I'll "weigh" in on the matter with a short qualifier first…
My background is Mountaineering/fastpacking/backpacking in the Western USA and South America - Wonderland trail in 4 days (24 miles per day with 22,000 ft of elevation gain over the 95 mile trail), most of the PCT, the long trek into Machu Pichu, the 8KM Challenge (twice - summit Baldy, Gorgonio, Jacinto in 24hrs), Grand Canyon rim to rim (and a dozen river and back trips), various mountain summits, backcountry ski-traverses, canyoneering trips in UT and AZ, mutli-pitch rock climbing trips, guiding trips in Arizona and Southern California, and random backpacking trips in AK, WA, OR, CA, AZ, UT, CO, ID, CAN, MEX, etc…
Ok - 8lbs is too heavy for some uses and well within range on others
Too heavy for any casual 3-season carried uses at low elevation or a fast/light solo type trip (great tent if in a car or a motorcycle, on a horse, or carried by a porter)
Acceptable weight for two people on prolonged trip in moderate climates with expectation of extended cool & wet weather - summer in the bush in AK, two weeks along the olympic coast, etc…
Reasonable weight for a solo mountaineering base-camp tent or 4-season use - Rainier, Denali, Izta, Patagona, etc..
This tent (like several others) is designed for extended use in foul weather climates with durability in mind.
As to the "trend" of tent less travel - When going far and fast even 20+ years ago I was running tent less using a tarp and sleeping bag in the Olympic Rainforest (with rain EVERY day/night) - the issue is not sky protection but one of isolation from insects (Biting, stinging, burrowing, bugs…) On endurance trips I would run a bivy since the only need was dry sleep; regardless of the weather if we were awake we were walking. Or a bug-bivy if conditions were mild and humid
When above tree-line the tarp becomes useless and we would run tents that could survive the high winds possible - same goes for anticipating snow load.
The short summary is - this is an EXPEDITION tent well built by reputable maker for use in cool and damp conditions when foul weather is expected