Best Ultralight Tents of 2023

Best Ultralight Tents of 2023

When we began looking for the best ultralight tent for fastpacking, we immediately learned that shelter preferences are much like pie preferences. Rhubarb, cherry, or key lime? No one can agree. Some of us at iRunFar are happy under simple and versatile flat tarps, while others are only comfortable when encapsulated in a fully enclosed tent. Some of us fastpack with running poles, which can be used to pitch non-freestanding shelters, and others need an ultralight tent with a dedicated pole set.

We tested single- and two-person shelters for this guide and looked at simple tarps, single-wall tents, and modular, double-wall tents composed of an inner mesh tent and a fly. Some single-occupant tarps we tested are large enough to accommodate a partner.

To accommodate various shelter preferences, we researched over 50 ultralight tents and tarps and tested 14 of them in Silverton, Colorado, the Uinta and Wasatch Mountains of Northern Utah, and in various locations throughout the Colorado Plateau. Unsurprisingly, no single shelter was top-ranked by all of our testers, but 11 of them stood out as being the best ultralight tents by being light, stormworthy, versatile, and durable enough to suit a variety of fastpackers with various needs.

Below are our favorite ultralight tents and tarps of 2023. For more background information, see our buying advice, testing methodology, and frequently asked questions below the picks. Also, check out our best fastpacking pack, best ultralight sleeping bag, and best ultralight sleeping pad guides!

 

Best Ultralight Tents

Best Double-Wall Trekking Pole-Supported Ultralight Tents

 

Pros:

Versatile and can be used as a tarp or tent

Durable materials

Large #8 zipper

Double-wall helps with condensation

Roomy and sleeps one or two

Cons:

Expensive

The Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL is our favorite one-person, double-wall fastpacking shelter because it is light, easy to pitch, super-durable, stormworthy, and supremely versatile, accommodating solo and partnered fastpacking trips. It has also stood the test of time, with one of our testers spending more than 120 nights in it without issue.

The tarp itself weighs 16 ounces, and with sealed seams and long guylines, it’s still only 18.2 ounces. With the inner, this shelter becomes a fully enclosed tent weighing 30.1 ounces without stakes. It pitches with four stakes, but nine are recommended for a sturdy pitch. With nine stakes, the whole package weighs just over two pounds.

 

The rectangular base of this tent allows the fly to be pitched easily using only four stakes. This lets you get out of the rain before setting up your sleeping area. This is impossible with most freestanding tents with a dedicated pole, which means the shelter comes with its own pole or poles rather than requiring a trekking pole.

To pitch the tent quickly, stake out each of the four corners, ensuring each one is at a right angle to its neighbors. Then insert the handle of your trekking pole into the apex of the tent and extend the pole. This whole process can take as little as 60 seconds, no joke. This matters when those afternoon thunderstorms roll in, and you need to get out of the rain ASAP. The rectangular shape also tensions the perimeter, making this shelter very stable in wind. Once situated and warm, you can add more stakes and improve the pitch if needed.

While not as light as the Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors — the lightest shelter on our list — this tent provides all-sided protection and enough space for two people without the inner at a very reasonable weight. Unlike many flat and shaped tarps on this list, this tent can pitch to the ground without sacrificing internal volume.

For such a spacious shelter, this tent packs down very small, about 4 x 14 inches for the tarp, inner, and nine stakes, but it will squish down much smaller than that in your pack.

The 20-denier silnylon that Mountain Laurel Designs uses for this shelter sags less when wet and seems to remain waterproof longer than other silicone- and polyurethane (PU)-coated sil/PU) fabrics we’ve tested. However, The high-grade silicone coating tends to attract sand, so be aware that the shelter will need substantial cleaning after a trip through canyon country. The zipper on this tent is a very burly #8 — the largest and most durable zipper on our list of ultralight shelters.

 

The only real bummer about this shelter is it’s pricey — $275 for the tarp alone and $455 when you include the inner. The lead time can also be long, so you might have to plan ahead if you want to use this shelter.

To learn more, read our Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL review.

