I have a love/hate relationship with ultralight tents and backpacking gear. On one side, I hate how snobbish some people are about gear. Not everyone can shell out hundreds of dollars for UL gear, and they shouldn’t be made to feel bad for using whatever gear they can afford.
On the other hand, I’m a 110lb woman who goes backpacking with my young daughter. Any weight I can shed from my pack is going to make the trip easier and more enjoyable. Since we go backpacking often, it is worth it to invest in an ultralight tent.
However, there are actually a lot of great light tents out there which don’t cost a fortune. They don’t have the brand-name recognition as some others, but are still reliable.
Top Pick: Naturehike Cloud Up
The Naturehike Cloud Up 2 weighs just 3.75lbs with all extras included. Despite being so cheap, the tent is surprisingly durable and holds up in bad weather. (I’ve been using it for 7+ years now!) It also comes in a 1p and 3p size. You can get it here. Or read my full review of it here.
My CloudUp 2P tent – it’s been to a lot of places! 🙂
Comparison Table
| Tent | Fits | Weight | Interior | Doors | Vestibules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mier Lanshan | 1P | 32oz* | 89.”x 29.5" | 1 | 1 |
| Mier Lanshan | 2P | 44.8oz* | 86.6x43.3” | 2 | 2 |
| Naturehike CloudUp | 1P | 51.2oz | 82.7x43.3" | 1 | 1 |
| Naturehike CloudUp | 2P | 60oz | 82.7x49.2" | 1 | 1 |
| Featherstone Obsidian | 1P | 60oz | 81x38.5" | 1 | 1 |
| Kelty Late Start | 1P | 60oz | 85x40" | 1 | 1 |
| Featherstone Granite | 2P | 67oz | 84x51" | 2 | 2 |
| Kelty Late Start | 2P | 72oz | 85x54" | 1 | 1 |
| Naturehike P-Series | 2P | 73.6oz | 79x51" | 2 | 2 |
| Kelty Mesa | 2P | 76oz | 85x57" | 1 | 1 |
| Naturehike P-Series | 3P | 80oz | 81x63" | 2 | 2 |
| Naturehike CloudUp | 3P | 84.6oz | 84.6x68.9" | 1 | 1 |
| Naturehike P-Series | 4P | 109oz | 83x83” | 2 | 2 |
| Kelty Late Start | 4P | 110oz | 99x81" | 1 | 1 |
| Clostnature Tent | 4P | 118oz | 92x87" | 2 | 2 |
| Kelty Mesa | 4P | 119oz | 98x80" | 1 | 1 |
Warning before You Buy a Cheap Ultralight Tent
Most brand-name ultralight tents (like Big Agnes, MSR and NEMO) cost a small fortune. However, there are lots of generic brands which make cheap ultralight tents. You need to be very careful when buying from generic brands though!
Potential issues with generic tent brands:
- The listed weight often doesn’t match the actual weight
- Seams might not be taped
- The materials could be complete crap
- Waterproof level might be very low
- No bathtub floor
- The weight of the groundsheet and stakes often isn’t included.
- Terrible or non-existant refund policy
If you buy a cheap tent which fails on you, then you’ve just wasted money. You could end up spending more than if you’d shelled out for a pricier ultralight tent (hence the phrase “I’m not rich enough to buy cheap gear”). So, read reviews carefully before buying a cheap tent and don’t buy from new brands which aren’t user-tested!
Pro Tip: You can often get great deals on last-season’s UL tents at REI Outlet.
Best Cheap Ultralight Tents
When looking for low-cost ultralight tents, I used these parameters:
- Priced under $200
- Under 4lbs for 1-person tents
- Under 5lbs for 2-person tents
- 3 Season
- 2-layer design or 1-layer hybrid
- Reputable brands
*The weights listed are for TOTAL WEIGHT with all pegs, mats, poles, and groundsheet.
1. Naturehike Cloud Up (1p, 2p, 3p)
Verdict: Best overall for weight, price and durability
The Cloudup 3P (without fly) next to the Cloudup 2p. This was on a backpacking trip with my daughter and her friend.
This is the tent that I have. I originally got the 2p tent for my daughter and me. It held up so well (I’ve been using it for 7+ years now) that I got the 3p version after having my other kid. Considering how cheap and lightweight it is, the Cloud Up has held up amazingly well. It’s even kept me dry in some serious thunderstorms and a hail storm once!
