tester said after a multi-day outing in Waimea Canyon, Hawaii. (Just treat the 15-denier ripstop nylon canopy and fly carefully.) A three-quarter mesh body scored high marks in ventilation: 鈥淓ven during all-night rain, the tent remained airy and there was no condensation buildup despite having to close the fly door,鈥� our tester said. Setup is easy with the one hubbed aluminum alloy pole and included guy-out lines, which held taut in 20-mile-per-hour winds. 2.4 lbs

Klymit Maxfield 1 ($300)

Most Packable

Not a fan of tent sharing? Camping in tight spaces? The brand-new one-person Maxfield weighs just over 2.5 pounds and mimics the footprint of a bivy, with a long, narrow, rectangular floor plan that enabled us to pitch on small outcroppings and in dense brush. Its livability is drastically better than a bivy鈥檚, however, thanks to its 16-square-foot interior, 6.5 square feet of vestibule space, and an elite-for-its-class peak height of 42 inches. The 15-denier nylon ripstop fly kept us dry in overnight rains, and the 15-denier polyester floor held up to rocks and rough terrain. 鈥淭he small-but-clutch vestibule fit all my essential gear,鈥� our tester reported after a two-day trip in the canyons of Colorado National Monument. In a win for minimalism, the Maxfield packs down to the size of two Nalgenes. Caveat: there鈥檚 only one interior pocket鈥攑lus loops for hanging clothes and sundries鈥攁nd sleepers taller than six foot two will find that their feet hit the back wall. 2.6 lbs

NEMO Dagger Osmo 2 ($480)

Most Livable

We鈥檝e praised the Dagger鈥檚 space-to-weight ratio and innovative materials before, and this version continues the trend. This double-walled, two-door shelter weighs just 3.4 pounds, yet boasts 31 square feet of interior space and a best-in-class 22.8 square feet of storage space across two vestibules. 鈥淭he 42-inch peak height allowed us to sit up and dress comfortably,鈥� said a tester after a trip in Archangel Valley, Alaska. Thoughtful features also deliver top-notch livability, including six pockets and a removable waterproof vestibule tub liner that holds small items beneath the fly doors. What鈥檚 more, the Dagger is now made of 100 percent recycled nylon and polyester yarn, with PFC-free waterproofing that kept us dry all night, even in heavy rain (the mesh canopy reduced condensation). Dialing in a taut pitch is easy, thanks to the single, hubbed aluminum pole with short cross-pole, and a snap-in, slip-free corner anchor system. Ding: the pole swayed when pushed around by 30-mph wind gusts. 3.4 lbs

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I want to be warm when it鈥檚 cold out. That desire is simple, yet frustratingly elusive. In an effort to find a tent heater that wouldn鈥檛 suffocate me in my sleep, set me on fire, max out the payload on my truck, or require immense amounts of labor and vast sums of cash,听I spent the last two years trying every single solution available. It turns out that the simplest option turned out to be the best.

The Trouble with an Ultralight Wood Burner

The first solution I tried was the $1,355, a large, pyramid-shaped silnylon floorless shelter that comes complete with a wood-burning stove made from titanium . The Redcliff can comfortably sleep three adults if you鈥檝e got the stove inside, and altogether weighs only about nine pounds. Split that up between all the sleepers and you鈥檝e got a package light enough to carry into the backcountry, but with its six-foot, ten-inch peak, is tall enough to stand up inside and spacious enough to take car camping.听

I first used the Redcliff in September of 2020, camping at an elevation just over 9,000 feet in Montana鈥檚 Lee Metcalf Wilderness, outside of Yellowstone National Park. Like all tipi and pyramid shelters, it took a fair amount of trial and error to set up the first time. The hardest part to figure out was the chimney, which is made from听almost foil-thin titanium. It rolls across its long side for storage, then when you wan to set it up,听you have to flatten it, and roll it the other way听to create a seven-and-a-half-foot tube with the aid of some wire loops. Gloves are mandatory, or it鈥檒l cut your hands to pieces.听

The tent shape requires multiple stakes that surround the pyramid, which need to provide equal tension from all directions to keep the single carbon fiber center pole stable. Guyout points also wrap the tent, about halfway up, and using them is necessary to achieve the Redcliff鈥檚 shape. Assembling every stake loop and guyout takes multiple adjustments, and is something you鈥檒l keep working on throughout any night (and the full duration of any trip) trying to chase a perfect degree of tension. You can get there, but until you do, expect material to flap in the wind, stakes to come out of the ground, and your level of frustration to remain elevated.听

Using the Redcliff stove isn鈥檛 straightforward either. A bow saw is critical, because it鈥檚 crucial to find nice, dry wood that won鈥檛 get too smokey, and then to cut it all into the right-size pieces. The correct diameter is about an inch. The correct length is about six inches. Any thinner, and it鈥檒l burn up too fast. Any thicker and it鈥檒l just smolder out. Any longer, and it won鈥檛 fit. Not only is that a lot of labor up front (you鈥檒l need several arm fulls to get you through one cold night), but it remains a lot of labor throughout the night when you鈥檇 rather be sleeping. Get the stove running just right, load precisely the correct amount of wood into it, and the longest you can expect it to burn unattended is about half an hour. Once it goes out, titanium and silnylon retain very little heat. Restarting a dead fire involves making a whole new fire. That鈥檚 not much fun at 3 A.M.听

The Trouble with Propane

Frustrated, I gave up on the idea of bringing a heated shelter into the backcountry, and instead focused my efforts on car camping.听

I first turned to a solution I knew was a bad idea, but which is used by so many people, I wanted to try it again, just to make sure I wasn鈥檛 missing something. The advantage of propane is that it packs a ton of energy into a very dense, ubiquitous storage medium. That means you can use a propane heater to kick out a ton of heat for a long time, for not a lot of money. One of those one-pound bottles will run a 3,800 BTU ($105) for about five hours. But I wanted to find a less wasteful solution. Since I already use ($130) to bolt a five-pound propane bottle to my spare tire to run my big stove, I figured I could go with the larger 9,000 BTU, ($130), and connect it to the bottle with one of the brand鈥檚 hoses and fuel filters. (Propane degrades rubber over time, adding complication to systems that use it.) The advantage wasn鈥檛 just more heat, but getting to use a refillable bottle large enough to deliver multiple nights of use.听

While the Buddy did heat my tent, the amount of heat it puts out is surprisingly limited. There鈥檚 also no fan included to spread the heat out. So, unless you鈥檙e sitting directly in front of the heating element, you鈥檒l be disappointed. The list of downsides of using propane as a heat source is also long and scary.

• Open-flame heat sources start fires, which can kill you.
• Burning propane produces carbon monoxide, which can kill you.听
• Because carbon monoxide can kill you, quality propane heaters include an oxygen sensor. If that鈥檚 working, it鈥檒l turn off the heater anytime oxygen levels fall to a level roughly equivalent to about 7,000 feet in elevation. So, they won鈥檛 run at elevations over about 7,000 feet. Or at least they shouldn’t.
• If you don鈥檛 want to die, you need to turn off your propane heater before you go to sleep.
• Burning propane produces a ton of water vapor, which will saturate anything and everything inside your tent. Once you turn that heater off, you will sleep considerably colder than you would have if you hadn鈥檛 run the heater. Hypothermia can kill you.听

The amount of heat produced by the Buddy was disappointing, and I generally try to avoid dying, so I gave up on propane.

