Solo Tents at Philmont

[Mike Kirkpatrick]

My troop will be at Philmont July 17th of this year. We have 4 adults going with the Scoutmaster and his son (just turned 18) will be tenting together. I have read that solo tents are discouraged at Philmont and depending on the ranger you get possibly not allowed. That leaves me at 6'4" over 200 and the other adult probably 6'2" possibly tenting together. I think we would both like to go solo and he actually already has one of the Big Agnes lightweight solo tents.

I have been looking at the SMD Scout or Trekker. But just don't want to get out there and not be able to use the tent. So, I was thinking maybe a Shangri-La 2 so that would fit both of us if it had to but if we could go solo I would have a decently light tent. Department of Goods has the MSR Carbon Reflex 2 but again in my reading that might not easily accommodate 2 larger guys.

Anyone else have any experience to draw on to give some advice?

[david richardson]

I don't think that adults will have any problem if you both want to tent solo. They don't like youth in single tents, adults are usually left to there own choice. dave

[Sarah Kuhn]

+1 to David's commment – never had an issue with solo adults, solo youth are greatly discouraged.

[Mike Kirkpatrick]

So for my 6'4" frame any solo tents anyone might recommend? Any tent better for Philmont than others? I live in Georgia so my normal camping conditions might be quite a bit different than Philmont. Lots more humidity I would think.

Tents I have looked or thought about are:
SMD Scout or Trekker…
Golite Shangri-la 1
Bearpaw AT-1

Any other comments or suggestions??

Thanks
Mike

[Steven Paris]

I have a SMD Trekker, but haven't had it out yet so I can't comment about actual use. I am looking forward to using this kind of shelter, especially for the worst weeks for bugs in the PNW.

For a tent with this design that definitely accommodates your height, look at the Lightheart SoLong:

http://www.lightheartgear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=&products_id=13&zenid=58774f150c45c3b9f6aa13b878b4c4df

I think Jolly Green Giant (another tall hiker) has a review of the SoLong and a separate post about the SMD Lunar Solo (redesigned recently with corners that increase the effective length) here:

http://jolly-green-giant.blogspot.com/

[Mike Kirkpatrick]

The Scout and the Trekker are the same tent except for materials it appears. Looking at the specs they are actually a little longer than the lightheart though narrower. Also at just over 2 pounds the cost on the Scout is really good.

[Jeff Long]

I’m the crew adviser for a Philmont trip next summer and have three other adults who would prefer to solo tent.  Is it still o.k. for adults to tent separately, while the boys share tents?  Does anyone have any experiences from last summer (2015)?

[Jay L]

It will probably be allowed but I would not consider it okay.

Expecting the Scouts to share a tent when the adults get to be by themselves (by choice rather than necessity) is a double standard and sets a poor example.  If you are big guys worried about space, then take a tent that is big enough for you to be comfortable.

Then there is the practical part – you may be at campsites that do not have enough space for up to 8 tents.

 

[Bruce Kolkebeck]

On four treks to Philmont I’ve gone two times with sharing a tent and two times solo. I slept like a baby solo even when tents were clustered tightly. Not so much sharing a tent. They keep telling me I’m on vacation. So I’m going solo again in 2017.

BK

[Russell Moerland]

We had four adults tenting solo on our mostly north country trek in 2015.  Our ranger had no issue with us tenting solo,  and we only had a couple sites where things were cozy.  A majority of our adults had extenuating circumstances that would cause them to awake in the middle of the night for one reason or another, so that drove much of the decision.  It does make shelter choice more critical in keeping weight down as there’s no one to share the weight with.

[Bruce Tolley]

I had also heard that solo tents for adults were discouraged, so I packed a two person tent for one of the other adults and myself. Despite my caution we had no problem passing the inspection, each with our solo SMD Lunar Solo tents.  (The other two adults were sharing tents with their sons).  The SMD Lunar Solo is an excellent shelter for a tall person.  I also own a Henry Shires TT Double Rainbow which is also extra long.  Many of the so called lightweight tents from the mainline manufactures like REI and Big Agnes are both short and narrow and often the sides are so sloped that the specified dimensions are not a good indication of usuable interior space. At Philmont there can be rain and high humidity which makes for condensation. BTW We never had a hard time finding space for 7 tents and we camped near crews that had more than seven tents.

