Best Ultralight Tents of 2025

When looking for the best ultralight tent for fastpacking, there are a lot of factors to consider. Will you be in a buggy environment where you need a fully enclosed shelter? Are you trying to make your pack as light as possible? Do you want to leave your tent set up while you go out for day missions with your trekking poles? Are you trying to put together an ultralight backpacking kit on a budget?

Countless tent, tarp, and bivvy options are available to fit different needs and budgets. In recent years, single-wall tents have improved to the point that they are nearly as good as double-wall tents for preventing condensation and are almost as light as simple tarps. For this guide, our team of fastpackers, runners, and ultralight backpackers tested an array of one- and tw0-person shelters — both tents and tarps — all over the American West to find the best options for various needs.

Unsurprisingly, no single shelter was top-ranked by all of our testers, but nine of them stood out as the best ultralight tents by being light, stormworthy, versatile, and durable enough to suit a variety of fastpackers with various needs.

Our team loved the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent for a one- and two-person shelter, but we realize its price can be prohibitive for many. When it came to a one-person shelter, we also turned to the SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle, and the Paria Outdoor Products Sanctuary SilTarp is an outstanding budget option.

For more background information, see our buying advice, testing methodology, and frequently asked questions below the picks. Also, check out our best fastpacking pack, best ultralight sleeping bag, and best ultralight sleeping pad guides!

Best Ultralight Tents

• Best Overall Ultralight Tent: Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent
• Best Ultralight One-Person Tent: SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle
• Best Ultralight One-Person Tent — Runner-Up: Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp – SilPoly
• Best Ultralight Two-Person Tent: Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL
• Best Ultralight Two-Person Tent — Runner-Up: Durston X-Mid 2
• Best Budget Ultralight Tent: Paria Outdoor Products Sanctuary SilTarp
• Lightest Ultralight Tent: Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors
• Best Dedicated-Pole Tent: Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye
• Best Ultralight Bivvy: SOL Escape Bivvy

Best Overall Ultralight Tent: Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent ($669)

Pros:

• Incredibly light
• Can fit two

Cons:

• Expensive
• It can be finicky to set up

When it comes to a single tent that can seemingly do everything, the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent is hard to compete with. This tent is one of the lightest and most versatile on this list, weighing just 15.9 ounces (450 grams) with its stuff sack and comfortably fitting two people. It’s also the most expensive. But for the price, you get a fully enclosed tent that can work in nearly any fastpacking situation and weighs less than many single-person tents and tarps.

The upper part of the tent is made of thin Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF), while the floor features a slightly thicker and more durable DCF. The material is completely waterproof, so you don’t have to worry about it soaking through during extended rain storms. While DCF isn’t the most compressible fabric, this tent packs down plenty small enough to fit into a fastpack.

Six very thin guylines keep the theme of making everything as light as possible, but we were never worried they would snap, even during intense wind storms. The guylines are impressively long, making it easy to get stakes in the ground in rocky areas without many options.

This tent pitches with two 122-centimeter trekking poles. This means that both 120- and 125-centimeter poles will work easily. You can also get a pole extender or use adjustable poles. You can check out various options in our Best Trekking Poles guide.

We used this tent for solo and two-person trips. Its 40-inch footprint made it spacious enough for a one-person shelter and wide enough to fit two without too much struggle. The two doors and symmetrical design of the tent meant that we could get up in the middle of the night without having to crawl over our tentmate, and it was tall enough to sit up completely.

The footprint is 90 inches long, which accommodates taller people and gives shorter people plenty of space to move around the tent. The bathtub floor extends nearly seven inches on the sides, making it nearly impossible for moisture to enter the tent from the ground.

While the storm doors aren’t zippered, they overlap each other enough that when properly pitched, they don’t let precipitation in. You can secure the two doors on the guyline, and a single hook and toggle system keeps everything tight. If you want to increase airflow through the tent, you can easily leave any combination of the door flaps open.

We were impressed with how little condensation we experienced when using this tent. Although we’ve historically woken up to moisture inside single-wall tents, this design seems to provide enough ventilation to prevent moisture buildup.

This isn’t the most straightforward tent to set up, but with practice, it goes up nearly as easily as others in this guide. It can be a little fiddly if you want a completely straight and even pitch.

We fully acknowledge that this tent’s price is high, but we feel it’s worth the investment for people who frequently fastpack and want to lighten their gear without sacrificing shelter functionality. A properly cared-for tent can last a very long time.

Type: Fully enclosed single-wall tent | Advertised Weight: 14.9 ounces (423 grams) | Actual Weight: 15.9 ounces (450 grams) | Packed Size: 4.5 x 11 inches ( 11.5 x 28 centimeters)

Shop the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent

Best Ultralight One-Person Tent: SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle ($355)

Pros:

• Light
• Lack of tarp zippers great for desert use
• High-quality silnylon

Cons:

• Very small for two
• Short unadjustable guylines

The SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle is a modern take on the traditional A-frame-shaped tarp, which you pitch with two running poles. It’s a modular shelter that you can pitch tarp-only or with an inner to make it a complete tent. Two people will fit in the internal mesh body if you don’t mind smashing together like sardines, but it’s definitely more comfortable as a one-person tent.

