Solo Tent Feedback Request

[Tim Zen]

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[Franco Darioli]

Maybe digressing, but I think an article on how to avoid common pitfalls when choosing a tent could be useful.
For example one is to confuse floor area (2d) with usable space (3d) .
Another , very common, is to forget that you most likely will be on top of a mat (and the difference between a 1" and a 2.5" is greater than 1.5" at the end of a tent..) as well as inside a sleeping bag a few inches longer than you at both ends.
Only two out of a dozen or so points I can think of…
Franco

[Adam Klags]

I'm not quite an ultralighter, more just lightweight/superlight. I choose a solo tent for convenience and simplicity. There are many that pack small, utilize a connected pole system, and work as expected. I love getting to camp, laying out the tent on the matching footprint, throwing the pole in front of me and watching it assemble itself, clipping the tent to the pole, and putting your stuff inside. Throwing the fly on and staking in is fast, and I like the kind that is free-standing for the same reason. I have tried a few, but I now love the Fly Creek series from Big Agnes. So light, extremely durable and very waterproof/stormproof (first trip out was a crazy storm on mt marcy and it held up incredibly well with ZERO leakage.) Even when I woke up and discovered water running between a tarp I had sloppily set up as a footprint and the tent floor, the water never came through. That was a miracle.

I think that those who do longer distance through hiking and need to shave every ounce would be much happier in a tarp or tarp-tent setup. They are more versatile and can be pitched in less ideal situations. Plus if you're a really crazy ultralighter you use the tarp as a rain poncho as well! I just can't deal with mice, having to baby my tent, having to futz with the setup over and over to get it pitched right, and having to rely on the right pitching angles to avoid exposure, etc. Nothing like just zipping up a rain fly if it starts to rain, or if you don't want a breeze blowing over you. Also great to have a place to change when needed, and you can cram your girlfriend in if you need to.

Finally, there are many 1 person shelters that make superior winter tents – less open space to heat and a tighter, more enclosed space means more warmth. Also means you don't need a bivy, so when calculating weight, those with a one person tent can leave a bivy out of the equation. For example, I've weighed some tarp/bug screen layer/footprint/bivy setups at equal to or more than some of the lightest solo tents.

[Christopher Kuzak]

Used a solo tent, an REI Quarter Dome T1, for the past four years or so. I really liked it but parted with it recently because I wanted to go lighter and wanted more room (got a two-man Easton Kilo). That said, what I liked about the Quarter Dome, and like about tents in general, is the bug protection, weather protection, privacy, and the extra warmth tents can provide. The Quarter Dome was great because it was narrow enough that I could drop it almost anywhere with no problem, though the setup sucked a bit.

[Stuart R]

"* Weight saving – my solo tent is 1020g, tarp + bug net + bivy + warmer sleeping bag = ???
You would have either a bug net/tent or bivy, not both."

Fair enough, but I forgot to add poles for the tarp option.

You may take walking poles anyway (I don't), but you don't _need_ them for walking, you need them for the tarp. And you need stakes too.

[Mary D]

Franco added an important component: With the increasing popularity of 2.5 inch thick air pads (such as the NeoAir), head and foot end clearance for a tent is of greater importance than ever, even for short folks like me (5'3"). (My KookaBay pad is 3.5 inches thick, which doesn't help.) It's really important to be able to sit up without brushing the hood of the sleeping bag) against the tent ceiling, and extremely claustrophobic to have the tent ceiling only a couple of inches from the face! I've also found more condensation when the ceiling is close to my face.

Another interesting trend is that it's becoming a lot harder to separate a "tent" from a "tarp." There are now dozens of tarp plus fully enclosed bug tent with bathtub floor combinations around that really blur the lines between tent and tarp. With the two together, you basically have a double-wall tent with net inner. A number of the tarps have beaks, too, to cope with that horizontal rain that seems to come from all directions at once in Rocky Mountain thunderstorms. Most of them (unlike the "traditional" double wall tent) can have the fly/tarp set up first (or have the inner tent clipped under the outer, like the new Tarptent offerings), so you can set it up in pouring rain without getting the inner tent wet. A number of "cottage" firms list the tarp and net tent separately so you can even get the tarp/fly from one manufacturer and the net tent from another, assuming they are compatible sizes.

