Gossamer Gear's New Tents Achieve UL Innovation With an Old-School Feature

Author

Danielle Vilaplana

Photographer

Courtesy Gossamer Gear

Ultralight shelters have long relied on the use of trekking poles to reach featherweight ounce counts, but the new Free 1P opts for ease instead

Published: 06-24-2026

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When we last talked to the Gossamer Gear crew about their cutting-edge ultralight backpacks, they teased a tent update for 2026. Those updates are finally here: the brand has upgraded the well-known Gossamer One and Two tents, as well as the Twinn Tarp, with the company's new ClearSkies silnylon fabric and a few small refinements. These updates come with a surprise for the comfort-maxxing ultralighters in the form of the company's first freestanding tent, the Free 1P, which, like the recent packs, represents a significant departure for the OG ultralight company.

Gossamer Gear is one of ultralight backpacking’s most formative brands. Their shelters have always been ultralight in the purest sense of the word: simple, non-freestanding tents supported by trekking poles. The new Free 1P arrives at a time when contemporaries like Durston Gear, Tarptent, and Hyperlite Mountain Gear have also jumped on the freestanding tent train. Meanwhile, Big Agnes just released their first trekking-pole-supported tent in over a decade, blurring the lines between cottage, corporate, and ultralight more than ever.

No Trekking Poles Necessary

Gossamer Gear’s Free is a one-person, double-wall tent that could easily be mistaken for a Nemo Hornet at first glance. The similarities mostly end there, though, as the Free is fully freestanding with two DAC aluminum poles. It uses Gossamer Gear’s new ClearSkies silnylon fabric and has a slightly tapered design measuring 34 x 86 inches with a peak height of 39 inches.

At 32.6 ounces total—including stakes—the Free is officially the second-lightest freestanding tent on the market, after the Hyperlite Crosspeak 1, which weighs in at 28.6 ounces (without stakes). The overall square footage is admittedly tight at 15.8 square feet, so that weight seems to come at a slight comfort cost. But at $400 versus Hyperlite’s $825, taking the smaller square footage for the price of a few ounces may be a worthwhile compromise for those who spend more time outside their tent than inside.

The Free uses Gossamer Gear’s new ClearSkies fabric, which also replaces the walls on the One, Two, and Twinn Tarp. ClearSkies is a 15-denier recycled nylon fabric coated with silicone and PU. It’s water-resistant to 4,000 millimeters, which is more than 2.5 times the nylon previously used in these shelters. Silnylon is a time-tested material known for its durability, and ClearSkies has 35% more tensile strength, too.

In addition to ClearSkies, Gossamer Gear added smaller refinements to the One, Two, and Twinn Tarp, including a ridge vent, improved corner tie-outs, and water-resistant door ties.

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UL Backpacking Gear's New Frontier?

The One and Two continue to be ultralight classics, so their updates are welcome. But the Free 1P is the most significant thing to come out of this release. Whether the ultralight world is ready to admit it or not, the ability of a cottage brand to make a freestanding tent has become a modern litmus test. Gossamer Gear's entry into that space, along with its fabric upgrades, suggests the storied brand isn't interested in being left behind.

The Free's price point and weight also make a compelling case that you don't have to sacrifice your base weight or your bank account to sleep comfortably while going ultralight. Between the Hyperlite Cross Peak 1, Big Agnes VST line, and now the Gossamer Gear Free, 2026 just might be the year that ultralight truly goes mainstream.

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