tents

[Anonymous]

I am a 50 year old woman who has only started backpacking 5 years ago. I am headed to Philmont with 9 15 year old boys this summer. We just came back from a 3 day trip on the south rim of Big Bend. I have decided I need a lighter tent since I am the only female on the crew and cannot share my tent weight. I now have and REI half dome. I am looking at the MSR Hubba and the Mountain Hardwear Meridan 1. I am not a hardcore ultalighter. I need some creature comforts. Any suggestions or advice?

[Ken Helwig]

If you are using it just for yourself, I would not use a 2 person tent. Try Henry Shires Tarp Tent or Big Sky Tents. Both offer ver y lightweight tents of great quality.

[Dale Wambaugh]

How about a Six Moons Designs Lunar Solo @ 23oz? Half the weight of the Hubba, with 360 side protection, a floor, and bug screen screening. You will need one trekking pole, stick or add a tent pole.
Six Moons link

[Jim Colten]

One thing to be aware of when looking for a light wt Philmont shelter … I’m told that Philmont requires all “tents” be floored.

[David Lewis]

The Hubba is not a 2 person tent… it’s a solo tent. You’re thinking of the Hubba Hubba. It’s a fantastic tent. It could use a peak vent… but otherwise it’s really nice. You’ll be hard pressed to find a double walled self-supporting tent for less than 3 pounds. So if you really want double walled, bathtub floor, self-supporting… etc… I’d say the MSR is a good option. If you want to go lighter, check out TarpTent (the rainbow might be a good option for you) and Six Moons… etc.

[Glenn Roberts]

“I’m going to Philmont with 9 15-year-old boys…” On purpose?

Just kidding – working with youth groups is a great way to backpack, and to ensure that there will be more people to help keep the trail systems operating in the future. It’s also a lot of fun watching them react to the stuff that happens.

I’ve got a Hubba (solo) and really like it. I’ve never had significant condensation problems (about like any other double-wall tent – depends on how tightly you button it down.) For hot weather, it’s really nice – the tent body is about 99% mesh, and is as close as you can come to sleeping under the stars without bug issues. There’s plenty of headroom. However, the floor is long but fairly narrow; my sleeping bag is usually in contact with the mesh sidewalls. It’s also freestanding, an advantage if you’re camping on a rock surface. The vestibule is also roomy, and there’s a back vestibule that you can store stuff in that doesn’t need to be accessible (there’s no opening from the tent into the rear vestibule.)

My own favorite tent is another MSR tent: the Zoid 1. It weighs a few ounces less than the Hubba (mine’s 3 pounds even including a silnylon stuff sack and 8 stakes.) It doesn’t have as much headroom (at 5’11” I just brush the top when I sit up) or as much mesh (say, 50 or 60%), and the vestibule is small (but still adequate.) However, the floor is a few inches wider at the foot, and substantially wider at the shoulders; the bag doesn’t contact the walls unless I move around a lot. There’s lots of extra room at the head of the tent to store stuff. My preference for this tent, though, may be how elegantly it stores my gear: my empty Vapor Trail pack fits neatly into the foot, I butt my 3/4 Prolite pad against it, and end up with a nice full-length sleeping pad, plus room in the head of the tent for my shoes with my inflated Dromlite bag on top for a pillow. Maps, first aid kit, headlamp, etc. all fit nicely into the pockets at the head end, and there’s room for my rain suit and water bottle on the floor. Except for the small difference in headroom, the Zoid 1 actually feels roomier than the Hubba to me.

The Zoid also comes in a two-person version.

Good luck, and enjoy the kids.

[EndoftheTrail]

Be advised that the published weight of the Meridian 1 (2.25 lbs) is a full pound lighter than actual! This was brought to MH’s attention at least a month ago in another forum. MH apologized, but never bothered to correct its website. Not good.