So here's a good question for you–where do you draw the line between a solo tent and a solo tarp? I don't think there is one any more!

It's like the various distinctions between "framed" and "frameless" packs, which resulted in the popular ULA Ohm being excluded from both the SOTM reviews on packs!

[David Wills]

Christopher,

When similar materials and setup systems are used, the weight difference is very small between tarp/bivy and a tarptent. To compare a tarptent more accurately to your tarp + bivy, the SMD Skyscape X is 15 ounces.

Comparing a cuben tarp and bivy without including the weight of hiking poles will obviously weigh a lot less than a silnylon tarptent that has a long tent pole included in the weight.

[Christopher Yi]

You got there. I was going to go on about a duo cuben tarp + bug headnet + Ruta Locura poles for 16.5 oz but there's too many variables/personal preferences/fabrics/locations to consider.

[Sean Trew]

been using a Lunar Solo but just traded up to Skyscape X

1. rain protection (live in the NW)
2. bugs
3. place to stash gear while away from camp

[Brad Rogers]

Sean,

Please report back on how you like the Skyscape X. I have to admit that 15oz is pretty tempting. I currently use a Gossamer Gear SpinnShelter and a Alpinlite Bug Shelter 1.25 when needed, so 20.35oz with bug protection.

[Brett Peugh]

For me things are a bit different. I do need something with bug netting, that will setup easy, be somewhat freestanding, have good ventilation, will keep the rain off, is light but for which I will not shed a tear if it gets a small rip in its $400 self. I need the bug netting because here in the midwest there are bugs 5 months out of the year. I need somewhat freestanding because the winds will get up very high here on the plains and stands of trees usually attract lightning. I need easy setup because I am not going to wake up three different times in the night to adjust it. It has to have good ventilation because 90F+ with high humidity is not something you want to be enclosed in. I don't need a whole lot of room because I basically use it as a Japanese coffin motel just to sleep in, not read, paint, or cook. I am not going to spend multiple days in it. I have tried to find alternative methods and tents but what limits me is my 6'5" frame and the fact that I side sleep. I think I will just have to end up going with the TT Moment. I could just wrap a tarp around me while I sleep int he colder times but have not found a good bug shelter to use for the warmer times and drape the tarp over it. Sorry if this seems a bit spotty but I have been sick the last few and really needed to get this out of my head.

[Bill (L.Dog) Garlinghouse]

I'm going to take some exception to your premise. I did choose a solo tent for nterior living space, privacy, views, and bugs. But the trump card was weight.

Now, to be fair, I don't exactly have the lightest Tarp/Bivy/groundcloth system – ID Siltarp, Titanium Goat Ptarmigan bivy w/ full net bug hood and a Tyvek groundcloth. But when I added it all up, I found the LightHeart Gear Solo was lighter. It's capable of outstanding, bug-free views, it's roomy, and it provides privacy.

"How do you feel about owning, carrying, and using a solo tent when you might know that *something else" might give you *something more* for less weight and cost?"

Not sure what you mean by *something more*. If you're referring to a tarp/bivy combo, I don't know how that gives one "something more" for less weight or cost. I got all the attributes you mentioned for less weight than a comparable silnylon system for $199. If I wanted less weight, I could plunk down considerably more for a cuben tent, or I could give up all those attributes and leave my bivy and groundsheet home.

The Tarp/Bivy combo does offer a bit of flexibility. I'm heading out for an AT thru attempt next spring. I considered the tarp/bivy for the flexibility of using the bivy in shelters, and the tarp/bivy when stealth camping. But I would much rather stealth camp than stay in vermin-infested shelters whereever regulations allow And I do like the wx protection, privacy, and the protection from bugs the tent provides.

The fact that I saved a few ounces was the deal clincher.

[Nick C.]

