Gossamer Gear The DCF Whisper Tent Review
An floorless trekking-pole tent for backpackers and thru-hikers who want an ultralight tent with a little extra room
September 10th, 2026
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Our verdict
Gossamer Gear The DCF Whisper tent is for advanced ultralight backpackers and thru-hikers who want a spacious shelter that works for taller people for only a 9.8-oz in weight penalty. The DCF Whisper is the only tent we've tested at this weight that has plenty of head and foot room and enough room for a sleeping hiker and their pack. Plus, unlike many floorless tarps, it has 360-degree storm protection and a bug net skirt around the edges to keep out mosquitoes. The ultralight weight is made possible by 0.51 oz/m2 DCF material, a floorless design, and sets up with two trekking poles.
The Whisper's asymmetrical shape and floorless design make it better suited for advanced thru-hikers familiar with tarps and willing to give up some comforts (though shockingly, very few, in our opinion) found in other ultralight shelters.
Designed by Gossamer Gear's founder Glen van Peski as an ultralight tarp for tall people (Glen is 6’4”); this tarp is designed to minimize the chances your feet or head will rub against the walls of your tarp during the night and get condensation on your backpacking quilt.
We tested The DCF Whisper on section hikes of the Idaho Wilderness Trail, the Washington Wilderness Coast Trail section of the Pacific Northwest Trail, and bike touring across Joshua Tree National Park. We also camped in the Eastern Sierra in this tent in aspen groves and pine forests, experiencing the tent in three-season conditions from rain to wind to bugs.
While not the easiest tent to set up, backpackers familiar with hex-shaped tarps will be impressed by what is made possible by the DCF Whisper's ultralight design. It's spacious, tall, and sub-10 oz. If you're ok with an asymmetrical design and have been curious about floorless tarps but thought it won't work for you due to height or space limitations, the DCF Whisper pushes the limit of what is possible for tarps of this weight class.
Gossamer Gear Whisper Tent
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Gossamer Gear Whisper Tent Specifications
Price: $499
Shelter weight (body only): 9.8 oz / 277.8 g
Stuff sack weight: 0.2 oz / 6 g
Poles set (sold separately): 5 oz / 142 g
Length: 102″ / 259 cm
Head-end width: 49″ / 124 cm
Foot-end width: 25″ / 64 cm
Interior height at pole: 51″ / 130.5 cm (pole 1) and 23″ / 59 cm (pole 2)
Packed size: ~ 5″ x 13″ x3"
Materials: Body: 0.51 oz Bio based DCF (Dyneema Composite Fabric), side walls: 15D no-see-um mesh
Setup style: Floorless, uses two trekking poles (sold separately) and seven stakes
Comparison table
| BACKPACKING TENT | MSRP | FREE-STANDING | WALLS | SLEEPS | DOORS | VESTIBULES | WEIGHT | LENGTH | WIDTH | PEAK HEIGHT | FLOOR AREA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gossamer Gear The DCF Whisper | $499 | No | Single | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10.0 oz | 102 in | 25-49 in | 51 in | N/A |
| Zpacks Hexamid | $499 | No | Single | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9.7 oz | 100 in | 36-42 in | 51 in | 18.1 ft² |
| Zpacks Plex Solo | $599 | No | Single | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12.3-14.6 oz | 90 in | 38 in | 52 in | 20.6 ft² |
| Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid Pro | $205-455 | No | Single | 1 | 1 | N/A | 6.5-10.4 oz | 108 in | 51 in | 50 in | N/A |
| Yama Mountain Gear 1P Cirriform Tarp | $185 | No | Single | 1 | 1 | 0-1 | 13.6 oz | 104 in | 52-63 in | 39 in | N/A |
Who it’s for
The Gossamer Gear The DCF Whisper tent is for an advanced ultralight backpacker or thru-hiker who feels comfortable setting up a floorless, asymmetrical tent. Many ultralight tents aren't great for backpackers over 6 feet tall and result in rubbing their head or feet (or both) against the condensation on the inside of the tent. The DCF Whisper has more room than most ultralight tents, with a total length of 102 inches and a headroom of 51.3 inches.