The tarp’s opening has two small wings that deflect rain and snow. We were surprised by how well the wings worked in a backyard rain test. The inner tent remained completely dry during three days of almost constant rain.

This was primarily vertical rain, though. If it was super windy, you might want to add the vestibule beak to the tarp. The beak is a small triangle of fabric that attaches to the trekking pole handle and clips on either side of the doorway. It creates a vestibule and substantially increases the shelter’s stormworthiness.

The guylines on this ultralight tent are absurdly short and have only about three inches of actual adjustability. They make finding a decent place for a stake on rocky terrain difficult. We recommend replacing these guylines with longer ones — at least for the corners — so you can pitch this tarp on variable surfaces.

As a simple tarp, this shelter only weighs nine ounces. It pitches taut and low to the ground and resists rain and wind quite well. This tarp’s silnylon was far more resistant to water absorption and sagging than any other nylon, except for the Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL.

Overall, the SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle is a high-quality, ultralight tent that needs a few tweaks, including getting longer guylines, to improve it substantially. We’d also probably err on calling it more of a one-person than two-person shelter unless you’re close with your tent partner. For two, it’s just barely a step up from a bivvy. That said, for two people, it is a very light option.

Type: Double-wall catenary-cut tent | Advertised Weight: 21 ounces for the complete bundle (595 grams) | Actual Weight: 9 ounces (256.2 grams) tarp only, 11.5 ounces (326.1 grams) inner only, 2.3 ounces (64.7 grams) beak only, 22.8 ounces (647.5 grams) complete bundle before stakes | Packed Size: 4 x 7 inches (10.2 x 17.8 centimeters) tarp only, 5 x 11 inches (12.7 x 28 centimeters) complete bundle

Shop the SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle

Best Ultralight One-Person Tent — Runner-Up: Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp – SilPoly ($185)

Pros:

• Very light
• Low profile, good in wind
• Long guylines make pitching in variable terrain easy
• Fabric doesn’t sag when wet

Cons:

• Low headroom

The Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp – SilPoly is the most refined take on the traditional A-frame, two-trekking-pole-shaped tarp we have ever seen. It’s constructed from high-quality recycled silpoly, pitches taut and low to the ground, and looks nice to boot.

We appreciated the long guylines when setting up this ultralight tarp on a particularly rocky campsite in the San Juans of Colorado. They allowed us to search a large radius for soil into which we could drive stakes. Shorter guylines, like those on the Tarptent Preamble, made pitching more difficult on the rocky terrain.

Since fastpackers often don’t know where they’ll end up for the night, having a tarp with long guylines to set up in various situations, including on sand, slickrock, snow, or tundra, is nice. As a bonus, you can pitch this tarp using fixed-length poles.

This shelter’s catenary curves give it an aesthetically appealing shape, making it one of the best-looking shelters of the entire bunch. These curves also make for a tight pitch. Because this tarp pitches super taut and low to the ground, it performs superbly in the wind — assuming you’ve got it well-staked.

In a backyard rain test, the silpoly fabric on this tarp absorbed less water and sagged less than other shelters constructed from silnylon or sil/PU fabrics. We left it out for three days in a near-constant deluge, and it didn’t droop or sag in any observable way.

Unfortunately, the material’s high silicone content attracts dirt, which can be annoying in certain environments. Yama offers the option of sealing the seams. For an extra $45, they will seal them for you, or you can do it yourself.

This tarp weighs a mere 13.1 ounces and packs smaller than your rain jacket. We also appreciate that it sets up the same way every single time because, at the end of a 30-mile day, you may not want to think about how you will pitch your flat tarp. We recommend pairing this tarp with a bivvy, such as the SOL Escape Bivvy or one of Yama’s bug bivvies, to make a roughly 24-ounce shelter, including stakes.

Type: Shaped tarp | Advertised Weight: 12.8 ounces (363 grams) | Actual Weight: 13.1 ounces (371 grams) | Packed Size: 3 x 6 inches (7.6 x 15.2 centimeters)

Shop the Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp - SilPoly

Best Ultralight Two-Person Tent — Runner-Up: Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL ($275-455)

Pros:

• Versatile and can be used as a tarp or tent
• Durable materials
• Large #8 zipper
• Double-wall helps with condensation
• Roomy and sleeps one or two

Cons:

• Expensive

The Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL is our favorite one-person, double-wall fastpacking shelter because it is light, easy to pitch, super-durable, stormworthy, and supremely versatile. It accommodates solo and partnered fastpacking trips. One of our testers spent more than 120 nights in it without issue.

The tarp weighs 16 ounces, and with sealed seams and long guylines, it’s still only 18.2 ounces. With the inner, this shelter becomes a fully enclosed tent weighing 30.1 ounces without stakes. It pitches with four stakes, but we recommend nine for a sturdy pitch. With nine stakes, the whole package weighs just over two pounds.

The rectangular base of this tent allows the fly to be pitched easily using only four stakes. This will enable you to escape the rain before setting up your sleeping area, which is impossible with most freestanding tents with a dedicated pole. The shelter comes with its own specific pole or poles rather than requiring a trekking pole.