[Matt Eckhart]

If you don’t want a bivy I use the big agnes seedhouse SL1. It is a little bit heavier than a bivy but you get a lot more options. You get a vestibule you can cook in or put your pack under. You can use no rainfly for an all mesh shelter in nice weather. It is a double walled tent so condensation isn’t a problem. The rainfly also has a steep slope to keep you dry in wet conditions. Weighs 2 lbs 6 oz and you can even drop more weight with the fast fly setup making it 1 lb 12oz. I chose this over the mountain house meridian because it has more square footage (22 sq ft).

[Kevin Dupre]

How about the Hilleberg Akto? I’ve been researching one person tents. New design for 2006.

Hilleberg.com

[Kurt Ericson]

I just bought a Eureka Spitfire off Ebay for $70, including shipping. I haven’t used it, but I like it more than the BA SL1. It has more headroom, and feels roomier.

[John Rogers]

Regarding the Hubba, Hubba Hubba and probably the Mutha Hubba also. Don’t use it in the rain. And who can say it won’t rain when camping? Took my Hubba Hubba back to REI after being woken up in the wee hours with rain, splashing me in the face. The bathtub floor is shallow along the door sides and the fly at the vestibule does not, repeat, does not go to the ground but curves UP about 4 inches and comes back down at the stake-out point to allow water to splash in all 4 corners. Everything under the vestibule was wasted with mud from splash. At least I wasn’t in heavy wind, it woulda been worse….How it got Gear of the Year award befuddles me, but then so do so many things.

[Mike Storesund]

I would agree with the SMD Lunar Solo. It fulfills the Philmont floored requirement. You can use either an adjustable trekking pole or can buy the 45 inch pole they sell also. The Tyvek groundsheet would be a good idea as well to add that protection. All three of these with my 6 stakes weigh 32 ounces.
Be careful not to have your light on when changing in the dark. One our lady leaders made that mistake… only once.

[Phil Barton]

Anon, as previously mentioned, Henry Shires’ Tarptent is a great shelter. I’ve used the Squall as a very generous 1-person shelter for almost 2 years. It is available with a floor. The insect netting has worked flawlessly for me. It handles wind and rain very well. I haven’t yet made it to Philmont but other Scouters report that the Tarptent works well there.
Phil

[Brett Balmer]

Regarding the Hubba Hubba in the rain – I own the tent and have not experienced the same splash-in problems. I do get a little splashing of mud on the sides of the bathtub during a hard rain, but never enough to get through the screening. (I have had it out in a total of 6 rainy nights in total)

I do stake the ends of the tent to make the floor/bathtub more taught then when pitched free-standing. Just wondering if you got a defective tent. Sorry for the slightly off-topic post.

[Brian James]

Regarding the Hubba Hubba, two things come to mind:

1) was it a good pitch? Was the bathtub as high as it could have been?

2) if the fly/vestibule came to the ground, wouldn’t it have been raining inside anyway due to lack of ventilation in conditions like that?

[Russell Swanson]

Have you looked at REI’s Quarter Dome? It’s about a pound heavier than some of the other options mentioned here but it’s not as expensive as some of the other double-walled tents suggested. It’s more than roomy enough and it’s a really tough little tent. I’ve had mine out in 50mph gusts and under 6 inches of snow. Plus, you’ll be familiar with it as it has a lot of similarities to the Half Dome. And, if you don’t like it, REI will take it back…

[John Rogers]

Yes to the tight pitch and the bathtub can not go any higher than it is. Read the review on BPL and basically come to the same conclusion. I had the guys at REI put the tent up also to see if maybe my tent pitching prowess was a wee bit off. All agreed it was a design defect. My Jetboil under the vestibule was so coated with mud it would not hardly come apart. Pack and boots also wasted. That brought to mind camping in wind along the Colorado River in the G.C. and the fact that everything would be completely coated with dirt if I’d been in the Hubba. BTW, I’ll take some condensation anyday versus wiping all four corners of the tent to stay dry all night.I’ve sworn off mesh tents and decided I like a tent that can be “closed up” in nasty weather, which is when I like to hike. Have a Mountain Hardware Mountain Jet 2 I love, but quite heavy. Looking for something lighter, maybe the Dyad 22. Any ideas??
Dave Rogers, Great Minds Think A Hike

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