The DCF Whisper tent is for backpackers comfortable with minimal gear, comfortable carrying their own groundsheet and setting up with trekking poles, and who also want bug protection.
This tent is surprisingly and shockingly spacious with virtually no weight penalty. It's for thru-hikers who value low pack weight and don’t mind learning and getting accustomed to the creative and atypical tarp setup.
The floorless design means you can cowboy camp (sleep on the ground without a tent overhead so you can see the stars) on your groundsheet when the weather is good. When there's nasty weather in the forecast, or the bugs are bad, you can set it up. With a sub-10 ounce weight penalty, the DCF Whisper is a good tent for backpackers who prefer sleeping under the stars, but who want the option of a quality tent when they need it.
What we liked
Incredibly spacious for a sub-10 oz floorless tarp
Length and headroom work better than other ultralight tents for taller hikers
Enough room for a sleeping hiker and their gear
Bug skirt around the bottom means mosquitoes can't get in, which is a rare design with floorless tarps
Floorless design means you can cowboy camp on your groundsheet when the weather is good
What could be better
Asymmetrical design has a learning curve
Floorless design means you must bring your own groundcloth, which effectively adds to the total weight of your shelter setup, bringing it more in line with shelters with floors
Like many ultralight shelters, requires trekking poles for set-up (extra cost and weight)
Seven stake set-up adds additional weight (not all ultralight tents require this)
Only some stakeout points have adjustable guyline sliders, meaning you have to readjust your stake set-up.
Expensive compared to other similar options
How we tested
The author camping in The DCF Whisper during a desert bikepacking trip.
We've tested the Gossamer Gear The DCF Whisper for nearly 18 months on everything from a section hike of the Idaho Wilderness Trail to the Washington Wilderness Coast Trail section of the Pacific Northwest Trail. We've tested while hiking in the oak forests of the western foothills of the Sierra as well as in the higher elevation pine forests of the Eastern Sierra. We've tested while backpacking on off-trail routes and on more established trails. We also tested while camping on a bike tour across Joshua Tree National Park.
During testing, we've had this tent in heavy rain, all-day mist and humidity on the Pacific Northwest coast, and in heavy desert wind in Joshua Tree National Park.
Most notably, we set up under a spruce tree and had a pine cone fall on it from nearly 50 feet above us (while we were in it) without piercing the DCF fabric.
We've tested during three seasons, in wind and rain, and surrounded by lots of mosquitoes and biting flies.
We also tested this tent alongside others in our Best Ultralight Tents and Best Backpacking Tents guides.
Performance in the field
Setup and usability
The DCF Whisper tent is not the easiest ultralight tent to set up. The asymmetrical design is best suited for backpackers who have used ultralight tarps before and are familiar with setting up tarps with trekking poles.
The DCF Whisper requires two trekking poles set up at different heights. Notably, one pole is set at 23", which is the minimum height of the Gossamer Gear LT4 trekking poles but actually a difficult length to get on the Gossamer Gear FT3 trekking poles, which are folding running poles.
The Gossamer Gear DCF Shelter set up in the oak forest on the Western slope of the Sierra.
Only some stakeout points have adjustable guyline sliders, meaning you have to readjust your stake set-up. This is probably to save a few grams but feels like "stupid light" compared to how much benefit it would add for a faster set-up.
The DCF Whisper is a floorless shelter, so you have to carry your own groundsheet. This is awesome if you want to sometimes cowboy camp on just your groundsheet, but also want to sometimes sleep in a tent. Many ultralight tents come with integrated bathtub floors, so if you want to cowboy camp, you're literally sleeping on your tent's fabric, which isn't great for the tent. Having a floorless shelter like the DCF Whisper means you don't need to potentially ruin your tent for a chance to cowboy camp. Groundsheets are cheap and replaceable. Tent fabric not so much.
We set-up the DCF Whisper on the rugged Pacific Northwest Trail beach in Olympic National Park to test how well it set up using a deadman anchoring system.
