Here is my list for online comparison shopping:
- Gossamer Gear, The One shelter 17.1 oz
- Gossamer Gear, Squall Classic
tarptent 21.4 oz
- Six Moon Designs, Lunar Solo Enhanced tent 23 oz
- Tarptent, Contrail tarptent 24.5 oz
- LightHeart Gear, The LightHeart Tent 26 oz
- Six Moon Designs, Refuge tent 27 oz
- Mountain Laurel Designs, Monk Tarp Spinntex EXP tarp 5.8 oz
- Oware, Cat Bird Tarp 6.75 oz
- Mountain Laurel Designs, Grace Solo Spinntex EXP tarp 7.5 oz
- Mountain Laurel Designs, Patrol Shelter 8 oz
- Oware, Cat Tarp 1.1 tarp 8 oz
- Mountain Laurel Designs, Grace Duo Spinntex EXP Shelter 9.8 oz
- Kifaru, ParaTarp Tarp 11 oz
- Kifaru, ParaHootch Tarp 11 oz
- Six Moon Designs, Gatewood Cape shelter 11 oz
- Gossamer Gear, Spinn-Shelter
tarp 12.9 oz
- Six Moon Designs, Wild Oasis shelter 13 oz
- Integral Designs, Silshelter tarp 16.5 oz
- Black Diamond, Beta Light shelter 19 oz
- Outdoor Research, LightHaven shelter 21.7 oz
- Oware, Flat tarp 1.0 tarp 23 oz
- Mountain Laurel Designs, Supermid 2010 Shelter 24 oz
- Black Diamond, Betamid shelter 28 oz
- Mountain Laurel Designs, LiteSoul Bivy 4.4 oz
- Mountain Laurel Designs, Bug Bivy 5.5 oz
- TiGoat, Ptarmigan Bivy 5.8 oz
- Mountain Laurel Designs, Superlite Bivy 6.9 oz
- Adventure Medical Kits, Thermo-Lite 2.0 Bivvy 6.9 oz
- Six Moon Designs, Meteor Bivy 7 oz
- Black Diamond, Winter bivy 9.8 oz
- Rab, UK Super Light Bivi 16.4 oz
- Rab, UK Storm Bivi 17.3 oz
- Integral Designs, Micro Bivy 18.5 oz
- Outdoor Research, MicroNight Bivy 19.4 oz
- Macpac, NZ Alpine Cocoon bivy 20 oz
- Integral Designs, South Col, eVENT version bivy 22 oz
- Integral Designs, Bugaboo bivy 23 oz
- Integral Designs, Penguin Reflexion bivy 23 oz
- Wild Things, Bivy Sack bivy 25 oz
- Black Diamond, Bibler Hooped bivy 25 oz
- Black Diamond, Biber Big Wall bivy 26 oz
- Integral Designs, Backcountry Bivy 27.2 oz
- Integral Designs, eVent Crysallis Bivy 28 oz
Rain
For ultralight shelter, the spinnaker cloth option is working out quite well in the wet.
In sandy soil, silnylon is a sand magnet, when dry, (needing to be shaken out) and "mists" and stretches, if wet. If the guylines incorporate a section of elastic cordage, that will alleviate much of this problem.
Both, spinnaker cloth and silnylon are for a well-ventilated product design.
Both, shake off water quite easily.
If it may rain, do not put your shelter away wet. After shaking off excess water, wipe it down, if you can, and carry it loosly shoved into an open weave pocket on the pack.
If no open weave pocket, hang it loosely on the outside of your pack. Keep the inside surface drier than the outside surface if you can.
When set up, wipe down the inside surface with the pack towel.
At the first opportunity, air dry it thoroughly, and then rinse and air dry it thoroughly before putting it away.
Avoid folding any of these shelters. The stuff sack is appropriately named for stuffing into the sack. The cotton, or cotton blend, or open weave storage bag you purchase is sized larger for stuffing loosely for storage.
Many people openly hang their shelter in a well ventilated place for storage.
Snow
There is some special knowledge required for snow.
For example, probe with hiking stick or ice axe before your next step. It may be a weak "snowbridge" undercut by water. It may be a deep snowdrift so you cannot get out. On a glacier, the snow can be a weak "snowbridge" over a crevasse.
If you try to go on the run, there may be a buried log that could break your leg.
In ordinary snow country, with trees, do not take shelter in the snow hole at the base of a tree because it is a sink hole for cold air. It is much colder in there.
I would not bivy anywhere in snow, except if there is nothing else to do. It has been done and people have survived: it may involve loss of extremities. Do put insulation on extremities, like feet, hands, ears and nose.
If going out in snow, or it may snow, have the specialised clothing for the coldest weather for all extremities.
The closed shelters, I have listed, can do well in snow. In fact, snow-shoers and cross-country skiers and other winter hikers using a closed tarp shelter or a double wall tent still have to shake the snow off the shelter.
Snow travel is specialized: learn how to make hot food using a suitable stove insulated from the surface of the snow. If not, don't do it.
Snow Cave
One time, when a snowstorm hit, we were enveloped in "white out". We stopped right there and made a snow cave shelter.
We were warm and cozy camped in that snow cave shelter.
It is common for a snow cave to be made against a slope.
The temperatures inside a proper snow cave can be quite comfortable, if the entrance tunnel is lower than the sleeping shelf.
It is necessary to poke air-holes out and up from the sleeping shelf near the entrance tunnel.
The roof should be a smooth curve for melt run-off to a small ditch around the sleeping shelf. This keeps dripping melted snow off your sleeping bag or bivy bag.
It is suggested you check the air-holes during the time inside, for example during the night, using an ice axe or hiking stick, because the air-holes could become snowed over.
I carry a rescue shovel. However, the Snow Claw will serve in soft snow. These two are for cross-country in winter, for use, even if the car is snowed-in. Have both. At only 6.1 oz the Snow Claw can also serve as a dry place to sit on the snow.