You don’t have to invest in a super ultralight tent to have great time backpacking, but backpacking is undeniably more fun when your pack weighs a bit less. You can hike farther, climb higher, and see more.
The tent might not be the most cost-efficient way to trim weight — look to your sleeping bag and sleeping pad first — but there’s something amazing about a tent that will keep you dry in an all-day rain and end up weighing less than two pounds.
The best backpacking tents are freestanding tents with two doors and a full-coverage rain fly. To learn why, check out the 10 Best Backpacking Tents 2017 at Man Makes Fire.