With a new addition to the family nearly 15 years ago, I at first held fast to my minimalist approach to backpacking, and on our first trips together we tried to make smaller shelters work. We could find a way to all fit in a 2+ person tent right? For two adults, a child, and a dog who somehow takes up twice as much space when asleep than awake those shelters worked, but without a doubt made for some of the most uncomfortable backcountry sleeping arrangements in recent memory. I learned my lesson. We simply needed more floor space, and more livability. Enter the Hogback, a double-walled shelter from Tarptent rated to sleep 4 and with a listed weight of just over 4 pounds.

The Tarptent Hogback has an 86x86" floor plan with a 48" peak height, fitting up to 4 standard width sleeping pads.

Tarptent Hogback Specifications

Overview

Price: $569
Square Feet: 51
Sleeps: 4
Optional Crossing Pole: $40, + 9 ounces (5 ounce carbon fiber pole optional)
Listed Weight: 67 ounces including 6 stakes w/ aluminum arch pole
Measured Weight: 66.3 ounces including 6 stakes (after seam-sealing)

Measured Weight Breakdown (in ounces)

Weight of seam-sealed fly: 31.9
Weight of seam-sealed mesh inner: 21.9
Pole Weight: 8.9
6 Stakes: 2.7
Stake Bag: .1
Stuff Sack: .8

Dimensions

Floor Dimensions: 86x86”
Peak Interior Height: 48”
Packed Size: 20x5”

Hogback Design

The fly of my Hogback is silnylon (recently Tarptent has updated to a sil-poly fabric), and is supported by a long aluminum, collapsible tent pole that slides into an exterior sleeve and is then secured at each end using grommets near each of the tent’s two zippered doors. Each door opens with separate zippers (one for the fly and one for the inner), and a storm flap, securing with Velcro, covers the outermost zipper. There’s also a clip at the bottom of each door that allows for some venting in drier weather with minimal door flap, and the clip also serves to take some stress off the zipper itself. Small vestibules are formed by the fly on each door end, and the door section of the fly will roll up and secure open for ventilation or views with a Velcro tab. Dual top vents can be opened for ventilation if desired; they each secure in the closed position with a Velcro strip.

Each corner of the tent is supported by Tarptent’s “PitchLoc” pole system, a sewn-in carbon fiber and collapsible strut arrangement that aids in tensioning the fly and also creates some nice vertical interior space near the edges of the tent. Additional struts are provided in the center of the two sides opposite the main arch pole ends. An aluminum arch pole is standard, but an optional carbon fiber arch pole (+$10) will save 4 ounces. Carbon fiber is intriguing for the weight savings, however I've always used aluminum poles with the Hogback. Of consideration, aluminum will bend when stressed beyond its capacity, carbon fiber will break.

The lines are reflective, and are tensioned utilizing Linelocs all around. The floor consists of a large, square shaped floor forming a bathtub edge all around. The floor has 4 points you can optionally clip up to raise the bathtub higher for even more wind and rain protection at the loss of some floor space.

Tarptent Hogback setup in fly-only mode

If you’d like you can also choose to setup the fly alone, and the inner can also be setup separately using the optional crossing pole or using additional guylines and some creativity. By default however fabric on the lower half and noseeum mesh completes the inner tent, and the whole thing clips up to the outer fly, allowing you to setup the tent as one unit. An interior hangloop is conveniently included at the mesh interior’s peak. If you’re looking for greater snow load and wind support, an additional crossing pole can be ordered ($40, 9 ounces for aluminum, $60, 5 ounces for carbon fiber).

New for 2024, Tarptent now only offers the Hogback with a partial solid interior. This option features a water-resistant solid fabric for the inner tent that goes partially up the lower portion of the inner tent, offering additional warmth and wind protection. After ordering this option separately (my Hogback shipped with a mesh inner), it added 6 ounces to the weight of the tent, but the additional weather protection has been worth it on shoulder-season trips (if it tells you anything, after swapping in the partial solid inner I haven't used the mesh inner again). For more on options here regarding Tarptent interiors, see our Tarptent inner tent article.

Partial solid interior on the Tarptent Hogback

6 8” Easton stakes are included, as well as a stake bag and stuff sack. Two additional / optional guy out points are available for extra wind stability. The tent isn’t seam-sealed by default – you’ll either need to seal the seams after receipt or request that Tarptent seal the tent for an additional charge. If you do seal it yourself, pay special attention to the stitching around the top vent where it meets at a corner, I had to apply additional sealer to this area for a fully rainproof experience. I've had great luck utilizing Seam Grip Sil / Sil-net for sealing Tarptent products and tents from similar manufacturers. No groundsheet is included, and Tarptent offers an optional Tyvek solution for $20. I however opt to take a window insulation film groundsheet to save some weight.

