The variety of ultralight double-wall backpacking tents with a path weight of three lbs or much less which are out there at this time has grown considerably, pushed by client demand and advances in material and materials applied sciences. If you favor a double-wall tent over a single-wall tent as a result of it’s extra spacious, hotter, much less drafty, and has a separate interior tent and rainfly to stop inside condensation switch, you may have it with only a slight weight penalty in comparison with a single-wall tent.
While ultralight single-wall tents will all the time have their advocates, the overwhelming majority of backpackers favor freestanding (See: What is a Freestanding Tent) and semi-freestanding tents (See: What is a Semi-Freestanding Tent) that don’t require a lot apply or superior web site choice abilities to arrange. Ease of use typically trumps a number of ounces of added gear weight when it comes proper right down to it. See for your self, beneath on this sortable desk.
Tent Fabrics and Materials
The lightest-weight ultralight double-wall tents are made with DCF (Dyneema Composite Fabrics) which is extra of an artificial laminate than a cloth. In addition to being very light-weight, it’s way more waterproof than typical tent materials and doesn’t sag when it will get moist. The downsides are that it’s very costly and is bulkier than typical tents to pack, though you’d anticipate the other.
Most ultralight double-wall tents are nonetheless made with extra typical materials together with ripstop nylon. These are often coated with PU (polyurethane) or its variants together with PeU (polyether urethane), which is turning into more and more common. These waterproof coatings permit tents to be manufacturing unit seam-taped so that you don’t need to seam seal them your self, one thing that plenty of single-wall tent producers, together with Six Moon Designs, Lightheart Gear, and Tarptent require to this present day with their silnylon and siliconized polyester tents.
Silpoly, which is siliconized polyester, is a relative newcomer to the ultralight tent scene however is being adopted by increasingly more light-weight backpack makers together with Durston Gear and Tarptent. Like DCF, it doesn’t sag or stretch when it will get moist, which has all the time been an issue with silnylon.
Some of the tents listed above, together with these from Big Agnes and MSR, additionally embody carbon fiber tent poles to avoid wasting weight. These grew to become out there about 5 years in the past and have confirmed dependable, so increasingly more tent producers are adopting them.
Summary
To summarize, there are extra ultralight and light-weight double-wall tents out there at this time than ever earlier than. If you’re available in the market to cut back the burden of your backpacking tent however are hesitant to get a single-wall tent as a substitute of a double-wall one since you’re involved about tent condensation or ease of use, relaxation simple. The weight distinction between ultralight double-wall and single-wall backpacking tents has narrowed significantly and you’ll keep on with a double-wall tent with solely a slight weight penalty.
Double-wall Tent Advantages
- Easy to arrange
- Inner tent prevents inside condensation from making your gear moist
- Can be utilized in all three-season climate situations and gentle winter climate
- Vestibules present coated extra gear storage in poor climate
- Deep bathtub flooring forestall flooding if water swimming pools beneath
- Less drafty as a result of much less airflow is required to mitigate condensation
- Easier to arrange on rock ledges, sandy soil, or picket tent platforms
Double-wall Tent Disadvantages
- Tent poles will be cumbersome and awkward to pack
- Warmer in scorching climate
- Take longer to dry as a result of they’ve extra floor space
- The interior tent might turn out to be moist when pitched in rain, though some double wall tents will be pitched fly first to maintain the interior tent dry
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