It's best if you have time to practice setting up before going on a hike. Our lead tester set it up mostly solo, but while setting up on the beach where we needed rocks to get the tent up because stakes couldn't stay in the sand, she appreciated having help from her fellow hiker.
Interior space and livability
Close-up on the surprisingly roomy interior on The DCF Whisper tent on a backpacking trip on coast in Olympic National Park.
We first saw The DCF Whisper at PCT Days and thought it would be another tiny floorless ultralight shelter. When we finally decided to check it out towards the end of the event, we were shocked by how spacious it was.
The headroom is 51.3 inches, meaning even taller backpackers can sit up in it. The width at the "vestibule" part of the tent is almost wide enough to put a backpack on both sides of you, plus your sleeping pad. The storage is incredible for a tent of this weight. While the foot area isn't as tall as the rest of the tent, we found it had enough room that the fabric wasn't hitting our lead tester’s size 11 feet, even with a 3.5" sleeping pad.
Most notably, the footbox on our 6' long bag didn't touch the toe-end of the shelter's wall. We woke up in the morning with a dry footbox and a dry head, which is better than we can say for many minimalist shelters. However, extracting feet from the tent from that position in the morning was trickier.
Weather resistance
The DCF Whisper set up on soft pine needles in the Eastern Sierra around 8000 feet.
We love how DCF Whisper performs in the rain. We've taken this tent out in all-night rain storms in Idaho, and it remains waterproof and dry. The eaves on the tent aren't the most protruding from the base of the tent. With a taut pitch, the mesh bathtub floor falls away sideways, and the eaves are about 1 inch long (as pulled away from the mesh). This is in comparison to the Gossamer Gear The Two, which has eaves nearly 3 inches away from the bathtub floor.
It isn't the first choice of tent we'd have for wetter conditions because of the lack of integrated bathtub floor and the eaves not sticking out as far as other tents for angled rain. But we've taken it out during multiple days of coastal mist and rain where water pooled up on other tents we were testing side-by-side, and we didn't have that problem with this tent. As with other ultralight tents, campsite selection really is important with this tent to take advantage of natural geography to minimize moisture build-up.
By moving the bug net skirt around and under, I told myself I could keep out creepy crawlies like snakes and scorpions in this set-up in Joshua Tree National Park.
The mesh skirt provides a lot of ventilation that minimizes condensation and keeps out bugs. With a taut pitch, I noticed minimal flapping or loud, annoying sounds while camping with this tent in notoriously windy Joshua Tree National Park. The edges remained taut even when camping in less sheltered areas, but I always recommend trying to set up any ultralight shelter behind a large rock.
Durability and construction quality
For a 0.51 oz per square foot DCF material, we were shocked at the durability of this tent. On the Idaho Wilderness Trail, I camped under a spruce tree for protection from the rain. Unfortunately, squirrels were trying to get at the cones above me and kept dropping them from 30 feet above. One hit the tent while I was in it. Instead of piercing through and potentially knocking me out or ending my hike, it bounced right off.
Weight and packability
The DCF Whisper set-up on the Idaho Wilderness Trail deep in the heart of the Selway-Bitterroot wilderness.
One downside of DCF as a tent fabric is that its packed size isn't as compact as silpoly or silnylon tents. Yet, since it doesn't have a floor, the Whisper is actually pretty compact. Our lead tester frequently carries it as part of her personal under-the-seat item on flights. As with all DCF, it becomes more compact the more you use it.
Features
Toe-end view of the tent set up with the shorter pole.