Impressions

Construction and workmanship on my Hogback were both good, good stakes are included, and setup is very straight-forward (just make sure to push / inchworm the main arch pole through its sleeve, if you pull it will separate). Setup takes just a few minutes and the tent pitches quite taut with ease. With a lot of silnylon shelters, I find myself making several rounds around the tent / shelter tightening guylines, resetting stakes, retightening again…the Hogback just always seems nearly perfect after initial setup. Additionally, silnylon sag hasn’t been as large of a factor compared to other shelters after setup and rain. Thus, I'm not sure if the recent change to sil-poly for the Hogback was really needed, but regardless with the sil-poly Hogback you'll be getting a fabric that has less stretch but a bit less strength compared to silnylon.

An intriguing feature is the square 86x86” floor, which doesn’t skimp on sleeping space and actually allows four standard sleeping pads to be arranged parallel or perpendicular to the doors. Headroom is good, though be aware that the listed peak height (49” on my Hogback) is actually the peak height of the fly. The inner’s peak height is closer to 46”. The vestibules are small, definitely requiring an upright approach to pack storage. However, the small vestibules do cut down on the footprint size and the Hogback can still squeeze into some smaller spaces.

The tent actually doesn’t seem to appear all that large from outside, but climbing inside reveals more space than you might at first expect. The entry zippers will snag on the flap that protects them from rain when closed, zipping is best done as a two handed operation to hold this flap out of the way. The reflective guylines really light up at night with a headlamp. A lot of times we find ourselves cooking dinner away from camp in bear country, leaving the tent close to sunset and returning at night. Finding the Hogback has always been easy for me...just heading into the woods and making a 360 with my headlamp has always lit up the guylines in my case.

Personally I feel the guylines may be a little too bright for the backcountry, and at times I've wished for non-reflective lines with a softer hand. However, I’ve rarely tripped over the Hogback’s guylines. The fly sets up alone very nicely, however utilizing the optional crossing pole to setup the inner by itself had a less than impressive result. Unless you use a lot of guylines, quite a bit of interior space is lost and it wasn’t really practical in the field. It just doesn’t feel like it was meant to be setup that way.

However, setting up the tent as one unit, then unclipping half the fly and staking out the inner works great for views as long as it’s not too windy. A stake at each corner of the floor and a guyline out from the center works well, though you could use more guylines for even more space. You can roll the unclipped portion of the fly together with the struts, and secure the fabric on the opposite side using the clips designed to keep the vent closed. If it rains unexpectedly, the fly can be reinstalled completely in a couple minutes. Packing the tent can be a little tricky – the included stuff sack is on the smaller side, but then again, I do appreciate the extra space gained inside my pack by it being the size it is. Once packed, I haven’t had any issues taking the Hogback along and packed vertically it fits nicely in a ULA Circuit or can be strapped to the outside.

While workable, the stuff sack is on the small side. With the PitchLoc poles the tent must be packed in a specific manner and can't be freely stuffed.

Livability

Livability of the Hogback depends entirely on how you use it. For us we've used the Hogback most with 2 normal sized adults, a small child, a dog, and our gear. In this use case the Hogback ends up being essentially the perfect amount of space. You’re not packed in like sardines, and as we found out when first using the tent almost 15 years ago, there’s still enough room for a 1 year old to burn off a little energy after being trapped in a backpack carrier all day. For groups of 4, especially larger sized individuals, sleeping room is adequate but definitely cozy, and gear storage becomes a vestibule-only arrangement unless some of the group are on the shorter side.

As a family tent sizing is great, but if you're mixing in wide sleeping pads, have older (taller) kids, and bring a dog along like we do you may want to explore taking two ultralight tents (Zpacks Triplex, etc.) instead. Essentially, the 86" floor length gets to be just a bit too short in this scenario.

You could choose to sleep head to toe for a little more room if the slope allows. Pads arranged parallel or perpendicular to the doors is up to you, though sleeping with the doors at your head and foot end might make entry and exit a little easier when used for 4. If the doors had been designed on opposite sides this might have made things even better for larger groups. If sleeping 4 arranged in this manner however, the 2 people on each end will have limited headroom. Headroom is much better when you sleep with the doors at your sides.

Weather Performance

Wind

The Hogback has handled inclement weather very well. While I did expect a dry interior during wet weather, wind was my initial concern. However, the Hogback has performed admirably well in windy conditions, and has handled 45 mph gusts without complaint. And that’s without the optional crossing pole. I prefer to pitch the arch pole side of the tent into the wind, and do utilize the 2 extra guy out points. While a lot of pressure is placed on the corners, even without wind, the 8” Easton stakes that are included really anchor each point and it’s nice to hit the sack during windy weather without worrying too much about your stakes pulling out as you sleep.

This is one tent where I wouldn’t try to get by with shorter stakes, except for the additional guy out points where a stake failure would only cause more of a temporary inconvenience and not affect the main support system. To save the most weight, I use MSR Carbon Core stakes on these additional guy out points.

For better performance in wind and light snow, an additional crossing pole can be utilized. However, these days I typically leave the extra pole at home and guy out these points (one on each side), along with the optional vestibule guy out points, using extra (ultralight) guylines and matching micro lineloc tensioners to save weight.

