New tent?

OK, so not an answer to your question, but a response to your observations!  I too have a solo plus tent with the bottom made of netting and a floating bathtub floor inside it.  I too don’t like it for a couple of reasons, but none of them are on your list.  I have only ever taken it in the sierras in the summer, and there has never been enough wind to make it noisy.  Plus, the sierra is mostly granite, so I have never had to lay it down in vegetation that has a lot of sticky things in it.  There are pine needles, but those don’t hang on all that much.  What I find interesting is that I LIKE the mesh flooring because it drains condensation from inside tent walls easily.  I thought it was pretty innovative (although I have no idea if they were the first ones to do that).  You’re totally right of course about the mesh collecting crap though.  If I were to use it in those conditions I’m sure I’d have thought it was stupid.

I do find it a bit cramped at the foot and head, but I find the difficulty of getting into/out of it to be more of an issue for me.  The entry is pretty darn low.  The biggest problem I have with it though is not with zpacks’s version, but more the style in general; a vertical pole shelter that needs 6+ stake-out points.  I have come to dread setting up the tent at the end of the day and needing to stake it out.  Having to squat for a while then stand up suddenly makes me light headed, especially after going from sea level to 8-10k ft.  Having to do it about 20 times setting up a tent kills me (multiple tent stake positions plus all the guyline adjusting like you noted).

Anyway, my solution is to design and make my own tent.  I was inspired by the website http://www.cubenmaker.com where Tim Evans made a freestanding tent that weighed like a pound, including the poles (I don’t remember the weight exactly and the site doesn’t seem to be working at the moment).  I will need to give up a little in terms of total weight vs the zpacks which is incredibly light, but hopefully I can keep it to only adding a couple of ounces.

Thanks, Craig. I 100% agree with your points. Getting out is a bear, and the number of stakes is high.

Is there anything premade that would work? I probably won’t be making a tent. If you have pics of what you make, I’ll be interested. Good luck!

How is the Tarptent Aeon Li? Is it quieter than the Zpacks Hexamid Solo Plus in the wind? Or do I need to go to silnylon (stretchier?) to get a stretched out pitch for less wind noise?

I have the DD xMid 1P and it meets all of your requirements.   It is a very generously spaced 1P tent.  He also has a 2P tent.  The footprint of the 2P feel too large to me, but that could be a question of preference.  In the free-standing department check out the BigSky international tents.  Dual vesitbules, good weight, good attention to detail.  Silnylon though.

Stratosphire Li.

Nails everyone of your requirements.

I moved from the Hexamid Twin to the Protrail Li. It’s just for one, though. I’m liking it lots.

Actually I never had a problem with the netting on the Hexamid. Worked quite well, I thought. Kinda scared me the drip line was so close to the shelter, though.

I’ve had the hexamid solo tent, and I hated having to literally crawl to get in and constantly having to worry about the mesh. One of my first lightweight tents was a SMD Lunar Solo (which I kinda regret selling after having more experience) and I think that used it’s space a little better. I didn’t have trouble setting up the hexamid for the trips that I took, and tried to do the best I could with “head room” on both sides of the tent by tying those guyouts to branches or to my other trekking pole and a tall enough stick.

I’ve been trying a couple of tents since then… selling/buying almost each month. lol I’m currently using a Drop X-Mid 1p and it’s been better than I expected, although it does have a pretty big footprint. I find myself adjusting the linelocs more than any other tent I’ve had…not sure why. lol! Takes me a minute to get it nice and taught. But I can fit inside just fine with my pack/gear. It’s a little narrow inside but I love the headroom. I think I have more vestibule space than I need so I’m looking into other options. I would rather trade vestibule space for interior space, save some ounces, have some better packability. Something like the GG The One would be great if the wall opposite of the had more mesh and if it was in silpoly…although I haven’t used it. I may have to go the Duplex route…or I could always try out the Notch Li. The Two or REI’s Flash Air 2 might be the closest contenders but obviously don’t check boxes for weight or shedding rain as well (and sagging).