Three-Season Tent Reviews

The Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo ultralight backpacking tent in Bechler Canyon, Yellowstone National Park.

Review: Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo Ultralight Backpacking Tent

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Ultralight Backpacking Tent
Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo
$250 ($35 extra for seam sealing), 1 lb. 9 oz. (without the optional, 2-oz. carbon pole)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
sixmoondesigns.com

At around 7,000 feet in Yellowstone in September, the season can turn on a dime—and the last 24 hours of an otherwise beautiful, five-day backpacking trip on Yellowstone’s Bechler River Trail demonstrated that, delivering steady rain and wind all night and on our last day of hiking (which featured a bone-chilling river ford). The trip’s range of weather put a spotlight on the strengths of the classic, ultralight Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo tent, as well as its one major weakness.

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MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2-person backpacking tent.

Review: MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2-Person Backpacking Tent

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Backpacking Tent
MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2-Person
$550, 3 lbs. 8 oz.
backcountry.com

In exposed, windy campsites on backpacking trips in Utah’s High Uintas Wilderness, Nevada’s Ruby Mountains, and Hells Canyon, the Hubba Hubba NX 2-person tent not only passed that test of its sturdiness, it displayed the subtle reasons why it’s so comfortably livable for a midweight, three-season, freestanding shelter.

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The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Dirigo 2 ultralight backpacking tent in the Wind River Range.

Review: Hyperlite Mountain Gear Dirigo 2 Backpacking Tent

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Ultralight Backpacking Tent Hyperlite Mountain Gear Dirigo 2 $900, 1 lb. 12 oz. hyperlitemountaingear.com For six nights on a 96-mile traverse of the Wind River High Route—two-thirds of it off-trail and camping in the alpine zone between 10,000 and 12,000 feet—the Dirigo 2 endured rain and strong winds. But our last night had me worried. Camped in a completely exposed …

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The Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 in Utah's High Uintas Wilderness.

Review: Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 Backpacking Tent

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Ultralight Backpacking Tent
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2
$530, 2 lbs. 11 oz./1219g
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
backcountry.com

As the wind gusted over 30 mph and at times 40 mph at our unprotected campsite in a big meadow beside the Snake River, on the Idaho side of Hells Canyon while backpacking in early June, I kept throwing nervous glances at our tents. But while three of them whipped and bent under the onslaught of air, the Copper Spur HV UL2 barely trembled—not what you’d necessarily expect from an ultralight backpacking tent. But that’s just one way this shelter defies expectations.

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The Nemo Dragonfly 2P on the Teton Crest Trail.

Review: Nemo Dragonfly 2P Ultralight Backpacking Tent

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Ultralight Backpacking Tent
Nemo Dragonfly 2P
$500, 2 lbs. 10 oz./1191g
nemoequipment.com

From clear, cool, late-August nights on the Teton Crest Trail, to mixed weather that included rain and wind on a five-day hike in Yellowstone’s Bechler Canyon area in September, the Nemo Dragonfly 2P displayed the weather protection and exceptional livability that distinguishes it as one of the very best two-person, three-season ultralight backpacking tents on the market today—at a very good price for this level of quality. Here’s why.

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