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Pro tip: That ultralight tent weight stat is probably a lie
I was looking at this Big Agnes tent online and it said 2 lbs 3 oz trail weight. Seemed solid. Then I actually weighed it on my own scale at home. Came out to 2 lbs 14 oz with the footprint and stakes included. Thats almost a full pound more. Found this out after reading a thread on some backpacking forum where a guy actually tested 10 different tents. Turns out most companies dont include the extra stuff in their advertised weight. They use the body and poles only. I feel kind of dumb for not checking sooner. Has anyone else caught a company fudging their numbers like that?
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owens.anthony1mo ago
Troy's close but not quite right there. Minimum trail weight is the body, poles, and fly only. Not just the fly and poles. You still need the tent body for bugs and splashback unless you're cowboy camping with a tarp. That stripped down setup he mentioned is actually more like the "fast fly" weight some brands list separately. It's a whole different ballgame from what most hikers actually carry.
Nemo is one of the worst offenders in my experience too. They'll list the fly+pole weight as the headline number on the website, then bury the full package weight in a drop down menu nobody clicks. Feels like you need a spreadsheet just to compare tents these days. At least Big Agnes has gotten better about putting both numbers side by side lately. Still gotta weigh everything yourself when it shows up though. Never trust the box.
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rileygarcia1mo ago
Wait are you saying the footprint and stakes arent supposed to be part of the "trail weight"? Because that is exactly what you carry on the trail. The whole point of trail weight is what goes in your pack. Ive been in the same boat with a Nemo tent that claimed 2 lbs but when I got it home with everything it was closer to 3. Companies know most people never actually weigh their gear so they get away with it. The worst part is some of them will list the "minimum trail weight" which is literally just the fly and poles if you remove the inner tent. That is basically useless unless you wanna sleep on the ground under a tarp. You gotta dig through the fine print or check forums for real world numbers before you buy anything.
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The thing about "minimum trail weight" is, it's not really meant to be what you carry. It's more like a best case scenario for people who really strip things down. Some folks do pitch just the fly and poles on a footprint and call it good in fair weather, so that number actually matters to them. But yeah, for most of us hitting the trail with a full tent setup, that minimum weight is basically marketing fluff. Your mileage may vary, but I've found a lot of brands are getting better about listing a "packaged weight" that includes everything out of the box, though you still gotta be careful because some lump the bag in there too.
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