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Backpackers all around the world get to enjoy the convenience of a lightweight, versatile, and compact tent. But, when you’re taller than 6 feet, chances are you’re not quite as a happy sleeper as the rest of the population. That is because the best backpacking tents for tall people are few and far between.Sure there are plenty of your traditional camping tents with high ceilings that even give people 7 feet tall the clearance they need to walk around inside the tent.
But these tents aren’t convenient for the backpacker or hiker. They are too bulky and are far too heavy to be carried around on your backpack. So what makes a backpacking tent a suitable choice for the tall person?.
Compare The Backpacking Options
Weight | Length | Price | |
---|---|---|---|
5.5lbs | 93" | Check Price Amazon | |
4.1lbs | 91.2" | Check Price Amazon | |
2.12lbs | 84" | Check Price Amazon | |
6.6-7.7lbs | 90"-98" | Check Price Amazon | |
3.3lbs | 90" | Check Price Amazon |
What To Look For
Besides being lightweight and compact in size, the tall backpacker also needs additional legroom inside the tent. As most backpacking tents are cut short to save on the weight and size of the tent, many tall people have to curl up into a ball in order to fit into the 70-inch long tent.
If you’re backpacking for many days in a row, this can get quite uncomfortable and will affect the overall experience as you don’t get enough quality sleep. Nobody goes camping just so they can lose sleep, so why should a tall person have to suffer.
Well, they don’t. Fortunately, there are some backpacking tents suited to people taller than 6 feet. These tents have a longer design so that you can lay completely flat without hitting your head or feet on the ends of the tent walls.
However, like the regular height person, the tall person will also struggle to have enough headroom when sitting up in a backpacking tent. There is no way around this and it’s something you just got to get used to. I am quite happy to be hunched over when sitting inside my tent, as long as I have the legroom to stretch out while I’m sleeping. A compromise I’m willing to take.
Your Sleeping Options Inside A Backpacking Tent
The most obvious sleeping options are airbeds and sleeping pads. They are lightweight and compact. However, many people neglect the cot as a sleeping bed of choice. This is because most backpacking cots on the market have essentially been shrunk to make them lighter and easier to carry.
However, this is not always the case as you can get extra long backpacking cots that suit tall people. These too are lightweight, low profile and easy to carry. All while being able to sleep someone taller than 6 foot.
Longest Backpacking Tent
93″ Long
This tent by Bessport has the right features for a tall person. It offers a good amount of room for taller people, while still be lightweight so you can carry it without feeling like you’re carrying a house!
To be considered a backpacking tent for a tall person the tent needs to be a decent size and not cramp you up. While the tent isn’t very high at 43.4 inches, it’s the other dimensions that make it stand out with it being 93″ by 53 inches.
This gives you a good amount of room to lay down in as 93 inches translates to 7.75 feet. Once you factor in the sloping walls of the dome tent, you still are left with enough space to lay down fully flat. This alone is why the Bessport tent is my number one choice.
Lightweight & Compact
A backpacking tent also needs to be lightweight and needs to be compact when it’s all folded up. Since space is hard to find when backpacking and excessive weight will only bog you down. This tent weighs just 5.5 lbs which is quite impressive considering it has a total length of 93 inches. When the Bessport has been folded away, it only measures 16.5 inches by 5.5 inches by 5.5 inches. Again, quite impressive for such a spacious tent.
Setting this tent up is really simple and one that I find is a really good choice if you don’t have a lot of experience setting a tent up. Its simple design that is easy to follow and doesn’t take a long time to set up is really useful if you need to set it up quickly before it gets too dark.
A good tent needs to be able to handle the wet weather since it’s one of the main things that can ruin a camping trip. The seams of this tent are fully taped, meaning there’s extra protection where rain can seep inside the tent.
The tent has also got a 3000mm waterproof rating, which is more than average allowing up to 3000mm of rain per day protection. The rainfly has also got UV protection to protect the material from decaying under the intense heat of the sun.
Extra Long 1 Person Tent
91.2″ Length
ALPS Mountaineering has made this great one-person backpacking tent for tall people really stand out for its unique design. You don’t get a lot of one person tents like this. Having one that works really well for a tall person is really appreciated, and the fact it’s also high quality is an added bonus.
Being a one-person tent does make this tent fairly narrow with its width being 32 inches which might be tight if you have a wide frame. But it’s the length that is far more important for a tall person in my opinion and this tent achieves this by being 91.2 inches long.
91.2 inches gives this tent sufficient length for people 7 foot tall, as it comes to an impressive 7’6″. Once again, you need to factor in the sloping walls that you typically expect from a backpacking tent.
Weighs Just 4.2lbs
The weight of this tent can vary depending on what you take with you. If you take everything the tent, will weigh around 4.2lbs which is really lightweight. But you have the option to not take everything with this tent and get it as low as 3.5lbs, which should only be done by experienced campers that are good with anticipating weather events.
One thing I like about this tent is how the seams have been sealed together which really helps with waterproofing. The bathtub flooring also helps keep the moisture from getting into the tent from moisture in the ground, which is a great design choice.
When you pack this tent up it doesn’t take a lot of space, with it measuring 17.5 inches long by 6 inches in diameter. There is a lot to like about this tent with all the small features adding up to be an excellent backpacking tent for tall people.
