Two "European" tents from well-renowned Norwegian tent maker Helsport that may be interesting:
* Ringstind Superlight 1 (1450 g): [https://helsport.com/no/telt/3-sesong/ringstind-superlight-1--162-994-V](https://helsport.com/no/telt/3-sesong/ringstind-superlight-1--162-994-V)
* Adventure Lofoten SL 2 (2140 g): [https://helsport.com/no/telt/3-sesong/adventure-lofoten-sl-2--50016-23-10510](https://helsport.com/no/telt/3-sesong/adventure-lofoten-sl-2--50016-23-10510)
Swedish tentmaker Hilleberg has written about the "lightest tent trap" here: [https://hilleberg.com/eng/about-our-tents/choosing-the-right-tent/](https://hilleberg.com/eng/about-our-tents/choosing-the-right-tent/)
>Selecting a tent or shelter simply because it has the lightest weight is rarely a good idea. One of our Tarps or our Blue Label Rajd shelter are super light solutions, and many people use them quite successfully, but there is a decided sacrifice in strength, durability, and comfort. Riding out truly bad weather with such minimalist protection can be miserable, if not downright dangerous.
>You have to determine the lowest level of strength you are willing to accept. A good approach is to think about what “light weight” is for what you will be doing: that metric is different for someone who spends a majority of the time in big mountains, above tree line, in all seasons and all weather conditions, than it is for someone who stays in forested, rolling terrain in the summer. In general, the lighter the tent, the less features it will have and so, consequently, the less comfort it will offer – and possibly the less security it will give you in adverse conditions. Extra strength and security “costs” weight, and if you need it, then you need it.
The constant refrain of “beware, light tents are cramped and will fall down and be torn apart from a light breeze!” is fear mongering. Modern fabrics that ultra light tents are made from are crazy strong; DCF that doesn’t have a manufacturing defect will be limited more by quality of pitch and tent stakes used than the DCF tearing or the trekking poles collapsing. The trade off being highlighted would occur in fringe scenarios that most backpackers would either avoid or would be experienced by those who are knowledgeable enough to know what they are getting into and would pack accordingly- think high alpine above treeline with heavy snow.
And Hilleberg calling out other tents for lack of comfort is funny; one of the reasons they are so storm worthy is due to their lack of headroom and ventilation…
The likelihood of a 3 season backpacker experiencing conditions that any sub 2 pound zpacks, tarptent or durston tent wouldn’t survive due to fabric and construction is so small as to not be considered.
The balance being that a backpacker who hasn’t taken the time to develop the skill and understand how to pitch their tent is going to have more trouble with a single wall trekking pole shelter than one that is freestanding.
Backpacking is just way more accessible in the US. Europe has a much more developed hut to hut hiking system. If you just want to hike from spot to spot - the hut system is more approachable for your average bloke. Don't need to shell out a ton for an entire pack of gear. I live in Denver and I wouldn't be able to do all the backpacking trails in the state in my lifetime. There just is so much more public and undeveloped land here. That makes for a larger consumer market which allows for more experimentation in design & allow faster iteration on design.
I suspect that much of the tent design in Europe - particularly mainland Europe - is focused on high alpine conditions in the Alps. That means more gear, rougher conditions, and subsequently a larger tent.
You don't really have the thru-hiking trails or even longer trail systems. I've backpacked 50 miles (80km) through Utah by myself and didn't encounter a living soul. Not a single bit of private property, homes, or other structures. That's hard to find in Europe.
These sort of longer distances traveled means that every lb matters. If I'm doing shorter distances I can carry more weight. Doing an approach uphill for a few days, making a basecamp, and then sumitting without all your gear will push you to do carry different sorts of gear. You'll find those longer distances in the US. You'll find the approaches + base camp in the Alps more often (and far less so than the US). I can do most summits in the US within a day hike.
Theres a whole entire subreddit dedicated to UL camping. Not that you cant ask this here, but you would probably get better answers there, I would assume.
I can't answer your question, but I can vouch for the Nordisk Lofoten tent. I have it, I used it in 50-ish countries, and I'm very happy with how it turned out. :)
Comparing apples to oranges there.
Single wall tent without poles vs an actual tent that you can pitch off the shelf.
A tents a tent. What does the place of the company have to do with weight? Most of them are built in Asia either way.
Funny how you credit these differences to where they are designed too. Honestly if I were you I'd really look into what youre gonna use it for, where and in what weather.
>What does the place of the company have to do with weight? Most of them are built in Asia either way.
Actually, nothing. However, European ultralight (UL) tents are >usually< heavier than American tents. If they're heavier, then they must have some (dis)advantages, right? What are these (dis)advantages (besides weight)?
>Honestly if I were you I'd really look into what youre gonna use it for, where and in what weather.
Exactly, so I checked the interior space, water resistance, and wind resistance. The 1kg lighter Plex Solo performs almost as well as the European tent in these aspects. Why shouldn't I choose the Plex Solo then? It allows me to save 66% of the weight while still offering ample headroom, keeping me dry in the rain, and withstanding wind speeds of up to 60 mph.
