Life in the Dog House: A Survey of the One-Person Tent, With History
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“Feeling penurious and with a genuine aesthetic revulsion toward domes, …”
If you were going to do an article about solo tents in general, you might have included self-supporting tents.
Disclosure: I’m not a fan of trekking pole tents, but it has little to do with aesthetics. It has to do with function, especially in the worst weather. IMO, guy-outs being equal, the best self supported solo tents will withstand far worse weather than one supported by one or two trekking poles, for a number of reasons:
There is much less tension on the stakes, so less likelihood of stake failure. More power to those with young backs who can lift boulders.
A self supporting solo tent can be designed with zero pole obstacles within or without.
There is less likelihood of pole failure, with no vertical poles to knock against or slip out of place. A flexible pole can be designed to be locked in place, at both ends and along its length; such as with R. Caffin’s tunnels. If the flexible poles reinforce each other by being crossed more than once, and are elbowed at the peaks, and not bent into full hoops as is most common, then lighter carbon poles can withstand extreme weather.
With its lower peaks and curved outer surfaces, a self supporting tent with flexible poles can be designed to present less wind resistance and be more aerodynamic.
Because of its curved outer surfaces, a self supporting solo tent can also be designed to be more spacious inside than trekking pole tents. So can hoop tents, but with few of the above advantages.
The biggest idea behind trekking pole tents is that they save weight, since the poles are dual use, and would be carried anyway. However, many of us carry only one trekking pole; because that is all we need, or the other hand must hold a leash, or we are content with sticks lying on the ground, or trekking poles are just not used by seasoned hikers such as R. Caffin. Where I hike, folks leave their hiking sticks at the trail heads for others to use. Disclaimer: The above does not apply to Willem Lange, moderator of NHPBS’ Windows to the Wild, who has earned his two hiking poles many times over.
Strong flexible poles made from filament wound carbon tube weighing less than 1/4 oz per running foot are currently available. Thus 24 feet of tube can weigh less than 6 oz; so trekking pole tents do not have as much weight advantage as is often thought.
As far as aesthetics are concerned, ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’
Granted, the devil is always in the details, and the above is just a prototype canopy.
Here’s an Itisa tent belonging to Bryan Miller, on display in Newark, England in 2015.
“But any slight advantages offered by a cotton tent (breathability and comparatively low susceptibility to fire [italics added]) today seem obviously outweighed by other factors.”
The CPAI-84 standard and state laws that virtually require most backpacking tents sold in the U.S. to be treated with toxic fire-retardant chemicals were a reaction to cotton canvas tents catching fire and killing people. Too often, cotton tents were soaked in wax (or similar) to repel rain, literally adding fuel to the fire. CPAI stands for Canvas Products Association International.
OTOH, it’s very difficult to find reliably-sourced stories of people dying, or even getting seriously injured, in synthetic (nylon, polyester) backpacking-style tent fires. Even without treatment, these tents don’t catch fire or sustain flames very well – especially with ultralight fabrics.
Synthetics laminated to waterproof-breathable fabrics like GoreTex are almost impossible to light and sustain a flame, but won’t pass CPAI-84. Hmmm, wonder why a standard developed by cotton fabric makers is so hard on synthetic fabrics?
In the EU, virtually no tent maker uses fabrics treated with fire retardants, in large part because of the toxicity issues. And European backpackers are not going up in flames – unless they are drummers in second-class rock and roll bands:
When it comes to fire susceptibility, I am far more comfortable in a lightweight synthetic tent than cotton. Each fabric has other advantages and disadvantages.
And don’t be stupid – keep flames away from all tent fabrics.
— Rex, stepping off soapbox – for now
But more here:
https://backpackinglight.com/standards-watch-mike-cecot-scherer/
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