The Cloud Up almost seemed too good to be true. The 2-person tent only weighs 3.75lbs with the footprint and all extras. It has a waterproof flysheet of 4000mm and the floor is also 4000mm. The poles were a bit weird at first – they splay out very wide when pitching and it might be difficult in a tight spot. But pitching is fast and easy.
My only real complaints are that: the walls sag a bit and that you are supposed to sleep with your feet towards the door (which I don’t). It’s also a tight fit inside. My daughter and I fit fine in the 2P but, if you are larger, then you’ll want the 3P for two people.
*Note that there are different versions of the Cloud Up tent. The GRAY tents are lighter weight.
**It’s possible to pitch just the groundsheet and fly of the tent without the mesh interior. This setup is even lighter.
Specs:
- Total Pack Weight: 3.2lbs (1p), 3.75lbs (2p), 5.29lbs (3p)
- Interior Dimensions: 83x39x40” (1p); 83x50x40” (2p); 85x71x43” (3p)
- Vestibule
- 20D rain fly and bathtub floor
- Other: Some pockets, lantern hook
- See It Here
2. Mier Lanshan Ultralight (1p, 2p)
Verdict: Great UL option but requires skill to pitch
This is a trekking pole tent, meaning it uses two trekking poles to pitch. Because you don’t need any tent poles, the tent is significantly lighter than other tents. For the quality, it’s also cheaper than similar tents. Just be warned that trekking pole tents are a bit tricky to pitch, especially on hard or sandy ground. Read more about trekking pole tents here.
Compared to other trekking pole tents, the Mier Lanshan has a nice design that allows for more interior room. It also has two doors and two vestibules, which will make storing gear and getting in/out easier.
The tent gets good reviews and is fairly easy to pitch. You’ll probably want to buy the footprint for the tent too, which will add an extra 5.3oz to the total weight of the tent. Note that the 2p version of this UL tent is currently pricy, but the 1p version still meets the “cheap” requirement.
Specs:
- Trekking pole tent
- Total Packed Weight: 2lbs (1p), 2.8lbs (2p)
- Interior Dimensions: 89.7”x29.5”x49.2” (1p), 86.6”x43.3”x49.2” (2p)
- 15D 6000mm bathtub floor
- 15D 5000mm fly
- Two vestibules
- Other: Groundsheet (5.3oz) sold separately, two doors, storage pockets, lamp hangers, requires trekking poles
- See It Here
3. Naturehike P-Series/Clostnature (2P, 3P, 4P)
Verdict: 4-person version is the best option for group backpacking
The Naturehike 4P P-Series next to the Cloudup 2P tent
I have Naturehike 4-person version of the P-series tent. It’s huge and, considering the size, it very lightweight at just 6.2lbs. That breaks down to 1.55lbs per person! The two doors and vestibules are really nice for family backpacking. I don’t ever use the awning feature, but that’s also nice to have. There are also 2p and 3p versions of the tent but I don’t like these as much because the floor isn’t square. The square floor plan of the 4p version means you can sleep with your heads towards the door or towards the walls.
Unfortunately, Naturehike currently isn’t selling the 4p version of the tent anymore (maybe this will have changed – check the link!). However, the brand Clostnature makes the exact same tent. Unfortunately, it is heavier than the Naturehike version.
Read my full review of the Naturehike P-Series here.
Specs:
- Total Packed Weight: 4.6lbs (2P), 5lbs (3P), 6.2lbs (P-series 4P)/7.3lbs (Clostnature 4P)
- Interior Dimensions: 51×79” (2P), 63×81” (3P), 83×83” (4P)
- 210T ripstop polyester 3000mm waterproof fabric
- Two doors and vestibules
- Other: Storage pockets, awning, great ventilation
- P-Series here and Clostnature here
4. Featherstone Granite
Verdict: Great option if you want two doors and vestibules, and like sleeping horizontally
Featherstone is a newer brand making cheap ultralight gear. They currently have two 2P tents: Granite and Peridot. The design of the tents is almost exactly the same. However, the Peridot has a bathtub floor. This floor makes it weigh much more (6.3lbs versus 5lbs loaded with Granite). Because of this, only the Granite tent made the cut.
The two vestibules and two doors on the Granite make this actually usable for two people, or one person and a dog. There’s ample headroom too because of the cross pole in the middle. It comes with the groundsheet and you can set it up as a tarp (as shown in the picture). Considering the price, the quality is actually very good. You can even get away with using the setup without the groundsheet because the floor is 20-denierSil-Nylon with 5000mm polyurethane hydrostatic rated coating.
