The Best Hiking Tents

The Best Hiking Tents
Backpack camping is one of the most adventurous and exciting ways to camp. Staying dry in a durable, comfortable tent is the cornerstone of a good camping trip. This list includes the best hiking tents for two people, one person and ultralight varieties to get you started on the right foot.

Two-Person Tents

• Mountain Hardwear Twin Arch 2 Tent
Clip setup, excellent ventilation and a built-on vestibule make this light tent surprisingly roomy. A woven mesh roof panel offers great visibility. The hubbed aluminum frame is the secret to this tent's strength and light weight.

• Marmot Abode 2 Tent
This classic dome tent design easily sleeps two campers. Its hubbed aluminum frame adds durability to its light structure. This tent has two doors, a mostly woven mesh body and a fly with an embedded clear window.

• Sierra Designs Zeta 2 Tent
The Zeta 2 uses a narrow design with steep walls to increase vertical space in the tent. Its woven mesh body provides ventilation, and two vestibules and two doors make this tent extremely comfortable and easy to use for two campers.

Single-Person Tents

• The Marmot Eos 1 Tent
The one-piece aluminum frame of the Marmot Eos makes it an ideal one-person tent. Easy to set up, designed with plenty of vertical space and equipped with a roomy vestibule, this lightweight tent weighs only 3.5 pounds.

• MSR Skinny 1 Tent
Designed to be lightweight with maximum ventilation and durability, the MSR Skinny 1 is one of the best tents on the market. Its single-wall construction, large vestibule and rainproof material are perfect for the most rugged of camping trips.

• Sierra Designs Lightyear 1 Tent
The Lightyear sports an all-mesh body, aluminum pole set and bathtub-style floor. Along with its full-coverage rain fly, the Lightyear will keep you dry during even the heaviest rainstorms.

Ultralight Tents

• Sierra Designs Vapor Light Tent
Weighing in at only 2 pounds 15 ounces, the Vapor Light is one of the world's lightest ultralight hiking tents. Its inventive double-hubbed aluminum frame gives strength to the structure while keeping the weight down.

• Eureka Zeus Exo Tent (3 pounds)
Single-wall design and three vents make the Zeus Exo a light, breezy tent perfect for solo hiking expeditions. An easy-to-set-up clip-locking body made of rip-stop nylon will assure years of use from this rugged tent.

• MSR Hubba Hubba Tent (4 pounds 3 ounces)
Although the Hubba Hubba sleeps two, it still qualifies as ultralight. Featherlight SL aluminum poles, mesh body and two doors and vestibules make this tent a user-friendly, lightweight masterpiece.

Article Written By Jake Kulju

Jake Kulju is a Minneapolis-based freelance outdoors writer with 10 years' experience. He is an outdoors guidebook author for Avalon Travel and his work is regularly published in "Outdoor Traditions Magazine" and "Naturescape News." His nature-based poetry is published in "Poetry Canada" and "Farmhouse Magazine." Kulju holds an English degree from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Write for Trails.com
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