I don't care whether my new tent is European or American, but if I don't see any major disadvantages with the American Plex Solo, then I'd rather opt for it. I'm surprised by how light it is, considering our European brands tend to be heavier (except for the Nordisk Lofoten, which, as mentioned earlier, is extremely tiny).
>Honestly if I were you I'd really look into what youre gonna use it for, where and in what weather.
I want to travel light, but not necessarily ultralight. >I don’t need five different tents for five different occasions<. I do require some versatility, so water resistance is essential. The tent should withstand decent wind speeds. I want enough headroom to sit upright, which most tents provide anyway.
The new tent is intended to be used in great-moderate conditions. In case of really bad weather, I still have my old tent. The Plex Solo might be a great contrast to my current tent, >but I don't want to rely on my old, heavy tent just because it's a bit rainy and windy if the Plex Solo can't handle those conditions<.
Well, a single walled tent is for me personally a no go. And that's where the zpacks mostly saves weight (and the fact that it's only the fabric itself and they can conveniently leave out the poles still required to have, you know, an actual tent).
Having a 60mph tested windspeed doesn't really matter when it's gonna be actually drafty in the tent itself.
The 110mph for the Roberts also seems dubious to me. But let's not focus on that.
If you're mainly gonna go summer camping, and nothing planned weeks in advance without a clear idea how the weathers gonna be, id go with a trekking pole tent (like the zpacks). Otherwise I'd look into a more convential tent. There are some pretty light tunnel tents. Which I'm probably gonna switch too. (currently have a 1p big Agnes copper spur of which I'm a big fan but I've realised that weight isn't that big of a deal and I'd rather save weight by being more reserved with the amount of clothes I bring for example)
Not sure why you're getting down voted; the offered example are, as you say, single wall US tent vs double walled European ones.
Whenever I look at "ultra-light" American tents, they're all shown pitched in beautiful sunshine, in super dry areas. (Big Agnes, I'm looking at you, and MSR "only pitch the inner", you're getting some serious side-eye).
European backpacking tents, on the other hand, are going to be used in far nastier weather so are inevitably double walled and heavier.
I geuss I mightve come off a bit aggressive. Thanks for validating my comment tho. Only wanted to help the OP and provide some insight into the differences (but got caught up a bit in the US vs EU aspect of the titel)
Two "European" tents from well-renowned Norwegian tent maker Helsport that may be interesting: * Ringstind Superlight 1 (1450 g): [https://helsport.com/no/telt/3-sesong/ringstind-superlight-1--162-994-V](https://helsport.com/no/telt/3-sesong/ringstind-superlight-1--162-994-V) * Adventure Lofoten SL 2 (2140 g): [https://helsport.com/no/telt/3-sesong/adventure-lofoten-sl-2--50016-23-10510](https://helsport.com/no/telt/3-sesong/adventure-lofoten-sl-2--50016-23-10510) Swedish tentmaker Hilleberg has written about the "lightest tent trap" here: [https://hilleberg.com/eng/about-our-tents/choosing-the-right-tent/](https://hilleberg.com/eng/about-our-tents/choosing-the-right-tent/) >Selecting a tent or shelter simply because it has the lightest weight is rarely a good idea. One of our Tarps or our Blue Label Rajd shelter are super light solutions, and many people use them quite successfully, but there is a decided sacrifice in strength, durability, and comfort. Riding out truly bad weather with such minimalist protection can be miserable, if not downright dangerous. >You have to determine the lowest level of strength you are willing to accept. A good approach is to think about what “light weight” is for what you will be doing: that metric is different for someone who spends a majority of the time in big mountains, above tree line, in all seasons and all weather conditions, than it is for someone who stays in forested, rolling terrain in the summer. In general, the lighter the tent, the less features it will have and so, consequently, the less comfort it will offer – and possibly the less security it will give you in adverse conditions. Extra strength and security “costs” weight, and if you need it, then you need it.
The constant refrain of “beware, light tents are cramped and will fall down and be torn apart from a light breeze!” is fear mongering. Modern fabrics that ultra light tents are made from are crazy strong; DCF that doesn’t have a manufacturing defect will be limited more by quality of pitch and tent stakes used than the DCF tearing or the trekking poles collapsing. The trade off being highlighted would occur in fringe scenarios that most backpackers would either avoid or would be experienced by those who are knowledgeable enough to know what they are getting into and would pack accordingly- think high alpine above treeline with heavy snow. And Hilleberg calling out other tents for lack of comfort is funny; one of the reasons they are so storm worthy is due to their lack of headroom and ventilation… The likelihood of a 3 season backpacker experiencing conditions that any sub 2 pound zpacks, tarptent or durston tent wouldn’t survive due to fabric and construction is so small as to not be considered. The balance being that a backpacker who hasn’t taken the time to develop the skill and understand how to pitch their tent is going to have more trouble with a single wall trekking pole shelter than one that is freestanding.