To pitch the tent quickly, stake out each of the four corners, ensuring each one is at a right angle to its neighbors. Then, insert the handle of your trekking pole into the apex of the tent and extend the pole. This whole process can take as little as 60 seconds, no joke. This matters when those afternoon thunderstorms roll in, and you need to get out of the rain ASAP.

The rectangular shape also tensions the perimeter, making this shelter very stable in the wind. Once situated and warm, you can add more stakes and improve the pitch if needed.

While not as light as the Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors — the lightest shelter on our list — this tent provides all-sided protection and enough space for two people without the inner at a very reasonable weight. Unlike many flat and shaped tarps on this list, this tent can pitch to the ground without sacrificing internal volume.

For such a spacious shelter, this tent packs down very small: about 4 x 14 inches for the tarp, inner, and nine stakes. However, it will squish down much smaller than that in your pack.

The 20-denier silnylon Mountain Laurel Designs uses for this shelter sags less when wet and seems to remain waterproof longer than other silicone- and polyurethane (PU)-coated sil/PU fabrics we’ve tested. However, the high-grade silicone coating tends to attract sand, so be aware that the shelter will need substantial cleaning after a trip through canyon country.

The burly #8 zipper is the largest and most durable zipper of all the tents in this guide, which we appreciated, given that zippers are often the failure point for tents.

The only real bummer about this shelter is it’s pricey — $275 for the tarp alone and $455 when you include the inner.

To learn more, read our Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL review.

Type: Double-wall pyramid tent | Advertised Weight: 16 ounces (454 grams) tarp only without seam sealing and guylines, 11 ounces (312 grams) inner only, 27 ounces (765 grams) complete tent before seam sealing and guylines | Actual Weight: 18.2 ounces (516 grams) tarp only with seam sealing with guylines, 11.9 ounces (339 grams) inner only, 30.1 ounces (855 grams) complete tent | Packed Size: 4 x 14 inches (10 x 35 centimeters) complete tent

Shop the Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL

Best Ultralight Two-Person Tent — Runner-Up: Durston X-Mid 2 ($269)

Pros:

• Versatile and can be used as a tarp or tent
• Inexpensive
• Roomy and comfortably fits two
• Can sleep up to three without inner
• Sil/PU polyester doesn’t sag when wet

Cons:

• You’ll need to replace short corner guylines with longer ones
• Heavy

The Durston X-Mid 2 was one of the most hyped products in the ultralight backpacking world when it first came out, and it continues to live up to, and maybe even surpass that hype. This double-walled, modular, two-person, two-door, trekking pole-supported tent is huge, stormworthy, comfortable, inexpensive, and durable.

One of our testers has used this ultralight tent as his primary two-person fastpacking shelter for about a year and a half and has nothing but good things to say about it.

One of his favorite attributes is its rectangular base. You can pitch this tent on about any terrain with only four stakes. The rectangular base doesn’t just make pitching easy; it also tensions the entire perimeter, creating an incredibly sturdy structure.

Once pitched with four stakes, you can throw your pack inside to get it out of the rain before adding additional stakes or setting up your sleeping area. And speaking of rain, because this tent employs a sil/PU polyester, it doesn’t stretch or sag when wet.

While 37.4 ounces may sound like a lot for a fastpacking tent, it provides much space for the weight. The X-Mid 2 has two doors, each with a huge vestibule, so each person can organize and manage their own gear without bothering the other. Both people can sit up simultaneously without hitting their heads on the tent.

Plus, because this is a double-walled modular tent, you don’t have to take the inner if bugs aren’t an issue. The fly alone is only 22.2 ounces and comfortably sleeps up to three people. It also serves as a party tent for up to seven, as we discovered one snowy afternoon in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado when the weather turned unpleasant.

Type: Two-pole, double-wall pyramid tent | Advertised Weight: 35.4 ounces (1 kilogram) | Actual Weight: 37.4 ounces (1.06 kilograms) entire tent, 22.2 ounces (629.4 grams) fly only | Packed Size: 6.5 x 12 inches (17 x 30 centimeters)

Shop the Durston X-Mid 2

Best Budget Ultralight Tent: Paria Outdoor Products Sanctuary SilTarp ($85)

Pros:

• Versatile and can be pitched in many configurations
• Durable materials
• Inexpensive

Cons:

• Fabric absorbs water
• Fabric coating seems less durable than some others
• Heavy

We initially wanted to test the Paria Outdoor Products Sanctuary SilTarp because it was the cheapest flat tarp that appeared to include quality materials. We figured its price could warrant its inclusion even if it wasn’t the highest-performing shelter on the list, and we weren’t wrong.

This ultralight tarp features 30-denier sil/PU nylon, which makes it durable without being excessively heavy. With all guylines attached but without stakes, our 8 x 10-foot tarp weighs 19.5 ounces. While it weighs more than many other tarps we tested, the price was significantly lower.

Some extra weight comes from the tarp being a little overbuilt — there are 16 ¾-inch webbing loops around the perimeter. These loops make it easier to pitch in awkward situations, but it does add to the weight.

