Lightweight Backpacking Tents Compared (2026)

Weights and list prices are the makers' published figures; each product page links the maker's page. If you already hike with trekking poles, start with the Durston X-Mid 2: 975 g (34.4 oz) in Durston's typical setup with stuff sacks and six stakes, 890 g for the tent alone, with a list price of $319.00, the lowest of the two-person tents here. It pitches on your poles instead of its own pole set.

If you want a freestanding tent, one that stands up before you stake it, the Sea to Summit Ikos Evo has the lowest list price of those here at $350.00. At 2,514 g (88.7 oz), Sea to Summit's packed weight, it is also the heaviest shelter in this guide.

The Zpacks Duplex is the lightest two-person shelter here, 504 g (17.8 oz) as Zpacks lists it, and the most expensive, with a list price of $749.00. It is single-wall, meaning there is no separate inner tent, so you manage condensation yourself with venting and site choice. Each tent's figures are in its section below.

The eight shelters here run from the Zpacks Duplex at 504 g (17.8 oz) to the Sea to Summit Ikos Evo at 2,514 g (88.7 oz). List prices run from $260.00 for the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo to $749.00 for the Duplex. Every shelter is an active product in our catalogue with a verified retailer listing. Figures come from the maker where the maker publishes them and from the retailer listing otherwise, and each product page links its source. RidgeNote does not pitch, weigh or test tents.

One caution before the numbers: makers do not all weigh the same way. Some state a minimum weight (fly, inner and poles only), some a packed weight with stakes and bags. The two can differ by 150 g or more for the same tent (MSR gives the Hubba Hubba LT 2 a packaged weight of 3 lb 6 oz, 1,540 g, and a lower minimum weight that leaves out the stakes and stuff sacks), so compare like with like.

The X-Mid 2 pitches on two trekking poles and weighs 975 g (34.4 oz) in Durston's typical setup (tent, stuff sacks and six stakes), 890 g (31.3 oz) for the tent alone. Its list price is $319.00. Durston publishes two doors, two vestibules, a 92 x 52 in floor (33.2 sq ft), 48 in of peak height, and a 3500 mm hydrostatic head for the 15D fly and floor. Hydrostatic head is a lab measure of how much water pressure a fabric resists before it leaks. The inner can stay clipped to the fly, so the two go up together and the inner stays covered when you pitch in rain.

Skip it if: you do not hike with trekking poles (the tent ships without them), you camp on platforms or bare rock where staking is hard, or you want a tent that stands on its own before it is staked.

The Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 (1,729 g, 61.0 oz packed weight per Big Agnes, which gives 1.52 kg as the trail weight; list price $649.95) is a three-person freestanding tent with two doors and two 9 sq ft vestibules over a 41 sq ft floor, and 43 in of peak height. The two-person Copper Spur UL2 is also in our catalogue, at a list price of $599.95. Skip it if: you hike solo and do not need three-person space at $649.95.

The MSR Hubba Hubba LT 2 (1,540 g, 54.3 oz packaged weight per MSR, list price $549.95) is freestanding on aluminum poles, with two doors, two vestibules and a 29 sq ft floor. Skip it if: floor area matters most. Its 29 sq ft is 4.2 sq ft less than the X-Mid 2's, at a list price $230.95 higher.

The Sea to Summit Alto TR2 (1,340 g, 47.3 oz packed weight per Sea to Summit, which gives 1,156 g as the minimum trail weight) is semi-freestanding, with two doors and two vestibules. The poles hold up the body, but part of the floor and the vestibules still need stakes. Skip it if: you want a tent that stands on a wooden platform without staking.

The Sea to Summit Ikos Evo (2,514 g, 88.7 oz packed weight per Sea to Summit; list price $350.00) is the least expensive freestanding shelter here: aluminum poles with a polyester fly and floor. Polyester absorbs less water than nylon, so it stretches and sags less when wet. Skip it if: you cover long days or long distances. It weighs 2.6 times as much as the X-Mid 2 in its typical setup and 785 g more than the Copper Spur UL3.