The Trouble with Diesel Heaters

Still, that energy density makes powering a heater with a liquid or gas fuel source sound like a smart idea. So, I tried a diesel heater; one that was built into a $50,000 camper Black Series loaned to me for the summer.听

Diesel heaters work by combusting fuel to warm up a heating element. A fan then draws clean air from outside through a pipe, running it across that heating element, before blowing it out the other end. Because the heated air and diesel exhaust don鈥檛 mix, this creates a safe, dry source of warm, forced air. And that sounds ideal for heating a small space.听

The thing is, that while they probably won鈥檛 kill you, diesel heaters come with their own list of downsides. The first is that you must carry an auxiliary source of diesel fuel, which if you don鈥檛 drive a diesel-powered vehicle, can be a real pain. Diesel is oily and smelly, so you want to keep it away from your camping gear, and you want to make sure the heater鈥檚 exhaust runs well away from your shelter. Diesel heaters also require an electric power source to start up and run their controller. Setting up one every time you use a tent involves a lot of wires and tubes. They work better permanently installed on a camper. But even then, the ratio of fuel-to-air must be carefully altered at different altitudes. Some really nice diesel heaters claim to work at altitudes of over 14,000 feet, if you tinker with them enough to get them running right. Most quit on you at about 8,000 feet. I never managed to get the heater in the Black Series tuned to the point it would run longer than 15 minutes at any elevation.听

Quality portable听 diesel heaters , weigh about 30 pounds, and pack into a mid-size Pelican case. You鈥檒l need to carry the fuel separately. That鈥檚 a lot of money, and a lot of stuff to haul around. For a heater to work for me, I needed it to be simple and quick to setup and use.

The Lux Option: The SnowTrekker Basecamp

Simple and quick are probably the opposite of the words you鈥檇 choose to describe most canvas wall tents. But not those made by a tiny mom-and-pop company out of Wisconsin called . The mom and pop is literal for them: Duane and Margot Lottig run the company and sew the tents while their son Jonah handles marketing and logistics. They make their tents from a proprietary seven-ounce cotton canvas that鈥檚 less than half the weight of the fabrics used in other wall tents, and support that body with a lightweight Easton aluminum pole system that鈥檚 closer to that of a backpacking tent than it is the non-collapsible frames typical of the space. ($2,000) they loaned me this fall weighs just 31 pounds, while the large wood-burning stove (steel this time) adds another $300 and 25 pounds. A unique guyout system means the only stakes you need connect via lines to the horizontal wall poles. That arrangement not only makes SnowTrekker鈥檚 tents incredibly strong, but also fast to set up. The first time I tried it, after only briefly fast forwarding through a YouTube video, I was warming my hands inside over a roaring wood stove in less than 20 minutes.听

The big benefit of cotton canvas is that it鈥檚 breathable. So with the wood stove burning inside (this time, one big enough to sustain a real fire for hours), any moisture that enters the tent through the cold ground or your wet clothes is forced outwards by the heat, resulting in a warm, dry interior that鈥檚 a ridiculously comfortable place to spend time. And you really can spend time in there, with a ridge height measuring eight-and-a-half feet and dimensions that can generously house four people, all on their own cots, all with their gear spread out to dry. You can cook a real meal on the big stove, bring your camp table and chairs inside, and enjoy a level of comfort I鈥檝e never experienced in cold, wet weather before or since.听

The SnowTrekker is, by quite some margin, the most comfortable winter tent I鈥檝e tried. But at $2,300 it鈥檚 expensive. Plus, it weighs 56 pounds when you figure in the stove, and since it packs听into two large duffel bags, it just requires a level of dedication I鈥檓 not quite ready for. I will, one day, own one of these, but until then, I want to add comfort to a normal tent that鈥檚 smaller, and easier to transport.

The Simple Option: Battery-Powered Heating Sources

Electricity isn鈥檛 an obvious power source while camping. Outdoors, you don鈥檛 typically have access to an outlet, and batteries have never managed to pack nearly as much energy into as dense, or as affordable, a storage medium as liquid or gas fuels. But as we鈥檙e seeing with electric vehicles, that鈥檚 changing. Would one of the new portable battery packs that are now being marketed to outdoorsy types be able to run a heated blanket, or even a portable space heater for an entire night? And, if so, could it recharge fast enough that you could keep using it on subsequent nights?听

I started that experiment by researching electric blankets online. I was looking for a 12 volt, DC blanket鈥攄irect current is more efficient than alternating, but can鈥檛 travel as far without losses鈥攂ut the only viable solution appeared to be a mattress pad built for long-haul truckers. Write ups on it quickly led to a warning that the pad can鈥檛 be folded, because doing so will break the wires inside, and create a fire hazard. It鈥檚 designed to be permanently installed on the bunk in a truck鈥檚 cab, not carted around on camping trips. The next best thing appeared to be 100 watt heated blankets designed for home use. The heating elements inside those are said to be able to bend and fold, and that current draw remains relatively efficient. So, I ordered ($60) on Amazon.听

I鈥檝e been using a portable battery ($500) for the last couple of years while car camping, and at the cabin. Its 500 Watt-hour capacity is plenty to run camp lights, charge phones, or keep a couple lamps on when power goes out at the cabin. But the math is simple and problematic: a 100 Watt blanket will completely run down the Explorer 500 in five hours.听

The first problem I ran into wasn鈥檛 run time though, but build quality. With the blanket plugged in, the display on the Jackery confirmed it was drawing around 100 Watts, but the blanket didn鈥檛 heat up at all. Customer reviews confirmed that the problem was common. So, I splurged on a more expensive, better-reviewed blanket ($100) from . Plugged in, with plenty of time to warm up, I thought I could detect it emitting some heat, but an amount so small that I could have been imagining it. I鈥檇 need to take it outside, in the cold, to see if it actually worked.听

Around that same time, Jackery sent over its new ($2,699) for me to check out. With three times the capacity of the 500 and higher discharge rates, it鈥檚 designed to run longer and power bigger appliances. The package includes four 100 Watt solar panels and all of the associated hardware, which the brand says will charge the battery from zero to 80 percent in four hours of direct sunlight.听

I plan to use the Explorer 1500 to keep the lights on and appliances running at the cabin, which experiences frequent, prolonged power outages in the winter due to its remote location. People who live in states with governments that spend more time trying to control women鈥檚 bodies than they do making sure their infrastructure works鈥擳exas鈥攚ould benefit from a similar setup.听

Those 1500 watt-hours of power gave me what I needed to run that 100 watt blanket all night, for two nights on a single charge. And so equipped, I also figured I鈥檇 go ahead and see if it could run a space heater, too.听

Most room-size electric space heaters switch between modes that draw 750 or 1,500 watts. In a best-case scenario, that $2,699 solar generator will only run one of those for two hours. But tents are smaller than rooms. In fact, they鈥檙e about the size of a cubicle, and they make space heaters just for those. So, I ordered that switches between 100 and 250 watts of draw. The Explorer 1500 has no problem running it, and its display tells you how long the battery will last while powering anything that鈥檚 plugged into it. The heater鈥檚 250 watt setting was actually drawing 225 Watts. While on low it was drawing an even 100. That鈥檚 six-and-a-half hours on high, and 15 on low.

The big question remaining wasn鈥檛 run time, but effectiveness. So I dragged the batteries, the blanket, and the space heater out into the snow, along with that Mr. Heater Buddy and a tank of propane to serve as a comparison.听

As you can see in the video, the result were surprising. Not only did that little space heater create more warmth than the much larger propane heater, but the blanket turned out to be really effective, too. The space heater is now my go-to solution, providing plenty of warmth to heat a two- to three-person tent to a very comfortable temperature for a short time鈥攁round bed time and in the morning鈥攚hile adding just a touch of additional heat in its more efficient, 100 watt setting throughout the night. Even up at the cabin, , in mid-December, those solar panels have had no problem keeping up with nightly discharges in the space of a single, very short day.听

I should provide some caveats to this: The first is that, while the space heater does produce dry heat, it does not provide anything like the rapid drying effect of the large wood stove in the SnowTrekker. You still need to be careful to provide ventilation so the water vapor created by your breath, body, and clothes can escape overnight. It鈥檚 also important to point out that batteries don鈥檛 like sub-freezing temperatures. The solution is to either bring the Jackery into the tent with you, or house it in a cooler with the cords running out the drain hole. And while I was able to heat the tent to a positively balmy 60 degrees, that was while the ambient temperature outdoors was 36 degrees. You cannot expect to see the same 24-degree temperature difference in colder conditions.听

But you can expect to see a difference. And, to this camper, that represents a huge victory. If you already own or plan to buy a large solar generator to help out during power outages, then with the addition of a $26 cubicle heater, you will be able to stay warm when it鈥檚 cold out, inside your heated tent. This solution is coming with me on every cold weather car camping trip from here on out.听

The post How to (Safely) Heat a Tent appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Terry Breaux can trace the idea for the MSR Access, the first true four-season tent in both name and design, back to a day on Mount Rainier. In 2012, a couple听MSR employees were topping out on the 14,410-foot backdrop to the company鈥檚 Seattle-area headquarters. 鈥淎nd there was this guy camped on the summit in a Hubba Hubba,鈥� recalls Breaux, MSR鈥檚 lead tent designer. 鈥淲e knew he didn鈥檛 want to be up there in that tent.鈥�

The is MSR鈥檚 most popular backpacking tent, but its all-mesh walls and spindly architecture make it ideal for lightweight, summer backpacking, not the high winds, cold temperatures, and potential snow of the alpine. On the other hand, on a weekend trip with a good forecast, that guy probably didn鈥檛 want to lug an eight-pound mountaineering tent to the top of Rainier. At the time, those were his only options.