Type: Double-wall pyramid tent | Advertised Weight: 16 ounces (454 grams) tarp only without seam sealing and guylines, 11 ounces (312 grams) inner only, 27 ounces (765 grams) complete tent before seam sealing and guylines | Actual Weight: 18.2 ounces (516 grams) tarp only with seam sealing with guylines, 11.9 ounces (339 grams) inner only, 30.1 ounces (855 grams) complete tent | Packed Size: 4 x 14 inches (10 x 35 centimeters) complete tent

Shop the Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL

 

Pros:

Versatile and can be used as a tarp or tent

Inexpensive

Roomy and beyond comfortable for two

Can sleep up to three without inner

Sil/PU polyester doesn’t sag when wet

Cons:

 

Short corner guylines need to be replaced with longer ones

Heavy

The Durston X-Mid 2 is one of the most hyped products in the ultralight backpacking world, and it lives up to, and maybe even surpasses that hype. This impressive shelter is a double-walled, modular, two-person, two-door, trekking pole-supported tent.

One of our testers has used this ultralight tent as his primary two-person fastpacking shelter for about a year and a half and has nothing but good things to say about it. It’s huge, stormworthy, comfortable, inexpensive, and durable.

One of his favorite attributes is its rectangular base. You can pitch this tent on just about any terrain with only four stakes. The rectangular base doesn’t just make pitching easy; it also tensions the entire perimeter, creating an incredibly sturdy structure. Once pitched with four stakes, you can throw your pack inside to get it out of the rain before adding additional stakes or setting up your sleeping area. And speaking of rain, because this tent is constructed from a sil/PU polyester, it doesn’t stretch or sag when wet.

While 37.4 ounces may sound like a lot for a fastpacking tent, it provides a lot of space for the weight. The X-Mid 2 has two doors, each with a huge vestibule, so each person can organize and manage their own gear without bothering the other. Both people can also sit up simultaneously without hitting their heads on the tent.

Plus, because this is a double-walled modular tent, you don’t have to take the inner if bugs aren’t an issue. The fly alone is only 22.2 ounces and sleeps up to three people comfortably. It also serves as a party tent for up to seven, as we discovered one snowy afternoon in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

 

Type: Two-pole, double-wall pyramid tent | Advertised Weight: 35.4 ounces (1 kilogram) | Actual Weight: 37.4 ounces (1.06 kilograms) entire tent, 22.2 ounces (629.4 grams) fly only | Packed Size: 6.5 x 12 inches (17 x 30 centimeters)

Shop the Durston X-Mid 2

Pros:

Light

Lack of tarp zippers great for desert use

High-quality silnylon

Cons:

Very small for two

Short unadjustable guylines

The SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle is a modern take on the traditional A-frame-shaped tarp pitched with two running poles. It’s a modular shelter that can be pitched tarp-only or with an inner to make it a complete tent. Two people will fit in the internal mesh body if you don’t mind smashing together like sardines.

Unique in this category, the tarp has two small wings at its opening to deflect rain and snow. We were surprised by how well the tarp’s wings worked in a backyard rain test. The inner tent remained completely dry during three days of almost constant rain. This was primarily vertical rain, though — if it was super windy, you might want to add the vestibule beak to the tarp. The beak is a small triangle of fabric that attaches to the trekking pole handle and clips on either side of the doorway, creating a vestibule and increasing the stormworthiness of the shelter substantially.

 

The guylines on this ultralight tent are absurdly short and have only about three inches of actual adjustability. They make it difficult to find a decent place for a stake on rocky terrain. We recommend replacing these guylines with longer ones — at least for the corners — so you can pitch this tarp on variable surfaces.

As a simple tarp, this shelter only weighs nine ounces. It pitches taut and low to the ground and resists rain and wind quite well. This tarp’s silnylon was far more resistant to water absorption and sagging than any other nylon we encountered except for the Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL.

Overall, the SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle is a high-quality, ultralight tent that needs a couple of tweaks. We’d like to see longer guylines and to see it rebranded as a one-person shelter or made larger to fit two more comfortably. As is, we’d recommend it as a one-person shelter that can accommodate two when sleeping comfort is far less important than pack weight. For two, it’s just barely a step up from a bivvy.

