Best hunting tent for backpacking [Gear Guide]

If there is one decision that totally depends on your hunting style, it’s a tent.  The shelter you choose will always be a compromise, so it pays to do the research to make sure you’re choosing the right one.  In this guide I’ll break down all the different shelter options, the factors to consider, and the pros/cons of each approach.

This guide is written with an emphasis on lightweight, backpacking tents for elk hunting but also applies to almost any backcountry hunting tent.  As always, I put my recommendations (and a summary) right up top since I go into so much detail later on.  Make sure to scroll down if you really want to understand the “why” not just the “what”.

My recommendations: the best backcountry hunting tent

If you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick summary and some recommendations: the best backpacking shelter for 90% of hunters is a double wall, three season tent because it is offers a great compromise of weight & livability, solid weather resistance (including condensation), ease of use, and protection from ground water + bugs (as well as peace of mind from predators at night).  Here are the best options from my testing and research:

• Best one person hunting tent
  • No price limit: Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL1
    • Crazy light, tons of space, freestanding, and a side zip door.  
    • Big Agnes Fly Creek UL is 3 ounces lighter but has less room and a front zip door
  • Budget: REI Half Dome 1 Plus
    • Not light but fantastic price + features (side door, freestanding, etc) and thick enough fabric you probably don’t need a footprint.
• Best two person hunting tent
  • No price limit:  Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2
    • Truly incredible tent with lots of space, solid freestanding design, and two side doors at ultralight weight.  My personal choice for trips with the lady.
  • Budget option: REI Passage 2
    • Zero downsides other than weight and the price is impressive (with footprint included)

How to pick the best hunting tent

Backcountry hunting presents some unique challenges for tents: what works for many backpackers often isn’t a good idea for hunters.  A standard elk hunting season runs anywhere from August to October which means temps from 80 all the way down to 10 degrees.  Early snowstorms and low temps mean full waterproofing (and wind resistance!) are critical.  Hunters also carry much more gear so you’ll need space and protection for everything.  Finally, if you’re hunting the right spots you’re going to be off trail in some wild country.  That means flat spots are hard to find and you’ll often sleep better if you feel “fully protected” from wild animals.

With that in mind, here’s a summary of what matters when you’re buying a shelter for elk hunting:

• Critical factors
  • Shelter type
    • There are roughly four different types of backcountry shelters: fully enclosed tents, floorless shelters (tarps, teepees, etc), bivy sacks, and hammocks
    • Each type has its pros and cons but most hunters will do best with a tent since it is fully waterproof, has the most space, and offers peace of mind from predators and bugs.
  • Support system
    • There are three different types of tent support systems: Freestanding, Semi-freestanding, and Unsupported (only supported by stakes or lines).
    • Freestanding is best for hunting since you can camp anywhere (no stakes required), it’s the strongest design, and it’s easy to setup/relocate
  • Capacity (number of people)
    • Manufacturers are a bit “optimistic” with their two person ratings.  Make sure to check/test if two adults will actually fit.
    • One man tents are lighter, smaller, and most importantly have a small footprint which makes it easier to find campsites
    • Get a one man tent unless you know you’ll have two people
  • Size & Livability
    • These are the most underrated factors for choosing a tent and are especially important for hunters:
      • Vestibule size
        • You need lots of vestibule space to store all your gear (especially for two people)
      • Height and wall shape
        • Steeper walls and tall tents mean far more usable room which is important for storms or gearing up in the dark
      • Doors 
        • Side zip doors are far easier to get in and out of (and you really want two for multiple people)
      • Ventilation
        • Storms and creek bottoms mean that a vent will help you prevent a lot of condensation
      • Footprint size
        • The smaller, the better.  It’s easier to find campsites.
  • Weight
    • Tents are one of the heaviest items in your pack.  You can save a lot of weight with a lighter version (pounds, not ounces!)
    • Use “packed weight” to compare tents instead of “minimum trail weight” (which is undefined and doesn’t include everything you need anyway)
  • Waterproofing
    • A fully enclosed tent with a “bucket bottom” stops water from getting to your sleeping bag.  Open floor shelters cannot take large storms.
    • Single wall tents suffer from condensation and can soak your bag + clothing.  I generally recommend double wall tents unless you know it will be dry.
• Somewhat important factors
  • Strength (weather resistance)
    • It’s more important to choose a camp site that shelters you from the wind than it is to worry about finding the strongest tent.
    • 3-season tents are generally fine for elk hunting, you only need 4-season tents for extreme environments (Alaska, New Zealand), Late season hunts (Nov. onward), or extremely exposed environments.
  • Durability & Footprint
    • All ultralight tents need to be treated with care, the only way around this is to buy a heavier tent.  Always clear away sharp objects from your tent bottom and campsite.
    • A tent footprint is generally a good idea and can allow you to convert a double wall tent into a floorless shelter if the weather is good.
  • Packaged Size
    • Tents are take up lots of pack space and lighter versions are generally smaller (and so are one man tents vs two man)
    • You can always strap the tent to the outside of your pack
  • Price
    • Higher price buys less weight and a smaller size
    • Those are important, but this is one area you can spend less if you are fine carrying more weight (and heavier tents are more durable)
• Not important
  • Warranty
    • Almost all tent warranties are the same and cover workmanship but do not cover wear and tear.  That’s on you.
  • Color
    • Elk are red/green colorblind, so everything other than blue works fine.  Your tent will be in thick timber anyway, so color is not important. 
    • Bright colors warn other hunters, help you find your tent, and can help with a rescue, so don’t sweat it.

