Accessories

These are some of the accessories that you want to consider for your camping trip. You definately want to consider a waterproof ground cloth for underneath the tent. This keeps the floor material dry from the dampness rising from the ground even when not raining. A lightweight tarp for to cover the tent and area in front, although not necessary, will extend your comfort when faced with one or more days of rain. Additional tent pegs are handy if wooden sticks are not available in the camping area. These extra pegs may be metal or plastic and may come as part of a kit for your convenience to keep dirt and spruce or pine needles out of the tent. Dirt on the floor tends to increase wear and tear on the tent floor, so keep it clean as possible.

Two Man tents

This time I am showing a selection of two Man tents, one is a three season model, with the same lightweight features and of course the better the fabric the better the tent. Depending on the use you intend and how often you use your tent, the better fabric makes the best investment. Most tents manufacturers seal the fabric seams to prevent water leaks.
My preference when traveling the deep woods of the Northeast, generally by canoe, is to use a two man tent. This provides a bit more space to stow your gear and hold up when faced with heavy rain for a day or two. Two persons in a canoe can easily carry a two man tent plus a separate lightweight tarp which offers rain protection outside the tent. I seldom worried about carrying tent poles because I depended on using wooden poles and stakes found at the site.

One Man Lightweight tents

                             

These three samples vary from two quality backpacking tents to a quality Mountaineering tent.

Accessories for Consideration

Additional features that should be considered for the lightweight backpacking tent are a waterproof floor and fly. A waterproof floor is generally turned up the sidewalls which prevents the lighter weight wall material from contacting the moist ground plus it keeps out mosquitoes, flies and crawling insects. A fitted fly will provide additional wind and rain protection which is welcome when you are in cramped quarters for any extended length of time. A waterproof tent with a waterproof floor will become a condensation trap inside under some weather conditions, thus the convenience of a fitted overhead fly which provides a space between the tent and fly for ventilation.

Poles to setup and provide rigidity to should be fiberglass or fiber so they can be easily flexed but resist being crimped or crushed. Some peaked tents may require just two poles, for front and back, to set up dome types require thin flexible poles.

Unless you plan on pitching your tent on rocky ground or dry sand a waterproof ground sheet is recommended for under the tent floor to prevent the tent floor becoming damp from ground moisture particularly in wooded or grassy locations. This is particularly important for lightweight backpacking tents where you are likely required to pack them up each day without properly drying. It is very important that the tent be thoroughly dried and not packed away for any length of time in a wet or damp condition.

Additional Considerations

When you consider the options of number of persons and travel means, intended use and time of year and weather you expect it is time to consider additional features which many of the lightweight backpacking tents provide. These features include the simplest of a single waterproof tarp shelter to a 3 or 4 person tent. The intent here is to get out into nature to enjoy all nature has to offer.

The simplest of tents may be a single tarp cover to protect from the sun or shed rain. A simple one man tent may be a sleeping bag flynet cover or waterproof cover slightly larger than the sleeping bag.

The next sizes of lightweight backpacking tents are 1 to 3 man size that will allow you to situp inside and also stow your camp gear inside. A 4 man size will provide much more space and height. Most will have a waterproof integral floor and an optional fitted waterproof fly to cover the tent. A fly cover over the tent windows netting will provide much needed ventilation.

Preliminary Considerations

Those of you who are considering a lightweight backpacking tent, perhaps for the first time, consider the tent selection shown. You should determine the intended use when making this purchase:

First, how many persons are to be involved and how will you be traveling, walking, canoeing, or by  vehicle.

Second, what is the intended use: one or more short time weekend pack trips a year, a longer term of two or more weeks or an extended summer expedition.

Third, what time of year and weather condition can you expect: A warm dry trip, hot and wet weather with flies, high mountain cool windy weather or are you likely to encounter snow.

Several products are available to satisfy your requirements. There are quality lightweight backpacking products available which allow you to consider and balance features, such as size,  and weight with the backpacker in mind. Whether you require a lightweight backpacking one person tent for a solo trip or a 2 or 3 person tent for a weekend excursion. There are also larger 4-person lightweight tents for a family backpacking trip. The right tent is available for you!