Lateral tunnel tent?

The Exped Orion is a bit like that .

Disadvantage ?

Maybe longer poles could be one .

Disadvantages are long poles (they flex) and big fabric spans (they belly in).

Cheers

Ok, so no surprises then :)

Similar: https://www.tarptent.com/product/cloudburst-3/

Somewhat shorter poles, slightly larger panel.

Seems like a viable 3-season, below tree line tent. There’s a happy coincidence that a reasonable height (42″) is half a reasonable length (7′) so the poles form a perfect semicircle which makes it trivial to cut conical vestibules.  A seam or two in the roof would create some concavity to improve tension and reduce billowing in the wind.

Cloudburst 3 is a front/rear entry tunnel. At that size, I can’t imagine it getting any wider/longer to accommodate a side entry solution, without adding a pole or two.

But why all this for a side entry? A tunnel with a front & rear door is pretty versatile, imho.

But why all this for a side entry?
Because we have just discovered that front entry tents are almost impossible to get in and out of.
I fully expect to find mummified bodies from tents set up decades ago when the occupants were then unable to get out of those evil contraptions.

Because we have just discovered that front entry tents are almost impossible to get in and out of.
Dear me.
And to think my wife & I have been using 2-man tunnel tents all these years and not realised. :)

Cheers

It is strange that this subject pops up now, because just last week I resumed the construction of two similar lateral tents, after sewing some scale models about a year ago.

Both are designed as single wall solo tents, and after I made these 1:6 models (Barbie doll size) I mothballed them, probably because the detailed design process felt a bit ambitious. But now they are out in the open again.

I am currently working on the orange tent, named “Il Calzone” by my wife, and I have simplified it quite a bit. It will probably be rather impractical except in fair weather, such as a sun shelter on a beach, and it doesn’t have any door, instead you slide the fly up along the pole. I have also simplifyed the top vent quite a bit.

The setup is very easy, one pole and two stakes.

Robert Saunders designed a tent, the Spacepacker, that looks a lot like it. Google for “robert saunders spacepacker” to see it. I am not sure when he designed it, probably about 50 years ago.

I will start on the cyan tent, after I finish the orange, and plan to add a bathtub floor, insect netting, bottom and top vents etc. The extra pole causes a huge increase in headroom compared to the orange tent, and because it has a door a third stake is needed. And, of course extra stake out points and guylines are included in the construction.

A similar tent is the Redverz Solo Expedition Tent https://redverz.com/motorcycle-tents/solo/ – and, no, I do not own or ride motorcycles.

Another similar tent is the Reinsfjell Superlight by Helsport  https://www.helsport.no/reinsfjell-superlight

It is a two person tent and seems much stronger than my cyan tent ever will be, because it has a third pole across the other poles.

Ib

What’s the circle on top of the orange tent?

I was playing around with overcurvature at the time I sewed the two scale models, and I thought that perhaps this principle could be applied as a removable bonnet-like cover on the top vent. I made a 1:1 version to play with, but dropped this idea as too fragile and impractical.

Ib

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2311

I see. Thanks.

That looks like a pop-up goal for kiddie soccer. Based in what I’ve seen of those, definitely not sturdy enough for backpacking.

how about this?

Or…

@Ibb

Love the little models!

Are you familiar with Integral Designs’ SilDome?

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Shelters/Tarps%20and%20Bivys/Integral%20Designs%20SilDome%20tarp/Test%20Report%20by%20Andre%20Corterier/

Another big-arch tent, similar to your orange model, that sounds to have handled winds reasonably well.

I had a play with the SilDome and from that the Luxe Outdoor Speedup was born.

I like the concept a lot but found the space inside less than optimal and I’m only 5’8″.

Robert Saunders was one of the pioneers in modern tent design.

He was the one that came up with the traverse hoop design as well as one of the first to use silnylon (back in the 80’s)

I think that the Spacepaker came out in the early 80s.

Coincidentally, Luxe Oudoor make a version of the Spacepaker called Peackarch

Tents of this design tend to be too heavy for BPL. However, I recently posted a link to a long post from Anthony Britner of a solo weighing 1.4 kgm:
https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/103317/

Note that with the slim profile, that Anthony’s last photo of the series suggests that the design requires a large number of guy-outs to remain stable.  Add to this Roger’s above concerns about sufficient hoops for a stable roof.  For a two or three person tent, the need for added hoop poles is increased.  For a 3-4 person tent, the floor area comes close to square, and the ‘lateral’ issue becomes moot, as the occupants can sleep either side facing the door(s), or head/foot facing the door(s).

