What’s your favorite 3-season 1P tent?

Lightheart Gear Solo.

So you are tied to your poles, so what, they'll be needed for your tent. ;-)

And if you can trust the weather it can become a screened porch of sorts.

http://www.lightheartgear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=15

27 ounces, $245.00 and made with 3500 mm Hydrostatic head 1.1 oz sil-nylon.

Party On,

Newton

I am suprised no one has mentioned the Sixmoon designs Skyscape since there has already been so much discussion about the gatewood cape. Depending on your price point you can get progressively lighter versions.

John Abela did an excellent write up on the cuben Skyscape X here:
http://hikelighter.com/2012/04/03/six-moon-designs-skyscape-x/

"I am interested in hearing more about the tortional rigidity provided by a 2-pole tent. It seems counter-intuitive to me; the Notch looks a lot less stable than something like the Nemo Meta 1P"

One pole stable. Two poles twice as stable.

Seriously though, the Notch sets up rock solid with only 4 stakes. You can add two more in really windy conditions, but the form of the shelter works and works well.

The Nemo requires more pegs to maximize the room and has a large, flat side to take the wind. Not my idea of stability.

Newton, I really like that tent. The user review about a thunderstorm is also reassuring. What can you tell me about the material it's made of? I'm willing to sacrifice ounces for something that will last a month of backpacking and come right back for a cycle tour, with proper care of course.

I may have made the mistake of choosing that particular tent as a comparison. Obviously, I don't know the strength of either. For the sake of the thread, understand that my intent is not to prove the Nemo meta is a good tent; I already discarded it from my list of potential tents. Secondly, I'm also not looking to disprove 2-stake shelters. Of course, I'm sure it works great.

I just love learning more about why things work, since the nuances of tarp tension, space between tent walls, rigidity from guylines, etc. are often more accurately described after first-person experience.

First, regardless of how enthusiastic one is a bout a shelter , you need to be happy with your choice before you start using it.
The best way to make sure a shelter fails is not to like it in the first place.
Having stated that …
"especially because the carbide end goes into a cup with the handle against the ground"
Tips in the grommet is used by several makers because they just lock into place.
My opinion (and practical experience) is that if the poles are straight up and the shelter is staked out correctly , you can use handles up. (I do…)
However some find that a bit hard to do, so Henry has made some "pockets" that tie to the grommets grosgrain and grab the pole handle.
When he finishes playing with his new shelters he may even add those to the Extras in the order section.
They look like this :

LightHeart Tents are made of 1.1 oz. sil-nylon (silicone impregnated ripstop nylon). Custom LightHeart Solo Tents are made from Cordura®brand sil-nylon. Windows and doors are nylon no-seeum mesh

Sil-nylon is extremely waterproof. The “standard” tents come with sil-nylon that has a hydrostatic head of 3500 mm water. Custom tents have a hydrostatic head of 1200 mm water.

Sil-nylon like any other fabric is flammable. It is not recommended that you cook inside the tent or vestibule. Carbon monoxide poisoning can occur this way and potentially cause death. Extreme caution should be used when an open flame is near the tent.

The rain fly on all LightHeart Tents is attached to the body of the tent.

Seam sealing instructions are provided with the tent. McNett Sil-Net seam sealer is offered for sale, and they will also seam seal the tent for you for an additional fee.

Tents in NEW condition may be returned within 30 days for a full refund. When returned, the tent will be checked over to make sure it has not been set up outside, once checked a refund will be made through PayPal. If YOU seam seal a tent it is not refundable. If they seam seal the tent for you it is fully refundable within 30 days of receipt.

The Solo can also be had in cuben fiber.

http://www.lightheartgear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=&products_id=14

All Cuben tents come fully seam sealed.
Note: Cuben tents are custom sewn to your specs and as such are non-refundable.

Party On,

Newton

Thank you!

Since your comming from a hammock background, be prepaired for the shock of not being able to find a place to pitch your tent.