This shelter is large enough, at 8 x 10 feet, to comfortably fit two adults. It pitches with two running poles of any length, but you can also set it up in other ways. This tarp could be a good choice for fastpacking trips through piñon and juniper woodlands, where you can often string it between trees, creating a comfortable and sheltered campsite for waiting out those desert monsoons.

Type: Flat tarp | Advertised Weight: 15.5 ounces (440 grams) | Actual Weight: 19.5 ounces (553 grams) | Packed Size: 4 x 10 inches (10 x 25 centimeters)

Shop the Paria Outdoor Products Sanctuary SilTarp

Lightest Ultralight Tent: Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors ($379)

Pros:

• Very light
• No zippers great for desert use

Cons:

• Expensive
• Very small

At 6.1 ounces, the Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors is the lightest fastpacking shelter on our list. While not ideal for a trip where you know you’ll be frequently and heavily stormed on, it has a place for fastpacking in arid environments. Because of its weight, it’s an excellent option for trips where you anticipate cowboy camping 90% of the time but want to carry a shelter in case of weather.

One of our testers uses it as his primary fastpacking shelter in the Colorado Plateau region, where rainfall is infrequent and storms are short-lived when they do occur. This tarp is an excellent option for people wanting the lightest shelter possible in environments where precipitation is unlikely.

We pair this shelter with the SOL Escape Bivvy, which we review below to make it even more versatile. This way, we can cowboy camp most nights in the bivvy, only setting up the tarp when there’s a chance of precipitation.

Our biggest issue with this ultralight tarp is its length. It Zpacks says it’s 107 inches long, which is only true of the front edge of the tarp, while the back edge is 94 inches. This starts to feel small when you’re waiting out an all-night storm.

One of our taller testers found himself tucking into a ball to keep the foot end of his sleeping bag dry. Shorter people should have no issue with the length of this shelter. Without a catenary cut, the tarp also doesn’t pitch tight, and our testers found that it was loud enough in the wind to keep him up.

Although $350 is a lot of money for a floorless tarp with no bug protection, it may be worth it for fastpackers who prioritize a light pack. If you like the feathery weight of the Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors but want the security of a fully enclosed tent, consider the Zpacks Plex Solo Tent.

Type: Pyramid tarp | Advertised Weight: 6.1 ounces (173 grams) | Actual Weight: 5.3 ounces (151 grams) | Packed Size: 3.5 x 6 inches (8.9 x 15.2 centimeters)

Shop the Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors

Best Dedicated-Pole Tent: Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye ($400)

Pros:

• Major manufacturer
• A good option for people who don’t use running poles
• Reasonable price

Cons:

• Small for two
• Bulky to pack
• Short, unadjustable (but replaceable) guylines

The Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye is the latest iteration of a long-standing tent in the Big Agnes lineup. It’s a tried-and-true shelter, and one of our testers reported that her seven-year-old version had performed admirably during two multi-month New Zealand backpacking trips and many multiday fastpacking adventures in Colorado.

It took over a decade of heavy use in high UV environments and the tent getting flattened in gale-force winds multiple times for the poles to finally crack and the material start to fray.

The HV in this latest version’s name stands for high volume, and this tent is indeed roomier than older versions our testers remember using nearly a decade ago. The solution dye process uses less energy and water than other Big Agnes tent fabrics and also results in a more UV-resistant material, which increases the tent’s life expectancy, especially when used in sunny climates.

Since this tent has a dedicated pole set, it’s an excellent option for people who don’t use running poles. This shelter is comfortable for sleeping but cramped for two medium-sized adults when preparing for bed or getting dressed for the day. Once everyone settles, there’s enough room to sleep comfortably.

The single front entrance makes entering and exiting a sensitive procedure with a sleeping tent partner, and it’s worth taking middle-of-the-night bathroom breaks together since the chances are that if one person is up, the other person will be awake as well. All that said, the tent’s small size keeps the weight low enough — 31.9 ounces — for it to qualify as a fastpacking shelter.

The 15-denier nylon fabric on this tent is silicone-coated on the outside and polyurethane (PU) coated on the inside — it is called sil/PU nylon for short. Because it is a low-denier fabric with a PU coating, it sags more in the rain than silnylon, the material found in other options in this guide. In our three-day backyard rain test, we observed this tent sagging more than silnylon tarps and tents.

For the most part, this tent’s major shortcoming — the light and saggy fabric — is completely acceptable and understandable. However, our testers weren’t accepting of the short, non-adjustable guylines. While tolerable on tundra or grassy meadows, they make pitching difficult on sandy or rocky surfaces, requiring a little more creativity.

The short, non-adjustable guylines also make it difficult to re-tension the tent in the rain when the material starts to sag. During an extended rain storm, we had to pull up stakes and pound them back about three inches from the original stake locations.

If this shelter had line tensioners and longer guylines, you’d have to re-tension each one in a quick, 20-second lap around the tent. If you buy this tent, replace its guylines with longer ones and use a trucker’s hitch to re-tension the shelter during a storm.

Big Agnes makes a wide assortment of tents to suit various needs. Although they make tents even lighter than this one, the significantly higher price and reduced durability of these options drove us to choose this tent over them.

The Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye made our list because it is light, inexpensive, compact for a hub and pole tent, stormworthy enough, and durable enough to be used on fastpacking trips where weather uncertainty is ever-present.

Type: Semi-freestanding, dedicated pole tent | Advertised Weight: 31 ounces (879 grams) | Actual Weight: 31.9 ounces (904.2 grams) | Packed Size: 5 x 20 inches (12.7 x 50.8 centimeters)

Shop the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye

Best Ultralight Bivvy: SOL Escape Bivvy ($69)

Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Readily available
• Light
• Packs small

Cons:

• Condensation
• Specialized tool/limited use cases

The SOL Escape Bivvy is a specialized tool for fastpacking trips with a mild forecast or when a lot of sleep isn’t on the menu. It weighs 8.6 ounces and packs to about the size of a grapefruit.

This bivvy does not provide the same storm protection as a tarp or tent. It’s an excellent option for trips without much, or any, precipitation in the forecast and where the goal is to cover a lot of ground and not necessarily to sleep super comfortably.

When we tuck into this bivvy at the end of a long day, we try to find sheltered campsites, such as below the bows of a giant fir tree or under an overhanging rock. Good campsite selection increases the shelter’s stormworthiness. Some of us also like to use it with a tarp if we know the weather will be gnarly.

This bivvy is not as light as SOL’s zipperless version, but our testers found the latter difficult to wiggle in and out of, so we prefer this heavier zippered version. Even though this one is tight inside, a smaller or medium-sized person can fit a sleeping pad, bag, and themselves in there when needed.

One of our smaller testers can fit herself, her 40-degree sleeping bag, and a sleeping pad inside and stay comfortable as long as she sleeps on her back. This bivvy, partly due to the reflective liner material, adds significant warmth to a sleep system.

Condensation can occur inside the bivvy, especially around the feet. However, we often find it to be frozen condensation, which is not nearly as bad as a sopping wet sleeping bag. Our team has also found this bivvy quite durable, and some of us have had ours for years without issues.

Finally, we can’t overstate the excellent price point. It is beyond reasonable for a bivvy that will last a long time and keep you safe on your most minimalist overnight trips.

Type: Bivvy | Advertised Weight: 8.5 ounces (241 grams) | Actual Weight: 8.6 ounces (243.1 grams) | Packed Size: 3.5 x 6.5 inches (8.9 x 16.5 centimeters)

Shop the SOL Escape Bivvy

Ultralight Tent and Tarp Fabric Glossary

Refer to this glossary for more information on a shelter’s fabric.

Siliconized nylon (silnylon): Nylon fabric coated on both sides with silicone.

• Low water absorption
• High tear strength
• Highly waterproof

Silicone-coated polyester (silpoly): Polyester fabric coated on both sides with silicone.

• Almost zero water absorption
• Highly waterproof
• It can include recycled polyester

Silicone and polyurethane-coated nylon (sil/PU nylon): Nylon fabric coated on the face with silicone and coated inside with polyurethane.

• Inexpensive
• It can be seam-taped

Silicone and polyurethane-coated polyester (sil/PU poly): Polyester fabric coated on the face with silicone and coated inside with polyurethane.

• Inexpensive
• It can be seam-taped
• It can include recycled polyester

Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF): A non-woven fabric consisting of a lattice of ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers laminated between two polyester sheets.

• Extremely high tear strength
• Very waterproof
• Very light

Comparing the Best Ultralight Tents

TENT	PRICE	TYPE	WEIGHT	PACKED SIZE
Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent	$669	Single-wall fully enclosed	15.9 ounces	4.5 x 11 inches
SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle	$345	Double-wall catenary-cut	9 ounces	4 x 7 inches
Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp – SilPoly	$210	Shaped tarp	13.1 ounces	3 x 6 inches
Durston X-Mid 2	$280	Double-wall pyramid	37.4 ounces	6.5 x 12 inches
Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL	$275	Double-wall pyramid	18.2 ounces	4 x 14 inches
Paria Outdoor Products Sanctuary SilTarp	$85	Flat tarp	19.5 ounces	4 x 10 inches
Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors	$349	Pyramid tarp	5.3 ounces	3.5 x 6 inches
Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye	$400	Semi-freestanding	31.9 ounces	5 x 20 inches
SOL Escape Bivvy	$48	Bivvy	8.6 ounces	3.5 x 6.5 inches

 

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose an Ultralight Tent or Tarp

Types of Shelters

When choosing the best ultralight tent, consider three main categories: freestanding shelters, non-freestanding shelters, and bivvies. Within the non-freestanding category are two main types of shelters: fully enclosed tents and tarps.

Some of the shelters in our list can be used as tarps or tents, which we’ll explain below. Our favorite overall shelter is the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent, which is a fully enclosed, trekking pole-supported, single-wall tent.

Dedicated Pole-Set Shelters

Freestanding, dedicated pole-set shelters require no staking for setup, although you must stake them for use in inclement weather. These shelters utilize an included, dedicated pole set to make them freestanding. The Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye is the closest thing we have to a freestanding shelter, but even it requires staking out the foot end to extend the fly fully.

