Top 4 Light Weight Backpacking Tents of 2019 Under 3lbs

The backpacking tent is arguably the most important element of your backpacking setup. It has a huge job, keeping you and your gear dry and safe from the elements. In part because of this, backpacking tents often take up large amounts of space and weight in your pack.

Today we want to help you narrow down the enormous list of backpacking tents available by taking a look at a few of the best backpacking tents of 2019 under 3lbs. These tents vary in shape and style, but ultimately they all do an excellent job of providing you a home while on the trail.

To keep thinks simple we rated the following backpacking tents on a few metrics, set up size, weight, price, and livability. We also included the amazon star rating for each at time of publication.

Tent	Price	Size (in)	Weight	Livability	Rating
RCP Trekker Tent 2.2	$54.95	84 x 62 x 42	3lb	Ok	4.8
Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2	$449.95	88 x 52/42 x 40	2lb 12oz	Good	3.3
ZPacks Duplex Tent	$599	90 x 45 x 48	1lb 3.4 oz	Great	NA
NEMO Hornet Tent	$369.95	85 x 51/43 x 40	2lb 5oz	Great	3.7

Set up size is listed in inches as follows: length x width x height.

#1 – River Country Products Trekker Tent 2.2

The Trekker Tent 2.2’s unbeatable price and quality earned it the top spot in our lineup of lightweight backpacking tents. While the heaviest tent on the list at 3lbs even, it makes up for the weight with it’s price, size, and livability. The Trekker Tent 2.2 is 7 feet long, 62in wide and 42in tall. While the length is about average, for a one man tent it is quite wide, easily enough room for you and your gear. 42in tall is also plenty of headroom for sleeping and sitting. The Trekker Tent 2.2 does not feature a vestibule, but it is almost a complete 2 layer tent, which makes it unique among trekking pole and non-freestanding tents.

The Trekker Tent 2.2 has large side vents meaning it does not suffer from condensation problems that most non freestanding tents suffer from. It’s also a crowd favorite. There are few negative reviews and customer service is fantastic.

In short, you can’t beat River Country Products Trekker Tent 2.2 for it’s price, size, and livability.

#2 – Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 2 Tent

The Big Agnes UL2 is a sharp looking lightweight backpacking tent. We love the Big Agnes for its low weight, 2lb 12oz and it’s livability. With two vestibules and a large interior space (though admittedly a bit small for two people) the Big Agnes has room for you and your gear. The Big Agnes also uses minimal poles, is easy to set up and is a free standing tent.

The tent materials are generally high quality, though a little less durable than some tents, and the zippers tend to snag after a few uses. But it does great at keeping out adverse weather.

An optional footprint is available for sell with Big Agnes as well to increase the durability of the floor. It also functions as a shelter tent for the ultralight backpacker if you want to lose some weight. Simply pack the footprint, rain fly and poles for a lightweight tent shelter set up.

We like the Big Agnes for it’s weight, livability and ease of use.

#3 – ZPacks Duplex Tent

We think this tent is pretty cool, though it does come with a hefty price tag of $599. ZPacks Duplex Tent is extremely lightweight, and made of high quality materials. This tent is great for thru hiking and ultralight backpacking.

Among the Duplex’s best features are its four storm doors, vestibules, and easy access doors. These doors and vestibules make the tent very livable and allow for a wide range of variety when setting up the tent. Is it raining? Well close the doors. Windy? No problem. Sunny? Lets get some air flow. We really like the different options that the Duplex gives us.

The Duplex is a trekking pole tent, meaning it is a bit more work to set up and is not freestanding. However, the tent handles great in the wind, any condensation runs outside of the tent, so we think the gains are worth the extra hassle.

#4 – NEMO Hornet 2P Tent

The NEMO Hornet is a great 2 person backpacking tent. Tent setup is easy, and uses less poles than most other freestanding tents. It features two doors and two vestibules, much like the Big Agnes, making it very livable and large for one person and their bags. We think that while you could fit two people inside, it wouldn’t really be comfortable.

This tent is also a bit shorter than the others, but nothing too concerning, and the true tub floor is a great for waterproofing the tent.