Lanshan Lottery

[Michael Sirofchuck]

I am looking for an inexpensive tent to add to my hunting camp cache – it will only be used a few nights a year and will be left in the cache year-round.   Basically I just need a one person shelter for overnight stays. It can be buggy, so netting is a plus.

I’ve been looking at the vast array of Lanshan tents on AliExpress.com and I am open to advice/recommentations.

[Sam Farrington]

There is also a variety of such tents on Ebay.

[Mole J]

Look at the the ASTA brand tents on AliExpress.    They have mesh inners available too.

They use silnylon rather than sil/Pu like many other brands.

They have a rectangular mid, an 8’square based larger 2 door mid and a hex shaped 2 door mid.

[Michael Sirofchuck]

Thanks, Mole J – that’s the kind of advice I’m looking for – specific model recommendations.  There are so many to wade through it’s a bit daunting.

[Stumphges]

The Lanshan tents are made by 3F Ultralight. I have a 3F UL hex tent that uses the same silicone outer/PU inner fabric used on the Lanshan. This fabric has a generous silicone coating that beads water nicely; the inner PU coating is rather thick, which provides a high hydrostatic head but probably results in poor tear strength. That said, the overall impression I have of the fabric is that it is high quality, although the heavy coatings result in fabrics and tents that are a little heavy. From what I’ve seen, 3F UL quality and sewing is very good, maybe equivalent to REI brand tents, maybe a little worse, hard to say; however, the designs and details are not as refined. For example, the Lanshan 2 is certainly a nice little tent, but it’s short, has very small vestibules and there is no way of knowing at this point how long that fabric, which appears so adequate from where I’m sitting, will last before tearing or delaminating. No warranty, obviously.

Chinese tent makers exist in a quality hierarchy. From what I’ve heard from Chinese outdoor shops, from best to worst, they rank: NatureHike > 3F UL > ASTA Gear > Knot (aka Ice River) > various rubbish brands.

As Mole said, ASTA uses double-sided silnylon that is decent quality. There are quite a few reviews of models made by the first four companies on various forums and on youtube. The German Ultraleicht website is paticularly information rich – run it through Google Translate and watch for posts by “Wilbo.”

[Brad W]

Ozark Trails makes some good cheap tents. I have the 43oz tent that is a a REI Quarter Dome clone. I also have the 1 man backpacking tent that was on sale for $15. It’s about 4.2lbs but it sturdy, roomy and easy to set up.

43oz Tent

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-1-Person-43-Ounce-Backpacking-Tent-with-Ripstop-Fabric/55533609

1 man backpacking tent https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-1-Person-Hiker-Tent-with-large-Door-for-Easy-Entry/49382131

[Michael Sirofchuck]

I checked the Walmart website and it looks like the tent I just ordered from AliExpress for $45 is available through them for $40.  The bummer is that it will probably take a month for the tent to get here from China.

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