Best Trekker Tent For Tall Hikers
I really like what this tent by River Country Products has achieved for the hikers. The tent has a unique design that helps with keeping the weight down while maintaining a durable, high-quality product. It ticks all the boxes for what is required of a tent that’s designed for tall hikers who struggle to find what they need.
Unique designs can sometimes be a bad thing and ruin a product, but that’s not the case with this tent. This tent allows you to use your trekking poles as the poles for the tent itself, which helps with keeping the overall weight down. However, if you don’t use hiking poles, there’s also an option that comes with poles.
Vertical Walls Means There’s No Tent Material Slapping You In The Face
The inside of this tent offers a lot of room since the way the walls at either end of the tent are vertical, instead of being on an angle like you have come to expect from backpacking tents. This is really useful since your feet or head won’t bump into the tent as they’re not directly in your face, which makes it more comfortable to sleep in.
The vertical walls work even better with just how long this tent is. When assembled, the tent is 7 feet long, which is enough room for most tall people. Because the walls aren’t sloped, you can pretty much utilize all 7 feet of the length of the tent. It also offers a lot of width for larger people out there, with it being 5 feet wide.
Extremely Lightweight
You’d think with this tent being so big it would end up being extremely heavy, but that isn’t the case due to the fact there are no poles needed. The tent itself only weighs 2.75 lbs, which doesn’t include the trekking poles, but if you include them it only adds about 1.25lbs. This is really impressive how they kept the weight down without sacrificing quality.
Best 3 Person Backpacking Tent For Tall Persons
90″ Long 1-4 Person
When a tent breathes this well it’s hard to pass it up, since this tent, the Mountain Ultra’s ability to reduce condensation is one of the most important features of a backpacking tent. Reducing condensation build up inside the tent is one sure-fire way to reduce mold forming in the tent.
As we camp in areas where there’s a lot of moisture present, whether it be in the air, the grass or from the heavens above, reducing the amount of condensation inside the tent is pivotal.
How It Reduces Condensation So Well
The rainfly on this tent is one of the reasons that it’s so breathable, while still keeping you nice and dry on the inside. The rainfly has vents on it that have been designed to the rain out, while still allowing the tent to breathe, which is an impressive feat as not many backpacking tents have this feature.
Being a 3-4 person tent, it offers more room than some of your smaller tents on this list. Which will this tent more useful for taller people camping with another person. The measurements of this tent are impressive with it being 90 inches long by 78 inches wide by 49 inches in height, offering a lot of space for you and your gear. However, this Mountian Ultra tent also comes in sizes for one person and two people.
Offers Space While Sacrificing Weight
Since it’s a bigger tent does mean that it does weigh more than the other tents with it weighing 6.6 pounds. This is a little heavy but not something that I’d consider unreasonable for the average backpacking camper. The weight might only be an issue for those who’re trying to really keep the weight down due to other gear taking up the lions share of the weight.
While it’s not the biggest feature but the fact that this tent comes with a gear loft is a really nice touch. This allows you to store things off the ground giving you more room to lay down and not have to worry about kicking things over. A small feature that I truly appreciate.
Extra Long Bivy Tent
There’s a lot to like about this one person Bivy tent by Winterial. It’s a durable tent that offers a good amount of legroom for the taller backpackers and has great protection from the extreme weather elements.
For me, the most impressive thing about this tent is how lightweight it is, making it really easy to carry on those long hikes. This Bivy tent weighs just 3.3 lbs and measures 18 by 4.5 by 4 inches when it’s all packed up. So quite compact and versatile for packing into your backpack.
90 Inch Length For Longer Bodies
As with all the tents on this list, this tent needs to be able to accommodate someone who is taller. This makes the measurements one of the most important things, which thankfully this tent is a good option for tall people. The measurements when assembled is 38″ by 28″ by 90 inches in length.
Setting this tent up doesn’t take much time at all since it’s a Bivy tent with a very simple two-loop system. The two-loop system is very easy to use which makes it great for someone who isn’t used to setting up tents or who are nervous about setting one up.
The poles are aluminum which creates the 2 half loops. They simply attach to the walls of the tent at the top end and the end near your feet, to create this Mommy like tent. It couldn’t be much simpler to set up in all honesty.
One thing that is often overlooked with these one-person tents is how they can be frustrating to get into since you’re trying to slide yourself in. This is made a lot easier with this tent thanks to the large zippered door. The door is the full opening at the top end of the tent which has made access a lot easier than most other Bivy tents.
I Like The Heavy Duty Stakes Included
Overall this is a great one-person tent that excels at being both a backpacking tent but also for tall people. The extra little features like the larger door are the nice quality of life features that make it really stand out from the pack.
The other inclusion that I really like about this tent, is the inclusion of the heavy-duty stakes. I would say that 90% of the tents I’ve bought over the years come with stakes that struggle to go into wet grassy areas. They end up bending and ultimately thrown in the bin by the time the trips over.
The stakes that come with this tent are quite the opposite. I could happily set out into the woods with just the included 14 stakes that come with the tent. It’s rare to buy a tent that includes tough stakes that won’t bend under the first sign of resistance. Nice work Winterial.
Camping As A Tall Person
There’s no doubt that being a tall person can be challenging, fortunately, the camping equipment for tall people such as a backing tent is here to help. Of all the products that make our day to day life as a tall person a struggle, it’s the camping gear that seems to be matched for our heights.
From sleeping bags to tents, brands seem to care about the tall camper and its nice to see.