These shelters are an excellent option for fastpackers who don’t travel with trekking poles or for those who want to set up a basecamp that they leave during the day and want to have their trekking poles available for their day adventures from camp.

Trekking Pole-Supported Shelters

Most of the best ultralight tents on our list are non-freestanding, requiring trekking poles and stakes for setup. A trekking pole-supported shelter such as the Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL is generally lighter and packs much smaller than a freestanding tent with a dedicated pole set.

 Tarp

A tarp is a floorless shelter, usually supported by trekking poles or strung between trees. The Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors is the lightest shelter in this guide and packs up to the size of a rain jacket. While tarps used to be the choice for ultralight backpackers, there is now an array of fully enclosed tents that weigh just a little more than tarps and provide more protection.

Tarps can be paired with a bivvy, like the SOL Escape Bivvy, to provide even more protection from the elements. However, if you’re sleeping in a buggy area and want protection from mosquitoes, you’ll probably want a fully enclosed shelter.

Flat Tarps

Flat tarps are rectangular or square, and you can pitch them in many different configurations. They are super versatile and light, but mastering their setup requires some practice. The Paria Outdoor Products Sanctuary SilTarp is an example of a flat tarp, with 16 webbing loops that you can use to set it up in various configurations.

Shaped Tarps

A shaped tarp is constructed with a curved or catenary-cut ridgeline and edges to tighten the pitch. These tarps tend to flap less in the wind than flat tarps, and people usually choose shaped tarps over flat tarps for better performance in the wind. The Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp – SilPoly is an example of a shaped tarp.

Tents

Tents are fully enclosed shelters consisting of a tarp or fly, bug netting, and a floor. They offer more protection from weather and bugs than ultralight tarps do. Tents can be either freestanding, like the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye, or non-freestanding, like the SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle.

Tents can also be single-wall or double-wall. For a long time, single-wall tents had condensation issues, but design technology has created modern options that perform nearly as well as their double-wall counterparts at a significantly lower weight.

Single-Wall Tents

Single-wall tents, sometimes called tarp tents, such as the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent, consist of a single layer. Tarps are also single-layer but don’t include the bug netting or floor. With single-wall tents, the bug netting is sewn to the fly and the floor to save weight.

These tent designs can sometimes suffer from condensation issues, but recent advances in design technology have increased airflow inside single-wall shelters and alleviated the problem.

Double-Wall Tents

Double-wall tents, like the Durston X-Mid 2, consist of two separate pieces: a fly or tarp and an inner tent with bug netting and a floor. You can also think about many double-wall tents as modular tents because either part of the tent, the fly or the inner, can be pitched separately.

Besides modularity, the main benefit of double-wall tents is their increased weather performance over other types of tarps or tents. The floor protects the sleeping area from wet ground, the bathtub walls protect the sleeping area from spindrift and splashing rain, and the mesh tent body protects the sleeping area from condensation.

As moisture accumulates inside the tarp and drips off, it will land on the mesh rather than your sleeping bag, rolling down the outside of the tent toward the ground. This will help keep your sleeping bag dry. It’s worth noting that you could experience condensation both in a wet meadow under a clear sky and when it’s dumping rain.

Fabric

While the fabric on every one of the shelters on our list is different, they can fit into five categories: siliconized nylon (silnylon), silicone-coated polyester (silpoly), silicone- and polyurethane-coated nylon (sil/PU nylon), silicone- and polyurethane-coated polyester (sil/PU poly), and Dyneema composite fabric (DCF).

The Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL is an example of a tent constructed from silnylon. This 20-denier fabric has silicone coated on both sides. It is a long-lasting, very waterproof fabric with high tear strength and low sag. The only downside of this fabric is that you cannot tape it, so the seams must be sealed by hand using Gear Aid Silnet Silicone Seam Sealer. Most manufacturers offer a seam-sealing service.

The nylon fabric on the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye is also silicone-coated, but only on the outside. The inside of the material — called Sil/PU nylon — has a polyurethane coating, which allows you to tape the seams.

The PU coating decreases the tear strength and increases the sag compared to a fully silicone-coated nylon. One benefit of PU is that it attracts less sand than fully silicone-coated nylons, making it a good choice for desert outings.

It is widely agreed upon that polyester has slightly lower tear strength than nylon, but how much lower is up for debate. Additionally, the tear strength of nylon may drop when saturated with water. But here’s where polyester really shines: it doesn’t absorb water to the same degree as nylon. This means it won’t sag when wet and will not be as heavy in your pack as saturated nylon would be after a night of rain.

The Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp – SilPoly is a polyester shelter coated with silicone on both sides. Its fabric also features recycled materials, which is very difficult to achieve with nylon.

The Durston X-Mid 2 features polyester with a silicone coating on the outside and a thin polyurethane coating on the inside. In our experience, this sil/PU material has minimal sag. It’s also inexpensive, which helps keep the price of this tent down.

Dyneema Composite Fabric, or DCF, is a non-woven fabric consisting of a lattice of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers laminated between two polyester sheets. The Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent and Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors are the only tents on our list constructed from DCF.

