First we look at 1-person backpacking tents. We compare products from Mountain Hardware, Marmot, and North Face. Mountain Hardware's Sprite 1 unit is an ultra lightweight contender that's watertight without the need for seam sealing and uses field servicable materials including variations on taffeta, this one-door, two-pole unit is a good entry level single sleeper for its price, (the lowest of the bunch) but it's nearly a pound or 33-percent heavier than the North Face Solo which actually provides more space in the floor area. The North Face Solo 12 is designed for one-day adventures and it's construction and design are focused on that. The quality winner of this bunch is the hard hitting ultra-lightweight Marmot EOS 1P, the canopy is silicone coated waterproof ripstop nylon, and the EOS 1P uses the same DAC Featherlite aluminum poles that the North Face uses. Parts of the EOS 1P are also reflective so that your tent is easier to find at night, this unit also shows a strong thoughtful design with a single pole setup, silicon-treated zippers, inside pockets and the most square footage of the 1-person ultra-lightweight backpacking tents that we compare here.

Next we compare 2-person hiking tents from Marmot, Mountain Hardware and Bibler. The Marmot Nyx 2P is a great 3-season unit with the same DAC Featherlite aluminum used in their single person ultra-lightweight units. This unit is the lowest priced of the 2-person hiking tents but still offers great convenience and functionality with included stakes, guyline, stuff sacks, a field repair kit, ripstop and taffeta elements in the material. For a stronger contender we go the Mountain Hardware Spire 2, a 4-season tent with outstanding design and construction. The Spire is watertight, has dual doors, a dry entry vestibule and an internal guy system as well as non-stretching panels along the tent's primary tension lines to resist deformation and promote stability. The smart design of the Mountain Hardware is clear and evident to seasoned adventures, especially the coated nylon ripstop, and coated nylon taffeta. The last in our comparison is the Bibler Tempest, a 4-season, 2-person hiking tent. It is the most expensive and the heaviest in our line up. However this tent is only 6.5 pounds and has remarkable durability and a thoughtful and efficient design. The Tempest is a single-wall designed waterproof unit with ToddTex. The ToddTex material in the Tempest has an inner side that wicks water away, a ripstop nylon outside and a PTFE membrane laminated in between. The features don't stop on this unit no-see-um mesh is on the inside of the doors to prevent ice build-up, air-flow is maintained during heavy downpours. The Bibler Tempest is best used in wet and winter conditions.

In selecting a hiking tent your considerations here should factor less on weight and more on your type of adventure. All of these units are lightweight or ultra-lightweight. If you need a 2-person hiking tent and the locations you may be in are often wet or cold, a 4-season unit might be best. As an individual, a 1-person backpacking tent should be selected based on your camping tendencies, be they long stays or simple overnighters.