Current best single person tent around 18-20oz

ZPacks Hexamid Solplex looks pretty good (16.2oz w/stakes)

+1 on the solplex. 16 oz WITH stakes and guy lines (14 oz without…)

I'm super happy with it – I'll miss my duomid set up on my sierra trip this month (because it really is SO awesome!) but I can't argue with the weight and packed size (meaning TEENY) of the fully enclosed tent with a nice big vestibule!

I have a Solo Plus but it's close to the same thing. Small and light enough that I carried it without qualms on an AT hike in the Smokies for backup (we had to stay in the shelters).

Long enough for 6'-3, full coverage with a vestibule.

Yep Hexamid Solplex looks good.

Solomid XL 19.3oz sealed with guy lines in sack.

I love these arbitrary best questions

"I love these arbitrary best questions"

yeah! I like the thread about WPB jackets – a complete range of opinions – if someone wants a "best" their head would explode : )

The Hexamid Twin is a good fit for me. For a modest weight penalty over the solo, I have more room when solo and the option to share it with one of my kids when they join me on a trip.

However the best solo tent is the Chalet de Ian which is made out of unobtanium. It's lighter than air and actually makes my pack 3oz lighter and converts rain water to single malt that's old enough to vote which is channeled to a to a built in flask.

How fixated are you on a 1P "tent." I always recommend a 2P pyramid, like the MLD DuoMid, as a solo shelter.

Mids are pretty much the shelter to have if you can only have one. A 2P is a palace for one person, giving room to sit up and change clothes or cook inside, and has enough room that you are unlikely to brush your nice down sleeping bag against whatever condensation accrues. Almost all are still well within your desired weight range. They're simple. Rugged. Fast and easy to pitch. They can use your trek pole as the center pole, though many might need a polejack or a rock under the pole. Great in wind and bad weather- just bring four stakes in nice weather but you can nail it down with a dozen if you need to in high winds. Good in all but the most massive snow loads. And in any but the worst weather you can just leave the door open for nice views.

A simple/cheap silnylon bivy can act as both a groundsheet and bug protection if you need it.

And a 2P pyramid can of course house two people in a pinch.

What's not to like? Well, unless you're one of those freaks who has an irrational dislike of center poles and/or can't figure out how to cant them. ;)

But if you are really set on a fully-enclosed bugproof tent with a floor then, yes, I don't see the point of a pyramid with an innernet.

Open to suggestions and have looked at them.

I am primarily a hammocker and have a SUL setup for that, cuben tarp, bug net etc.

I can always just use a bug tent or use a bivy with my tarp, but was thinking more of a quick setup simple SUL tent.

Ah, I get you. Well, in that weight range, frankly, your options are VERY limited for a fully-enclosed tent. Zpacks is probably your best bet, as others have said, because you'll almost certainly need something in cuben (i.e. ridiculously expensive) to make that weight. Most of their designs make it easy to leave the front door open for ventilation- look at the Solo-Plus or SolPlex. The bigger Solo-Plus would make it easier to leave the door open for venting in bad weather, since you can just tuck yourself into the back of the tent. I don't think it has a true floor, though- it has that classic ZPacks mesh floor.

And anything from ZPacks won't be really "quick and easy"- it'll be a typically fiddly bleeding-edge UL cuben shelter. But if the Big Sky Wisp tempted you then you're probably ok with that. If "quick and easy" is your primary criterium then relax your weight requirement. (It's 34oz but for "quick and easy" it's hard to beat a TT Moment.)

Yes not looking for anything too fiddly otherwise I could just build a properly shaped cuben tarp and pyramid bug shelter and would hit my weight range.

The Sea to Summit Solo and Duo Shelters look interesting and expensive. Looks Easy to set up.

If I go up in weight into the 2# + area I will be looking at an exoskeleton Big Sky tent.