鈥淪ix or seven years ago, almost听no one was applying the new technology and materials we were using in three-season backpacking tents to make four-season tents lighter,鈥� Breaux says.

Today, material advances and the growing interest in backcountry skiing and snowshoeing are making the niche attractive.听In the past couple years, at least six new tents landed from as many different brands, claiming to be worthy for every season. They鈥檙e just tough enough for winter camping听and just light enough鈥攖ypically under six pounds鈥攆or summer backpacking.听They鈥檙e true year-round tents.

But questions remain. Does anyone actually need one of these tents? Are they really a quiver killer? And what makes for the .听 To find out, I collated more than a decade of tent testing, including testing all six of these new tents in, well, all four seasons, talked to several of the designers, and interviewed three tent experts.

3-Season vs. 4-Season

Set up and ready for sleeping, the differences between a three- and four-season tent may not be obvious to the casual observer. But look closer听and the finer points start standing out.

Let鈥檚 begin听with architecture. Four-season tents use stiffer materials, and single poles create A-frame shapes to discourage snow loading, sagging, flapping, and bending in the wind. For three-season tents, designers cleverly use bows and bends in the minimalist pole structure to build more boxlike tent shapes that optimize the ratio of interior space to weight.

Four-season tents use nylon fabric instead of mesh to seal in warmth and prevent drafts and drifting snow from seeping into the interior cocoon. They also tend to have more guy-out points, higher-denier materials, and more venting options than their three-season brethren.

Do I Need a 4-Season Tent?

鈥淸Four-season] tents are a unique option for someone with a range of pursuits in mind,鈥� says Emma Hunter,听a gear specialist at Backcountry.com. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e adequate for summer or winter use, and they really prove their worth when you hit early season snowfall or mixed weather conditions at higher elevations. Plus, they鈥檙e a real value proposition for someone looking to purchase only one tent.鈥� Buying one of these instead of both a three-season and a mountaineering tent could save upwards of $500听and a bit of room in the gear closet.听Even as a dedicated winter camping tent, four-seasons make a better choice for most people.听No, they can鈥檛 handle blizzards or feet of snow. 鈥淏ut most expedition tents are overengineered鈥� for most users, says Will McElwain, lead tent designer at Big Agnes. 鈥淵ou need that in extreme conditions, but for typical winter camping situations in the lower 48, you really don鈥檛.鈥� When I think of almost all my winter camping trips, it鈥檚 true. Whether I was ski touring or snowshoeing, I camped in sheltered spots, where the weight (and cost) of an expedition tent would have been excessive.听The nylon walls of a four-season were nice when beach and desert camping, blocking blowing sand from getting into my bed.

But like anything that tries to be everything, year-round tents demand听sacrifices. They weigh about the same as three-season tents did a decade ago鈥攁round four to five pounds. That means听for a July backpack trip, you鈥檙e adding听a couple pounds over leading three-season tents. The nylon walls that do a great job of holding in warmth on chilly nights also lock in heat on summer evenings. The extra vents help听but can鈥檛 compete with all mesh.

There are also downsides in winter. All-season tents aren鈥檛 tough enough for brutal storms and high elevations, and they鈥檙e not as roomy as mountaineering tents. With all the extra layers and insulation needed for winter temps, they can feel crowded. 鈥淚f someone really intends to backpack in warmer months, they鈥檙e best off sticking with a traditional backpacking tent,鈥� Hunter says. 鈥淸Four-season] tents also aren鈥檛 the strongest. So, if you鈥檙e planning multiple alpine summits in harsh conditions, go with something more rugged.鈥�

Bottom line: the four-season tent is a compelling option, but it鈥檚 not ideal for every situation. If the idea of subfreezing temperatures has you booking a room at the closest Holiday Inn, a three-season tent is plenty. Those on a budget won鈥檛 like the premium price of the tough and light components that come with year-round models. For anyone eyeing up Arctic or high-elevation expeditions, though, a four-season won鈥檛 cut it鈥攂uy a true mountaineering or expedition tent. If you do lots of summer camping, an all-season tent is going to feel cramped and sweaty. And if winter camping is only a once-a-year (or less) occasion, you鈥檙e听better off borrowing or renting.

For those who听do more winter camping, a four-season is a great second tent. Made for ski and snowshoe camping, they鈥檙e also ideal for mountaineering in summer, when snow, wind, and cold are possible. For both situations, an all-season tent will be less expensive and lighter than a mountaineering or expedition tent听while still offering sufficient protection.

If camping in the mountains year-round is your jam, then a four-season might be the only tent you need. The extra insulation won鈥檛 be an issue in summer, and the added protection could come in handy anytime. These tents also have a compelling money- and space-saving angle: no other niche offers as much versatility.

What to Look For

The models I听tested are beefed-up versions of three-season tents, rather than watered-down expedition shelters. All have fabric walls in place of mesh, more and tougher poles to bolster strength, extra guy-out points for stabilizing the fly, and mitt-friendly touch points, like oversized clips and loops. Each has unique features as well.

MSR Access 2听($600)

The , an 国产吃瓜黑料 Gear of the Year winner in 2017, was the first tent to use Easton鈥檚 Syclone poles. Made from a secret sauce of carbon and ballistic fibers originally developed for military armor, the poles are 13 percent stronger and 250 times more flexible than carbon alone听and about half the weight of aluminum. This makes for the ideal mix of weight savings听while still being able to shrug off snow and bounce back from hammering winds. MSR鈥檚 Breaux describes the Access as a weekend mountaineering tent, because it鈥檚 not as roomy as a typical expedition tent, which would usually have extra space for bulky winter gear. The interior is quite tall but narrow, with the two main poles crossing over the center. The two-person tent has 29 square feet of interior space鈥攁bout the same as a Hubba Hubba鈥攂ut four feet less than MSR鈥檚 mountaineering-specific . The weight savings are dramatic: the Access weighs a paltry 4.1听pounds versus听the two-person Hubba Hubba鈥檚 3.9, while the burly Remote tips the scales at nearly seven pounds. The Access鈥檚 light weight, minimal pack size, and tough design make it the best option for longer trips or when packability is key. Just be prepared to fork out cash for the privilege of carrying less.

Big Agnes Copper Spur HV2 Expedition听($500)

This 听was adapted听from the award-winning Copper Spur line of听three-season tents that includes everything from ultralight to high-volume designs. For the Expedition model, Big Agnes听took its higher-volume frame and added fabric walls, larger-diameter aluminum poles, interior guylines for stabilization, and easy-to-grip zipper pulls. The burlier features add up to 5.3听pounds compared to the lightest-weight 2.6听pounds and the three-season , which has similar dimensions at just over three pounds.

The HV architecture on the Expedition means the 29-square-foot floor area feels roomy. However, the tent鈥檚 not as good at sloughing off heavy snow loads or deflecting gusts of wind. This makes the Expedition a better choice for cold鈥攂ut not snowy鈥攍ocations.

This item is currently out of stock.听

Sierra Designs Convert 2听($500)

Sierra Designs听made听 to be a quiver of one. It has the stability to withstand wintry conditions and a solid poly fabric tent body to keep out the elements. At 5.6 pounds, it鈥檚 not light, but it鈥檚 reasonable enough to lug long distances, even in summer. And it鈥檚 pretty roomy: 30 square feet and 43 inches high. What sets it apart from the other four-season tents is its adaptability. Cut more than two pounds for rain-free summer trips by ditching the entire fly and vestibule; if you鈥檙e more risk averse, you can also zip off just the vestibule. Ramp up venting by zipping down the double-layer front door to expose the mesh.听Like the Copper Spur, the Convert is not the most rigid tent. The semi-freestanding design听(three hoops with a ridgepole)听necessitates careful staking, and it sagged under a foot of snow and bent in high winds. But for one tent in听all seasons and conditions, $500 is pretty compelling.

