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Wanted: Tent Recommendations for Rain and Wind
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Home › Forums › Gear Forums › Gear (General) › Wanted: Tent Recommendations for Rain and Wind
- This topic has 24 replies, 15 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 11 months ago by Franco Darioli.
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Jun 19, 2015 at 7:47 am #1330024
Headed to the Pacific Northwest… Rainier and maybe Sawtooths in Idaho, and then maybe Wind Rivers. Having done most of my backpacking and climbing in the Sierra I haven't had to be prepared for days and days of rain. So looking to buy a tent with the following attributes:
* 1 or 1 1/2 person size.
* Fast, easy set up while raining where rain doesn't get inside while setting up.
* Good size, convenient vestibule.
* Entry that minimizes rain getting inside.
* Easy to sit up and cook with stove in vestibule.
* Tent that minimizes condensation.
* Nice space to sit up and have room if tent bound for a day.
* Minimal stakes required for easy set up in good weather.
* But, ability to stake more for high wind situations.
* I do not want this tent to be Cuben.
* And, of course, all of this and still light weight.This would not be a winter tent, but would hopefully be good for the shoulder season and do well if there were unexpected snow… maybe up to a foot overnight.
Thanks,
BillyJun 19, 2015 at 7:55 am #2208454I think you just described any number of Tarptent or SMD designs :)
TT Notch needs only 4 stakes, vertical walls, no-drip entry and very stable in the wind. TT SS1 and SS2 are similar but larger.
No personal experience with SMD, but they have a stellar reputation.Jun 19, 2015 at 7:58 am #2208457any pyramid
don't put anything where the door/entry is and it won't matter that rain gets there a little – sleeping bag on the opposite side of pole
I use mine in the rain frequently
height of 60 inches is good to allow headroom to sit up
Jun 19, 2015 at 8:05 am #2208458With a few exceptions, you pretty well described a Trailstar.
It's what I grab for wet, windy weather. Plenty of protection and tons of room to lay things out to dry.Jun 19, 2015 at 8:10 am #2208459Always forgets something.
* It would need to have mosquito netting.
thanks,
BillyJun 19, 2015 at 8:21 am #2208462Solo innernet in a Trailstar:
Or in a Duomid:
Jun 19, 2015 at 8:22 am #2208463Jun 19, 2015 at 9:00 am #2208471Wind is the downfall of many UL shelters and condensation is a problem with many single wall designs. A foot of snow is a lot. Your criteria begs for a double wall tent, but you can throw out simplicty and light weight— and the cost goes up exponentially. The Hilleberg Akto comes to mind or the Tarptent Scarp. Tunnel designs fill your list best I think.
+1 on the pyramids for wind and snow. An inner tent will handle the bugs and you csn leave it home in the snowy seasons.
For rain, room, light weight, ventilation, and bug proof, the new MSR Flylite looks promising (at $350). Not so good in high winds or snow. We use the MSR Missing Link for 2 person trips and it shares design features with the Flylite. http://www.cascadedesigns.com/msr/tents/essential-series/flylite/product
Jun 19, 2015 at 9:41 am #2208476I just got an SS2 (for use with my friend and kids). If we get to test it in rain/wind soon, I'll let you know how it fares.
Jun 19, 2015 at 9:47 am #2208480"For rain, room, light weight, ventilation, and bug proof, the new MSR Flylite looks promising (at $350). Not so good in high winds or snow. We use the MSR Missing Link for 2 person trips and it shares design features with the Flylite. http://www.cascadedesigns.com/msr/tents/essential-series/flylite/product"
From what other reviewers have stated, the Flylite is a poorly designed tent. Condensation can be quite horrific, apparently, and it leaks in the rain. Look up some online reviews. I was quite interested in it as a smart concept when it was first announced. :/
How about this? ;)
Jun 19, 2015 at 9:49 am #2208481I've tried so many different shelters…this is the one I go to all the time. I've sold everything else. Tons of room in the vestibule, can zip it up tight or leave it wide open. This is literally about as perfect as it gets.
Jun 19, 2015 at 10:42 am #2208494Thanks Jen… nice pics too.
Have you tried any of the TarpTents?billy
Jun 19, 2015 at 12:57 pm #2208525Yep – I bought my dad the Moment DW and I had the stratospire 1. They are both really nice tents, but honestly, for living space, nothing beats the duomid + solo inner. It's a literal palace and so easy to spend a lot of time in.
Jun 19, 2015 at 1:02 pm #2208527Jen… one concern I have about the DuoMid is the sides are at a pretty shallow angle… is your face right in the side of the tent… seems to be a problem with pyramids as your feet and head are right in the area with least head room… any tent sag at all and it's in your face, no? (and I would get the silnylon one which sags more that Cuben).
thanks,
BillyJun 19, 2015 at 1:45 pm #2208542Billy, if you are over 6 foot tall, then get the SoloMid XL which is functionally longer. Less width but also less weight. At 6'1" and the corners pegged to the ground, I would rub the ends on a 2.5" pad. My version was Silnylon.
Have you considered the Tarptent Moment with the fabric inner? Classic design for the wind (think Akto) and should be okay in shoulder season snow. The fabric inner is fantastic for blocking wind!
