Bikepacking Tents and Shelters: Team-Tested for Nights Outside

In my experience, the Lanshan range of trekking pole tents from 3FULGEAR combines affordability, packability, and low weight in a way that's unrivalled on the market. The one-person (non-pro version) has been my choice of shelter for cycling and hiking adventures for over two years now, and it's yet to let me down.

Tipping the scales at 956g (tent, pegs and stuff sack) and costing under $200 CAD, the Lanshan 1 brings ultralight to the masses. Build quality is excellent for the price, with tight, precise stitching and additional fabric reinforcements in high-stress areas. Pack size is impressive too, with the entire tent fitting snugly inside a 5L Restrap fork bag. It's available in several colours. I find the khaki option blends in nicely in forest settings for stealthy camping.

The outer tent is pitched first, which comes in clutch during heavy rain. This design also allows it to be used as an outer-only tarp shelter, reducing its weight by 350g and considerably shrinking its packed size. As a trekking pole tent, it requires a 120–125cm support pole to pitch. When bikepacking, I use a 125cm Alpkit carbon pole (122g), which folds neatly in my frame bag.

The biggest downside is headroom. I'm not exceptionally tall (175 cm / 5' 9"), yet I still find the limited sitting space frustrating at times. I can sit upright in the middle of the tent, and that's about it.

The silnylon outer does absorb water and lose a bit of tension during prolonged rain, but I've spent many nights camping through our infamous Irish weather without any issues. For the money, the Lanshan 1 is hard to beat. I don't see myself upgrading any time soon.

When I first started bikepacking, I needed a tent that was lightweight, affordable, and versatile enough to handle a variety of conditions. I landed on the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL1, and a year later, I'm confident it was the right move.

One of the bigger tests came in the AlHijar Mountains in Oman. The long climbs and dusty tracks had me using the tent the way I meant to—a proper bikepacking trip. Setting up the tent at camp was quick and easy. One Y-shaped pole and a few clips, done. That night under the stars without the rainfly was a highlight. It felt right to have gear that matched the ride.

The 850-gram bundle packs down well, and I managed to carry it all in one fork bag with room left over. The little details are what sold me. The helmet holder, pockets on the sides, and that one overhead mesh by the entrance. Each one is in the right spot and super handy. It's the kind of stuff you don't think about until you're living in it, and you realize how much it helps.

The tent is cool, but it's not perfect. Space is tight, especially at the feet; if you're tall or like spreading out gear inside, you'll feel it. But for me, that tradeoff is worth it. I'd rather carry less weight and have a tent that sets up in minutes than haul something bigger just to sit up inside.

After a handful of trips, on and off the bike, I'm glad I went with this one. It's simple, packs small, and does its job well!

While I'd like to say that the Fly Creek HV Ultralight 2-person Bikepacking is the perfect tent, the truth is that no one piece of sleeping gear will appease every person. However, this bikepack-specific tent is darn close. My first opportunity to put this tent to the test was 200km outside of Florence, Italy. I made a friend on my solo bikepacking adventure, and he graciously took us to a natural hot spring. Easily distracted by the beauty of the limestone hot pools, I hadn't noticed, amidst the excitement of finding the pools in the dark, that it was raining quite heavily. Setting up a tent in the rain is never ideal, but par for the course. Despite the lightweight and fragile fabric, the Fly Creek held up to its name. I was shocked by the amount of rain that fell from the sky and how the tent did not leak a drop.

It's worth mentioning the simplicity of the setup and take-down. One T-shaped pole (similar to a copper IUD) allows for a quick pitching in a pinch. The tent requires pegs for full expansion for two people. If in a position where you can't use pegs, I've found it works just as well. Take down couldn't be simpler. Pulling the pegs and detaching the clips on the three points allows for a quick dismantle. No matter how you roll it, fold it, or stuff it, the tent fits snugly back into its stuff sack.

Big Agnes truly prides themselves on their thoughtful bikepack series of tents. I love the helmet shelf near the tent door. Your helmet can stay dry from rain as it dries off from a hard day's worth of sweat. There are pockets on either side of the front entrance that I often use for all those empty stuff sacks at night, and the other for clothes. There is an additional pocket that is more like a shelf, where I put things like earplugs, headphones, lip balm, and even a book.

With its lightweight fabric and multiple straps, strings and hoops, it makes for an easy hang when it's time to thoroughly dry it out after every trip. I can say from experience, when you spend a substantial amount of money on a piece of gear, care is non-negotiable.

Within a few hours of picking up my brand new Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL2, I set it up on Santa Rosa Island in Channel Islands National Park, California. Before I'd even fallen asleep, I poked a hole through the floor with my tripod. A small square of moleskin was the only adhesive I had to mend the gash.

Over the past eight years, the Tiger Wall UL2 has been a home away from home on our biggest adventures and that moleskin still remains firmly glued to the floor. It's the only damage the tent has ever sustained.