Nemo Kunai 2 ($500)

The 听was听already an听impressive entry in the four-season tent category before Nemo tinkered with it for 2020. The company听steepened听the profile, creating a more tapered shape that shakes off snow and slips through wind. The single door and vestibule are bigger, making them easier to maneuver through. And Nemo听increased the mesh surface area in the two windows and door. All three are double-walled鈥攝ip them down and the tent body goes from all fabric to mostly mesh.

The simple and quick-to-pitch pole architecture remains the same: two main poles and a cross pole over the door. Nemo says it鈥檚 designed to disperse loads vertically and horizontally across the entire tent. Four guy-out lines attached to the poles help with this. And sailcloth reinforcements in the fly and tent seams resist听tearing and wear better than typical nylon or polyester. It felt strong and stable in snow and wind.

The Kunai is the smallest of the four-season tents, at only 26 square feet. Steep walls help with elbow room, but it鈥檚 definitely cozy inside. The听plus side is that its compact shape makes pitching easier in places where听finding flat ground is tough. And听the abundance of mesh makes it the most summer-worthy. At 4.3 pounds, it鈥檚 a great choice for alpine climbers.

The post Everything You Need to Know About 4-Season Tents appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

国产吃瓜黑料 has reviewed backpacking tents for 40 years, and during that time we鈥檝e tested a lot of well-designed models. But if we had to choose the best all-around tent to take backpacking right now, we鈥檇 buy听the . We love the Flash 2 FL because it鈥檚 fast and simple to set up, easy to get in and out of, weighs less than two pounds per-person, packs up compact, and has held up to years of use听from out testers. To find out more about why we'd recommend听the Flash 2 FL, and gain some useful tips for how to find your own perfect tent, read on.

What Should You Know Before Buying a Backpacking Tent?

Imagine a spectrum of tents lined up according to size and weight. On one end you鈥檇 have ultralight shelters. These fragile and minimalist abodes are like rain jackets for your sleeping bag. They鈥檙e designed to shave ounces, usually at the expense of comfort, and are popular with folks like thru-hikers who want to travel light. Spending a night in one means getting intimate with your tent mate. At the other end of the spectrum are car camping tents. Heading toward palatial, these mobile homes focus more on interior space and comfort. They鈥檙e too heavy to carry more than a 100 yards, hog serious backpack real estate, and often require teamwork to set up.

A good backpacking tent should fall somewhere in the middle. They鈥檙e compact enough to carry on your back for miles, but are made of tougher fabrics than an ultralight tent, have more square footage and elbow room. And they also come with small luxuries like pockets. Compared to car camping mansions, backpacking tents are smaller, lighter and easier to set up. They鈥檙e versatile tents designed for adventure.

Of course, there are several types of backpacking tents.听We recommend a double-wall style. Typically, these include an internal tent body made from bug-proof mesh or lightweight nylon, and an external, waterproof fly. The gap between the body and fly encourages airflow听to prevent moisture buildup inside. And if any condensation does collects on the inside of the fly, the gap keeps your sleeping bags and clothing from getting wet. All of our top-choice tents listed below are a double-wall style.

In a single-wall tent, the body and fly are the same thing. Eliminating the mesh cuts weight, but single-wall tents tend to be hot, and condensation can be an issue. This style of tent is usually reserved for mountaineering. A third style combines the two into a hybrid design. Taking the best of both can create excellent tents, like our favorite backpacking tent the Sierra Designs Flash 2.

How Should You Choose a Tent?

Tent Capacity

One of the first questions to ask before buying a tent is, how many people do you need to house? We used to recommend spacing up, or buying a three-person tent if there were two of you, and so on. But nowadays, tent designers have found unique ways to add extra elbow room without adding weight, so now we recommend buying a two-person tent for two people.

The exception is when you鈥檙e solo camping, or camping with kids and dogs. Solo campers could buy a one-person tent, but we often prefer a lightweight two-person shelter for the extra space and minimal weight gain. Campers who have kids, and or dogs, should consider that smaller body a full-size adult body to ensure enough space. Two adults with a kid, or two adults with a dog, should buy a three-person tent. Two adults with a dog and a kid, or two adults with two kids, should buy a four-person tent. Larger groups should consider dividing into smaller tents.

The best way to measure whether you鈥檒l fit comfortably in a particular tent is to climb in a demo model. If that鈥檚 not an option, there are a few things you need to know about the ways manufacturers describe tents. First, your standard two-person tent should have听about 30 square feet of internal floor space. Some tents will be a little longer; a good choice if you鈥檙e well over six feet tall. And a newer category of tents called 鈥減lus size鈥� or high volume, add extra floor space and headroom听to give a roomier feel without much weight penalty. Peak roof heights average around 42 inches. That鈥檚 enough for most people to sit up without brushing their heads. Other things to look for: pole structures that create vertical walls, particularly cross poles, multiple hubs, and pre-bent or 鈥渒need鈥� poles that create vertical walls, and high peak heights and large vestibules for storing gear outside of the tent.

However, none of this data alone tells you what it鈥檚 like to hang out, play cards, or even put on a pair of pants in a tent. To understand that requires the hard-to-measure variable of useable volume: aka elbow room. NEMO, Marmot, Sierra Designs, and SlingFin have all taken a stab at measuring and displaying this (NEMO does it best), but we still stand by our recommendation to get in your tent if possible.

Tent Weight

Weight is often the most talked about variable. It鈥檚 easy to quantify, and you鈥檒l feel it every step of the trip. But there鈥檚 actually not much of a weight spread in today鈥檚 tents. The lightest backpacking tents usually weigh just under two pounds per-person, while the most budget-friendly tents usually weigh less than three pounds per person. That鈥檚 less than one fuel bottle or the difference between an empty and half-full water bottle. It鈥檚 not a lot.

Heads up: when you鈥檙e comparing weights make sure it鈥檚 apples to apples. Tentmakers will often list more than one weight per-tent. For instance, they鈥檒l list minimum, packaged, pack, trail, maximum, etc. All these weights are measured slightly differently. For your reference, all the weights we list on our recommended tents were recorded using our own Park Tools bike scale, and those weights include the tent, fly, stuff sacks, and eight pegs.

Tent Price

We think the sweet spot for backpacking tents in the $200 to $500 range. Tents under $200 tend to be heavy, not very durable, often lack a full fly (so there aren鈥檛 any vestibules), and come with suspect waterproofing. Above $500, the law of diminishing returns tends to apply. With a few exceptions, these pricey tents use expensive fabrics and materials that won鈥檛 significantly impact your backpacking experience.

In that听range, you鈥檙e going to notice differences in weight, quality of materials, and quantity of features. Up at $500, the tents will have lots of pockets, vents, multiple peg out points, top-notch construction, vertical walls, two doors and two vestibules, and they鈥檒l still weigh in around two pounds per-person. Down at $200, the tents will be heavier or more fragile, will come with fewer features and less elbow room, and will probably only have one door.

Tent Packability

All tents are bulky, but the smaller they pack down, the more chocolate and Scotch you can bring. Or, with a well-packed tent, maybe you can carry a lower volume pack, which cuts weight. Tents vary in size, but most two-person tents should pack into a cylinder about 20-inches long and six inches in diameter.

Tent Durability

Higher quality materials make a tent last longer. But higher quality materials also drive up the price. Fabric and poles are the two easiest to understand in terms of toughness. Tent makers use lots of different nylons, mesh, and polyesters on the body and fly. In general, the higher the denier (a weight based on 9,000 meters of yarn), the stronger the fabric. But you should only make denier comparisons between the same types of fabrics since each fabric performs differently.

Most backpacking tents use aluminum poles, typically made by DAC or Easton. Sometimes the quality of the aluminum is also listed鈥攆requently it鈥檚 6,000 or the slightly stronger 7,000. Some high-end tents use carbon fiber poles. These poles are lighter, thinner and tougher, but harder to repair if they break.