Note: This tent is basically identical in design to the Naturehike Mongar 2p. However, the Granite has more headroom, has a thicker floor and is lighter. For this reason, the Mongar didn’t make my list of best cheap UL tents!
Specs:
- Total Packed Weight: 5lbs
- Interior Dimensions:84 x 51″
- Head height: 43″
- 40-denierSil-Nylon with 5000mm floor
- 20-denier Sil-Nylon with 5000mm fly
- Two doors and two vestibules (25″ each)
- Other: Side vents, detachable gear loft
- Get it here
5. Featherstone Obsidian
Verdict: Choose if you are short and prefer to sleep horizontally to the door.
Featherstone also makes this cheap 1p ultralight tent. I personally don’t like it very much. It weighs the same as the Cloudup 2 person tent, but is much smaller. These types of tents (this design has been popular in the past few years) also have condensation issues because there isn’t much of an air gap between the fly and the head/foot areas. If you are tall, you will likely hit the foot area, which can result in wet feet. The two air vents don’t solve this issue. (Also read: How to solve tent condensation)
That said, the Featherstone Obsidian is a nice quality for the price. A lot of people prefer to sleep horizontally to the door (though I’m not one of them), so will prefer this design. Note that the floor is only 20D, not 40D like with the Granite tent. I’d almost rather carry an extra 7oz and get the Featherstone Granite tent because of this. Also note that there is only one vestibule: there’s no zipper opening to access the second side.
Specs:
- Total Packed Weight: 3lbs 12oz
- Interior Dimensions:81 x 38.5″
- Head height: 45″
- 20-denierSil-Nylon with 5000mm floor and fly
- One doors and one vestibule
- Other: Vents, detachable gear loft
- Get it here
6. Kelty Late Start (1p, 2p, 4p)
Verdict: Choose if you need something really durable
The Kelty Late Start tent comes in several different sizes. Right away you’ll notice that the tent is very heavy (it barely meets the lightweight definition). But this is because it uses 68D fabric — so you don’t need to be careful with it like UL tents which use fragile 20D materials.
The tent uses “pockets” instead of grommets to secure the poles to the corners of the tent. This theoretically makes pitching by yourself a lot easier (I personally haven’t tried it). But I’d be concerned about the pockets getting full of dirt.
On the plus side, the Kelty Mesa 2P is one of the few lightweight tents which has a dome pole structure, so you get good headroom inside. It’s also one of the few lightweight 4p tents you’ll find. And Kelty is generally a good brand which makes durable tents.
Specs:
- Two-layer tent
- Total Packed Weight: 60oz (1p), 72oz (2p), 110oz (4p)
- Interior Dimensions: 85×40″ (1p), 85×54″ (2p), 99×81″ (4p) + vestibule
- 68D walls, floor and fly
- Get it here
7. Kelty Mesa 2P Tent
Verdict: Choose if you need durability and want to sleep with feet towards the door.
Like the Kelty Late Start, the Mesa 2P is pretty heavy for its size. It is also made out of 68D material though, so will be very durable. It also uses “smart pockets” for pitching and has a dome structure for good interior space without.
The main difference between the two Kelty tents is taht the Mesa is a dark color. The dark color is great if you like to sleep in late (I usually wake at 6am with the sun when backpacking :)), but would also be really dark if you needed to hide out in it during a rainstorm.
Specs:
- Two-layer tent
- Total packed weight: 76oz
- Interior size: 85″ long, 43″ at foot, 57″ at head, 43″ peak headroom, + vestibule
- 68D Polyester walls, floor and fly
- See it here
What About Buying Used Tents?
When I decided to upgrade to an ultralight tent, my first reaction was to look for something secondhand. I started scouring the net for a Big Agnes. I quickly gave up though. Most of the used tents only had a slight markdown, which meant I’d still be paying close to $300 for a tent. There was a surprising amount of competition. Auctions on eBay had insane bidding wars!
Plus, I’m a bit squeamish about buying used tents because of a bad experience I had years ago. The cheap used tent I bought was mostly fine. But one of the pole was cracked and broke quickly. There were no replacement poles available for this tent, so I had to splint it. No fun! I’d rather pay full price for a new tent than risk defects.
Want to really cut weight from your pack?
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