Many people shopping for a two-person tent hike alone and want the room for gear. If that is you, a one-person shelter costs and weighs less. The Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo (740 g, 26.1 oz, list price $260.00) has the lowest list price here. It is a single-wall shelter pitched on one trekking pole, with a floor up to 90 in long and 48 in wide (26.25 sq ft; the floor is not a rectangle) plus an 8.5 sq ft vestibule. Six Moon publishes a 20D silicone-coated polyester canopy, a 40D floor and a 3000 mm hydrostatic head. The 40D floor is heavier fabric than the X-Mid 2's 15D floor. Skip it if: you have not managed single-wall condensation before.

The Gossamer Gear The One (558 g, 19.7 oz, list price $315.00) is lighter still: 15D and 20D silicone/PU-coated fabric with a published 4923 mm hydrostatic head, and an 84 in floor that is 33 in wide at the head and 21 in at the foot. Skip it if: you are hard on gear, since 15D fabric needs careful site choice, or you tend to touch the walls in your sleep. In a single-wall shelter, any condensation on the wall then ends up on your bag.

The Duplex weighs 504 g (17.8 oz) for a 45 in by 7.5 ft floor (28.1 sq ft). That is 386 g (13.6 oz) less than the X-Mid 2's tent alone, for $430.00 more at list price. Zpacks publishes a 0.55 oz/sqyd Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF) canopy and a 1.0 oz/sqyd DCF floor. DCF does not absorb water, so it does not sag when wet the way coated nylon can.

Skip it if: this is your first tent (single-wall condensation takes practice), or $749.00 is more than you want to spend.

Seven of the eight shelters here weigh under 4 lb (64 oz, 1,814 g): the Duplex at 17.8 oz, The One at 19.7 oz, the Lunar Solo at 26.1 oz, the X-Mid 2 at 34.4 oz, the Alto TR2 at 47.3 oz, the Hubba Hubba LT 2 at 54.3 oz and the Copper Spur UL3 at 61.0 oz. The Ikos Evo, at 88.7 oz, is the only one over.

Compare per person, not per tent. The One and the Lunar Solo sleep one, and the Copper Spur UL3 sleeps three (20.3 oz each). Split two ways: Duplex 8.9 oz each, X-Mid 2 17.2 oz, Alto TR2 23.6 oz, Hubba Hubba LT 2 27.2 oz, Ikos Evo 44.3 oz.

Three shelters here list under $350.00: the Lunar Solo at $260.00, The One at $315.00 and the X-Mid 2 at $319.00. All three pitch on trekking poles. The Ikos Evo lists at $350.00 and needs no trekking poles.

Do not save on fly coverage (a partial fly lets wind-driven rain onto the mesh), zippers, or poles and guy-out points that hold in wind. You can skip a gear loft.

How a tent pitches in rain matters as much as what it weighs. Single-wall shelters, and double-wall tents whose inner stays clipped under the fly, keep the sleeping area covered while you set up. Tents that pitch inner-first leave the inner exposed until the fly goes on. Two doors mean neither person climbs over the other at night. Floor area alone does not tell you how roomy a tent is: steep walls and a high peak make a small floor more usable than sloped walls over a bigger one.

Denier (D) is a measure of yarn weight, and it trades durability against weight. The 15D fabrics on the X-Mid 2 and The One need more care on rock and roots than the Lunar Solo's 40D floor. Check seam sealing before your first wet night: DCF seams are usually taped or bonded at the factory, while silicone-coated fabrics often need sealing by hand.

Do I need a footprint? With a 15D floor on rock and roots, a footprint protects it. A cut sheet of polycryo window film is a light, cheap option. With a heavier floor such as the Lunar Solo's 40D, many hikers go without.

Do two people fit in a lightweight two-person tent? Check floor width before buying if you both use wide pads. The X-Mid 2 publishes 52 in of width and the Duplex 45 in. Two 25 in pads need 50 in.

Trekking-pole or freestanding? Both work. Wooden platforms at designated sites favor freestanding tents. Elsewhere, stakes hold in most forest soil. If you already carry trekking poles, a trekking-pole shelter saves the weight of a pole set. If you do not, the poles add back weight and cost.