Backcountry.com Newsletter Articles

In the last few years, new designs and materials have brought a slew of new tents to the market. Some have revolutionized how we think about backcountry shelter. But if you get a tent that doesn’t meet your needs, you’ll suffer both on the trail and in camp. Here’s the lowdown on what you should think about when selecting a tent and a few models, both new and old, that have served campers, climbers, and backpackers well.

Selecting Your Tent

The first thing to consider when selecting a tent is the season in which you’ll be using it. Three-season tents provide the appropriate amount of weather protection and ventilation for spring, summer, and fall use. Most people start out with one of these tents. Four-season tents are really winter tents—they can stand up to horrendous storms in the high mountains but feel like a sauna if you use them for summer camping. Only buy a four-season tent if you plan on a lot of winter camping, mountaineering, or alpine climbing.

You can push a three-season tent into winter use if you understand the limitations. For example: alpine climbers have used the Black Diamond Firstlight Tent on light-and-fast assaults from the Andes to the Himalayas, but you wouldn’t want to use it for a month-long siege in bad weather because it can’t stand up to the constant abuse.

Both three-season and four-season tents come in single- and double-wall designs. Double-wall tents consist of a tent body and a separate fly that goes over the top for weather protection. These tents tend to have better ventilation and less condensation than single-wall tents, which makes storm days more comfortable. Good double-wall tents also have one, if not two, vestibules to store gear without the need to bring it inside and crowd your living space.

A single-wall tent includes no fly. Instead, the body itself provides weather protection. Despite some setbacks in this design such as decreased breathability and increased condensation, these tents are usually much lighter and faster to set up than a double-wall model. Their popularity has increased greatly in recent years, and they have become a top pick for thru-hikers, alpinists, or backpackers concerned with weight.

Our Favorites

With so many tents on the market today it’s hard to sift through all the options and pick the best shelter for your needs. Here are a handful of our favorite tents, what we like about them, and where they perform best.

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  • Black Diamond Firstlight: Though it was designed for three-season use, the Firstlight has gained a loyal following among alpine climbers for its simple design and low weight.
  • Ultralight backpacking
  • Thru-hiking
  • Single-push alpine climbing

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  • MSR Hubba Hubba: An ultralight, silicone nylon canopy brings this double-wall tent under the 4-pound limit to provide more comfort and better ventilation for weight-conscious backpackers.
  • Ultralight backpacking
  • Thru-hiking
  • Weekend camping

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  • The North Face Dyad : A 2-pound, 1-ounce weight sells most cut-the-tag-off-their-jacket backpackers on this single-wall wonder.
  • Ultralight backpacking
  • Thru-hiking
  • Solo backpacking

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  • Black Diamond Skylight : At a weight of only 4 pounds, 2 ounces, you get an ultra-breathable EPIC canopy and a large vestibule which can be pealed back to expose a half-length mesh top for ventilation in nice weather.
  • Ultralight backpacking
  • Weekend camping

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  • Big Agnes Emerald : The Emerald won the Backpacker Magazine Editor’s Choice award for pulling off a more-traditional mesh-body design, complete with double doors and vestibules, for only 4 pounds, 3 ounces.
  • Ultralight backpacking
  • Weekend camping

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  • Marmot Bise : By making all four walls almost vertical, this tent increases usable floor space to make for a more comfortable stay when summer storms trap you in tent city.
  • Ultralight backpacking
  • Weekend camping

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  • MSR Wind : MSR has tested this tent in conditions with 103mph gusts. If conditions in camp get worse than that, you’re probably SOL anyway.
  • Camping in horrendous wind
  • Base camp

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  • Sierra Designs Reverse Combi : Thanks to a tapered-pole thickness, this three-season tent provides impressive strength without increasing weight.
  • Pushing a three-season tent into bad-weather use
  • Backpacking
  • Weekend camping

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  • Bibler I Tent : This 4-pound, 5-ounce single-wall tent has been on some of the most impressive alpine ascents ever accomplished, and it continues to be a top choice for alpinists everywhere.
  • Alpine climbing
  • Winter camping
  • Mountaineering

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  • The North Face Mountain 25 : Though this classic four-season tent has seen occasional upgrades over the years, it remains pretty much the same as it has since its introduction. It’s not broke, so why fix it?
  • Mountaineering
  • Winter camping
  • Base camps

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  • Mountain Hardwear Trango : The unique internal tensioning system makes it beefy enough for Himalaya-scale storms, while tons of storage and a large vestibule make tent life more bearable.
  • Mountaineering
  • Winter camping
  • Base camps