Phew!  That’s just the summary believe it or not.  If you follow that advice I’m confident you’ll end up with a great hunting tent.  Want to understand why?  Read on.

Critical factors for choosing the best hunting tent

These are the things that really matter when you’re deciding between your options for backcountry shelter:

Critical: Choosing the right shelter type

The right hunting tent or shelter really depends on where you’ll be hunting, the weather, and your level of backcountry experience.  Here’s an overview of five types of hunting shelters with their unique pros and cons:

• Fully enclosed tent
  • A fully enclosed (surprise!) tent that can be supported by dedicated poles, trekking poles, and/or stakes or lines.
  • Pros:
    • Work in all conditions
    • Highest degree of water (and condensation) protection
    • Peace of mind with no bugs and perceived predator safety
    • Models with near vertical walls create highest amount of livable space
    • Room to store gear under rain fly or in tent (depends on model)
    • Some models can be pitched only using the rain fly and tent footprint (leave the mesh tent behind) which effectively means you also have a floorless option
  • Cons
    • Slightly heavier than minimal protection options
    • Generally higher prices (although it’s easier to find a deal since they are common)
    • Bulkiest shelter to pack
• Floorless shelter
  • A tent, tepee, tarp, or any other roofed shelter without material to separate you from the ground.
  • Can be erected using trekking poles, standard poles, lines, and/or stakes
  • Teepees can be nice for late season since they can work with stove systems
  • Pros
    • Very lightweight
    • Tiny packed size
    • Generally lower price vs enclosed tents
  • Cons
    • Minimal weather, bug, and predator protection (floor or portions of walls are fully exposed)
    • Lower livable space since walls are usually heavily slanted (or very little space under a tarp in the rain)
    • Limit camp locations (water filling into depression, don’t hold up to strong winds, ground quality for stakes/lines)
    • Condensation due to single wall construction
• Bivy sack
  • A one person sized sack that is usually waterproof and fits around the outside of your sleeping bag
  • Pros
    • Lightweight (but not much lighter than other options)
    • Very small packed size
    • Very minimal footprint (easy to find camping spot)
  • Cons
    • No room for gear storage
    • Won’t work for extended rainy/wet conditions (Lots of condensation and no room to dry out)
    • Almost zero livable space and minimal comfort
    • Very little benefit vs no shelter (which is always an option)
• Hammock
  • Shelter that is strung between two trees and suspended off the ground, can have waterproofing and a roof.
  • Not recommended for hunting season since they are so cold (no insulation from the ground)
• Wall tents, camping tents, or base camps
  • Not covered in this guide and very different than lightweight backpacking options.  Stay tuned!