Three other metrics to watch for: stitch count, and the quality of zippers and webbing.

Ease of Setup

Nothing鈥檚 more frustrating at the end of a long day than wrestling tent poles into position or even worse, setting a tent up wrong and having to start again. Things that make set up faster and easier include: color-coded poles, grommets and webbing, symmetrical designs, simple pole structures, and poles that attach to the vestibule rather than the tent.

The easiest tents are domes or A-frames. With only two or three straight poles, they鈥檙e simple but the compromise is elbow room. Multiple hubs and pre-bent pole structures, on the other hand, are often confusing the first time you set them up, but get you more room.

How poles attach to the tent matters, too. Few tents use sleeves anymore because pushing and pulling the poles through the tubes of fabric often results in snags or the poles coming apart. Instead, clips are now the standard and what we recommend because they鈥檙e fast and secure. The binding, where the poles attach to the tent, can vary from a simple ring to a ball and socket system that snaps together. The latter are nice, especially for solo setups, because the pole won鈥檛 pop out unexpectedly.

Free-standing tents are the best: once they鈥檙e set up they stand on their own without the need for pegs and ropes. They鈥檙e easy to set up, even by yourself, and can be picked up and moved. Non-freestanding tents need to be pegged and use ropes to tension at least some, if not all the walls. With fewer poles, they tend to be less expensive and lighter weight, but require more fiddling and sometimes help from another person.

Tent Features

Tents tend to be fairly basic, but there are some with built-in lighting like the Big Agnes Rattlesnake SL3 Mtnglo, and the Big Agnes Krumholtz UL2 MtnGlo comes with its own lighting, solar power, battery bank, and fan. Keep in mind that features like these tend to increase the price, so consider which conveniences you really need. We think it鈥檚 worth extra to pay for two doors, two vestibules, multiple pockets, two-way zippers, and vents in the fly to help with air flow. We鈥檙e also fans of extra guy-out points that all you to attach ropes to your fly to tighten it for better performance in the wind and rain. Tip: reflective guy-out lines prevent tripping in the dark.

And finally, you have footprints. These are ground sheets that go under the tent and protect your tent floor from dirt and tears. They鈥檙e usually an add-on, and we don鈥檛 find them necessary. However, they will extend the life of a tent.

How We Picked the Best Tent for Backpacking

My name is Ryan Stuart and I directed this entire review. I鈥檝e been backpacking for the last 25 years and have also worked as a backcountry guide where I spend months on end living out of tent. At 国产吃瓜黑料, I review 20 to 30 tents each year for the summer Buyer鈥檚 Guides and have probably tested over 100听tents total.

For the Buyer's Guides, I听set up every tent myself and run each one through a series of tests in my yard. I spray them with a hose, expose them to storms and rain, climb in and out, and even work on my laptop from inside. Each tent also goes camping for a real-world test. I take most of them, but also seed some out to other testers who take them on family canoe trips and multi-week expeditions. At the end of the test period, I gather all the feedback and compare specs. Then, I pass my findings by 翱耻迟蝉颈诲别鈥檚 editors, who also live the life and test gear all the time. Together we pick the best tents of each year.

Afterwards, the testing continues. I want to see how our favorite tents stand up to years of use and abuse, different environments, and the constant pace of innovation. I also look at what other people are saying. By reading online comments, reviews from at Backcountry.com, REI.com and other sites and talking with retail staff and other professional gear reviewers, I see how my picks stack up.

When I review tents for the magazine, I'm looking at the latest releases so I can stay on top of new developments.听For the review you鈥檙e reading right now, I picked the top-performing tents for specific categories (two-person, one person, rainy climates, etc.) without worrying about whether the tent was new. What I鈥檓 suggesting here are the best tents, period. Even if they鈥檙e a couple years old, I think these tents still out-perform the newer competitors. 听

To ensure my reviews were fresh, I went back to my notes, but also tracked down all the suggested tents and slept in each one again. I also left them up in the rain and wind, sprayed them with a hose once again, and set up a couple air mats and sleeping bags and played cards with my daughter to gauge roominess. Then I packed them all up, checked in with my editor,听and started writing.

Our Favorite Backpacking Tents, Ranked

Best Overall Backpacking Tent: Sierra Designs Flash 2 FL ($400)

I have a lot of tents in my basement, but for the last five years, my favorite go-to has been the . The biggest reason: its unique design. The tent and fly are integrated, and to pitch the tent, you just clip the poles to the outside of the fly and the tent rises in one step instead of two like most other tents. This makes the Flash 2 quick to pitch and it also means the inside of the tent is never exposed to rain. On a backpacking trip with friends, we all started setting up our tents at the same time. I was inside in almost half the time and my tent was dry while everyone else had a damp floor.

The pole structure can be confusing to the uninitiated: it鈥檚 a dizzying single pole, three-hubbed hoop system. But it鈥檚 actually pretty simple. It creates vertical walls at either door and a 43-inch peak that runs from one door right across to the other, rather than one high point, creating a nice airy feeling.

The most unique feature is a lack of vestibules at the doors. Instead, the fly overhangs the weatherproof door, sort of like a foot-long awning. In anything but sideways rain, the overhang keeps the rain off the door. When the wind is whipping, the door keeps everything dry inside. The point听was to create a super easy entry and exit and eliminate clunky vestibules that can be hard to crawl through.

Don鈥檛 fret, though, because the tent still had plenty of outside gear storage. Two 鈥済ear lockers,鈥� or mini vestibules hang off the sides and will store your pack. They鈥檙e accessed through zippers on the inside of the tent.

Our other preconceived concern鈥攃ondensation with the hybrid wall鈥攖urned out to be a non-issue too. With plenty of mesh on the doors and over the center, air moves freely and condensation never collected in a place that it could contact a sleeping bag.

The FL is a lighter weight version, ditching a pound for about $100. I think it鈥檚 worth the extra money, but if you can鈥檛 afford the splurge, you still get all the same design features in the regular Flash 2.

Best Affordable Backpacking Tent: REI CoOp Half Dome 2 ($200)

With you the you get an ultra-dependable, two-person, five-pound tent that packs down reasonably well for $200. That pricing is thanks to REI鈥檚 power as the nation鈥檚 largest outdoor retailer. Don鈥檛 expect anything fancy or innovative or cutting edge in this long-time REI favorite, but you will love the performance.

All the Half Dome 2s I鈥檝e tested were made from durable nylons that stood up to abuse without a leak or tear. The hubbed aluminum pole set up is simple to pitch solo, and the symmetric design means there鈥檚 no confusion about how to lay out the fly. A friend who hadn鈥檛 set up a tent in years figured the Half Dome out in minutes without instructions.

The pole system lifts the tent to a 40-inch peak and creates 32 square-feet of floor area鈥攂oth of which are average for the category鈥攚hile a cross pole at the peak pushes the side walls close to vertical. On a drizzly evening I hung out in here with two friends without feeling claustrophobic. (If you want more room check out the 鈥減lus鈥� version, which adds more space in every department.)

There are other 鈥渂udget鈥� tents that have similar stats, but the Half Dome stands apart because it鈥檚 more feature rich. At this price point we expect minimalism, but the Half Dome has several pockets and hang loops for organizing the interior. Guylines in all key areas on the fly help snug up the pitch. Each of the two oval doors opens into an eight-square-foot vestibule. The fly rolls up for star gazing and then quickly flips back into place if the weather changes. You can bring the fly, poles, and the optional footprint for a super light set up. And, you can choose from six different fly colors, a rare customizable option in tent buying.

If you backpack a lot, you might look elsewhere for a lighter tent. But if you just head out a couple times each year, there鈥檚 no better tent for the money.

Best One-Person Backpacking Tent: Nemo Hornet 2 ($370)

As the 鈥�2鈥� suggests in the names, this is a two-person tent, but I think it makes more sense as a roomy The single pole structure creates an A-frame feel, which makes things cramped for two people. Let鈥檚 just say you鈥檇 want to be intimate鈥攐r hoping to鈥攚ith a tent mate: two adults couldn't sit up at the same time without touching noggins. But solo this ultralight tent feels palatial without weighing you down.