The material is lighter than the other fabrics on this list, has an astonishingly high tear strength, and doesn’t absorb water. There is some evidence showing that DCF doesn’t last quite as long as high-grade silnylons. There is also the issue that DCF is incredibly expensive, but for certain people and situations, the shelters are well worth the investment.

Denier

Denier is a rough estimate of the thickness of an individual thread in a fabric. Tents and tarps in this list range from 10 to 30 denier fabrics. Higher-denier materials are generally stronger than lower-denier fabrics, and lower-denier fabrics are lighter. The construction and coatings of fabric make a difference as well.

The 10-denier silnylon on the SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle, for example, absorbed less water and sagged less than the 10-denier sil/PU nylon found on the Gossamer Gear Twin Tarp, which did not make the list because of the relatively poor fabric performance. In other words, it’s important to know the denier of a shelter fabric, but it doesn’t tell you everything.

Hydrostatic Head

The waterproofness of a fabric is measured using the hydrostatic head test. This test measures how much water pressure a material can handle before moisture seeps through. Fabrics in this buyer’s guide range between 1,200 millimeters for the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye and 3,500-plus millimeters for the Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL. The higher the number, the more waterproof a fabric will be.

Guyline Length

Our preferred guyline length for most shelters’ corners is at least 12 inches, and ideally 24 inches. While line tensioners are ideal, not every shelter on our list has them, and that’s fine if the guylines are long enough to tie a clove hitch or trucker’s hitch to tension them. The six guylines on the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent are long enough to make it easy to set the tent up in challenging terrain, and they are easy to tighten.

Why You Should Trust Us

The iRunFar team has been fastpacking for over a decade and has watched the adventure niche grow. What started as two separate endeavors — ultralight backpacking and adventure running — have now merged into one: fastpacking. Because of the overlap in gear needs, fastpackers have used ultralight backpacking shelters since the sport’s inception.

When we initially created this guide, we considered over 50 shelters and tested 16 in Silverton, Colorado, the Uinta and Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah, and various locations throughout the Colorado Plateau. Some of the best ultralight tents and tarps on this list had been in our team members’ quivers for more than five years, while others were new to us all.

Different users with different needs tried each shelter to ensure we didn’t overlook any shelter’s blatant flaws or unexpected benefits. We tested the shelters by placing them outside during multiday rainstorms to test fabric performance, and we also slept in them in rain and snow storms in the wild.

No single shelter performed flawlessly under all conditions, to no one’s surprise, but nine of them stood out as being light, stormworthy, versatile, and durable enough to suit a variety of fastpackers with differing needs.

Choosing the best ultralight tent will depend on personal preferences and needs. We evaluated the shelters based on their weight, space, ease of use, weather resistance, material sag, and wind performance to accurately assess their performance under various conditions.

Our team continues to test new shelters, and we keep this guide updated when we find something worthy of inclusion.

Frequently Asked Questions About Ultralight Tents and Tarps

What is fastpacking?

Fastpacking is essentially the combination of ultralight backpacking and adventure running. Want to utilize your entire weekend by linking two 30-mile runs with a night out under the stars? Fastpacking. Want to push yourself to do a 100-mile thru-hike in only three days? Fastpacking.

When fastpacking, you take the minimum equipment needed to spend the night safely in the wilderness and then hit the trail. Run a little, hike a little, stop to hone your amateur naturalist skills, and then run and hike again. With a pack in the 15-pound range, running often isn’t very realistic, especially when moving over rough terrain.

But if you can reduce your pack weight enough — and a lightweight shelter like the Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL or the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent can definitely help — you can have a bit of a pep in your step on the flats and when cruising downhill. The best ultralight tent will keep your pack light while sheltering you from the elements.

Do I need a shelter for fastpacking?

We don’t recommend embarking on a fastpacking trip without a shelter because we believe some protection from rain, sleet, or snow is mandatory for safety. At a minimum, carry a small pyramid tarp, such as the Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors, or a bivvy, such as the SOL Escape Bivvy. These items, which we reviewed above, are tiny and light and will help keep you safe if the weather turns wet.

Do I need bug protection?

Well, sometimes. Most of the year — roughly August through April — bug protection is unnecessary on the Colorado Plateau, where many of our testers live and play. Early-season and late-season alpine zones are also typically bug-free. For this reason, many of us here at iRunFar don’t use fully enclosed tents much of the time, opting instead for flat and catenary-cut tarps.

Of course, your local playground could be different. Depending on where you live, ticks, scorpions, sand flies, and mosquitoes can be nearly constant concerns, and the best ultralight tent for these situations will be a fully enclosed one, like the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent. After years of tarp use, one of our testers ended up acquiring her first tent while planning a trip to the Pacific Northwest and being worried about bugs.

So, if you fastpack mostly through the tick-infested Appalachians or the mosquito-infested Wind River Mountains in July, bring a shelter with bug netting. Several tents on our list will protect you from creepy crawlies. The Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL, the Durston X-Mid 2, the SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle, and the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye will all shield you from biting and stinging insects.

Do I need a ground sheet if my shelter doesn’t have a floor?

Shelters without floors, like the Paria Outdoor Products Sanctuary SilTarp, are an excellent option for many fastpacking trips, but they don’t provide any protection from the ground. If you’re using an inflatable sleeping bag, having a ground sheet to put down can protect your pad from punctures and help keep your gear protected from dirt and sand.