Whenever I think about replacing it, I can't. It's not just nostalgia. The tent is demonstrably great, despite its quirks. For a two-person tent, it is small. We joke that only one of us can move at any given time. The other person must lie still. The fly sets up precariously close to the foot of the tent. It's not quite freestanding, as it needs two stakes to extend the foot properly.

Thankfully, the qualities outweigh these quirks. Despite its sleek size, there is room at the foot to store gear, even with my 6'2 frame fully extended. It's the exact width of our two Therm-a-Rests, too, so our pads never drift apart. Two doors and two vestibules make it easy to stick to our own sides of the tent.

It's lightweight, yet has proven tough enough to endure eight years of abuse. Ainsley and I spent two months hiking across Via Dinarica White Trail in the Balkans; another month bikepacking the Carretera Austral, in Chile. It's probably been used 200 times, in 10 different countries. At 1.13 kg total weight and a sub-1 kg trail weight, it is lighter than Durston's freestanding X-dome 2 and nearly identical to Hyperlite's Crosspeak 2. It's lighter on the wallet, too.

Beyond its durability, the Tiger Wall is also stormproof. We camped in some near biblical rains measured in cm rather than mm. It's never sprung a leak. Is it perfect? No. Is it the tent I'd buy today if I needed a replacement? Yes.

At 58, I'm an ongoing salvage project held together with hardware and hope. After enough dirt naps to fill a graveyard of bad decisions, my body is now full of screws, scar tissue and regret. My right shoulder is more plastic than a person, so when the day's ride is done, the last thing I want is to crawl into a tent only to wake up in the morning in the yoga pose called Downward Dude Who Can't Get Up.

I prefer my naps to be floating above the dirt in a Hennessy Hammock: the world's best suspension system for this old cyclist who's one crash away from being recycled into a tinkling wind chime. It's my anti-gravity pod, my forest recliner, my ticket out of rolling on the ground like an injured walrus.

Hammocks may sound as simple as stringing some fabric between two trees and climbing in; however, there's a little more design and nuance to turn a nylon sausage into an orthopedic miracle sling for pressure-free sleep and spinal decompression.

Since 1999, Tom Hennessy has been designing asymmetrical, camping-specific hammocks from his company's headquarters on Galiano Island, BC. Hennessy offers many options, ranging from 4-season expedition weight to ultralight hammocks, along with various types of rainflies. I use the mid-weight Expedition Zip model ($199 CND), which is far less than most tents cost these days. It weighs just under 1kg without the rainfly and supports up to 250 pounds. I have a few rainflies I use depending on my trip, including a custom XXL rainfly made from 30D Silnylon, which I can turn into a large vestibule. Once you add straps, carabiners, and a rainfly, the overall weight can be over 1.5kg. Is this weight worth the good night's sleep? Bet you a bucket of bolts it is!

I'll admit, there are a few downsides to the hammock life: Treeless spaces, warmth, and lack of privacy. With a little ingenuity, you can work around treeless spaces. I've hung between corner fence posts, telephone poles & guywires, between boulders in a quarry, wood sheds and even on the ground with help from my bike.

Hammocks are generally cooler than a tent because of the wind. Many people use a sleeping pad and sleeping bag, but I find this dramatically restricts space inside. The best way to enjoy a hammock is with two quilts: one to snuggle under, and one hung below the hammock.

Getting changed in a swaying nylon banana can be less like camping and more like a Cirque du Soleil audition gone horrifically wrong. And a butt-naked neighbour is not the sort of thing anyone needs to witness before breakfast. I've learned to give my mates fair warning or discreetly relocate myself. When in a campground, I'll just head to the restrooms.

How small does my Hennessy pack down? Well, this may be hard to answer because I pack my entire sleep system into a scant 12L stuff sack carried by my Revelate Designs Handlebar Harness. In this bag is my Hennessy Hammock, a -7C down quilt, a synthetic underquilt, extra-long straps, four carabiners, an inflatable pillow, and a rainfly—a complete grab-and-go sleep system. Learn how I hang my hammock here.

One night at Cape Lookout State Park, a brutal storm rolled in off the coast. The wind howled through the trees as rain lashed fellow cyclists. By morning, it was a soundtrack of misery as they cursed the Gods. However, I woke up dry, swaying gently like a forest pirate, while my tent-bound buddies lay in ankle-deep pools, bailing water with camp mugs.

Call me a hammock guy: while ground-dwellers subject themselves to pressure points requiring the 12-step method to stand up in the morning, I'm gently rocking in midair: rested, rebooted, and feeling like this ol' body still has a few good miles left in it.

I've been using the MEC Spark UL 1-Person Tent for about six years now, and it's one of my all-time favourite pieces of bikepacking gear. It's ridiculously light, packs down to almost nothing, and has survived everything from dry alpine ridges to damp coastal camps without complaint. For multi-day trips, it's been my go-to shelter, quick to pitch, quick to pack, and small enough to disappear into any setup.

