Thoughts on 1 person using a 3P tent for easy solo trips

[Joey G]

“Your idea of luxury is having space inside of your tent.”

Let me fix this…

” Your idea of luxury when hiking solo and doing low mileage is having space inside of your tent.”

[Terran Terran]

Call it training and you’re good.. I’ve carried full packs on day trips just to get a feel of the pack or to try out new gear. Just for the exercise. Nobody’s watching you out there. Nobody cares. It may be your only tent. I watched a guy hiking in some hard soled black shoes once. Looked like he worked in a restaurant. It was on a really steep section of a really steep trail. Then I watched him pass me up. It’s all good.

[Paul Wagner]

Just weighing in a little late on this discussion, but I use our Tarptent 3 rainbow when I am solo, working on a trail crew.  We usually hike in to a spike camp for the week, and I can assure you the extra space is the envy of everyone in camp.  If I were on a longer through hike, the weight might not be worth it, but for a work crew, it is absolutely the way (weigh?) to go!

[jscott]

It certainly makes sense in those conditions. why not? Paul I worked trail crew  in the PNW over three summers. Yep, a larger tent  would have been nice. Especially in the Hoh rain forest when it rained for all seven days of work.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

The Deschutes plus is like a palace. I’m not very tall. The mesh goes around the perimeter so I get to use all the space inside. It’s a palace!

[Joey G]

I bet it is. I hope my comment wasn’t offensive. I’m a big dude. It took me forever to actually try a 1p tent ( slingfin portal 1 ). I always felt I could just barely role over and bring the whole tent down. I took the portal 1 on the wonderland trail last year and it worked perfect. I still kind of feel that way about trekking pole tents. It’s a me thing.

[Ian H]

I never regret carrying something I actually benefit from. Whether it’s the red wine in a PlatyPreserve bottle for a first night luxury, or the SLR for the better photos.  I went from 1970s A-frame tents to a Bibler tripod bivy, and was thrilled with the weight saving, and actual waterproof-ness. It’s still my favourite for a high wind forecast in an exposed area.

But for some reason it got harder to get pants on/off in it, so for my 50th birthday upgraded to a Bibler Ahwahnee. 3.2 kg of luxury, won’t blow away on a ridge, great views on a beach, and enough space to hang all my wet clothes from the internal poles/attic when caught in a downpour. And a smug view of the other poor suckers as their tents collapse in the rain/wind storm.

But I’ve resented the Ahwahnee as much as an electric waffle maker when I’ve lugged it on nice dry sunny walks, especially with my wife who likes the annexe for a bit more space, pushing my load over 4 1/2 Kg. Which feels heavier than when I was 20. So for the 65th birthday I down-weighted to a Durston X-mid Pro 2. Thought about getting the 1, but the 2 offers the chance of bringing spouse or a thin mate, and is a palace for one. I did flirt with a Gossamer Gear The One, which is a block of chocolate lighter than the X-mid, but was annoyed by rain splatter when the weather was really foul, so it got relegated to summer/good forecast.

The X-mid hasn’t yet had a real workout in adverse conditions, but I’m hoping it’s hit the sweet spot of spacious/light/tough/versatile. I figure you have to (a) survive every trip, and (b) enjoy most of them – lots of space definitely helps the enjoyment, and is probably neutral in terms of survival (couple of hundred  grams extra weight versus space to dry wet gear).

[Jedi]

I love the idea of using a 3P tent for a solo trip, although 4lbs is a big hit to your base weight for that luxury. Also consider the larger tent pad you’ll need to get a good pitch. I’m not familiar with the Slingfin Portal, but it appears to be a free-standing tent so at least you won’t have guy lines radiating out in all directions (a la Zpacks Triplex).

I carried a 2P tent for my entire AT thru-hike in 2022 (Tarptent Double Rainbow Li for 1,700 miles, then the Durston Xmid Pro 2 for 500 miles). My wife carried the same Tarptent Double Rainbow Li for her whole thru-hike in 2023, so that tent has survived almost 2 entire AT thru-hikes! The extra room and comfort was well worth the modest additional weight to both of us.

Up to you of course, but I’d find somewhere else to shave a couple pounds so that I could keep my overall base weight manageable. Whatever you decide, have fun!

 

[jscott]

“The Deschutes plus is like a palace.”

When I went from a Fly Creek solo tent to a Hexamid solo I thought, geeze this thing is enormous! The hexamid  single wall was also a lot colder than the Fly Creek. Of course I preferred the Hex in most circumstances, but only because it was a pound lighter than the Fly Creek. I’m 5′ 8′, so not tall at all. It’s easy for me to fit into a small space. Today I’d splurge on a Tarptent Notch Li. It’s double wall, a pound lighter than a fly creek, and more spacious.

[dirtbag]

@ Ian H. Loving the Ahwahnee did you consider the Highlight 2 or 3P?  It’s lighter weight and just as bomber proof and packs smaller. The 3p version had dual doors that open all the way! The 2p version just 1 door but tje other side is screen window. ..

I always liked the awahnee and the Highlight seems to a nice upgrade..

[Kevin M]

As plenty of people have said, nothing wrong with it if that’s what you want to do 🙂

Personally, I am happy with a 1 man for summer trips where I know I’ll spend the majority of the time outside anyway, and a 2 man for when I think I’ll be spending more time inside hiding from weather etc.

But if you’re happy to carry the extra weight and the space is important to you, then don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.

[Ian H]

@dirtbag, I just had a look at the Black Diamond website and they seem to have discontinued all the Bibler tents, only the Ahwahnee FR remains. I guess the more modern fabrics like DCF have made such a weight/toughness difference that it’s harder to sell the Todd-Tex.

The 2P Highlight is 1790 gms, with only one side door so it would be annoying for 2 (the one with the strongest bladder gets the window side!), the Macpac Microlight is 1600gms and pretty spacious for one. I’ve never owned a Hilleberg (except their Tarp 5), but would think about one of their lighter models if it was my only tent. An Ahwahnee in DCF wouldn’t breathe as well as the Todd-Tex, but would probably be around 1kg like the Locus Gear Djedi (never seen one, but looks like an iTent clone).

If I was camping in the Northern Territory in summer (35-40C by day, ferocious mosquitos as soon as the sun sets, monsoonal rain and occasional cyclones) I reckon I’d take the Ahwahnee for setup on sand/mud/rock, space and toughness that are worth the weight. Or I’d book a nice motel with air-con and take the electric waffle maker in the car!

[Ian H]

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