While this may seem unnecessary in many situations, groundsheets can make a desert campsite much more pleasant by keeping sand from covering everything. They can also keep gear dry if the ground is wet.

How light should my shelter be for fastpacking?

As with every other item in your tiny fastpacking backpack, the lighter, the better, as long as performance isn’t compromised. A lighter shelter will reduce your overall pack weight, allowing you to move faster on the trail. The Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors is the lightest shelter in this guide, but we wouldn’t recommend it if experiencing a weather forecast with a lot of potential precipitation.

Lighter weight can sometimes translate to lowered durability or decreased storm protection. Be sure to ask yourself if your shelter is “stupid-light,” considering the weather conditions you could encounter on your fastpacking trip.

The best ultralight tent will strike a balance between its weight, durability, and ability to protect you from the weather. For gram-counters who want a fully enclosed shelter, the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent protects two people and weighs less than a pound.

If the weather forecast is good, you can consider taking just the SOL Escape Bivvy for cowboy camping or sleeping under the stars without a tarp. We often pair a bivvy with a tarp for extra protection.

Are bivvies as good as tents? When would I use a bivvy?

Bivvies offer less weather protection than ultralight tarps or tents, but they have their place. Their primary appeals are their low weight and ease of use. When you stop for the night, just throw it on the ground, climb in, and sleep.

The primary downsides are their low comfort and susceptibility to condensation, which can result in a wet sleeping bag. Our testers like to take bivvies on trips when the forecast is non-threatening.

Because bivvies can be light, we also like to use them when sleep is a lower priority than moving fast through space. For these reasons, we chose the SOL Escape Bivvy for our list. It is light, inexpensive, and protects you from weather when needed. For a bivvy, it’s also quite breathable, and we found that we woke up with a wet sleeping bag less often than with other bivvy options. It’s a specialty tool, and most of us at iRunFar prefer tarps or tents for 95% of trips.

I don’t use running poles, but want a double-walled pyramid tent. What should I do?

You aren’t out of luck if you don’t use running poles but still want a double-walled trekking pole-supported tent. You can still experience the joys of a pyramid tent such as the Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL by purchasing it with this carbon fiber pole, which will only add 3 ounces to the shelter, for a total weight of 33 ounces without stakes.

But why, you might ask, would anyone choose this pyramid over a dedicated pole, semi-freestanding tent such as the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye, which weighs only 31.9 ounces before stakes? The short answer is that most people wouldn’t. Dedicated pole tents are simple and essentially foolproof.

However, the Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL can be set up tarp-first in a downpour, keeping your sleeping area from getting wet. It’s also constructed from higher-quality silnylon, which is stronger and sags less in the rain than Big Agnes sil/PU nylon.

Ultimately, there’s no correct answer. Some people will prefer trekking pole-supported pyramid tents, and some will prefer dedicated pole tents. Even if you don’t use running poles, you can use either type of tent.

Is Dyneema Composite Fabric worth the money?

Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF) is lighter and has better tear strength than the silnylons or silpolys found in this list. It also doesn’t absorb water, so you can shake much of it off before stuffing the shelter back into your pack. These are worthy attributes and will understandably push many to choose DCF shelters. But DCF is very expensive, so we only have two of these shelters on our list, the Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors and the Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent.

We have also found that most DCF shelters thrash in the wind while nylon or polyester shelters have some give to them. This means that the guylines on a DCF shelter will be under immense stress. Stakes on DCF shelters are thus more likely to pull out of the ground than stakes on nylon or polyester shelters. This strain also can cause DCF to deform, especially around the hem and at the corners where stress is greatest. Eventually, getting a good pitch on a DCF shelter becomes difficult.

Some of our testers have observed that zippers on DCF shelters don’t last as long as zippers on nylon or polyester shelters. This is most likely due to the inflexible nature of DCF, which strains the zipper slider. The high tension grinds sand into the metal slider, wearing it out quickly. Fortunately, it’s easy to replace zipper sliders.

What kind of running poles do I need for these shelters?

Most non-freestanding shelters on this list use poles ranging from about 110 to 140 centimeters, with the ideal length being about 125 centimeters. It’s easiest to use adjustable three-piece or two-piece poles, as they’ll allow you to get a tight pitch, but you may also use fixed poles. You can learn more about options for trekking poles in our Best Trekking Poles guide.

If your running poles are too short for your preferred shelter, add these carbon pole jacks to reach the shelter’s ideal pole height. Some taller tents even come with jacks. You can also lash two fixed-length trekking poles together with a bit of paracord or two Voile Straps to achieve a taller pitch height.

Do I need a ground sheet if my shelter doesn’t have a floor? 

Shelters without floors, such as the Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors, can protect you from incoming weather but don’t protect you from the ground. A ground sheet can protect an inflatable sleeping pad from punctures and provide a dry surface to spread your gear if the ground is wet. 

Call for Comments

• What’s your favorite ultralight tent or tarp?
• Have you ever fastpacked without a shelter?
• Do you prefer ultralight tarps, tents, or bivvies for fastpacking?

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