[Bruce Tolley]

I had also heard that solo tents for adults were discouraged, so I packed a two person tent for one of the other adults and myself. Despite my caution we had no problem passing the inspection, each with our solo SMD Lunar Solo tents.  (The other two adults were sharing tents with their sons).  The SMD Lunar Solo is an excellent shelter for a tall person.  I also own a Henry Shires TT Double Rainbow which is also extra long.  Many of the so called lightweight tents from the mainline manufactures like REI and Big Agnes are both short and narrow and often the sides are so sloped that the specified dimensions are not a good indication of usuable interior space. At Philmont there can be rain and high humidity which makes for condensation dripping down the sides so you do not want your bag rubbing against the tent wall. BTW We never had a hard time finding space for 7 tents and we camped near crews that had more than seven tents.

[Bruce Kolkebeck]

I’ve got a Lunar Solo for sale if anybody wants it.

BK

[Dave Ebert]

@btolley – how did your SMD Lunar Solo perform in high humidity/condensation areas – either at Philmont or in northern CA (per your tag)?

Thanks, Dave

[Jon Lannom]

I just spoke with Philmont this past week about this same issue.  I was told that solo tents “might” be allowed for one adult if there is an odd number in the crew, however it would be solely up to that crew’s ranger.  Some Rangers will not allow any solo tents at all.  They will force three people into one of the tents.  I was told that if the tents that we bring won’t accommodate three people then they will issue us their tents which might be a little larger.

The bottom line – four of the five adults on our crew were going to sleep solo but not after hearing this.  They are now adjusting their plans to sleep with their sons.  Philmont seemed stunned that we were even bringing our own tents since they provide the Thunder Ridge tents for free.  I don’t think that they are going to be very lenient on having lots of tents in a crew.

The way that it was explained to me was that they are trying to minimize the campsite footprint of tents.  They said that the footprint of a solo tent is just about the same size as a two-man tent when you take into consideration all the guy lines.  Our 14 person crew would have had a huge tent footprint if all the adults had solo tents and the Scouts were in two-man, and then throw in a couple of days with a Ranger and his tent.

They told me that their policy was clearly outlined in this year’s copy of the 2016 Guidebook to Adventure that was sent to the Crew Advisors regarding what the tenting expectations were.  I went and re-read it and on pages 12 & 13 it states that if you bring your own tents they must be two-man tents and the only exception would be a solo tent for an odd numbered crew or gender issues.  It does go on to talk about the footprint issues so it sounds like they are doing away with the adults in solo tents policy that previously prevailed.

[Dave Ebert]

@Jon – The 2014 Guidebook to Adventure said the exact same thing.  Though that was the first year Philmont offered the new Thunder Ridge tents to check out in limited quantities.  I suspect when I went in 2012 it said the same thing.  I’ve not seen much change in the PGTA.

However, in 2012 and 2014 I shared a Shangri-La 3 with another adult in my crew, and no one was solo.  So there weren’t any concerns.  This year, we are both tall, both snore, and may be better off in our own solos tents.  Might do exactly as @Bruce Tolley did and take both…… and leave one in the locker!

[Aubrey W. Bogard]

John,

How is it that you have a 14-person crew?  It was my understanding that 12 is the maximum.

[Dave Ebert]

Aubrey – They take exceptions case by case, but they do make exceptions.

[Jon Lannom]

Aubrey- we asked Philmont for approval and they gave it to us. We first asked to add one person and they said OK. Then a couple of months later we had another Scout say he wanted to go so we asked again and they said OK – BUT they said then that was it… no more.

[ed dzierzak]

The major problem with excess tents is that some campsites have limited areas for pitching. I’ve run into a few limited campsites, but we always made it work. We’ve never had a Ranger question the number of tents we’ve carried, but usually we’ve gone with less than a full crew.

Who knows? This year may be different.

[Edgar M]

Reporting back for 2016.  Our crew of 10 had two in solo tents (a Contrail and my DIY Protrail/Cirriform copy), 4 in 2 Philmont tents and 4 in two MSR Hubba Hubbas.  We got no push back at all from our ranger on the two adults solos.

[Jon Lannom]

Just returned and our crew of 14 used six tents.  Several of our campsites had very small footprints and at times it was a struggle to fit in six tents. In a couple of sites we had to divide up into two groups of three and in another three groups of two.

[Steve G]

I used a Lunar Solo in 2016 and it worked out great — I am one of those poor guys who has to hit the rocks 2-3 times a night when I am super hydrated so I sure didn’t want to wake up other adults.  Our ranger did not bat an eye at a solo tent — we had four Scouts in a Black Diamond Megamid so we were doing our part for “low impact.”  I bought the Lunar Solo seam sealed at the factory — we sealed the BD ourselves… We had a couple lousy campsites but the addition of one or two other tents would not have made them any better.  If you show your Ranger that you are well prepared and know what you are doing they will pretty much leave the adults alone and focus all their energies on the Scouts, we found.  Steve

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