As you can see, every option has compromises and the “best” hunting shelter really depends on your situation.  If you really are committed you can buy multiple options for each different scenario.  That approach is really expensive so most hunters will look for one option to work in all conditions.  That’s why I recommend a double walled, freestanding, three-season tent to 90% of hunters: it just works for everything.  Don’t know what double walled or freestanding mean?  Read on.

Critical: Support system

When I say support system I’m talking about what keeps your hunting tent (or shelter) off the ground.  Each type of shelter has different models that fall into roughly three categories:

• Freestanding
  • The shelter “stands up” on its own and doesn’t need to be attached to the ground or the trees.  Almost always uses dedicated poles to do so.
  • Heaviest but strongest
• Semi-Freestanding
  • Some support from dedicated poles or trekking poles but part of the tent has to be staked to the ground or it will fall down.
  • A hybrid model that saves weight and/or allows you to reuse your trekking poles (if you have them). Requires you to camp where there is good holding ground for stakes.
• Unsupported
  • Will not stay erect unless multiple parts of the shelter are staked or tied to trees
  • Ultralight but have to camp in areas that work for stakes (or have the perfect amount of trees)

I’m a big proponent of freestanding shelters for 90% of elk hunters.  Why?  Three reasons: first, and most important, they let you camp almost anywhere.  Semi-Freestanding or unsupported hunting tents require you to camp somewhere that has good holding ground for stakes.  Second, freestanding structures tend to be stronger and won’t collapse if a guy line or stake pulls free in a big storm.  Finally, they’re easier to setup and you can pick them up to relocate them a few feet if they aren’t quite in the right spot (which happens a lot…).

It’s important to know that each type of structure can be built with each support system.  For example, a double wall hunting tent could be semi-freestanding or freestanding (and the manufacturer may or may not tell you that).  So make sure you know what you’re getting and always test out your tent before you go outside.

Critical: Capacity (aka number of people)

Before we dive too deep into this let’s be clear about one thing: most manufacturers lie about the capacity of their tents.  It’s widely known that many “two man” tents only work well if you happen to be small children. Make sure take a close look at the floorplan, do a bit of research to see what others are saying, and test the tent when it comes to your house. You can always get a “three man” tent if you have two extra large guys.

So should I get a one or two man tent?  It’s a big question and the best answer is “yes”, although that’s not realistic for most people.  There are three tradeoffs between the two options: weight, packed size, and footprint size.  The first two are relatively self explanatory (a two man is heavier/bigger but you can split the weight with a partner) but most guys don’t think about footprint size.  It’s easier to find a small flat spot in the mountains and the “footprint” of a one man tent often can fit into locations a two man tent cannot.

The final decision comes down to what you’ll be doing most.  It’s not the end of the world to go with a partner and each use your own one man tent.  That’s why I’d recommend a single person option unless you know you’ll being going with a partner (that you don’t mind sleeping close to them).

Critical: Size and Livability

These are by far the most underrated factors to choosing a tent, especially for hunters.  Add all these factors together and it’s the difference between a comfortable trip or a miserable experience:

• Vestibule size (aka enough room for your gear)
  • This is the biggest difference between hunters and backpackers.  We always have a bow or rifle, a bino harness, cold weather gear, etc that really takes up room.  It’s impractical in most cases (read: very heavy) to carry a tent big enough to keep that gear inside, so it’s really important to check out how much vestibule space (the area under the rain fly) there is to keep your gear safe and dry.  That’s especially important for a two man tent!  You’ll almost always need a design with two vestibules.
• Height and wall shape (aka room inside the tent)
  • Two tents with the exact same footprint size can have vastly different amounts of room inside depending on how slanted the walls are and how tall the tent roof is.  A cramped tent that doesn’t allow you to sit up can be a miserable experience especially if you’re stuck inside for a while (or while you gear up in the dark).  Pay close attention to how they’re designed and always try out the multiple options if you can.
• Doors
  • A side entry door is far more comfortable than an entry at the foot or the head of a tent.  That’s especially true if you have a two man tent and there is only a single entrance (i’d suggest getting a model with two doors)!  I hate fighting gravity (and/or my partner) just to put on my boots in the morning.  While you can save weight with a front door, the extra ounce or so for side doors is worth in my opinion.
• Ventilation
  • We’ll talk about condensation and single wall tents later, but a vent on the top of the tent is important for reducing water buildup on the inside walls.  There are no hard and fast rules here but look for built in vents that can be closed or opened based on the situation.
• Footprint size
  • I mentioned this in the capacity section but the bigger the footprint of a shelter the harder it is to find a flat spot.  There’s not a big difference between tents but some floorless shelters (teepees, tarp tents, etc) can require serious room to setup, which might limit where you can go.