Jun 19, 2015 at 1:51 pm #2208546Jun 19, 2015 at 2:35 pm #2208557David was referring to the hilleberg akto, a 2 walled tent renown for it's performance in wet windy conditions. That may be another consideration for you as well. Check out the sectionhiker review here:
http://sectionhiker.com/hilleberg-akto-tent-review/Jun 19, 2015 at 3:12 pm #2208565I think it'd be hard to go wrong with the Duomid unless you're taller than 6', like others have mentioned.
I'll recommend the Locus Gear Khufu-Hapi in silnylon. It's has significantly more room and is about 15% lighter (3oz) than the silnylon doumid. It's about $40 more with current exchange rates. You can couple it with a full inner or half inner and use it with two poles in an inverted V with their DPTE for max space, or with a single pole for the easiest pitch. The inner floor comes in 3 different options of material, which is kind of cool.
The Locus Gear Khufu in silnylon is almost identical in dimensions to the duomid, but about 2 inches shorter. That one is $250 and a whopping 16.5oz.
IMO it'd be hard to go wrong with any pyramid – the rain-entering-the-tent issue is pretty well mitigated with a half sized inner mesh, and beyond that you get simple, easy, pitching and considerably good wind performance.
Here are a few examples – deep snow included:
Jun 19, 2015 at 3:14 pm #2208567Billy Ray,
I think your height and size of your sleeping pad can make a difference in choice of shelters. For example, I find my Duomid with Inner to be cramped length wise. However I use a LW 2.5 inch high sleeping pad with a a long sleeping bag. I think you could get away with using a long pad as long as it was flat, like a thermarest ridgerest or even a prolite. If you don't use a LW pad and a Long sleeping bag you can be ok. That's just my opinion though….Im sure others have used Long/Wide inflatables and Long sleeping bags in the Duomid with Inner and have not felt cramped. To me the Duomid does seem less cramped length wise without the inner. I do wish it was as long as the Solomid XL.
I do think some of the Tarptents do a good job dealing with the length issue though.
I would also like to suggest the Big Sky Revolution or Chinook, but you have to call him to check stock. You can get different weight fly materials, and different weight poles. They both pitch outer first with the inner attached, so the inner stays dry. With the Chinook, you can pitch it with two or three poles, and you can get solid and mesh inners. Two vestibules plenty of length, roof vents and with the third pole plenty of snow loading capability. You can even get sod skirts. And they are long enough,.
The most similar tent to the Chinook is the Hilleberg Soulo, although the Soulo is built with heavier materials. The Chinook has much more interior length than the Soulo, however, and it has two vestibules instead of one.
Jun 19, 2015 at 4:01 pm #2208575I suspect the DuoMid might actually feel roomier length-wise than the Hapi (or at least about the same). The Hapi is 2 inches longer, but the DuoMid is about 3 inches taller. Width-wise, the Hapi would be better.
If you're super concerned with weight, a pyramid tarp + inner is the way to go.
If you're only fairly concerned with weight, then I think a Tarptent Moment or Big Sky Chinook would be nice. I've been quite impressed with my Chinook 2P. I think it would be a great shoulder-season tent with the solid fabric inner.
Jun 19, 2015 at 7:46 pm #2208614I agree about your height making a difference – I'm only 5'7" and I have TONS of room fore and aft in the inner. My 6'4" 260 pound brother on the other hand would probably be miserable in there with the SOLO inner.
Jun 19, 2015 at 7:56 pm #2208621I modified my TT Moment DW (ripstop inner). This has to be one of the mod aerodynamic solo tents ever. Here are some photos showing the crossing pole run INSIDE the fly for greater support.
Also I added 4 stake loops on the fly hem to nail it down in high winds and prepared 4 guy lines, The photos show these lines in place.
With this X-ing pole setup, the 4 guy lines and 4 fly hem stake loops the tent withstood 65 mph gusts with very little pole deformity. I'm adding a stake loop at the webbing where the main hoop inserts at each side.
The X-ing pole is also held in place with two double sided Velcro cable wraps sewn inside the fly at the reinforcing circle where the outside X-ing pole straps were. I seam sealed the Velcro straps' stitching, natch.
*NOTE: This relocated X-ing pole does not touch the ground at either end, just as originally designed.
With two end and two door area vents condensation is kept to a minimum in most situations. It's nice to have 2 doors and vestibules in a solo winter tent.
May 5, 2017 at 5:39 pm #3466375i love my Notch, but it can’t easily be staked all the way to the ground and that is a problem for me in blowing rain.
May 5, 2017 at 9:45 pm #3466389Ye gads Man! If rain made it under my Moment DW’s fly it whould have to be raining horizontally or splashing very hard in pooled water.
If’n yer worried ya can always roll on an extra 4 inches of silnylon coating (5:1 ratio mix – by volume – of odorless mineral spirits and GE clear silicone caulk) to the tent walls just above the floor “wall”. Use a short nap narrow paint roller. Coat the outside of the wall.
May 17, 2017 at 10:08 pm #3468474i love my Notch, but it can’t easily be staked all the way to the ground and that is a problem for me in blowing rain
You could try the partial solid inner.
That white fabric can handle sprays. -
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