Car camping can be fun, but if you are going to be carrying your tent for any significant amount of time you need to be looking at portable tents. More specifically, you will likely want a small tent, as well as a lightweight tent, especially if you are the one that is going to be carrying this portable tent around. But besides how portable a tent is, there are a few other tent related things that you need to decide on before you can be sure which tent is right for you.
Portable Tents
What to look for when you're reviewing portable tents.- Trekking Pole Supports – If you want to get really innovative, and if you carry trekking poles, then there are a few tents out there that will work with trekking poles providing the structure, rather than a tent pole. Imagine how much more portable a tent would be if you didn’t have to carry any tent poles with it.
- Single Wall – Another good way to cut down on the weight and bulk of a tent is to go with a single wall tent, instead of a more traditional tent where you have an inner tent and a rain fly. As long as you properly ventilate your tent, you wont have any problems with condensation, and you will have cut down on roughly half of the fabric of the tent.
Best Portable Tents
Some of the best portable tent options for your next outdoor adventure.- Eureka Spitfire 1 - The Spitfire is a very portable tent, with room inside for just one and a relatively impressive weight of 2 pounds 12 ounces, or 1.25 kilograms. It has a fairly unique shape, but plenty of room inside. What's best about the Spitfire, however, is that it's a portable tent with a very low price. So if you want something to take take backpacking or solo camping, but don't want to spend a lot, the Spitfire might be the ideal portable tent for you.
- NEMO Equipment Meta 2P - The Meta is another solid portable tent. It's a single wall design that can also use trekking poles for supports, which are the two features listed above to look out for, so it has plenty going for it. There's room inside for two, and there's also a nice, big vestibule for storing whatever gear you need kept dry at night. Even the interior of the tent is very roomy, at 37 square feet of floor space. So while you save weight and bulk with the design features, you also don't lack for space in any regard. So a portable but roomy tent, perfect for anyone who uses trekking poles. The whole thing weighs 2 pounds 15 ounces, or 1.33 kilograms.
- Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 Tent - The UL2 is the ideal portable tent for someone who is willing to spend the money to have the best. It's a free standing tent, and has a double wall design, which might make you think that it's going to be heavier, but at 2 pounds 2 ounces, or 960 grams it's the lightest tent on this list, even lighter than the 1 person Spitfire above, this being a 2 person tent. It actually won the 2010 Backpacker Magazine Editor's Choice award, so definitely an impressive tent, but with a price to match that. There's also a solo, 3 person and 4 person version, for whatever you need.