Six Moons Design Skycape with a dual entry. I've had SMD tents for several years and love them…

SMD doesn't seem to have much exposure on these forums so check them out!

http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/

Yes I have looked at those too and they look good.

I saw the Big Sky Wisp 1-person tent at the OR Summer show last week. Bob Molen was displaying their 10.6 oz all cuben "Let it Pour" fabric version. For a compact, small footprint, single trekking pole tent with enough interior space for me (I'm 6'2", 180 lb), I was impressed. Well, not that impressed with the $500 price tag for the cuben model, but impressed with the overall design.

It was a snug fit inside, and I doubt anyone taller than me would be comfortable in it, but the sit up space was good and the large side entry is very appealing. There is a vent at the foot end to go with the all-mesh entry side (there's also a small vent at the peak) but I suspect in still conditions some condensation would occur.

Overall, I liked it.

I don't get how any one thinks a zpacks shelter is "fiddly". The only part thats fiddly is finding a spot where the stake will go into the ground which any shelter will suffer from. Maybe a shelter that is freestanding or uses fewer stakes is less fiddly but for me zpacks makes it super easy to set up camp. YMMV

I use a ZPacks Solo Plus tarp & matching Hexanet, and I don't find anything to be fiddly about it… Set up is straight forward, and simple. I think it would be fiddly to those that are new to it, but after a few set-ups, it's like second nature (as with other tents most likely…)

My recommendation would be the SMD Skyscape-X if you are looking for a three season shelter… especially if you find yourself wanting maximum ventilation while still being protected from bugs.

Zpacks Solplex is a nice improvement over the original Hexamid I am still using. I am tempted to upgrade for the higher entry. I wouldn't call setup fiddly, but it takes a bit more skill to get a taut pitch than some shelters, especially compared to free-standing dome.

Finally, the Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid (or SoloMid XL, or DuoMid)+ Innernet would provide a lot of options (get the inner net when weather good but bugs bad, both together, or just the tarp when bug season is done.

–Mark

What do you mean by "fiddly?" As in, you have to fiddle with it to get it set up? I didn't really have to "fiddle" with it after I watched the video and did one practice run… Solid little shelter. And plenty long for the tall folks too.

"Zpacks Solplex is a nice improvement over the original Hexamid I am still using."

I don't agree – I prefer the separate removable bathtub groundsheet in the original design. It works much better if you're pitching in pouring rain. Set up the tent just right, it doesn't matter how wet it gets inside or out, because your groundsheet is still dry inside your pack. You can also use the separate groundsheet to cowboy camp.

I have the Hexamid Twin. I think this is the best tent in the range. It's tight for two, but palatial for one. The extra pole at the back to raise the rear "ceiling" means that you get much more usable space inside.

But whichever tent you get, I think the fundamental design is excellent. Cuben Fiber is incredibly strong in tension, and doesn't stretch, so you can tie the guy lines extremely taught in a storm – I've had mine rock steady in 60mph winds in the Grand Canyon. And it will keep you dry in pouring rain.

The only drawback of the Hexamid design is the large footprint – but unless you have a Tardis tent, that's how you get all that room inside.

The SMD Wild Oasis is probably the most under rated shelter out there. It's based around a 'mid design but with 6 tie outs, wider in the middle and perimeter bug netting to keep the fliers out. The netting is tapered so it sits well under the footprint of the tarp. With a high pitch the walls are steep so condensation runs down them or can be blotted away with a bandana – something you can't do with a mesh bug net which lets droplets mist through. At 15 ounces it's as light as the Z-packs options, 1/3 the cost and the silnylon makes for more flexibility in pitching. Lots of interior space too, even with the high pitch the footprint is bigger than my medium polycryo groundsheet.

I just used mine the other night, 0 condensation with a light breeze right next to a mountain stream pitched over damp ground.

There's a detailed review of an older version on BPL, the authors main gripe was the door through the netting used velcro which snagged. SMD now uses a full length zipper through the netting and tarp – works great!