Type: Double-wall catenary-cut tent | Advertised Weight: 21 ounces for the complete bundle (595 grams) | Actual Weight: 9 ounces (256.2 grams) tarp only, 11.5 ounces (326.1 grams) inner only, 2.3 ounces (64.7 grams) beak only, 22.8 ounces (647.5 grams) complete bundle before stakes | Packed Size: 4 x 7 inches (10.2 x 17.8 centimeters) tarp only, 5 x 11 inches (12.7 x 28 centimeters) complete bundle

Shop the SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle

Best Dedicated Pole Ultralight Tents

 

Pros:

 

Major manufacturer

A good option for people who don’t use running poles

Reasonable price

Cons:

Small for two

Bulky to pack

Short, unadjustable (but replaceable) guylines

The Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye is the latest iteration of a tent that has been in the Big Agnes lineup for a long time, and it’s a tried-and-true shelter. One of our testers reported that her seven-year-old version has performed admirably through two multi-month New Zealand bikepacking trips and many multiday fastpacking adventures in Colorado and is still going strong.

The HV in this latest version’s name stands for high volume, and this tent is indeed roomier than older versions our testers remember using nearly a decade ago. The solution dye process uses less energy and water than other Big Agnes tent fabrics, resulting in a more UV-resistant material.

 

Since this tent has a dedicated pole set, it’s an excellent option for people who don’t use running poles. This shelter is comfortable sleeping but cramped for two medium-sized adults when preparing for bed or getting dressed for the day. The single front entrance makes entering and exiting a sensitive procedure with a sleeping tent partner. All that said, the tent’s small size keeps the weight low enough — 31.9 ounces — for it to qualify as a fastpacking shelter.

The 15-denier nylon fabric on this tent has been silicone coated on the outside and polyurethane (PU) coated on the inside — called sil/PU nylon for short. Because it is a low-denier fabric with a PU coating, it sags more in the rain than silnylon, the material on the SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle. In our three-day backyard rain test, we observed this tent sagging more than silnylon tarps and tents.

For the most part, this tent’s major shortcoming — the light and saggy fabric — is completely acceptable and understandable. We don’t think it needs better fabric, a design, or poles. We do, however, wish the guylines were longer and adjustable. Short, non-adjustable guylines are tolerable on tundra or grassy meadows but not on sandy or rocky sites where pitching is difficult.

The short non-adjustable guylines also make it difficult to re-tension the tent in the rain when the material starts to sag. We had to pull up stakes and pound them back about three inches out from the original stake locations. If this shelter had line tensioners and longer guylines, all you’d have to do is re-tension each one in a quick, 20-second lap around the tent. If you buy this tent, replace its guylines with longer ones and use a trucker’s hitch to re-tension the shelter during a storm.

Big Agnes makes a huge assortment of tents to suit a variety of needs, and we are aware that they make tents even lighter than this one, but the significantly higher price and reduced durability of these options drove us to choose this tent over them. The Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye made our list because it is light, inexpensive, compact for a hub and pole tent, stormworthy enough, and durable enough to be used on fastpacking trips where weather uncertainty is ever-present.

Type: Semi-freestanding, dedicated pole tent | Advertised Weight: 31 ounces (879 grams) | Actual Weight: 31.9 ounces (904.2 grams) | Packed Size: 5 x 20 inches (12.7 x 50.8 centimeters)

Shop the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye

Pros:

Inexpensive

Two doors mean you won’t bother your tent partner

High-quality silnylon

It doesn’t need running poles to set up

Cons:

A single-wall construction is not great for condensation

The Tarptent Double Rainbow is one of the only two-person, two-door, dedicated pole tents in the two-pound range we could find that was also priced reasonably. The single-pole design saves weight but is not freestanding. Since this tent is a single-wall design and doesn’t have mesh between the interior and the fly, the inside feels gigantic. And because there are two doors, you can get out of the tent to pee in the middle of the night without waking your tent partner.

Single-wall tents are generally less stormworthy than double-wall tents because there is no mesh body to catch condensation dripping from the fly. We found this to be somewhat of an issue with this tent.

This shelter is constructed from a very high-quality 30-denier silnylon. For context, this fabric is about twice the thickness of the sil/PU nylon fly fabric on the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Solution Dye that we reviewed above and is this tent’s primary competitor on this list. This tent’s fabric doesn’t sag much when wet and is likely quite durable, judging by the thickness.

