1+ Ultra Light Tents?

I had a little time and drew a rough drawing highlighting what I am talking about with clipping the Xmid inner corners to shrink the vestibules and footprint. I am sure Dan could do a much better job but a picture is worth 1000 words…

yeah,  do you want a double wall so you can have the fly off at night to star gaze while being protected from bugs, or a single wall where that option is non existent?

Tarptent is an excellent option. or the Notch Li. But that is not a 1+ tent. Still, if you don’t have a dog, it’s sufficient–cozy, to my eyes–for one person. Small footprint.

It’s impossible to have everything we’d like in a single set up. Hence, you’ve grown tired of tarps.

–Hey, this tent is roomy,  but the footprint is too big and it’s heavier than I want

–hey, this single wall tent is great, if cold, but I can’t open up the fly since there is no fly

–hey, this tent is light, has a small footprint, I can take off the fly for star gazing…but it’s cramped; not 1 plus

it’s always something! I go for light and so tight. But I really only use my tent for sleeping or for afternoon recovery to escape mosquitoes, lay down and read. No need for a lot of room. When the weather turns bad for an extended period, I’m a wimp and head out.

Does anyone make a single wall, small vestibule tent in the 40-45″ wide floor range?

Sounds like the silpoly TT Rainbow. Small footprint and it’s under 30oz.

Does anyone make a single wall, small vestibule tent in the 40-45″ wide floor range?

Duplex Lite

GossamerGear The Two

Durston XDome 1+ (not single wall)

I find the Tarptent Rainbow Li to be a palace, but it still has a small footprint. I wouldn’t want the interior any larger.

I suppose I am  re-evaluating the smaller one person tents and my use’s. A double wall like the SS2Li or a mid sounds great but, so much more cumbersome at the end of the day when I am used to a bivy 80% of the time. 1 in 4 or 5 nights did I actually set up the tarp. Going to a double wall shelter would increase setup to 100% of the time for bugs or weather.

Taking that into consideration, I am rethinking my need for pitching just the net tent. Something like the Dipole 2li seems like a great compromise for ventilation and a lot of views without the complexity. The 28oz or so weight isnt bad.

But now, I have a new shelter on my radar. On my trips, I usually sit around a small fire until I am ready to crash or if im tired, I just go to bed shortly after eating dinner. The amount of stargazing from my bivy/tarp is minimal. I think I am holding onto the comfort of full  view around me at night(I do live and camp in grizzly country). I want to ditch the bivy because I just want more space, im tired of the confines of a bear burrito lol. With this in mind, I am seriously considering the Gossamer Gear Whisper. It seems to accomplish the removal of my bivy and keep things as simple as possible while remaining very light. By the time summer turns to fall it will give me more time to evaluate these shelters for shoulder season and into the beginning of winter. Maybe ill find some deals on a used one or two and be able to try them out in person and save a little money.

You’ve got a lot of options being considered.

Most of the doublewall tents you’re considering can have the interior left clipped inside, so they are not necessarily harder to pitch than a singlewall. The main things that make a trekking pole tent easy to pitch are a simple base shape (e.g. rectangle) and then having the poles inside that so they can simply be extended without measuring. This would be pyramids, Dipole and X-Mids.

You might want to set a weight goal, and then evaluate shelters that context because right now you are looking at tents ranging from 10 to 30 oz, which is a huge range and then you get huge variation in size, materials, and types.

Some shelters that come to mind as ones that you might like are the Duplex Lite (tons of room for an amazing weight but a bit less protective/harder to pitch), our X-Mid Pro 2 (even more room and more protective and simpler for a bit more weight) and the Dipole 1 Li (big for a 1P but smaller yet heavier than these 2P tents, would be good if a smaller footprint is more important than weight and space). The GG Whisper is awesome too though if you’re willing to go with a floorless shelter. Do factor in the weight of whatever floor you would bring though.

For the expanded X-Mid, you’d really need to add stake points to those new spots where the corners of the floor would be. Without those, the floor wouldn’t be held tight and would be exposed to rain. It would add some space, but at the expensive of some simplicity.

GG Whisper is advertised as using “bio-based DCF”. Is this some new development or simple green washing?

BTW, I truly admire those comfortable with a floorless shelter.  Here in the SE, you’d be very uncomfortable if not in danger (ticks, snakes, venomous spiders etc).

Hey Dan, thanks for chiming in! I have created a bunch of options but surprisingly, weight isnt the only motivator here(although it would be the deciding factor if everything else was equal). My base weight has been around 8 pounds for years, I dont have time in my life for trips more than a few nights. A little weight creep for my shelter and sleeping system isnt a big deal to me these days. I want to enjoy the night more. I recently purchased a 30″ wide pad and the amount of comfort over my 25″ pad is surprising and welcome.

At this stage, im undecided. The whisper brings in most of what im looking for. I see it as a no frills upgrade and im good with that. Still being able to cowboy camp is a great option with the floor/ground sheet being separate. I have become more than proficient at pitching tarps in tight and uneven spaces, the whisper doesnt pose any shortcomings in my mind.

Your Xmid looks very impressive. The 32″ floor of the 1pro is a little small for my liking. I have to come around to the footprint size of the 2pro. Thats really the only thing holding me up on the shelter. Every tent has a compromise somewhere. I threw out that little drawing to hopefully get any tent makers juices flowing on a 1+ shelter idea. The market is missing a 40″ interior floor, dual door, single (big) vestibule tent with a smaller footprint in mind.