My primary consideration for using a solo tent was bugs as well. Specifically for Mid-Atlantic, USA conditions, I wanted protection from tick borne diseases. More specifically, I wanted a private space that was large enough in which to conduct a daily tick check.

Of course, it was more a lack of sufficiently refined technique. My current technique is to just conduct a tick check during those times I use the bathroom. Now I prefer the bivy bag/tarp combination for the aesthetic benefits of bivying and because tarps seem more obsolescence proof than tents.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Nick,

Explain how tents become obsolescent and tarps do not.

Tent DESIGNS change and some newer, clever designs are neat but older designs don't become obsolescent unless some new miracle fabric like Cuben emerges, in which case earlier tarps become "obsolescent" too.

[Curry]

I currently used the GG The One. It's fair to say that it has had under-performance issues regarding living up to it's advertised specs and abiitiies, but I do prefer a tent for now. Mainly, bugs, weather and privacy issues as many posters have stated. But really, when it comes to being UL, after seeing countless tarp users need a heavier ground cloth, bag, bivy and extra cord, the total weight of said tarp systems is usually more than a UL tent, especially with the Cuban versions coming out.

With a tent, I don't need a bivy and my bag and ground cloth weigh less as well. Besides,, I can always open the flaps for ventilation in nice clear weather,or just choose to cowboy camp on nice warm nights.

[Anonymous]

"- You don't really select a solo tent for severe weather protection,"

No, but neither would I use a tarp for severe weather protection. That said, I use either for general 3 season weather protection and, if things start to look really nasty, try to compensate by site selection. But there will always be times when the mountain gods decide it's your turn in the barrel and you're going to end up miserable no matter what. Life in the mountains.

"So, is it really all about the bugs?"

Definitely, bugs are the main advantage of a solo tent over a tarp, IMO.

For the Sierra, I use a TT Sublite Tyvek up until October instead of a tarp now. It performs exactly as Henry advertises it, which is plenty good 99% of the time down there. As for the other 1%…be prepared to spend some time drying things out. After that, my TT Rainbow works fine even in moderate snow.

I confess to a fantasy, though. I am positively drooling over Ron Moak's Skyscape X.
At 15 oz and totally waterproof, it would replace my tarp/bivy, Sublite, and Rainbow, saving serious ounces in the process. Now for the hard part, justifying the $450 to my wife. :(

[Sam Farrington]

You might consider a silnylon version that would be less expensive. I have been hoop testing Thru-Hiker's current silnylon for a week or so, and it is much less saggy when the temp drops than the many other sils I've looked at. Is 2-3 ounces really a deal-breaker for a complete shelter?

It seems like everybody now, after five years or so, is making versions of Kurt Russell's Nomad. Created by one thru-hiker.

Wonder when the industry will come out with these. Never, I hope, so the small makers can stay in business; but it is probably a naive hope. Then we will get the 15D nylon with sil/PU coatings, maybe even polyester. Bet they will be heavier anyway, though.

One puzzle: The video of the X setup clearly shows the short ridge that helps a lot with headroom. But did not know it was there from anything else on the SMD site until looked at the video.

After first inquiring about the sil and the return policy, one could choose one of the modified sil versions of the nomad, set it up in the sunshine during the fall or early spring, and see how much it sags after dark. And if not satisfied, send it back the next day.

What does this have to do with Ryan's survey? The answer I guess is in the features of the nomad design that make it so popular.

[Nick C.]

@Eric B.-Perhaps you would prefer I had said that tarp designs change more slowly than tent designs?

If you'd like, feel free to PM me and we can discuss this in further detail.

[Anonymous]

"You might consider a silnylon version that would be less expensive. I have been hoop testing Thru-Hiker's current silnylon for a week or so, and it is much less saggy when the temp drops than the many other sils I've looked at. Is 2-3 ounces really a deal-breaker for a complete shelter?"

That is definitely a consideration. The downside is the sag, plus the weight difference is 8 oz according to the specs on the website. Still, $450 is a ton of Washingtons, which is why I said "fantasize" in my post. We'll see. The spirit is willing…..

[Author]

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