This is one reason that swayed me to favor the tents I do. Flexibility and to a lesser extent ease of pitch.

Some may think it is nice to have a roomy all-in-one tent, but the roomier the shelter, especially all-in-one tents, the harder it is to find places to pitch them.

Going solo allows you the abilty to choose something small enough to pitch in more places. A more flexible tarp style shelter allows even more options.

My choice of using a bugnet/bivy combined with a narrow shaped tarp means I can pitch in a lot more locations than when I used an all-in-one tent. I can also vary my setup to acomodate more weather situations.

I do not give up comfort and in many cases am more comfortable with the more flexible design of the MLD Patrol, GG Spinnshelter and similar shelters than I am in my other tents.
I had wanted an MLD Trailstar and the various pyramids for the obvious advantages, but they lacked some of flexibity I was looking for.

My Tarptent style shelters are great because they are quick and easy to setup, but again the lack of flexibility made me lean a little more towards the a-frame tarps again.

And as much as I wanted to like freestanding dome tents, they just don't work well unless you are going to be canmping in more pristine "campgrounds".

Something to consider.

What about freestanding dome tents that have a narrow footprint? I never see big brands mentioned on this forum; is that a general move towards cottage suppliers based on their ability to customize for you, or is there something wrong with these big manufacturers?

For reference, I'm looking at this:

http://www.rei.com/product/779612/big-agnes-fly-creek-ul1-tent

The BA Fly Creek comes in at a little over 2lbs, stands nearly by itself, and looks uncomplicated and sturdy. I can't integrate my trekking poles, but it'd be useful to know why or why not to consider a tent like this.

Thanks,
MD

EDIT: it's not free-standing, sorry.

How tall are you? The Fly Creek UL1 is for those no taller than about 5'9" and even then there is little side to side room. It also lacks headroom but that may not be an issue for you.

Uncomplicated? It takes 13 pegs for a taut pitch.

Of note, any dedicated tent pole will flex. Trekking poles don't and would not be a point of failure of the shelter.

Size is important. Thank you for bringing this up. I'm 6'2". The BA tent is no good, but the Copper Spur might be. Question still stands; why the ubiquity of cottage brands?

Ooh. The Copper Spur is a nice tent. Long, side entry, reasonable weight. Why no love? The Cottage manufacturers provide lighter weight shelters, most often at a lower price point as well. Finally, it is nice to buy domestic.

Lair with sewn bug protection and silnylon floor. sub 20oz and use one trekking pole (or two).

Yeah, yeah, at a "whopping" 2 pounds 14 ounces, it's more like something that one of those people on WHiteBlaze everyone complains about would carry. But I have my reasons (Granted, all these reasons are relative to other tents I've used).

1. It's actually freestanding, unlike the Fly Creek and other small one man tents. No structural integrity requires a stake; only the vestibule. If any stakes pulled, the worst you'd have is a flapping vestibule but not a collapse of the walls. This makes it really easy for beaches or pitching on solid rock slabs.

2. It has an overhanging, rain-free entry, unlike a Fly Creek or Solomid (both of which I've had).

3. It doesn't need trekking poles (I don't use them).

4. It has way more headroom and footroom than a Fly Creek. Granted, it's narrow, but with a large side door, it doesn't bother me. I'm 6'2". The mesh inner door can be left fully open in the rain with no ill effect and plenty of ventilation.

5. I can pitch the fly with poles, then clip in the inner, solving the typical double-wall pitching problem in the rain.

6. I love the color; it's my happy green place while zipped inside. Very scientific, I know.

7. With a few added guylines, I've had it in some serious wind with zero issues.

8. I wouldn't trust it for a serious snow load, but I'd certainly trust it as a shoulder season tent.

9. No single wall condensation rubbing issues. My Tarptent Contrail was really bothersome for this.

10. I can set it up in minutes, with now guyline fiddling, tensioning, etc. My Tarptent Contrail felt so finicky to get a good pitch.

