Lightweight Bicycle Camping Tents, Footprints, and Ultra Light Shelters.
camp light weight trekking backpacking travel

We have owned several tents over the years.  Our tents are always very high quality and and designed for hard use.  We do more than camp in a tent; we live in it and call it home.  Our tent takes a real beating and will usually last about two years before needing to be replaced.  The sun fades and deteriorates the fly and eventually you have leaks that can not fix.  The continuous use of the zippers cause them to eventually break.  When we are shopping for a tent there a few things that we like.

Things that we look for when buying a tent

- Two doors or at least we both have access to a door at the same time.  This feature is nice so your partner is not crawling over you in the middle of the night when nature calls.

- Three man tent for two people.  Even though we are just two people we like the extra space inside a three man tent.  This still seems very tight when we have our gear inside.  We sleep with most of our gear inside the tent in order to prevent things from being stolen at night.  When I traveled solo, before I got married, I preferred a two person tent for the extra room.

- Quick pitch. We set up and take down our tent hundreds of times a year.  A tent that is easy and fast is essential.  Even a few seconds will really add up over time.

- Free standing.  There is not always suitable earth to drive stakes into.  Sometimes we even are setting up on someone's driveway, the deck of a ferry boat, or a concrete slab in a campground.  A tent that can not be set up in these types of places is not versatile enough for us.  Versatility is very important in all of our gear on long trips.

- Green, brown, or at least some dark color.  This helps us hide from the road, property owners, curious kids, police, or bandits.  When we are free camping we are basically hiding from the world.  We want a color that does not stick out.  This can be very hard to find in a high quality tent.  It seems like the best tents are meant for serious mountaineering (mountain climbers).  Mountaineers like bright colors, especially yellow, so they can be found in case of an emergency.

- Optional rain fly.  In hot climates we like a tent that can be set up without the rain fly.  This serves to keep out mosquitoes and other bugs while still letting a breeze through.

- Tent repair kit.  Everything falls apart eventually and having all the necessary materials to perform field repairs is important.  Our tents always seem to have problems when we are the furthest from civilization.

Accessories that we like

- Gear loft.  This is a cloth shelf that hangs from the ceiling of the tent.  We put anything that we want to easily find or need in the middle of the night in our gear loft.  We also hang our flashlight from it.

- Battery fan.  This is a little fan that runs on the same rechargeable batteries as our flashlight and shortwave radio.  In hot climates we hang it from the ceiling of our tent and the breeze that it creates keeps us cool and helps us sleep at night.

- Hanging flashlight (torch) lantern  This is a simple idea that we find very useful.  We make sure that one of our flashlights can be hung from the ceiling (gear loft) of our tent.  When this feature is combined with rechargeable batteries we have a good source of light in our tent that we can leave on for hours.  This make the use of a candle or oil lantern unnecessary for us.

- pockets  Most tents nowadays have pockets inside that help organize gear.

Click to purchase.	Big Agnes Emerald Mountain SL3 Tent All seams on the rainfly and floor are taped for waterproof protection. Average minimum weight specification is based on tent, rainfly and poles only. Backpacker April '07 says this is ''...the new poster child for space-to-weight ratio in the suddenly intriguing category of three-person shelters.''. DAC Featherlite® NSL pole system features eco-friendly anodizing, lightweight, strong poles with press-fit connectors, a hub and twist clips. For a lightweight set up during nice weather leave tent body behind; use footprint (sold separately) with poles, fly and stakes. Generous use of mesh means a well-ventilated tent. Includes stuff sacks, stakes and guylines. Large, roomy vestibules provide generous space for wet gear with room to spare. Nylon ripstop fly has a silicone treatment and waterproof polyurethane coating; mesh tent body and waterproof nylon floor. Optional, zip-on, pole-supported front vestibule (sold separately) adds generous storage area. Reverse combi-poles combine varying diameter pole sections to capitalize on strength, weight savings and headroom. SL in product name refers to Super Light. Strong hub/pole skeleton design and DAC Twist clip attachments provide quick and easy setup. The super-light Emerald Mountain 3 combines a lightweight, freestanding design with a roomy interior and two opposing D-shaped doors. Three mesh floor pockets keep tent well organized. Buy  HERE
Click to purchase.	Buy  HERE
Click to purchase.	Big Agnes Emerald Mountain SL2 Vestibule Add a covered patio to your home away from home with the Big Agnes Emerald Mountain SL2 Vestibule. This waterproof cover adds space on the front of your tent for muddy gear, and cooking space when the weather's nasty. Buy  HERE
2 person tent
Click to purchase.	Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 2 Tent 2-Person 3-Season The Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 2 Tent weighs in under four pounds, yet has plenty of room and offers weather protection for you and a partner. Buy  HERE
1 person tent
Click to purchase.	Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 1 Tent 1-Person 3-Season  Backpacker Magazine praised the Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 1 Tent as being very nearly the perfect 3-season solo tent. Buy  HERE

MSR Velo Tent

MSR Velo Tent
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This unique 3-season tent features 2 doors and 2 vestibules--one vestibule is big enough to hold 2 bikes, extra gear or your furry four-legged pal. Shaped-by-nature geometry: poles double cross and attach on same side providing lots of headroom and increased usable floor space. Ingenious Adjustable Door Vent System allows maximum ventilation and protection, even in a downpour. DAC Featherlight aluminum poles are 26% stronger and 16% lighter than other aluminum poles. Polyester rainfly and MicroMesh™ offer maximum UV-resistance, durability and tautness to keep you dry. Equal-length poles and continuous poles sleeves provide easy set-up and a strong structure. Removable gear loft, interior pockets, stow-away door pockets and utility loops keep your house organized and gear accessible. DryGuy™ guy-out system won't wick, freeze or hold water, plus it's glove-friendly and reflective so you can find tent at night. Rainfly doors feature zipper flaps and noiseless, water-repellent zippers to keep water out. Polyurethane-coated polyester rainfly and nylon bathtub floor provide excellent waterproofness and durability. Patented ZipGate™ lets you replace zipper slider in the field. A lightweight method to tie doors up and out of the way, DryTies™ are glove-friendly and easy to use. Dry Guys, water-repellent zippers and zipper pulls are reflective for easy tent location at night. Adjustable stake loops have ladderloc buckle tensioner that is backed up by a second webbing loop. MSR uses non-wicking materials throughout; these prevent water weight gain during your trip and won't transport water into the tent. Average minimum weight specification is based on tent, rainfly and poles only.

Buy MSR Velo Tent  HERE

Big Agnes Parkview 3 Footprint  Attach footprint to tent fly (tent/fly sold separately) for fast-and-light packing. Footprint will add approximately 13 ounces to your pack depending on tent model. Sized to fit so that it prevents pooling of water under tent during wet weather. Use this coated nylon taffeta footprint underneath your Parkview 3 tent to protect floor from wear and abrasion.

Buy  HERE

Buy  HERE

Buy  HERE