Ib’s designs appear more stable with the canted poles, as was also done on the Warmlite tents, that are among the lightest of this type, and they do offer a third hoop pole.  However, there have been concerns about Warmlite’s quality these days, as expressed in Roger’s article on tunnel tents  and reports from others on BPL.  It would be helpful to have some feedback from recent Warmlite purchasers about this.

The “short ridge slant tunnel” I made (and named it), ten years ago. Oh, I missed my old Mariposa.

Free standing.

250 grams, fly only, 30D Silynon.

Want to post another link that might be helpful to someone wishing to make a ‘side entry’ tunnel tent where the door opens to the side of the sleeper, providing easier access.  Stuart R. built an excellent tunnel tent using the classic Warmlite shape; but there is no reason why someone could not reorient the sleeping space 90 degrees by widening the tent to around 8′ and shortening its depth to a solo or duo width for the sleeping area.  Stuart’s post is at:  https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/46644/page/2/#comments

It contains a wealth of information and photos about how to make a sloped tunnel and should be very helpful. There could be a slight weight penalty, as the poles must be longer to cover a larger arc, but the lesser depth of a solo might eliminate the need for a third pole, eliminating that penalty.

Maybe I’ve missed it, but have not seen anyone try this for a sloped tunnel. It would make a great solo tent.

This is the tent Stuart made and talked about in that thread :

I don’t see much of a Warmlite inspiration there .

I did mention a Vango inspired design in that thread ,  this is one :

I don’t see much of a Warmlite inspiration there .
Single stake at rear end?

Cheers

Look at the diagram of the tent’s profile on the first page of the thread:  https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/46644/#comments

My intent with the link was to get MYOG fans thinking about ways to construct something along the lines of what the OP, Rene, may have had in mind.

Roger, you are right about distinguishing an upright pole from a hoop at the lower end of the tunnel.  Also, Stuart split the length of the tent into a sleeping area and a vestibule, as shown by the photo on the thread that Franco posted.  Nevertheless, the tent outer’s tunnel shape is much like the late Jack Stephenson’s original concept.

So I’m suggesting a modification of the shape so the long floor dimension is between the hooped or arched poles, and the front end cover becomes one large vestibule, like Roger’s tunnels have, only larger. Here is a rough diagram, so please excuse the quality:

Although the dimensions are different, taut construction of the main canopy presents issues similar to Stuart’s and Jack’s tents.  In this computer age, suggest that Stuart’s use of a wooden frame to set the shape of the main canopy seems to have produced a very taut result.

One drawback to my suggestion is the four foot wide unsupported section at the top of the main canopy (The floor is 3 feet wide, but a six inch cant on each hoop or arch increases the spread between the peaks to 4′).  The use of the gothic arch and the slope of the canopy will help with that; but no, it is not intended for the worst winter weather.  The trade-off is that it will require less poles, can use the new lighter fabrics, and will be a lot lighter, while still excellent for three season use.  I’m occupied with a pack and a tent project now, but wonder if someone knows of or intends to build a tent like this.  One big advantage of the tunnel design is that, like Roger’s tunnels, the poles can be inserted and the stakes planted while the tent is spread on the ground, and then with one motion, raised to its fully pitched shape.  Considerably less wind exposure there than is the case with cross pole domes.

Hi Sam

Interesting idea for 3-season use. Slightly longer poles than on a tunnel, but only 2 poles. Hum – guy ropes!

I can see someone under 6′ fitting in there without getting the foot end of their quilt wet, but there is a moderately vocal group of ‘tall’ people (up to 6′ 6″) who feel badly neglected. They may well be.

I am curious: why do you have the door coming inwards in the middle? That surprises me.

Cheers

Hi Roger,
That does look like a concave door. Blame the artist. It is just a zipper in the center of the door that does not come all the way to the ground for several reasons: To keep the zip out of the muck, to provide some low ventilation, and to make it easier to fold back the halves of the door. The door zipper goes all the way up behind the peak vent awning in order to increase the width at the top when the door is fully opened (Yes, there will be a cross-tape underneath the vent awning to keep it tensioned against the pultruded fiberglass rod that supports the vent cover.)

Guy ropes: Cord for guys has become so light and strong that guylines are not a big weight issue. Lots of threads on BPL about that. Yes, I think there should be pull-outs installed on each side of the front pole sleeve at a minimum, even with the gothic arch.

As for floor length and clearance, that is the great thing about MYOG – you can build it to suit. I once had a case with a slumlord in Newark NJ where the tenants had to carry their cereals and similar foods with them in garbage bags from room to room to protect it from the rats. There was a huge sign on the building, “decorate to suit.”
After the condemnation and relocation of the tenants, that bum filed a professional conduct complaint against me, but the head of the ACLU defended me at no cost and got it thrown out. It was that kind of stuff that got me back into backpacking and the gear. Sorry, drifting again.