Folks who don’t use running poles and appreciate the fully enclosed tent’s bug protection may want to consider this shelter. Even though this tent doesn’t require running poles for setup, it is not freestanding and requires careful staking for a sturdy pitch. That said, you can make this tent freestanding by clipping your trekking poles to the tent’s base at the head and foot, where the single pole terminates. We appreciate this feature for pitching on rocky terrain where it’s difficult to drive stakes into the ground. This will make the tent somewhat sturdier, but you will still want to stake it out.

Type: Dedicated pole tent | Advertised Weight: 35.8 ounces (1.01 kilograms) | Actual Weight: 37 ounces (1.05 kilograms) | Packed Size: 12 x 6.5 inches (30 x 17 centimeters)

Shop the Tarptent Double Rainbow

Best Ultralight Tarps

Pros:

Very light

Low profile, good in wind

Long guylines make pitching in variable terrain easy

Fabric doesn’t sag when wet

Cons:

Low headroom

The Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp – Min is the most refined take on the traditional A-frame, two-trekking-pole-shaped tarp we have ever seen. It’s constructed from high-quality recycled silpoly, pitches taut and low to the ground, and looks nice to boot.

When setting up this ultralight tarp on a particularly rocky campsite in the San Juans of Colorado, we appreciated the long guylines because they allowed us to search a large radius for soil into which we could drive stakes. Shorter guylines, like those on the Tarptent Preamble — which was set up beside the Min that night in Colorado — made pitching more difficult on the rocky terrain. Since fastpackers often don’t know where they’ll end up for the night, it’s nice to have a tarp with long guylines to set up in various situations, including on sand, slickrock, snow, or tundra. As a bonus, this tarp can be pitched using fixed-length poles.

This shelter’s catenary curves give it an aesthetically appealing shape, making it one of the best-looking shelters of the entire bunch. But they do more than that: these curves also make for a tight pitch. Because this tarp pitches super taut and low to the ground, it performs superbly in the wind — assuming you’ve got it well-staked.

 

In a backyard rain test, the silpoly fabric on this tarp absorbed less water and sagged less than other shelters constructed from silnylon or sil/PU fabrics. We left it out for three days in a near-constant deluge, and it didn’t droop or sag in any observable way. Unfortunately, the high silicone content of the material makes it attract a lot of dirt, which can be annoying in certain environments.

This tarp is very light at 13.1 ounces and packs down smaller than your rain jacket. We also appreciate that this tarp sets up the same way every single time because, at the end of a 30-mile day, you may not want to think about how you will pitch your flat tarp. The tarp can also be paired with a bivvy such as the SOL Escape Bivvy or one of Yama’s bug bivvies to make a roughly 24-ounce shelter, including stakes.

Type: Shaped tarp | Advertised Weight: 12.8 ounces (363 grams) | Actual Weight: 13.1 ounces (371 grams) | Packed Size: 3 x 6 inches (7.6 x 15.2 centimeters)

Shop the Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp - Min

 

Pros:

Very light

Lack of zippers great for desert use

Cons:

Expensive

Very small

At 6.1 ounces, the Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors is the lightest fastpacking shelter on our list. We recommend it for fastpacking in arid environments where we cowboy camp 90% of the time but want to carry a shelter in case of weather. One of our testers uses it as his primary fastpacking shelter in the Colorado Plateau region, where rainfall is infrequent and storms are short-lived when they do occur. This tarp is an excellent option for people wanting the lightest shelter possible for environments where precipitation is unlikely.

We pair this shelter with the SOL Escape Bivvy to make it even more versatile. This way, we can cowboy camp most nights in the bivvy, only setting up the tarp when there’s a chance of precipitation.

Our biggest issue with this ultralight tarp is its length. It is advertised as 107 inches long, but that’s only true of the front edge of the tarp, while the back edge is 94 inches. This starts to feel small when you’re waiting out an all-night storm. One of our taller testers found himself tucking into a ball to keep the foot end of his sleeping bag dry. Shorter people should have no issue with the length of this shelter. Without a  catenary cut, the tarp also doesn’t pitch tight, and our testers found that it was loud enough in the wind to keep him up.

Although $350 is a lot of money for a floorless tarp with no bug protection, it may be worth it for fastpackers prioritizing a light pack. If you like the feathery weight of the Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors but want the security of a fully enclosed tent, look at the Zpacks Plex Solo Tent.

