Silpoly shelter suggestions

https://durstongear.com/product/x-mid-1p

https://www.sixmoondesigns.com/products/lunar-solo-tent

https://www.sixmoondesigns.com/products/skyscape-trekker-hiking-tent

I have the SMD Skyscape. It’s a little fiddly to set up, takes some practice.

https://lightheartgear.com/collections/tents/products/copy-of-lightheart-firefly-awning-tent

https://lightheartgear.com/collections/tents/products/lightheart-solong-6-sil-poly-fabric

The LHG photos emphasize the awning; you don’t need to use it.

Probably others. Silpoly is gaining traction in part because DCF is scarce.

— Rex

GG The Two?

Thanks Rex and Brad. I’ll check those out. I should mention I have the X-mid. I’m looking for something a bit smaller.

The Two is made with a 10D silnylon fly.

Trekkertent Drift 1 is a 28 oz double-wall silpoly 1P tent. Footprint might be smaller than X – Mid, Lunar Solo and Skyscape. Footprint on all of those are way too large for my tastes. http://www.trekkertent.com/home/home/60-drift-1.html

I know it’s heavier and is freestanding (w/poles), but the Marmot Tungsten UL 1 has a polyester fly and small footprint. https://www.marmot.com/equipment/tents/1-person/tungsten-ultralight-1-person-tent/AFS_889169580437.html

Me likes the Trekkertent line up. I have his Stealth 1.  It’s perfect for where I hang.  The Drift 1 is worth an eye bend as well as the Stealth 1.5.  That being said, I’m curious about the new fabric from Nemo.  Is it worthy to be suggested in this thread ?  ~RL

So, are we talking footprint of the inner and not overall acreage that some of these take up?  Huge difference.

No, total footprint. I love the X-mid but there are times when I want to take something with a smaller total footprint. Right now, for me that is the TT Notch. I’d like to see if I can find something with a similarly small total footprint made out of silpoly rather than silnylon. Doesn’t necessarily need to be DW.

Here are the footprints for the trekking pole shelters mentioned. They are all pretty similar. The Marmot would be smaller but Marmot doesn’t have a diagram available to reliably know what the footprint is.

When it comes to 1P trekking pole side-entry shelters, a pyramid will have the smallest footprint. The Lunar Solo, Solo Hexamid, Gatewood, Lanshan 1 and many others are basically just half-pyramids with vestibules. They have considerably larger footprints than comparably sized pyramids.

The only polyester Pyramids I know of is the Pyraomms from Ukraine. Looks as if they’re still shipping even with war going on because at the bottom of the page it says 20% of all purchases go to humanitarian and medical aid for war victims. I could be wrong though.

https://liteway.equipment/pyraomm-solo/pyraomm-solo-tarp

The Solo Pyraomm is 43″ wide, so about 5″ narrower than the now discontinued MLD Solomid.

Nice overlay of the four shelters.  To my knowledge, the X-Mid and the Drift 1 would be the only one(s) that could be staked at its fabric perimeter.  Another bonus for a DW design. The others require up to ~ten inches of guy line to keep the perimeter off the ground to allow the bathtub floor to be properly elevated, not to mention air flow, which increases overall required pitching area. Not a deal breaker but nonetheless.  If Tarptent made an Aeon in sil…..   Just some thoughts.

Also, keep in mind usable area. Many of the pyramids have wall angles that make the area where it meets the ground unusable in regards to sleeping. It’s good for gear storage, etc.

tipik pioulou, liteway pyraomm

“When it comes to 1P trekking pole side-entry shelters, a pyramid will have the smallest footprint.”
Do you mean largest? A single pole shelter (like a pyramid) has the least amount of structure and thus the least ability to steepen the walls to reduce the footprint. Regardless of whether the single pole is positioned centrally (like a pyramid, where all the walls are a moderate slope) or off center (like a Lunar Solo, with one steep side and one shallow side) a single pole shelter will always have the shallowest average slope on its sidewalls and thus largest footprint for the useable floor area (all else being equal).