This year, MEC updated the Spark, and they were kind enough to send the new version over for our Team Tested series. It now comes in one-, two-, and four-person models. At a mere 979 grams for the 1-person, it's lighter than ever. The familiar DAC NSL aluminum pole system, 15-denier fly, and fully taped seams keep it ready for fast, minimalist bikepacking.

That said, one small change makes a big difference. The new pole architecture no longer anchors at all four corners, and the rear section now relies on pegs to hold its shape. It's a smart way to trim weight, but it means you can't skip the pegs. I loved that the original Spark could stand on its own, even on rocky or hard ground where pegging was impossible. Losing that bit of freestanding confidence is a small downside, but worth mentioning.

Everywhere else, the Spark still shines. The single-hub pole layout makes setup nearly automatic, ventilation is solid, and the interior feels more spacious than its footprint suggests. From a cold alpine bivy to a forest overnighter, it's still one of the fastest shelters I've used. You can be off the bike and zipped in within a minute.

While I think that finding one tent to fit every need is like searching for a unicorn, there's one tent that fits 90% of my needs: the Mont Moondance. This Australian-made tent is absolutely bombproof and unbeatable in its waterproofing and durability. If there's even a sniff of rain about, I'm confident the Moondance's fully waterproof tub (rated to 25,000mm+ waterhead), paired with the 2,000mm rated fly, will keep me super dry.

This waterproofing is complemented by tough, lightweight fabric, a combination of 20 denier Nylon (fly) and 40 denier Nylon (floor). I've pitched up on all sorts of terrain without using an additional footprint, and it's still tear-free.

For such a bomber tent, it's still fairly light, weighing under 1.5kg. However, this is perhaps the one black mark against the tent, as there are plenty of lighter options out there. Packability-wise, the tent is small enough to tuck into a variety of bikepacking bags. I tend to split it between two small fork bags so that I can pack the fly away when it's wet without impacting the rest of my gear.

Another aspect of the Moondance that justifies the heavier weight is its liveability. The asymmetrical design of the interior means it has heaps more living space than most one-person tents, as the inner tent includes one of the vestibules. I love this extra space. It means I can bring all my gear inside the tent, without having to use a bag as my pillow. At $800 AUD, this isn't the cheapest tent out there, but Mont makes things to last, and this definitely isn't a one-season wonder.

I'm definitely new to bikepacking and the wild camping game. It was on my to-do list ever since I built a proper bike, but the final push came from Tristan, whom I was lucky enough to host for a night. As a beginner, I wanted a shelter that wouldn't sink my budget or try my patience. Enter the Naturhike Mongar (20D, 3-season). I chose a two-person tent to suit my 194cm frame and extra elbow room I need.

First real test was a frosty night above 2800m in the Valle d'Aosta Alps. Pitching was quick and drama-free after a long climb: the freestanding body, intuitive pole layout and two doors made for midnight exits painless.

It's clearly inspired by MSR's Hubba Hubba, which is a good thing. The twin vestibules swallow your shoes as well as bike bags without crowding you inside. The turbulent wind was manageable with the provided rope. Condensation is easily controlled with the vents cracked.

It's not perfect. Total weight is upwards of 2.15 kg; however, trail weight comes in around 1.82 kg if you skip extras. The included footprint is 220 g. Not an ultralight tent by definition, but the 20D fabric packs down small. It's not as heavy as their 210T tent so make sure to pick the right one. While the tent packs small, the pole bundle is a bit chunky on narrow bars.

For beginners, the Mongar is a confidence-building, wallet-friendly shelter that punches above its price. It shines on cycling and hiking overnighters and earned a spot as my top trip kit.

The Outdoor Research Helium Bivy is a lightweight recreational abode for those that want to pack lighter, have less hassle setting up camp and still have some weather and bug protection while being moderately comfortable. The 448g (1.8oz) Helium Bivy packs down small and is a breeze to set up and pack down, which can be a bonus for an extremely dependable shelter in a race type situation.

I would suggest setting up in a more protected area (or under a tarp) rather than wide open spaces for enhanced rain and wind protection. With its single pole clam-shell opening, it provides a decent opening at the top of the bivy. This design helps keep the integrated bug net off your face, although it does need to be elevated at the top with a cord up to help keep it in place and not bunch up.

There is room to slip in and out of and move around in, but you generally need to get changed before you get in. The body is made of Pertex 30-denier, ripstop nylon top and a TPU laminated 40-denier nylon floor for a durable waterproof finish. I have used this in sunshine and storms in every season, including the winter (with a ground sheet) but just be aware of moisture buildup in colder temps if fully zipped.

Overall if you are looking for a 4-season waterproof shelter that is more lightweight than a tent, this bivy might be the one for you.