@JCH Good question on the DCF. When I lived in Arkansas, no way I would use a floorless shelter. A little different up here in Montana.

To clarify: No shortcomings for the whisper was meant with understanding it’s limitations. The compromise with the shelter is storm worthiness and I understand that. For its intended design and my personal use, I don’t see issues for me.

I happen to live at the foot of the Gallatin Range and get huge snow storms and very windy conditions in winter. I do plan on testing some new stuff out this winter in the yard. I want to know exactly what any shelter I get can withstand.

Fun problem!

FWIW, I’ve never been happier with a backpacking tent than I am with my Dipole 1-Li.  Its greatest feature is tall-friendliness, but I like the small footprint and the rock-solid sturdiness too.  Setup can be a little fiddly on uneven ground, but I’ve mostly learned the tricks.

Good luck.

If weight isn’t such a major criterion, you could even look at mass-market tents like the Nemo Hornet Elite or a Big Agnes DCF Fly Creek (if you don’t mind that layout). Strictly speaking, these are two-wall tents that meet your criteria, though they are not trekking pole tents.

Todd, do you think a 30″ pad would fit and the bathtub floor still be functional? After spending one night on it, I dont want to go back to my 25″ haha

Dan, weight isnt a problem up to around 28oz. I have worked through the stargazing and dropping that from my requirements. I am not familiar with names but arent the lighter BA and Nemo tents non freestanding? If I go above 28oz I would probably try out the new HMG Crosspeak 2. I would love to see how it performs in winter. I believe it is 34 ounces with aluminum poles. In my mind if I am looking at 30oz or above the freestanding simplicity of that tent starts to look pretty appealing.

The BA and Nemo tents I mentioned are freestanding or semi-freestanding. Semi-freestanding (e.g. Nemo Hornet) means that it is self-supported with the poles, but needs a couple stakes to spread the foot end wider. I have used a Nemo Hornet quite a bit, and find it to be a good tent for the weight and price. Regarding the BA I mentioned, because of my dogs, I’m not a fan of entering the tent from the end instead of the side, and the vestibule is small. But it’s a lightweight and storm worthy design, and inexpensive.

Todd, do you think a 30″ pad would fit and the bathtub floor still be functional? After spending one night on it, I dont want to go back to my 25″ haha

The floor is 36″ wide at each end, but pinches down hourglass-style to 28″ in the middle.  So a 30″ pad would be pushing it I’m afraid.

What about a Tarptent Protrail? I think it meets your width requirements.   My son and myself use to sleep in the Contrail when he was 11.

“GG Whisper is advertised as using “bio-based DCF”. Is this some new development or simple green washing?”

It’s been like this for roughly 5 years now. Quite a few brands advertise bio based Dyneema. I prefer not to because I worry it is misleading. For DCF, only the actual Dyneema fibers are bio based (which is the minority typically) while the rest of the material (the majority typically) is not.  So the glues and outer plastic layers are not bio based. Roughly you could think of it as 1/3 bio based.

It’s not 1.5x, it’s more like  a 1.2x: the Tarptent Rainbow LI is pretty roomy, 36″x88″ floor. The floor is a rectangle, no narrowing at the head or foot. The outer staked dimensions are approx. 70″ x 88″, so it can fit in tight places.

Jeff, have you considered the HMG Crosspeak 2? https://hyperlitemountaingear.com/products/crosspeak-2

tkkn c, it hasnt come up yet but I would prefer a side entry shelter. After crawling under A-frame pitched tarps I am looking to change things up. This is why the whisper is so appealing.

sbennett3705, the small weight penalty to go to the double rainbow seems worth it. I had a silnylon double rainbow years ago. Sold it because it was small for two people and heavy for one. I have been debating on the double rainbow li though.

Joey G, I have. It is a little heavier than what I want for summer trips. It is definitely a contender for fall and possibly winter trips. It would be a lot easier to setup instead of a bigger mid. Waiting to see some reviews and videos on it though.

While the fly is easily  removed and replaced on the SS Li, I’ve decided it wasn’t something that I wanted to do when I’m ready for sleep. I’ve been very happy with mine, but to replace it, I’d probably be swayed by the Dipole or perhaps one of Dan’s tents. I felt it was one of the best tents at the time. Still a good choice.  For snow load, I’d probably look at a free standing tent or one with cross poles anyway.

Terran, appreciate that insight. I am with you on that thought process now. I think the advantage of a double wall would be in clear buggy nights only setting the net tent up. As many nights as I’ve cowboy camped I can only recall two where I woke up to being rained on. A few other times I woke up and noticed the sky changing and set the tarp up. That happens pretty rarely and usually with how warm it is when that happens, a little moisture is easily managed.

The only reason I haven’t pulled the trigger on the whisper is because I can’t get the cricket off my mind. It has loads more storm capability and I could probably make it through some early fall snow storms without issue. The 32″ wide inner is the hold up. If Ron over at MLD came out with a cricket+ size with an inner that’s 40 plus inches wide, id be all over it. Reusing the duoXL inner at 50″ would work as well.

Jeff Cadorin said “the small weight penalty to go to the double rainbow seems worth it”

Yes, probably, I see more of these on the trail. I went 1P mainly for the footprint dimensions, I squeeze into tight spaces.