Adding more structure can steepen the walls to reduce the footprint. That can be done through a second trekking pole (e.g. SD High Route), struts (e.g. Tarptent Aeon), or most effective of all is a traditional pole set that curves to be near vertical in the lower part of the tent. Essentially, there is a correlation between the amount of structure and the size of the footprint, with freestanding tents being the smallest and pyramids being the largest for a given amount of useable floor space.

I don’t think the pyraomm is user friendly.  Nine feet long but only four feet high.  Would be steep sides.  Website states no larger than a 5′-8″ human.  There are a few other shelters out there that would handle the footprint part but are silnylon.  Oh well.  Tarp and bivy it is.  Just kidding.

The new Nemo Osmo uses a new poly/nylon woven fabric worth watching. Nemo chose a standard 4 corner pole design, but the fabric could have a future in UL tents.

Easiest pitch is going to be a rectangular single pole mid. I’m guessing the X-Mid is as easy or maybe like 1% harder to pitch. If that is your priority then go get a Solomid/XL/Duomid/X-Mid.

I’ve owned and spent many nights in a Duplex, Deschutes, Notch and Skyscape (the latter was actually my kid’s tent I never slept in it but I’ve set it up and watched him set it up many times).

I have to argue strongly against this statement:

I’ve looked at the Cirriform Min, but would like something that is a little simpler to pitch.

The Cirriform Min is only slightly more complicated to pitch than a single pole rectangular mid and is much easier to pitch than the other shelters I mentioned. The beauty of the design is that you can pitch it wider or narrower and then make up the tension by pulling the vestibule and foot-end beak farther in or out. I find the Min to be much easier to pitch than my Notch was. I find it MUCH easier to pitch than a Duplex or a hexagonal mid like the Deschutes. It’s true the Min does not have that lovely first step where you stake out a snug rectangle but in my opinion it’s much less fussy than the other designs you mention.

That’s surprising that the Cirriform is as easy to pitch as the Notch. I find the Notch really easy to pitch. Maybe I need to reconsider it. A solomid xl in silpoly is what I would really like.

I found the Notch to be fussy in comparison to the Amin regarding the width/length. I’d always end up with a rock where I wanted to stake and would get frustrated. It’s not awful and I much preferred pitching the Notch compared to the Deschutes.

Thanks Dan and Brad, I get what you guys mean about a single pole pyramid providing less livable space per area of footprint. I was looking purely at footprint size, which admittedly isn’t a very comprehensive view, especially when you’re actually lying down inside of a small mid with low angle panels hitting your head, feet etc. I have an MLD Solomid (4′ X 9′) that I like for its small footprint. I’m 5′ 10″ and it’s just big enough, yet there’s certainly no extra space. But yes, I see where a freestanding tent would be unbeatable in terms of livable volume per footprint area.

The Solo Pyraomm is definitely small, however, the Pyraomm 2 could be an option, though it’s 63″ wide so it’s a little much in terms of footprint. Too bad Liteway doesn’t offer a size in between the Solo and 2 and a little taller.

I’ve considered the MSR Freelite 1 for a small footprint/ livable space/weight ratio. Weighs under 2 lbs, but it has a 15D silnylon fly and floor. I’m glad to see MSR is now offering a somewhat stealthier fly color for their North American market. Olive green available in Europe.

For trekking pole shelters, I expect the Sierra Designs High Route is the champ for small footprint. It has the two poles positioned quite wide to give vertical sidewalls that are excellent for having a small footprint (although to the detriment of other things like wind performance and vestibule area). The end walls are not as steep but the offset poles still help there.

Overall, the footprint is just 102″ x 42″ (or 8.5′ x 3.5′) which is 6″ shorter and narrower than the SoloMid while I think providing similarly modest usable area (usable area defined by Henry Shires as area with a height of at least 12″). But of course none of these are poly.

The Freelite is a nice tent. The weight on it is amazing for a traditionally poled tent. I couldn’t go back to a tent that pitches inner first though and I’m not a fan of that cut out in the fly at the end which turns it into a singlewall right where you’re mostly likely to touch the walls. It also needs 4 stakes, which is similar to many of these trekking pole tents.