Bio-based Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF) body: 0.5 oz/square meter is on the more minimal side but should be fine for more ultralight fast-and-light backpackers who don't spend a lot of time hanging out in their tent other than to sleep
Floorless design: Cuts the weight and allows the flexibility to cowboy camp when you don't want to set up your shelter. Plus, the floor is often the first part of the tent to develop holes, and by replacing your groundsheet every so often, it is a lot less expensive to upkeep your shelter system
Two-pole trekking-pole setup: You'll need a pole that compresses to 24" and one that can extend to ~52" (130 cm) inches
Seven-stake pitch: Three at the base, two to create tension on the pole, two towards the head in an asymmetrical shape
Full-mesh side/wall panels: While not a full bathtub floor, we found it kept out bugs and even mice
Taped seams: No need to seam-seal yourself
Twin vestibules (gear storage): Surprisingly spacious design allows you to store a lot–even an ultralight backpack and your shoes
Reflective guylines: thin but strong 1.5 mm- diameter guylines are reflective, which prevents tripping over guylines at night
Compact packed size (~5″ × 13″ x 3"): Since it has no floor fabric, it's quite compact for a DCF tent
Ultralight solo capacity: is very generous, especially for taller hikers
Optional poles (sold separately): for bikepackers, packrafters, or thru-hikers who don't carry poles, you can buy the poles separately for a 5 oz additional weight and very reasonable $35
Narrow footprint (head-end width ~49″, foot-end ~25″): can fit into campsites that other ultralight tents cannot
High peak height (~51″): Shockingly tall and roomy for a sub-10 oz tent ultralight tent
Optimized ventilation via mesh skirt: Lots of airflow to minimize condensation
Rugged stake-out points: make it easy to get a taut pitch, though only the center toe-end ridge, main front door ridge, and main backdoor ridge have guyline sliders
Gossamer Gear Whisper vs. similar shelters
The Gossamer Gear The DCF Whisper is roomier than many other ~10 oz ultralight tarps in its class, including the Zpacks Hexamid and Zpacks Plex Solo tents. It has a whopping 51" of headroom. Unlike many of the minimalist ultralight tarps, your feet and head won't rub against condensation during the night (though wiggling yourself out of it in the morning may result in accidentally bumping the sidewalls). Because it has lots of bug netting around the floor, it's got more mesh and better ventilation all around, which reduces some condensation.
Similar to other floorless ultralight tarps, it requires you to bring your own groundsheet and tent poles. This design allows you to cowboy camp most nights and set up a shelter on rainy or buggy nights with minimal weight penalty.
We found The DCF Whisper to be harder to set up than the Plex Solo or Hexamid due to its more spacious design. Definitely practice at home before you go. It is similarly priced to other floorless DCF tarps.
Should you buy The DCF Whisper?
Buy if:
Buy if you’re committed to ultralight backpacking and comfortable with trekking-pole setup.
You are a tall backpacker who has struggled to find ultralight shelters that work for you
This isn't your first tarp or if it is, you are geometrically or spatially- inclined
You backpack in buggy areas and want protection with minimal weight penalty
You want a spacious ultralight tent with no floor so you have the flexibility to cowboy camp and tarp without redundancy in the floor
Skip if:
Skip if you want built-in floor, two-person capacity, or included poles
You want a more affordable tarp
You know you will struggle with the geometry of setting up tarps
If you’re looking for a larger tent for camping, check out our Best Camping Tents guide.
Where to buy
The Gossamer Gear The DCR Whisper Tent is available online with Garage Grown Gear and Gossamer Gear. Here are some of the pros of the retailers.
Garage Grown Gear
Pros: Small ultralight cottage focused retailer
Gossamer Gear
You can sometimes find more options when purchasing directly from the manufacturer. Sometimes, purchasing directly from the retailer can make it easier if you need to make a warranty return due to a defect.
Similar backpacking tents
Zpacks Hexamid
MSRP: $499
Freestanding: No
Walls: Single
Weight: 9.7 oz
Length: 100 in
Width: 36-42 in
Peak height: 51 in
Floor area: 18.1 ft²
The Zpacks Hexamid is an ultralight DCF tent with the option to be floorless or have an optional removable bathtub floor included. It sets up with only one pole and has a more symmetrical hexagonal design around a single pole. The Hexamid gives you more options for the color and weight of DCF, with 0.5 oz/SF and 0.75 oz/SF options available. Its front door is mesh for ventilation, with minimal ventilation around the sides. We've found that, due to sloping walls on either side, that the head and footbox of your sleeping quilt often get wet from condensation in this tent. It is best for backpackers who are shorter than 6 feet tall.
Learn more in our in-depth review of the Zpacks Hexamid ultralight backpacking tent.