11. It's durable. I expect it will wear far better than anything in silnylon that I've owned.

12. Easy to cook in the vestibule while still being in my bag.

13. I plan on doing two mods this season: adding some silnylon to extend the rear vestibule/overhang lower and add a zipper to the rear wall to access the rear vestibule. It has a sizable amount of space you can't get to from inside, enough for a pack and shoes.

Ill just say that Im happy with my BA CS UL1. Pitches easy, small packed size for something that includes poles, and very wind friendly.

the BA Copper Spur seems like an MSR Hubba with less weight, more space, a smaller packed size, and more room. I'm leaning towards that, although the Moment has me thinking as well.

The Moment is a really nice tent, but I found the Copper Spur UL1 a little nicer. I sold my Moment and kept the CS. I even use it in winter (see avatar photo from the UP of Michigan).

Still my favorite.

I know you have already ruled it out but I wanted to defend it a bit. I have owned one for 2years now and have been extremely pleased with it. It is basically a mid with a mesh side entrance from the vestibule. You can absolutely get a tight pitch. The key is guying out the ends and the back with the back guyed at an upward angle. There are better shelters out there but at a steeper price.

>> The Fly Creek UL1 is for those no taller than about 5'9" and even then there is little side to side room. <<

I've used the Fly Creek UL1 for the last 3 years and I'm 6 ft 200 lbs. Normal set up takes 6 stakes (more would only be useful if very windy). It's also 42 inches wide at the door which allows me to store all my extras along the side of my sleep mat, so plenty of side to side room. Head room is tight but I only sleep in it.

I have a Notch on order so we will see if that replaces my Fly Creek… I like what I see (specs/description) but until I use it in a variety of conditions, I won't know which shelter I will prefer. Ironically, the only thing that concerns me about the Notch is the lack of side to side room, I think it will feel tight compared to the Fly Creek UL1. We'll see.

This is a good read:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=60920

you are already carrying two poles, i'd skip all non-trekking pole tents if i were in your situation.

Lightheartgear tents looks very interesting for dual pole setups.

/Peter

The SoLong 6 is SO long, that hikers over 6’8” will fit comfortably in this tent.
Made in America – Exclusively.
Designed for the ‘big & tall’.

http://www.lightheartgear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=&products_id=42

*Weight 1 lb 14.6 oz.
*Awning fly with zipper on front.
*standard fly with zipper on back.
*45 inches of head room.
*100 inches long.
*55 inches wide in the center, tapers to 30 inches at each end.
*8 inch bathtub floor.
*Corners are boxed off with carbon fiber stays that are sewn into the corners so that *there is no possibility of the corners collapsing.
*Line Lock's on all 4 corners for precision tensioning of tent.
*One pocket.
*Two Ridge vents.
*All seams double stitched
*Requires 6 stakes.
*3-season, fully enclosed, roomy 1+ person.
*Hybrid single/double wall
*Uses a pair of trekking/hiking poles for setup (not included).
*Includes ridge pole, stuff sack and reflective tie-out cord.
*CORDURA® Brand 1.1 oz. silicone impregnated rip-stop nylon with 1200 mm hydrostatic head .
*Requires seam sealing prior to use.
*Small vestibule to store your boots.
*The lateral ridge pole connecting the inverted trekking poles allows the entire headroom height to be usable space and makes the tent very stable under wind loads.
*There is so much room in this tent that 2 ‘regular size’ people can share it.
*Optional adjustable aluminum tent poles are available (sold separately).
*Awning pole sold separately

Here is a link to a review of this tent by BPL lifetime member, "Jolly Green".

http://jolly-green-giant.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-cuben-shelter.html

Party On,

Newton

The tarptent rainbow can be pitched as a freestanding tent.
The zpacks hexamid long is wonderful.

The mld duomid does better in the wind and can be pitched with less pegs.
You can get a screen door sew'd on by an outside company for less weight than the bug inner tent.