Type: Pyramid tarp | Advertised Weight: 6.1 ounces (173 grams) | Actual Weight: 5.3 ounces (151 grams) | Packed Size: 3.5 x 6 inches (8.9 x 15.2 centimeters)

Shop the Zpacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp with Doors

Pros:

Versatile and can be pitched in many configurations

Durable materials

Inexpensive

Cons:

Fabric absorbs water

Fabric coating seems less durable than some others

Heavy

We initially wanted to test the Paria Outdoor Products Sanctuary SilTarp because it was the cheapest flat tarp that appeared to be constructed with quality materials. We figured its price could warrant its inclusion even if it wasn’t the highest-performing shelter on the list, and we weren’t wrong.

This ultralight tarp is constructed from 30-denier sil/PU nylon for durability and moderately low weight. Our 8 x 10-foot tarp weighs 19.5 ounces with all guylines attached but without stakes. While it does weigh more than many of the other tarps we tested, the price was significantly lower. Some of the extra weight comes from the tarp being a little overbuilt — there are a total of 16 ¾-inch webbing loops around the perimeter. This is great for versatility, but it does add up.

This shelter is large enough at 8 x 10 feet to fit two adults comfortably. It pitches with two running poles of any length but can also be set up in other ways. This tarp could be a good choice for fastpacking trips through piñon and juniper woodlands, where there’s often an option to string it between trees, creating a comfortable and sheltered campsite for waiting out those desert monsoons.

Type: Flat tarp | Advertised Weight: 15.5 ounces (440 grams) | Actual Weight: 19.5 ounces (553 grams) | Packed Size: 4 x 10 inches (10 x 25 centimeters)

Shop the Paria Outdoor Products Sanctuary SilTarp

 

Pros:

Light

Multi-use

Inexpensive

Simple

Cons:

 

Floppy pitch

Awkward for running

Not ideal for bushwhacking

One of the best ways to lower your pack weight is to ensure individual items have multiple uses. Use your sleeping bag’s stuff sack as a pillow. Use your trowel as a spork. Well, maybe not that one. The Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape is a rain poncho and tarp in one, saving both weight and bulk over the typical setup of having both a rain jacket and a shelter. But does it work?

The answer is yes but with some compromises. This ultralight tarp excels in specific use scenarios but is not right for all situations. One of our testers chooses it for on-trail ultra-minimalist trips with a promising forecast. She found it to keep her dry in both shelter and poncho form. It also sets up with her preferred hiking pole length of 110 to 115 centimeters and is easy to pitch once you get the hang of it.

Another tester agreed but added a couple of concerns. He noted that as a shelter, it doesn’t pitch taut and tends to cave in significantly with the wind. Therefore, he would not choose it for trips with a stormy-looking forecast. As a poncho, he did find it to protect him from rain effectively. Both testers said they would not recommend this poncho-tarp for off-trail use because it, like all ponchos, could get snagged when bushwhacking.

After weighing this shelter’s pros and cons, we ultimately decided it deserved to make the list because of its price. It’s an excellent option for someone just getting into fastpacking with neither a shelter nor a tarp or someone who wants all of their gear to have multiple uses.

Type: Pyramid-style tarp | Advertised Weight: 11 ounces (311.8 grams) | Actual Weight: 10.2 ounces (289.9 grams) | Packed Size: 3 x 6 inches (7.6 x 15.2 centimeters)

Shop the Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape

Pros:

Light

Inexpensive

Simple

Cons:

Small #3 zippers prone to failure

Floppy, billowing foot area

Low headroom

If someone asked you to draw a tent in 10 seconds, you’d probably scrawl something like the Tarptent Preamble across your construction paper. This tent is appealing partly because it is blatantly non-revolutionary, proving that gear doesn’t have to be fancy and expensive to work. Indeed, this tent is simply a slightly improved reboot of Henry Shire’s first Tarptent.

This floorless tent offers bug protection and is tapered from head to foot. It has a catenary-cut ridge for a taut pitch and bug netting sewn around the perimeter and over the head and foot openings. The netting zips closed along one edge of the head of the tarp. The head of the tarp also features a solid door, a triangle of fabric that creates a vertical panel but no vestibule when closed.