At about 2.4 pounds, and 19 inches by 5 inches when packed into its cylinder case, it was no burden on a Canadian Rocky Mountains backpacking trip. Nemo achieved the impressive weight by using the lightest aluminum available for the poles and small gauge nylon on the fly (10-denier), floor (15-denier) and canopy (20-denier). Those are pretty standard deniers for an ultralight tent, but the materials听need to be treated gently to make them last. And by that I mean you shouldn't worry too much about everyday use, but you don't want to drag any of them against a tree.

The one-pole design is semi-freestanding; once the tent is clipped in place with the poles it stands on its own but still needs pegging to get the full area spread out. It鈥檚 easy to set up solo with a few pegs. The fly reaches to the ground for total coverage of the all-mesh body. During a windy storm at an exposed camp, not a bead made it inside. A tester reported the steep walls and a few well-positioned guy-out points dumped the deluge away from the tent.

The two vestibules are small and slightly difficult to climb through, but that鈥檚 typical for small tents. Once inside, there鈥檚 plenty of room for a bed down the middle and space on both sides for stuff sacks and gear. One of the pockets held my headlamp and book. The other, a beanie. I stored my pack in one of the eight-square-foot vestibules, leaving the other unencumbered for an entrance.听

Best Backpacking Tent for Families: Marmot Tungsten 4P ($340)

When you鈥檙e camping with your partner and a kid, or two, and maybe the dog, you could bring two tents. But I think piling into one tent is better. Half the reason I camp with the family is to enjoy time together. And with the , you won鈥檛 be sleeping on top of each other听when the bonding stops. At 8.8 pounds it鈥檚 going to feel heavy if you carry it all, but it鈥檚 one of the lightest tents available for its square footage, at just over two pounds per-person. Two main poles, running diagonally corner to corner, are bent to create more volume at the head and feet. Two cross poles push the door walls towards vertical.

You get 53 square-feet of space and a 52-inch peak. That鈥檚 enough area for four, 22-inch wide sleeping pads with a couple extra inches on all sides, and enough height for kids to stand and adults to kneel. There鈥檚 also enough elbow room for two adults and two kids to sit up and play cards without banging heads. Add two vestibules with a combined area of 18 square feet and the Tungsten felt just right for a family of four.

A few nice touches make it even more livable. The poles, clips, and fly are color coded. I still needed help wrestling the long poles into place, but at least the symmetric design was simple and quick to set up. The footprint is included, adding longevity to the floor鈥攁 big bonus with kids that often forget to take their shoes off before climbing in. There are a few organizing pockets for keeping books, headlamps, and other essentials handy. And the lampshade pocket near the peak is designed to hold a headlamp and spread out the light. It created a nice ambient setting for cards before everyone crashed out for the night.

Best Backpacking Tent for Rainy Climates: MSR Access 2 ($600)

I awarded the Gear of the Year in 国产吃瓜黑料 2017 Buyer鈥檚 Guide because it鈥檚 a storm-worthy shelter that weighs the same as a lightweight backpacking tent. In fact, the Access 2 is the only tent that made our favorites list that I鈥檇 take winter camping. And, while most four-season tents push four pounds per-person, this one weighs about four pounds total. At $600 it is pricey, but if you plan to camp above treeline, push three seasons of use, or live in a particularly stormy part of the country, I think the price is worth it. And in some ways, you might save money by not having to buy a lightweight summer tent and a winter-worthy shelter.

The robust performance comes from the pole structure and tent body. The two poles are Easton Syclones and made from composite materials that are stronger, stiffer, and lighter than aluminum. The main pole, double-hubbed and symmetric, runs front to back and props the tent upright. The second pole is a single hoop over the center that鈥檚 pre-bent to push the walls vertical. The poles do a good job of simultaneously lifting the tent to its 42-inch peak height, creating a strong structure that will stand up to several inches of snow, and slanting the front and back enough to shed rain and snow. In a 20-hour torrential PNW rainstorm, testers stayed cozy and didn't notice the river flowing under the tent until they emerged to pee. And at an alpine camp, 40-mile-per-hour gusts shook the tent but didn't ruin my sleep. The fly includes generous vestibules (17 square-feet total) in front of both D-shaped doors for plenty of outside storage. Unlike the rest of the tents here, the body is not mesh, but a light ripstop nylon that blocks chilly winds. Inside, you get 28 square-feet of floor area. With the vertical walls and a couple of pockets for each person, it feels roomy and easily accommodates two adults and all their winter clothing.听

The post The Best Backpacking Tents appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

When it comes to bike gear, a tent is not exactly essential. For bikepacking, however, a good lightweight shelter is paramount, especially in the Rockies, where torrential rains, hail, and bugs make winging it impractical. But finding a good touring tent isn鈥檛 easy. The average two-person model often comes in at a quarter of your bike鈥檚 weight and is as unwieldy to carry as a freshly cut log.

Thankfully, I discovered the ($550) a couple years back. This thing is a miracle of engineering. The complete pack weight is 2.13 pounds, and you can drop that to 1.75 pounds if you鈥檙e willing to forgo the screens. That is astounding for a free-standing structure that covers two people. It also packs down small enough to fit inside most frame bags. I鈥檝e used it a ton over the years and still marvel every time I set it up. But be warned: The floorplan is small. I only camp with someone I鈥檓 close to, as in my wife, or maybe my brother. It鈥檚 almost impossible to hang out in there during bad weather, and getting in and out, even in good weather, is kind of like yoga.

More recently, I came across the , a one-man structure that鈥檚 perhaps the only tent out there marketed expressly to cyclists. The unique design forgoes poles, instead using your bike鈥檚 handlebars and front wheel to create the structure. It鈥檚 an ingenious setup, though it proved a little fiddly to erect. Breathability was limited, as well, and the weight, even without poles, was 2.93 pounds. That鈥檚 respectable, especially considering that the $259 price tag is less than half of the Big Agnes. For those on a budget who frequently ride solo, this would be a solid option. However, the footprint and interior space is still coffin-like, so it didn鈥檛 remedy my issues with the Fly Creek.

What I鈥檓 currently most excited about is the teepee-style *. Built from Dyneema fabric, which is commonly used in boat sails for the combination of light weight and rip resistance (some may know it from its past iteration as Cuben Fiber), this floor-less structure shirks the conventional wisdom that says a tent can either be small and light or spacious and heavy. The tent, plus its center pole, and stakes (the latter two are sold separately) weigh just 1.75 pounds combined, the same as the Big Agnes, but you get 50 percent more space. To put that in perspective, each half has space for a sleeping bag and pad, plus sundry gear including stove and packs, which means it sleeps either two people comfortably or one person with a bike on the open side. One rainy night, we even squeezed four friends in for dinner and a game of cards, and getting in and out wasn鈥檛 a game of Twister.

The UltaMid听is not free-standing, but it鈥檚 incredibly easy to put up: stake the four corners, then erect the pole in the nylon reinforced center cone. The recommended carbon fiber pole from has eight inches of adjustment, which makes it easy get the pyramid taut, and it allows pitching the UltaMid either high off the ground for ventilation or totally flush with the earth for warmth. Once erected, simply add four more stakes at the guy points on the flat sides for additional floor space and stability. One great benefit of the system is the tent can be raised from within. That meant that one early afternoon on arrival at camp, when a New Mexico monsoon thunderstorm let loose a torrent of rain and hail, my wife and I stayed dry by putting ourselves and gear underneath the tarp and building it from beneath.

Hyperlite sells a Mesh Insert with no floor ($145) in case you鈥檙e traveling in a buggy region, but we opted for the ($395) for the added versatility and protection. I鈥檝e used the UltaMid both solo and with the insert, and I like the simplicity without (just bring a plastic sheet for a ground cloth), especially in New Mexico and the desert Southwest, where bugs aren鈥檛 a big issue. Having said that, one stormy weekend when a summer squall turned into 18 hours of heavy rain, the floor was the only thing that kept us dry, and from possibly floating away. Even with the floored insert, the full pack weight bumps to just 3 pounds 1 ounce, which is incredibly light for such a big, durable structure.

