World's Lightest 4-Season Tent

Last summer the world's lightest 4-season tent was released to the fan fare of - well, very few. Whether people didn't know it existed or balked at the price tag, either way, I've heard very little chatter about a tent that I think is pretty fascinating.

The "Rocket" by Brooks Range (http://www.brooks-range.com/) is a 1 pound 6 ounce "mountaineering" tent which boasts roughly 25 feet of floor space, a peak height of 38", and a 7 sq/ft vestibule. It is 129" long and has a tapering width of 48" to 38". By sheer numbers alone, this is a pretty respectable size for a tent so spacious that weighs so little.

The Rocket comes with supporting poles, although it can also be set up with trekking poles and an avalanche probe. Why the avalanche probe? Well, it is a 4-season mountaineering tent and it is assumed this is something the user would already be carrying with them anyway. Perhaps overzealous marketing or wishful thinking, but either way it is nice to have options.

So what makes this tent so light? You guessed it - Cuben Fiber, or more specifically "CT3" fabric which is waterproof, extremely light, and very tough.

Despite this being a tent that I'd like to have in my gear closest, I'm like many who are apparently unwilling to dish out the healthy $600 price tag that comes with it. So, it will remain something that I hope will end up on my doorset one day. Donations accepted.

So if you don't have the money to spare and you don't need a full 4-season tent, what other options do you have for a full coverage tent? Well, you could get solid lightweight three-season shelters from many manufacturers. This includes Gossamer Gear (http://www.gossamergear.com/) who offers a solo tent in "The One" ($295/16 oz or the duo "Squall Classic" ($325/21.4 oz). You could try out several great options from Tarp Tent (http://www.tarptent.com/) such as the solo "Sublite" ($179, 19.75 oz), "Contrail" ($199/24.5 oz) or duo "Double Rainbow" ($260/40 oz), "Squall 2" ($230/34 oz), "Rainshadow 2" ($265/40 oz), etc. You could try several offerings from Six Moon Designs (http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/) such as the "Lunar Solo" ($235/23 oz), "Lunar Duo" ($310/39 oz), "Vamp" ($323/28 oz) or "Haven" ($355/36 oz). A smaller manufacturer recently getting some air time as they revamp their design and production process is Lightheart Tents (http://www.lightheartgear.com/) whom I saw at Trail Days two years ago. At $235 for the solo (27 oz) or $295 for the Duo (32 oz), they will no doubt have an impact on the future of lightweight backpacking. Course if you really want to go lightweight and don't mind walls and floors made out of only mosquito netting, you could go to Zpacks (http://www.zpacks.com/) and pick up the Hexamid ($275/8.2 oz) or Hexamid Duo ($345/10.5 oz). The "Fly Creek" series by Big Agnes is also a nice option from a mainstream manufacturer. The solo is $299/30 oz and the Duo is $350/34 oz.

For four-season tents, you'll need to focus on other options such at the Moment ($215/28.5 oz) from Tarp Tent, although I'd put it and the Brooks Range Rocket in the 3+ season category personally. My advice for a genuine 4-season tent is the Stephenson's Warmlite (http://www.warmlite.com/) which are expensive, but are made well, have excellent space-to-weight, and have been around long enough for the best design to rise to the top.

The "Best" Lightweight 4-Season Tent

As I sit here typing this blog, I’m looking at 24” of snow which was dumped in central Virginia in addition to the rest of the eastern states. My back is aching from shoveling and my car will go absolutely no where until a snow plow visits my small and rural residential community. Unlike even a single other person on my street, I got the bright idea to set up my tent the night before the storm so I could gain some additional experience camping in snow and cold conditions. My wife and the closest neighbor within view apparently exchanged several phone calls throughout the evening which generally went something like this: (Neighbor) “Is your idiot husband still outside?” (Wife) “Yes, my idiot husband is still outside?” (Neighbor and Wife while slapping forehead) “What an idiot!”.

After getting rid of my GoLite Shangri-La 2 floorless tent following an evening in another storm in which I accidentally kicked out my supportive trekking pole resulting in the whole structure falling down on me, I’ve been using an older tent I have while contemplating my options for its replacement. The older tent is an 8 pound North Face which I will not be carrying anywhere for any great distance. It’s a good tent, but entirely too heavy and the Shangri-La was supposed to be my solution. Unfortunately, at 6’6”, the Shangri-La simply wasn’t long enough which is a running theme in my life regarding gear.

I’m not a huge snow camper for lots of reasons. First, Virginia isn’t known for season long accumulations of snow and therefore I don’t get a lot of experience as I don't frequently make it out of Virginia. The ski resorts Virginia has actually makes most of its own snow. Second, snow camping is still something I find pretty difficult - meaning I don’t like being unable to travel as much as I’d like and I have personal issues with so little sun during the day as I feel like the day is over just as I get started. Nonetheless, I study the heck out of gear just as personal interest. In this case, it will help me decide what 4-season tent is the best option for me. I wanted to pass along my personal choice for an excellent 4-season tent in the event that some of you may be in the same boat and need a lightweight and functional option.

First and foremost, I’ll go ahead and directly mention the extremely popular manufacturer Tarp Tent and Henry Shire’s various solutions for 4-season shelters. I love Henry’s stuff, but, for example, his extremely popular "Moment" just isn’t strong enough to really handle legitimate snow load. It will handle the generic snow storm many of us would likely experience and it is priced very competatively, so perhaps I'm being overly critical. Oware, Black Diamond, and others have pyramid floorless options which are pretty popular too, but again the surface area lengthwise usually isn't enough and I also don’t like the rigging required on the center pole to achieve its full height.

So what is my choice? The Stephenson’s Warmlite tent (www.warmlite.com/tents.htm). WARNING….as I mentioned on an earlier blog, the Stephenson’s are/were nudists, so plan on seeing some colorful pictures in addition to their lengthy and difficult to follow narratives. Regardless of their unusual approach to business, if you have the money, I just haven’t found a better engineered and lightweight solution which offers such a great space to weight ratio. Quite honestly, they are a solid option for year round backpacking too. These tents are elliptical shaped which helps a great deal in wind and offers unsurpassed strength and space. It also comes with lots of options in addition to overall size, colors, wind stabilizers, windows, larger entry points, vestibules, vents, etc.

So how light is it? Well, for the model I like, the two-person 2R, it comes in at an astoundingly low 2.75 pounds…and that’s for a double-wall genuine 4-season tent. When compared to Tarp Tent's Moment, the 2R is taller by an inch, wider by 20"-40", longer by 5", comes with a larger vestibule, is capable of handling greater snow loads, is arguably better ventilated, and fits two people instead of one. But....it is also nearly $300 more expensive than the Moment and comes in at around a pound heavier. Stephenson also offers a similar single-wall two-person tent which comes in at a mere 2.33 ounces! One of the reasons I like the double wall is because Stephenson lines it with a reflective barrier which helps keep wind out while preserving interior warmth (it also acts as a well need vapor barrier). It blocks out some light, but that’s one of the reasons why the user can pick their own color as it affords them the ability to lighten the interior color (and exterior) as they see fit. Personally, I’m a big fan of light green on the outside and yellow on the inside as it hides better in the woods and offers decent interior light. Stephenson's offers tents for 2, 3, and 5 people, all at very reasonable weights. If you've got the money to spend, want the extra room, and need something that will truly stand up to the elements, consider the Stephenson's Warmlite tent.