Overall I’d recommend a hunting tent with a vestibule large enough for your gear (and two vestibules for 2p tents), steep walls and a tall enough roof to sit up under, side entry doors (two for 2p tents), a vent that can be opened or closed, and a relatively small footprint.  Combine all those and you have a great tent that will keep you as comfortable as possible.

Critical: Weight

A shelter will always be one of the heaviest items in your pack so weight is a very big consideration!  Manufacturers list two types of weights on their websites for you to compare options:

• Packaged weight
  • The most accurate measurement and the one you should use.  This includes everything that comes in the bag: tent, fly, stakes, guylines, stuffsacks, footprint (if included), etc.  Basically, this is all the stuff you’d normally carry.
• Trail weight or minimum trail weight
  • There is no standard here and manufacturers can get clever.  Generally this means fly, tent body, and poles.  You’ll likely need more than that though (stakes, sacks, footprint) especially if the tent isn’t freestanding. Don’t use this to compare tents. 

As a benchmark, the lightest two person tents will go around 3lbs all the way up to 6+lbs.  That’s a big difference!  One person tents will go from around 2lbs up to 5+ lbs.  The extra hundred or so dollars is well worth it to drop a pound or two off your back since tents last a long time.

Critical: Waterproofing and condensation

Elk season often means early snowstorms and damp environments up near treeline in the rockies.  At best a leaky shelter means you’ll be packing out early and at worst it could be a serious threat to your life.  

Complete waterproofing is the main reason I recommend a double wall hunting tent for most people.  The inner tent usually has a “bucket bottom” which is a tub shaped section of waterproof material.  That means any water running along the ground under your outer waterproof shell still won’t get to your sleeping bag.  That’s not true of floorless shelters.

Single wall shelters and tents also suffer from condensation.  To be fair, all shelters have condensation it’s just that in single wall tents it’s not separated from you by anything.  Having water drip on you during the night or soak your clothing (or sleeping bag) if you brush the walls is a real pain.  That’s not a big problem if it hasn’t rained and is relatively dry but that’s not every day (or location) during elk season.

Finally, the waterproof nature of your shelter also has ramifications for what type of sleeping bag you choose.  I’m a big fan of pure goose down bags since they’re far lighter, warmer, more packable, and last 25+ years.  That said, they offer no insulation when wet so you definitely want to have a solid shelter if you’re using one.

Somewhat Important factors for the best backpack hunting tent

These are factors that might be important (depending on your situation) but aren’t essential like the features above:

Somewhat important: Strength (Weather resistance)

Storms happen.  The last thing you want is to wonder is whether your tent is going to cave in at 2am (trust me, I’ve been there, cold rushing panic is no fun).  So why did I put this in the somewhat important category?  Well, riding out bad weather is more about where you camp than anything else.  Make sure to stay off exposed ridges or open areas if you know a storm is coming and generally you’ll be ok.  That’s not true if you’re somewhere like Alaska or New Zealand where that isn’t an option.

There are actually two general types of tents that are commonly sold:

• 3 season
  • Designed for spring, summer, and fall where there won’t be significant snow accumulation or powerful winds.
  • This is all you really need for most elk hunting scenarios (I’ve made it through 8-12” snowstorms in 30-50mph winds in one)
  • There are “3+ season” tents but they’re isn’t much of a difference
• 4 season
  • Designed for winter, heavy snowfall, and powerful storms above treeline (or in other exposed areas).  Far heavier (2x the weight) with more poles, stronger fabrics, less ventilation, and more waterproof fabric.

