Solo tent recommendation for high winds

[Mike M]

I’ve had very good luck with my Aeon (probably 20-ish nights out with it); it does pretty good with wind, but I’m pretty careful where I set up at night too.

If I truly want very wind worthy and light (and had a lot of dough, ray, me!)- I stand by my post that the Locus Djedi is what I would go with

[Ryan Jordan]

The most wind-worthy solo tent I own is the Hilleberg Soulo (#1). I simply never, ever worry about it. I’ve used it in gales up to sustained 70 mph winds and with earplugs, have slept ok!

I’m also *lucky* enough to have a 3-pole Caffin tent – that’s a close second (#2). I’d be OK with either of these tents in just about any condition. I have legit fears about the carbon poles in the Caffin tent, because I’ve broken them during setup (my fault). They’ve never broken in a storm – just max out the guyline options and be careful. It’s worth it! @rcaffin, c’mon, mass-produce these things!

The Hilleberg Akto and Hilleberg Enan really need a double arch pole to be considered “storm-worthy” in serious conditions. They’re a bit wobbly otherwise, but strong enough not to fail for the most part. I’ll rate them later.

The Trailstar is as good as it gets for a 1- or 2-trekking pole tent, but it has to be pitched pretty low to get that benefit (the geometry allows for this) AND it has to be the silnylon version. DCF doesn’t fare well when large panels are involved. If it’s pitched high enough to be “comfortable” the wind actually caves in those big walls quite a bit. I’m not as enamored with the sil Trailstar in extreme winds as others.

The most wind-worthy DCF tent I own is the Locus Gear Khufu DCF-B. It’s quite a lot more stable than the Akto/Enan. Low stretch, great manufacturing precision, lots of tie-outs, low profile. It’s my #3 preference for extreme winds.

#4 is the Trailstar or Akto/Enan with 2-arch poles.

#5 is a tie between the Tarptent Notch Li and Locus Gear Djedi.

Hillberg Akto or Enan with 1 arch pole is #6. Akto is a little better for winter/snow. Enan is better ventilated for summer, and lighter.

Most of everything else I own (1- or 2-pole trekking pole tents) I wouldn’t trust *much* in a real storm (with sustained wind speeds > 50  mph winds) above the treeline.

I no longer own geodesic domes (except the Hillberg Soulo), except the Nemo Dagger 3 (my wife and I use this now for it’s livability:weight ratio), so there’s a caveat here…(real geodesic domes like the NF VE-25 are very good) – I just don’t spend a lot of time in environments where wind destroys tents.

Most “ultralight” tents do fine with occasional 40 mph “gusts” (not sustained), which is what we mostly experience during the “extremes” of summer above treeline here in the mountain west.

A bivy sack pitched in a strategic location is actually pretty awesome in extreme winds…

[Kyle R]

How much does the aeon flap in the wind? Ian it loud? I’m looking for a lightweight tent that’s quiet in the wind.

[Mike M]

it’ll flap some if the wind is going pretty good; I’ve never found it too be excessively loud or bothersome though

[Boyan B]

I know I am in the minority here, but there is something about Tarptent tents that does not agree with me.  I used to own a Stratospire and sold it because of the fairly fussy setup.  However, I was never happy the stpipped down design (no internal pockets), the perceived flimsiness of some of the components used (mitten hooks and elastic loops they hung off, zippers on the inner), the rain flaps routinely catching in the external zippers, and the quality of the sewing in comparison to every other tents left me wanting something else.

I echo the recommendation to look at the Big Sky Chinook tents.  For a free-standing tent they offer no-fuss setup, superb worksmanship, good attention to detail, decent weight to volume tradeoff, and most importantly for me – a dual vestibule (I am never again buying a single vestibule 1P tent).  Unlike many of the freestanding tents their peak heigh and door height are great for bigger not terribly flexible hikers (ahem).  Their wind performance is great, but as another poster noted a judicious choice of a tent site makes a half decent tent great shelter in high winds.

A 1-pole mid from MLD is the defactor standard for truly demanding applications, but with the tradeoffs of a pole in the shelter space.  I have used the DD x-Mid i fairly nasty weather (30-40 mph gusts) and it did well, the sil-poly did not sag at all when wet.

[David U]

Perceptions don’t always correspond to reality.

[Monty Montana]

European tunnel tents – Hilleburg and Terra Nova are some well known brands – are considered by many to be head and shoulders above ‘mercan style tents in terms of snow and wind loading.  The former have the poles inside, while the latter have the poles outside.  The former are a hoop design, the latter a dome design.  Even your BA is considered to be a dome tent.

For a good discussion go to the MYOG section (I think) and find Roger Caffin’s discussion of the tunnel tent he made, it would be time well spent to read it!

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