Snow

The Hogback has also handled light to moderate snow surprisingly well – without the optional crossing pole some sag is definitely experienced on the panels opposite of the arch pole, but even when this occurred, I was surprisingly able to still sleep comfortably in the tent at 6’ 2” without contacting the fly itself (though I did lose some headroom while sitting). The double wall design, along with the main arch pole and PitchLoc corners really made a difference here. However, if you plan to frequently take the Hogback out when snow is in the forecast, especially heavy snow, or want the best windy-weather performance the optional crossing pole might be a good thing to take along if the additional weight doesn't scare you away.

If you’re hiking as a group though, this extra weight is easily divided, and the Hogback is still a light 4-person tent either way. Both poles are the same, so if something were to happen to the main arch pole you’d also have a backup in this case. The crossing pole is easy to use, taking just a minute to install or remove, though it seems as if some of the attachment points could be a little more user friendly. If you’re a trekking pole user, and since the Hogback doesn’t need any trekking poles to setup, you could also utilize your poles and extra guylines to provide some additional support for the panels opposite the arch poles.

Provided that you've sealed the seams well, the Tarptent Hogback performs very well in wet weather. Over time you may need to re-seal after extensive use.

Rain

Rainy weather isn’t a big deal in the Hogback – the main concern would be keeping anything in the small vestibules dry. They’re small enough where it’s pretty easy for a pack to become partially exposed close to the ground, so make sure you either tuck everything in tightly or remove anything that can’t get wet. If you have room inside the tent for packs though, the vestibules offer good protection for the doors and are a great place to store your shoes. The top vents help with ventilation and are quite waterproof even when open, but are best closed in driving rain or snow.

However, you can’t effectively operate the vents from inside the tent with the inner installed; an outside trip would be needed for a middle of the night adjustment. We haven’t experienced any significant condensation issues, but if the fly interior does get wet for any reason, the double-walled design helps keep you from contacting any wet walls. It’s also worth mentioning that the Hogback will knock down quite of a bit of any wind and the double wall design does seem to add a small, but noticeable amount of warmth at night.

Durability

After nearly 15 years of use, I haven’t had anything that needed replacement or repair on the Hogback. Well-constructed and reinforced in key areas, the tent has definitely met expectations in this regard. I have noticed a small run or two from normal use in the noseeum mesh interior that I suppose I could patch if so inclined, but since they haven’t gotten any larger and still remain bugproof I haven’t bothered. On the other hand, I have had to patch a larger hole in the mesh from my dog who was a bit overly-anxious to get in the tent as we were being swarmed by mosquitoes on one summer evening. This was no fault of the tent, of course.

With as much noseeum netting as the Hogback has runs in the mesh could be a common scenario, but careful packing and use (watch out for dogs and kids) will certainly help. The only additional issue I've had is the outer fly zipper will sometimes separate. Usually, I'm able to get this straightened out in the field, but on one occasion I had did have to go a couple nights with a vestibule that I could not zip as the zipper failed. I was however, able to repurpose some stakes from the extra guy out points to stake the vestibule out in a mostly rain-proof arrangement.

Once at home, I was able to get the zipper all sorted out after an hour of patience-testing work, and it's been fine since. Essentially, there is quite a bit of stress on this zipper with a taut pitch; make absolutely sure to use the small clip at the bottom of the vestibule zipper to take stress off the zipper itself and when you are zipping or unzipping the tent, make sure this clip is fastened. It's a bit of a tedious step, but it's worth it to lower your chances of any future zipper frustration.

The Tarptent Hogback has proven to be a great family and group backpacking tent over the years, and will save you quite a bit of weight when compared to competing options on the market.

Conclusion

The Hogback didn’t disappoint and it’s our without a doubt go-to option for family unit trips. The space the shelter offers is not only livable, but comfortable as well. 4 adults will fit, though with small vestibules gear storage and accessing it might cause an occasional claustrophobic moment when the Hogback is used to capacity.

However, if you consider the Hogback more of a 3 to 3+ person tent you’ll end up with more room to move and more room inside the tent for any gear you might need quick access to. Utilized in this manner, the Hogback is spacious and extremely easy to live out of as a group. Some versatility could be realized if the Hogback had a longer floor in at least one direction (more room for a gear or dog, etc.) as can be found in other 4-person options like the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL4.

No matter how many people you choose to pack in the tent, the Hogback ends up as a well-designed, weather and trail-worthy space with subtle touches of quality throughout. With this much space at just over 4 pounds and beyond adequate performance, the Hogback should be a top contender for anyone looking at a lightweight, backpackable family or group shelter, and its overall performance has resulted in the Hogback being a top pick (as a family / group tent) in our best backpacking tents guide.

You can find the Hogback starting at $569 here at Tarptent. For more on tents in general, see our article on how to choose a backpacking tent.

Editor's Note: This review originally appeared in issue 11 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos, pros and cons, and our star rating of the Tarptent Hogback.