Unless you’re going to be completely exposed you should be fine with a 3 season tent during elk season.  Just make sure to camp in some thick timber out of the path of the wind.  If you’re planning on camping during November onward or going to to extreme environments I recommend buying a separate 4 season tent.

Somewhat important: Durability and footprint

Almost all tents from reputable manufacturers are going to hold together fine and be durable enough for the long haul.  It is important to know that ultralight tents use low denier (thickness) fabrics that are extremely strong but can rip if you don’t treat them right. Any tent that’s strong enough to avoid that won’t be light enough to carry.

Make sure to always brush sticks, rocks, and sharp objects out from under the base of your tent (they can pop your sleeping pad too).  Also protect the fabrics in the included stuff sack since it’s easy to snag and tear them on objects on or in your pack (and camp away from sharp tree branches).  If you know you’re not that meticulous then simply buy a heavier tent.  The fabrics will be thicker and more durable which will withstand more abuse.  

Many people wonder if they need a separate tent footprint since they are heavy and expensive (if sold separately).  I generally recommend them, especially for ultralight tents, but you can do fine if you’re very careful about picking and cleaning your tent sites.  As a bonus, many tents allow you to “fast fly” or “fly only” by only using the waterproof fly, poles, and footprint (leave behind the inner tent).  Essentially you can turn your double wall tent into a floorless shelter if you want to save weight when it’s dry, which is a nice option to have.

Somewhat important: Packaged size

A tent is often the largest thing in your pack along with your sleeping bag.  Generally speaking, the lighter the tent the smaller it will pack down.  This is also a big reason to get a one man tent if you’re solo… a two man tent can take up a lot of room.

If you already have a two man tent or an inexpensive, bulky version it’s fairly easy to strap tents to the outside of your pack since they’re so long.  Just make sure it’s tied on to something and won’t get in the way.

Somewhat important: Price

Hunting tents aren’t cheap.  A top-of-the-line two person, three-season tent will cost around $500 (sound bad?  4-season tents can be well over $1000+).  While the weight and size of expensive tents are nice those are the only differences between budget tents. Budget tents are almost always just as strong, well designed, and waterproof as more expensive options. In fact, budget tents are often more durable since they use thicker fabrics.

If you don’t mind gritting out the extra weight this is one area you can save a bit of money and get the same or better performance out of a piece of gear.

Factors that are not important for the backcountry hunting tents

These are factors that really don’t matter unless you have a truly unique situation.  You’ll save money and time if you ignore these items:

Not important: Color

Ungulates (deer and elk) have dichromatic vision which means they can’t see a difference between red/green.  That means that unless your tent is bright blue, they can’t “see” the color difference.  Even if your tent is blue, you should be camping in the trees for weather protection, so color is a non-issue.  I actually like a bright color to warn off other hunters, make it easier to find the tent, and help with a rescue if needed.

Not important: Warranty

Almost every manufacturer offers a warranty against defects, so this is a moot point.  Most importantly, none of them cover things that are your fault (wear and tear) which is really what will ruin a tent.  Make sure to take good care of your tent!

Tips & Tricks

Always test pitch tents indoors before use them so you know how to set it up, find any problems before they matter, and are able to return the tent if you don’t like it.

Never store your tent somewhere that gets hotter than 90-100 degrees (car, attic, etc) since it can melt the waterproof materials out of the fabrics.  Always make sure to dry your tent out fully before you store if for a long time or it will mildew and rot.  It’s worth pulling out your tent fly in the middle of the day while you’re elk hunting so you can start your night nice and dry.  If the rain fly is soaked in the morning make sure to store it away from other gear (including the tent body) that you don’t want to get wet.

Always carry Tenacious Tape or similar repair tape with you… tears happen and it can be the difference between packing out or not.

Still have questions? Have feedback?

Drop me a line in the comments below and I’m more than happy to help you find the best hunting tent or shelter for your personal situation.