Zpacks Hexamid
MSRP: $599
Freestanding: No
Walls: Single
Weight: 12.3-14.6 oz
Length: 90 in
Width: 38 in
Peak height: 52 in
Floor area: 20.6 ft²
The Zpacks Plex Solo is similar to the Zpacks Hexamid, but has no floorless option. It also sets up with one pole instead of the DCF Whisper's two-pole design. Like the Hexamid, it comes in more DCF colors and weight options than the Whisper. We also had issues with the sloping walls of the Plex Solo giving us a wet head and toe box. Learn more in our in-depth review of the Zpacks Plex Solo backpacking tent.
Zpacks Plex Solo
MSRP: $205-455
Freestanding: No
Walls: Single
Weight: 6.5-10.4 oz
Length: 108 in
Width: 51 in
Peak height: 50 in
Floor area: N/A
The Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid is a floorless tarp that is available in silnylon or DCF, and different fabric weights and colors. It is designed specifically to be extremely wind resistant and weather resistant for camping above the treeline. It is solely a tarp with no mesh or bug netting, so you get ventilation in your setup, depending on whether you are in full-aeration mode or storm mode. We've sustained some extremely windy and wet nights in this tarp and think it’s a better option for tarp-savvy folks in harsher weather due to its sturdy, true pyramid design and ability to really get the eaves down low in storm mode.
It's available in XL sizing as well with a peak height of a whopping 55" and can fit a 78" sleeping pad, so it can work for taller people. MLD tarps are all made in the USA and have a long wait list, but if you plan ahead and feel confident in your tarp set-up skills, this is a good choice.
Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid Pro
Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL
MSRP: $185
Freestanding: No
Walls: Single
Weight: 13.6 oz
Length: 104 in
Width: 52-63 in
Peak height: 39 in
Floor area: N/A
The Yama Mountain Gear Cirriform is reminiscent of a silnylon version of the DCF Whisper tent. It's a floorless single-wall trekking pole tarp that requires two trekking poles of different heights and requires 6 stakes. It weighs about four ounces more, but is less than half the price of The DCF Whisper.
One big difference is the Cirriform has a front entry instead of a side entry, which is harder to slide in and out of than The DCF Whisper. The Cirriform is more symmetrical than the DCF Whisper, so more intuitive to set up. Both tarps provide a lot of protection. The Cirriform has an A-frame design that is sealed up at the head and toe for more weather protection. Another big difference is that the Cirriform requires buying the inner Bug Shelter separately (if you want it).
Together, the tarp and the bug shelter are about 70% the price of the Gossamer Gear DCF Whisper, but the bug shelter (which includes a floor) adds 12.5 oz–more than the weight of the Cirriform by itself or the Gossamer Gear Whisper. The Cirriform also has a very long length of 104", which works well for taller backpackers, but is less wind-worthy.
The Cirriform is a great option if you like the idea of the Gossamer Gear Whisper, but don't need the bug netting and are looking to save some money.
Yama Mountain Gear Cirriform
Why you should trust us / About the author
Liz Thomas is an award-winning Los Angeles-based writer and Editor-in-Chief of Treeline Review. A former Fastest Known Time (FKT) record holder on the Appalachian Trail, Liz came to Treeline Review from New York Times/Wirecutter, the New York Times’ product review site, where she was a staff writer on the outdoor team.
Liz has hiked over 20,000 miles, always in an ultralight shelter. She's tested ultralight shelters side-by-side on hundreds of nights of backpacking across the world.
Liz has talked gear on Good Morning America (TV), in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, Men’s Journal, Women’s Health, Gizmodo, and Outside Magazine.
To test the Six Moon Designs Lunar Orbiter Tent, Treeline writers backpacked on the Idaho Wilderness Trail. We also camped for a month in total in the Sierra using the Lunar Orbiter and used it on hikes in the San Gabriel mountains and Anza Borrego Desert State Park in Southern California. We also used it through multiple days of extreme wind and rain storms in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon.
You can read more about Liz at her wikipedia page here or on her website. See all her Treeline Review articles on her author page.
