Mountain Hardwear - Nimbus UL 1

I got the Nimbus UL1 for $80 over the winter. Taking it out tomorrow for the first real use of it. I can’t wait!

Something like the Mountain Hardwear Nimbus UL 1 is extremely small and easily packable. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

Quality is slightly better than fine. I don't really know their current line. They used to love putting little vinyl windows on their backpacking tents. This is rather heavy & hasn't widely caught on. Their designs generally were basic, but then added "a little something" here & there to make it stronger & marginally more weather-proof. I briefly owned a 1p tent of theirs that weighed four pounds. (2 pounds is good max) It worked well in downpours.

Quality is (was) slightly better than fine. I don't really know their current line. They used to love putting little vinyl windows on their backpacking tents. This is rather heavy, offers little advantage & hasn't widely caught on. Their designs generally were basic, but then added "a little something" here & there, to make it stronger & marginally more weather-proof -- or merely "different." I may have heard, long ago, that '90s MH designers were from Sierra Designs, which had some nice stuff at the time, mainly a notch or two lighter than MH. Sorry, you're not asking ancient history... I briefly owned a 1p tent of theirs that worked good in heavy downpours. It weighed four pounds. Think 2 pounds is better maximum target.

MSR or Big Agnes for backpacking get my vote. Mountain Hardwear also make some nice backpacking tents. Nemo and Marmot would be the next ones I look at. I love my MSR and Hardwear tent. if you want to go ultralight, just stick with a two person and you’re gonna be really snug but totally doable if you’re with a partner. I’m 6 foot three and I have slept in a two person MSR tent with another 6 foot three person. Go with the three person if you want to compromise comfort while in the tent for added weight. Chances are you will be splitting the tent up into two separate packs to offset the total weight or you’ll carry it yourself and have the other person carry other stuff to equal out the weight. It may not seem like a huge deal, but when your backpacking every little bit counts.