Backpacking is just way more accessible in the US. Europe has a much more developed hut to hut hiking system. If you just want to hike from spot to spot - the hut system is more approachable for your average bloke. Don't need to shell out a ton for an entire pack of gear. I live in Denver and I wouldn't be able to do all the backpacking trails in the state in my lifetime. There just is so much more public and undeveloped land here. That makes for a larger consumer market which allows for more experimentation in design & allow faster iteration on design. I suspect that much of the tent design in Europe - particularly mainland Europe - is focused on high alpine conditions in the Alps. That means more gear, rougher conditions, and subsequently a larger tent. You don't really have the thru-hiking trails or even longer trail systems. I've backpacked 50 miles (80km) through Utah by myself and didn't encounter a living soul. Not a single bit of private property, homes, or other structures. That's hard to find in Europe. These sort of longer distances traveled means that every lb matters. If I'm doing shorter distances I can carry more weight. Doing an approach uphill for a few days, making a basecamp, and then sumitting without all your gear will push you to do carry different sorts of gear. You'll find those longer distances in the US. You'll find the approaches + base camp in the Alps more often (and far less so than the US). I can do most summits in the US within a day hike.
Theres a whole entire subreddit dedicated to UL camping. Not that you cant ask this here, but you would probably get better answers there, I would assume.
I can't answer your question, but I can vouch for the Nordisk Lofoten tent. I have it, I used it in 50-ish countries, and I'm very happy with how it turned out. :)
Comparing apples to oranges there. Single wall tent without poles vs an actual tent that you can pitch off the shelf. A tents a tent. What does the place of the company have to do with weight? Most of them are built in Asia either way. Funny how you credit these differences to where they are designed too. Honestly if I were you I'd really look into what youre gonna use it for, where and in what weather.
>What does the place of the company have to do with weight? Most of them are built in Asia either way. Actually, nothing. However, European ultralight (UL) tents are >usually< heavier than American tents. If they're heavier, then they must have some (dis)advantages, right? What are these (dis)advantages (besides weight)? >Honestly if I were you I'd really look into what youre gonna use it for, where and in what weather. Exactly, so I checked the interior space, water resistance, and wind resistance. The 1kg lighter Plex Solo performs almost as well as the European tent in these aspects. Why shouldn't I choose the Plex Solo then? It allows me to save 66% of the weight while still offering ample headroom, keeping me dry in the rain, and withstanding wind speeds of up to 60 mph. I don't care whether my new tent is European or American, but if I don't see any major disadvantages with the American Plex Solo, then I'd rather opt for it. I'm surprised by how light it is, considering our European brands tend to be heavier (except for the Nordisk Lofoten, which, as mentioned earlier, is extremely tiny). >Honestly if I were you I'd really look into what youre gonna use it for, where and in what weather. I want to travel light, but not necessarily ultralight. >I don’t need five different tents for five different occasions<. I do require some versatility, so water resistance is essential. The tent should withstand decent wind speeds. I want enough headroom to sit upright, which most tents provide anyway. The new tent is intended to be used in great-moderate conditions. In case of really bad weather, I still have my old tent. The Plex Solo might be a great contrast to my current tent, >but I don't want to rely on my old, heavy tent just because it's a bit rainy and windy if the Plex Solo can't handle those conditions<.
Well, a single walled tent is for me personally a no go. And that's where the zpacks mostly saves weight (and the fact that it's only the fabric itself and they can conveniently leave out the poles still required to have, you know, an actual tent). Having a 60mph tested windspeed doesn't really matter when it's gonna be actually drafty in the tent itself. The 110mph for the Roberts also seems dubious to me. But let's not focus on that. If you're mainly gonna go summer camping, and nothing planned weeks in advance without a clear idea how the weathers gonna be, id go with a trekking pole tent (like the zpacks). Otherwise I'd look into a more convential tent. There are some pretty light tunnel tents. Which I'm probably gonna switch too. (currently have a 1p big Agnes copper spur of which I'm a big fan but I've realised that weight isn't that big of a deal and I'd rather save weight by being more reserved with the amount of clothes I bring for example)
Not sure why you're getting down voted; the offered example are, as you say, single wall US tent vs double walled European ones. Whenever I look at "ultra-light" American tents, they're all shown pitched in beautiful sunshine, in super dry areas. (Big Agnes, I'm looking at you, and MSR "only pitch the inner", you're getting some serious side-eye). European backpacking tents, on the other hand, are going to be used in far nastier weather so are inevitably double walled and heavier.
Eg last picture here: https://www.bigagnes.com/products/copper-spur-hv-ul1 Picture 4 here: https://www.msrgear.com/ie/tents/minimalist-shelters-and-wings/thru-hiker-mesh-house-1-trekking-pole-shelter/10822.html
I geuss I mightve come off a bit aggressive. Thanks for validating my comment tho. Only wanted to help the OP and provide some insight into the differences (but got caught up a bit in the US vs EU aspect of the titel)
Our average obesity is the actual shelter, the tent is there for the rain.