Dyneema fabric is wild stuff, crinkly and translucent like crepe paper, but seriously tough and impervious. The seams are well sealed, which we tested during that stormy weekend when we stayed cozy and dry despite constant drizzle punctuated by major downpours. And while the material is gossamer, I was initially surprised by its bulk. The UltaMid packs to about the size of the complete Fly Creek, and that doubles if you add the insert. Part of the bulk comes from the major fabric reinforcements at the center cone, corners, and guy points, something I think is worth it. Though it hasn鈥檛 been cold enough yet, I鈥檝e been told that the UltaMid is even burly enough for winter camping if you pile snow around the outside edges.

When packing, I was able to wrangle the complete tent including insert, my sleeping bag and pad, an Icebreaker 200-weight and , and a into a Salsa EXP Dry Bag and onto the front of my bike. And the more I鈥檝e used the UltaMid, the more it packs down, to the point where the UltaMid alone with stakes and pole now cradles nicely into a Salsa Anything Cage.

As you might have guessed, the UltaMid is spendy at $715, partly because it represents the highest performance tent you can buy, and partly because it鈥檚 100 percent American made. After you add the pole ($110), eight stakes ($36), pole straps if you plan to use the tent with hiking poles ($12), and the optional waterproof insert ($395), you鈥檙e looking at a major investment of $1,250. Whether that is worth it will depend on how often you use the UltaMid, how frequently and deep into the backcountry you like to go, and how much time you spend inside it. For those on more of a budget, I鈥檇 recommend the ($300), which provides almost as much space, though it鈥檚 not nearly as tough or full-featured.

My wife and I spend a lot of time in the backcountry, so the cost for us is minimal relative to the benefits. I鈥檝e used close to two dozen tents through the years, but I鈥檝e never found one that approaches the UltaMid鈥檚 combination of great living space, huge durability, and ultimate lightweight. It is, for me, the finest backcountry shelter I鈥檝e ever used, and it will easily replace three systems I already own, from a superlight bivy all the way up to a four-season mountaineering setup. And without question, it will grace my handlebars or seat bag on every bikepacking adventure going forward.

The post Why Hyperlite鈥檚 UltaMid 2 Is the Best Ultralight Tent appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Shelters for wherever the trail takes you. (Read more of our in-depth tent reviews.)听

MSR Access 2 ($600)

If you haven鈥檛 upgraded your hiking shelter in a while, you鈥檙e missing out. Weights are tumbling, while living space, durability, and feature sets continue to grow, making for tents that perform year-round. is at the extreme end of this trend. Until it came along, most options fell into one of two categories: three or four颅season. Take a light three-season shelter winter camping and you鈥檒l be cold and miserable. Four-season tents, with their extra poles and thick fabric walls, are heavy鈥攁nd overkill in the muggy summer months. With the Access, MSR bridges that gap, using top-of-the-line materials to cut heft and beef up performance. Despite weighing half as much as most winter shelters, the Access barely flapped in an alpine windstorm. It took on six inches of slush without a slouch, thanks to the 20-denier fly and floor fabric, and didn鈥檛 turn into a sauna during warm-weather outings. Plus, the 29-square-foot volume only hints at the amount of livable space. The poles push all four walls toward vertical and boost the ceiling, so getting in and out doesn鈥檛 require crawling. Add two big vestibules and large storage pockets, and a couple of guys with gear were cozy but comfortable. Those details are a testament to the little things invested in this, the only tent you need. 3.7 lbs

Eureka Suite Dream 2 ($250)

Best For: Honeymooning.

The Test: A husband and wife team heading out on a monthlong road trip planned on roughing it. But after pitching at a walk-in campground on the Olympic Peninsula, things changed. 鈥淭he truck seemed like a hovel after the tent,鈥� they said. The 40-square-foot interior鈥攖en feet more than a typical two-person tent鈥攊s big enough to fit a queen-size inflatable mattress. The couple could sit up and get dressed under the four-foot peak, and the dome shape afforded several feet of elbow room. A triangular space for boots and shoes added more storage. Finally, the media center鈥攚ith a touch-compatible tablet sleeve鈥攎ade the tent feel even more like home.

The Verdict: The epitome of comfort camping. 4.4 lbs

Therm-a-Rest Tranquility 4 ($480)

Best For: Car-side luxury.

The Test: Therm-a-Rest took its mastery of the sleeping pad and applied it to a shelter, and we鈥檙e impressed with its first salvo. packs into a svelte backpack a welcome change from the bulky, awkward sausages that pass for most car-camping tents. Clipping its three color-coded poles to the body creates a modified A-frame: a five-foot-high pointed roof with walls that bow out to nearly vertical. This sucker has more headroom than a Subaru Outback. The vestibules enclose a foot-wide space in front of each door. They kept shoes and towels dry when zipped shut during a summer shower, then rolled up and out of the way when skies cleared, leaving the huge door to deflect sand blowing off the beach at our campsite. The Tranquility 4 was palatial for two and perfect for three. Families of four: upgrade to the six-person version.听

The Verdict: A solid debut from the sleeping-pad pioneer. 13 lbs

Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight 2 ($200)

Best For: Old-school functionality.

The Test: Sierra Designs brought the to market more than three decades ago. This second iteration stays true to the soul of its tried-and-true predecessor and adds a few important upgrades. It still isn鈥檛 freestanding and needs to be staked upright, but the two hoop poles raise the mesh body higher (42 inches) and wider (52 inches). The single vestibule is bigger, too, and zippers on either side let you roll it out of the way or transform it into an awning. And this version is just as light鈥攁nd affordable鈥攁s the original. 鈥淚t鈥檚 roomy for its weight and price and, most important, stayed dry and stable in a storm,鈥� noted a mountain-guide tester in British Columbia.

The Verdict: A smoking deal for a dependable tent. 3.9 lbs

REI Quarter Dome Air Hammock ($219)

Best For: The hammock curious.

The Test: Suspended tents are having a bit of a moment, and while many are gimmicks鈥攑ainfully claustrophobic and finicky to set up鈥攖he leads the pack by several miles. REI borrowed elements from a parachute to create a flat surface that holds its shape well enough that you can sleep on your side without feeling like you鈥檙e sinking into a tarp taco. Lightweight stabilizer bars at each end hold the hammock open, while six webbing straps evenly distribute tension. Thanks to the hanging shelter鈥檚 intuitive, versatile design, you can sleep on either side鈥攐ne with a bug fly and one without. From there it鈥檚 easy to adjust the fly by pulling a series of straps to snug it low or loosen it for more ventilation. The pi猫ce de r茅sistance? The Quarter Dome Air stows small and light.听

The Verdict: A hanging tent suitable, dare we say it, for backpacking. 3.1 lbs

Big Agnes Tufly SL2+ ($400)

Best For: Backcountry capability with car-camping comfort.

The Test: Cooked up by a team of women designers at Big Agnes, is a tent with every creature comfort you鈥檇 want at a drive-in campsite. Think six storage pockets, two overhead media pockets, and generous square footage. But flashy accoutrements don鈥檛 mean it lacks grit. Two guides hauled the Tufly into the Vancouver Island alps on a stormy four-day trip. 鈥淢ight be the best tent I鈥檝e ever used,鈥� said one. 鈥淭he only negative is that we fought over sides.鈥� While the shelter itself is symmetrical (read: easy to set up), one vestibule is bigger than the other and props into an awning. Truss poles push both doors out, preventing water from sloshing in when you鈥檙e entering and exiting. They also lift the side walls to vertical, which makes the Tufly especially roomy.听

The Verdict: A two-person tent that lives up to its billing. 4.3 lbs

Nemo Hornet Elite 2 ($500)

Best For: Going solo.

The Test: Unless you plan to spoon all night, don鈥檛 attempt to share this Nemo with a mate. But it absolutely shines on fast and light solo missions. Weighing in under two pounds and packing down smaller than a water bottle, has ample room for a soloist and all their gear. Camped on a hike-in surf beach in pouring rain, we kept a fully stuffed pack inside and still had room to stretch鈥攁n impossibility in most one-person tents. The two doors and 12-square-foot vestibules seemed luxurious. But treat the gossamer seven and ten-denier fly and tent fabric with respect.