The fabric is 20-denier silpoly, a material you will probably see more often in shelters because it is light, inexpensive, doesn’t sag in the cold or rain, and can be made from recycled polyester. After hours of rain, sleet, and snow, it didn’t sag at all, so we didn’t have to re-tension guylines in the middle of the night. The fabric is also super compressible. With eight stakes and guylines, this tarp packs down to about the size of a large burrito.

Because there’s no floor, we’d recommend using a ground sheet to prevent punctures when using an inflatable pad. The additional weight of the groundsheet will be worth it for most people. With a large piece of polycro for a groundsheet, this shelter still weighs under 24 ounces, including stakes.

We were initially enamored with the simplicity of this tent, but it ultimately didn’t score very high on our list for a few reasons. While the interior floor space of this shelter is roomy for one, the headroom is poor—don’t buy this one if you want to sit up in your shelter. And with two people inside, gear tends to migrate to the edges where it’s at risk of drifting out of the tent and getting wet. The light and floppy fabric that closes off the foot end of the shelter seemed ill-designed to us and tended to drift inwards with wind.

Called “the Model A of tents” by one of our testers, this design has been surpassed many times over by better-engineered shelters. But it could still have its place because higher-performing shelters cost a lot more. This tent makes sense for our list because it’s a light, compressible shelter with bug protection, and the Tarptent Preamble impressively offers these things for only $200.

Type: Single-wall tarp/tent | Advertised Weight: 18.1 ounces (513 grams) | Actual Weight: 18.9 ounces (536 grams) | Packed Size: 4 x 10 inches (10 x 25 centimeters)

Shop the Tarptent Preamble

Best Ultralight Bivvy

 

Pros:

Inexpensive

Readily available

Light

Packs small

Cons:

Condensation

Specialized tool/limited use cases

The SOL Escape Bivvy is a specialized tool for fastpacking trips with a mild forecast or when sleep isn’t on the menu. It weighs 8.6 ounces and packs down to about the size of a grapefruit.

This bivvy does not provide the same storm protection as a tarp or tent. It’s an excellent option for trips without much precipitation in the forecast, where the goal is to cover a lot of ground, not necessarily to sleep super comfortably. When we tuck into this bivvy at the end of a long day, we try to find sheltered campsites, such as below the bows of a giant fir tree or under an overhanging rock. Good campsite selection will increase the stormworthiness of this shelter. Some of us also like to use it with a tarp if we know the weather will be gnarly.

 

This bivvy is not as light as SOL’s zipperless version, but our testers found the latter difficult to wiggle in and out of, so we prefer this heavier zippered version. Even this one is tight inside, but a smaller or medium-sized person can fit a sleeping pad, bag, and themselves in there when needed. Due partly to the reflective liner material, this bivvy adds significant warmth to a sleep system. Condensation can occur inside the bivvy, especially around the feet, though we often find it to be frozen condensation, which is not nearly as bad as a sopping wet sleeping bag. Our team has also found this bivvy quite durable, as some of us have had ours for years with no issues.

Finally, we can’t overstate how awesome the price point is. The price is beyond reasonable for a bivvy that will last a long time and keep you safe on your most minimalist overnight trips.

Type: Bivvy | Advertised Weight: 8.5 ounces (241 grams) | Actual Weight: 8.6 ounces (243.1 grams) | Packed Size: 3.5 x 6.5 inches (8.9 x 16.5 centimeters)

Shop the SOL Escape Bivvy

Ultralight Tent and Tarp Fabric Glossary

Refer to this glossary for more information on a shelter’s fabric.

Siliconized nylon (silnylon): Nylon fabric coated on both sides with silicone.

Low water absorption

High tear strength

Highly waterproof

Silicone-coated polyester (silpoly): Polyester fabric coated on both sides with silicone.

Almost zero water absorption

Highly waterproof

It can be made of recycled polyester

Silicone and polyurethane-coated nylon (sil/PU nylon): Nylon fabric coated on the face with silicone and coated inside with polyurethane.

Inexpensive

It can be seam taped

Silicone and polyurethane-coated polyester (sil/PU poly): Polyester fabric coated on the face with silicone and coated inside with polyurethane.

Inexpensive

It can be seam taped

It can be made of recycled polyester

Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF): A non-woven fabric consisting of a lattice of ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers laminated between two polyester sheets.

Extremely high tear strength

Very waterproof

Very light