Choosing the right type of tent can make or break your outdoor adventure.
Before you finalize your purchase at the big backpacking tent sale, make sure you understand the differences between camping tents and backpacking tents.
Weight Matters for Backpacking
The most obvious difference is that backpacking tents need to be ultralight to carry easily on your back for miles.
Camping tents built for car camping can be big and heavy, typically weighing 5-10+ lbs. In contrast, quality backpacking tents usually weigh only 2-5 lbs thanks to specialized lightweight materials.
Extra weight is a drag – literally. Every extra pound feels exponentially heavier as hiking miles add up.
When backpacking, keeping gear weight down is essential for comfort and making good mileage.
For this reason, serious backpackers will pay a premium for tents made with high-tech, featherweight materials.
Packed Size Counts Too
In addition to weight savings, backpacking tents pack down smaller to occupy less space in your backpack.
Most quality 2-person backpacking tents pack down to the size of a small cantaloupe (about 20″ x 6″), while large family camping tents often can’t compress smaller than a large kiddie pool (30″ x 10″).
Optimizing gear size matters when you need to carry everything on your back. An oversized tent can monopolize valuable real estate inside your pack, crowding out other key items like clothing, sleeping bag, and food.
Backpacking Tents Have Fewer Features
To shave weight and bulk, backpacking tents ditch non-essential features. They rarely have full-coverage rain flies, gear vestibules, or room dividers.
And backpacking tents often have smaller capacity, overhead height, and floorspace as a result.
Meanwhile, family camping tents are designed for maximum livable space, weather protection, and storage. They employ inventive features like:
- Full-coverage rainflys
- Multiple rooms/dividers
- Tall overhead height
- Wall pockets and gear lofts
- Oversized doors and vestibules
- Built-in fans, lights, and more
By removing complications, backpacking tent design is streamlined for functionality, packability, and weight reduction.
Choose a backpacking tent if you need minimalist weather protection. Go for a camping tent if you want a mini-cabin with all the comforts of home.
Backpacking Tents Cost More
With specialized materials and design, backpacking tents command premium pricing. Expect to pay $200-500 for a high quality 1-2 person ultralight model from a major brand.
In contrast, family camping tents can be found for $50-200. Budget camping gear makes it more accessible for the masses to get outdoors.
Of course, you can find exceptions at the high and low ends of both categories. But in general, if weight and packed size are not an issue, the family camping tent category offers more bang for your buck.
However, for overnight backcountry adventures, paying top dollar makes sense to minimize gear weight.
Which Tent is Right For You?
At the end of the day, choose a tent optimized for your specific adventure needs. Do you require lightweight gear to go deep into the wilderness by foot?
Then bite the bullet on a quality backpacking tent. Are you driving to a vehicle-accessible campground? Save money and get the fully-featured family camping tent.
By understanding the key differences between these two broad tent categories, you can make the right purchase. Buy smart, so you can spend more time outdoors adventuring in comfort!