The Verdict: The premium option for the weight-conscious loner. 1.8 lbs

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This three-person ($700) is supported by an inflatable grid rather than听traditional tent poles, and it can be pitched in 60 seconds. At 10.6 pounds, it鈥檚 no lightweight, but听can withstand 50 mile-per-hour gusts.听

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Rest easy, yurt fans. You don鈥檛 need to be a member of a nomadic tribe in Central Asia to lay your head in one. Thanks to the British company Traake, the is here for anyone interested in a hip, portable shelter鈥� and who has 拢4,500, or $6,845,听lying around.

This structure is made out of marine plywood and offers 41 square feet of interior legroom. A cotton canvas serves as the yurt鈥檚 cover.

Probably the Jero tent鈥檚 coolest feature is how lightweight it is. Tipping the scales just shy of 250 pounds, you and your CrossFit friends won’t break a sweat setting this yurt up. The Jero was also designed to pack flat, so you can take it with you in your car to the big tailgate or arrange for it to be schlepped up to your expedition鈥檚 base camp.听

$6,845,

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Yes, tents are an institution in the gear shed, but (gasp!) they鈥檙e not always the best option. Dozens of alternatives exist, many of which weigh less, are more comfortable, or simply work better in certain conditions. With camping season now in full swing, it may be time to try something new and leave the pitching to baseball.

Sea to Summit Escapist Tarp Shelter ($199)

Pros: Hikers obsessed with ultra-light options (and Boy Scouts) caught onto this secret a long time ago: With a good roof, you don鈥檛 need a floor. A tarp is lighter, easier to set up, and can be used in most bad weather situations.

听would surely get the Boy Scout seal of approval, weighing in at just nine ounces. It鈥檚 waterproof and has eight tie points to ensure stability even in windy conditions. It can be pitched with hiking poles or without, and the company offers a few minimalist mesh shelters that fit under the tarp if you need protection from mosquitoes.听

Cons: In a severe rainstorm, you’re going to get wet.听

Therm-a-Rest LuxuryLite UltraLite Cot ($219)

Pros: Sleeping under the stars is the most romantic part of camping. But you’ll need good weather, the right campsite, a killer view鈥攁nd the proper bedding.听

While sleeping on the ground is always an option, cots add a level of comfort that turns a good starry night into a great one. But temporary beds are typically clunky and they鈥檙e rarely portable鈥攐r durable鈥攅nough for backcountry travel.

Therm-a-Rest aims to reconcile cot complications of the past with its , which is easy to set up, sturdy, and light enough to toss in a backpack. The low-profile cots can hold up to 325 pounds and will keep you four inches above the ground.

Cons: The LuxuryLite UltraLite still weighs about as much as a plush inflatable pad. And you鈥檙e going to need great weather if you plan to use the cot without additional shelter over your head.

Black Diamond Spotlight Bivy ($219)

Pros: There鈥檚 something inherently adventurous about the ability to throw down your sleeping bag, whip out your bivy sack, and crash just about anywhere. On the side of a mountain? Sure. Suspended on a big wall? No problem. Bivy sacks are one of the most versatile shelters you can buy.听

solves the traditional bivy problems (condensation on the inside and no headroom) with a single hoop pole that keeps the shell material from rubbing on your head and dousing you with raindrops. There鈥檚 also a large mesh panel with a zip-over awning for increased ventilation.

Cons: Bivy sacks are small and will limit movement. If you toss and turn in your sleep, you might find feel a tad confined.听

Clark Vertex Hammock ($599)

Pros: Like ultra-light backpacking, duck hunting, and coffee brewing, hammock camping has its own fanatics. And for good reason. Hammocks are light, easy to set up, and comfortable. And in recent years, there鈥檚 been a big movement to improve the classic design.

has risen to the challenge, designing innovative two-person, four-season hanging shelters that resemble bunkers more than hammocks. Features include insulating pockets, a waterproof rainfly, mosquito netting, and an integrated hanging system that can hold more than 300 pounds.

Cons: Some people don鈥檛 sleep well in the curve of a hammock. And, no matter what, you鈥檙e going to have trouble hanging one of these things in the desert.

Sylvansport GO Trailer ($8,495)

Pros: Tent trailers sit on the lavish end of the blue-collar-camping-equipment spectrum. Yes, they offer some comforts you won鈥檛 get in a tent, but they鈥檙e typically utilitarian, not luxurious.

But听. The company has revamped the tent camper, ditching the usual hard-shelled, canvas-walled pop-ups. The GO features a fold-out aluminum frame and a rip-stop polyester shell. When not in use, the tent folds neatly on itself and the trailer can be used to haul gear.

Cons: Though the GO has 13 inches of clearance, you won’t get too far off the beaten path towing one of these trailers. And the price tag may have you running for shelter in your much more affordable tent.

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Nothing beats camping in the quiet winter landscape鈥攁nd it鈥檚 not as cold as you鈥檇 think, as long as you bed down in a four-season tent. These tents are built specifically to withstand the rigors of that fourth season, with a sturdy construction designed to shed snow as well as insulate, stop wind, and release moisture from inside the shelter. (You breath out as much as a liter of water as you sleep, so you don鈥檛 want to awake to a micro weather pattern inside the tent.) While you can make do with a three-season tent in calm weather, you won't regret the extra investment.

When shopping for Nor鈥檈aster-proof tents, try a few to see how easy they are to pitch; You don鈥檛 want to fiddle with a needlessly complicated system of guy wires and poles in inclement weather. And look for high-quality poles: all the following tents source poles from the same company in South Korea, DAC, which has figured out how to make their high-tech designs more than 15 percent stronger than ordinary aluminum poles. As a basis of comparison, we chose two-person tents.

Big Agnes String Ridge 2
Mountain Hardwear Trango 2
Sierra Designs Convert 2
Marmot Alpinist 2P
Black Diamond Firstlight

Big Agnes String Ridge 2

The from Big Agnes delivers a four-season tent that has just two poles and weighs a mere five pounds. Its taped seams and silicone-treated, rip-stop nylon keeps the shelter dry even in freezing rain. $600

MINIMUM TRAIL WEIGHT: 5 pounds
FLOOR AREA: 31 square feet
VESTIBULE AREA: 11 square feet
PEAK HEIGHT: 42 inches
POLES: 2 DAC Featherlite NSL

Mountain Hardwear Trango 2

The two-person from Mountain Hardwear has the most generous features: two doors, two big vestibules, five sturdy poles, and a watertight construction that withstood 1,200 inches of rain in company tests. You pay for such comforts in a weight that tips the scales at more than three pounds heavier than the other tents in this lineup. $825

MINIMUM TRAIL WEIGHT: 8.8 pounds
FLOOR AREA: 41 square feet
VESTIBULE AREA:听 11 square feet
PEAK HEIGHT:听 41 inches
POLES: 5 DAC Featherlight NSL

Sierra Designs Convert 2

The is one of the tallest two-person tents available, a nice feature if you want a little headroom, but not as aerodynamic as some lower-slung shelters on the market. Sierra Designs employs its own fabric tech in the fly to promote breathability while cutting wind and wet snow from outside. $460

MINIMUM TRAIL WEIGHT: 5.3 pounds
FLOOR AREA: 29 square feet
VESTIBULE AREA: 8.5 square feet
PEAK HEIGHT: 45 inches
POLES: 3 DAC Featherlite NSL

Marmot Alpinist 2P

Marmot uses a custom-developed three-layer material in the , which breathes and repels water in harsh conditions. Ceiling vents in the single-wall construction promote air flow, and the unique design makes pitching in bad weather faster. $600

MINIMUM TRAIL WEIGHT: 4.9 pounds
FLOOR AREA: 30 square feet
VESTIBULE AREA: 8 square feet
PEAK HEIGHT: 40 inches
POLES: 3 DAC NSL Dual Diameter

Black Diamond Firstlight

Among the lightest tents of its kind on the market, the 3.3-pound features steep walls that both shed snow that might have fallen during your slumber and give you more headroom when you鈥檙e up and about. Mesh in the small rear window and the door provide cross ventilation. $360

MINIMUM TRAIL WEIGHT: 3.3 pounds
FLOOR AREA: 27.3 square feet
VESTIBULE AREA: 9 square feet (sold separately)
PEAK HEIGHT: 42 inches
POLES: 2 DAC Featherlite

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