ZPacks Pivot Solo Tent

I’m 6’5″.  The Tarptent Dipole 1 Li is the most tall-friendly one-man tent I’ve ever used.

I have a Rainbow as well, but it’s fairly easy to slide sideways into the end walls and it’s more prone to heavy condensation.

I have watched many videos on the Rainbow-single, double, and it appears 6’1″ give or take is about the limit if you don’t want any chance of hitting the ends with your quilt.

I just checked out the Dipole Li. Its nice, and would likely work for my brother, but it seems like the Zpacks Offset Solo would be a slightly better option so that’s still the leader.

BTW – they are offering $50 off at Zpacks right now if you spend $500. So, in bargain bin, offset solo is $539 and with discount – it comes to $501 with the package protection stuff added – a great deal!

I just checked out the Dipole Li. Its nice, and would likely work for my brother, but it seems like the Zpacks Offset Solo would be a slightly better option so that’s still the leader.

In addition to the Offset Duo and Double Rainbow Li mentioned above, we have the Dipole 2 Li. It’s a great tent, but the Offset Duo feels noticeably longer (not that I’m tall enough to have a problem with any of them).

Here is a good comparison of the Solo, Duo and Trio. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss0jUzY3Ucg&ab_channel=AdventureAlan%26Co

@Todd T is your Rainbow silnyon? I ask because I had the silnylon version, and experienced intense condensation every time I used it, no matter where I pitched it. With the DCF version, I have yet to experience any condensation.

Yes, silnylon.  It’s fairly old, purchased Jan 1, 2009.

Yes, silnylon. It’s fairly old, purchased Jan 1, 2009.

Thanks @Todd T – that’s when I got mine too.

I’ve been a ZPacks fanboy for years, but I just can’t get on board with the Offset tents. Haven’t seen one in person, it’s simply that the main panel tieout pulling out a such a big unsupported portion of DCF looks worrisome to me. I have to wonder what strong head on winds could do to the main panel, seems like it would cave in and buffet without some kind of foot end pole underneath or carbon struts (upside down V) to support it. I could be totally wrong though. Someone who’s experienced big wind gusts with an Offset tent please tell me I’m neurotic.

“I had [an X-Mid Pro 1]. I found it too confining, too. I was actually perplexed at its popularity when I pitched mine. It went right back….We have an X-Mid Pro 2+ now and I think Dan got it right with this one. My girlfriend loves it.”

Glad you’re liking the Pro 2+ JG H. For the X-Mid Pro 1, was it the width, length or headroom that you found confining? When it is pitched well, it should be quite long with a ‘useable length’ (length at 12″ off the ground) of 90″ (I think the longest of the tents mentioned in this thread). But on a first pitch the fly might not be tight and then it could hang in shorter. And the floor width is more average so I can see how someone would prefer more there, but also if you pitch it higher on a first pitch you won’t get the full width so how it is pitched can be a factor. I’ve thought about adding a 1+ size but we already have the 2P version (not the 2+) which adds another 14″ of width for 2.4oz  so that can be a good fit if someone wants generous width because it’s still lighter than some 1P options.

I have to wonder what strong head on winds could do to the main panel, seems like it would cave in and buffet without some kind of foot end pole underneath or carbon struts (upside down V) to support it. I could be totally wrong though. Someone who’s experienced big wind gusts with an Offset tent please tell me I’m neurotic.

I’m unsure which panel you mean by the main panel. I’ve changed the cord at the head end so that the panel is supported by a trekking pole. At the foot end, I keep the cord between the fly and the pole short; like this it is pretty stable but in strong winds, I add an extra cord as in the photo below, which make for a very strong set up.
I’ve found the Offset Duo to be quieter and stronger in wind than the Duplex.

Added cord at the foot end:

Pole at the head end:

Thanks for the great photos William. Yes, I was referring to the tieout at the foot end. The extra orange cords on each side of the pole is ingenious. I can see where that would mitigate a huge amount of the lateral instability. The tieout is also where the seams meet, therefore many more layers of DCF to sew to and not just applied to one layer of DCF on a “panel” the way I envisioned it.

Seems like fashioning 2 Easton carbon .296″ poles in a upside down V that could somehow attach to the trekking pole would enhance the lateral side to side stability even more. The poles only weigh 8 grams per foot so maybe 40 grams added to the overall weight. I thought a sleeve for 2 poles on the outside of the tent might have been a good idea, kind of like a big strut. https://www.questoutfitters.com/Tent_Poles_CF_3.9.htm#3.9_Carbon_Fiber_Poles_&_Parts

@ Dan Durston

It was the livable space and headroom that was the deal breaker. To be transparent, we’re primarily fair-weather backpackers who almost never camp above timberline or atop balds, so we don’t need the wind-defeating or snow-loading benefits your design offers. For us, livable space and light weight are the top priorities. I’m not a fan of the X-Mid Pro 1 or 2 based on our personal needs, but your Pro 2+ turned out to be a great solution for us and the super-roomy vestibules really brought it all home. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t also share how much we appreciate the craftsmanship and attention to detail that put Durston Gear (DG) atop the leaderboard there.

All that said, nothing would make me happier than for DG to design a roomy, ultralight DCF A-frame trekking pole tent that utilizes an inverted T door design and employs that class-leading DG build quality. I’d love to move on from rainbow doors and Sunshine-state build quality, but until someone offers a truly competitive product I’m stuck. Save me!

@ William, Monte

Both are brilliant ideas to stabilize the pull-out. I use the same set-up on both sides of my Duplex canopy and I’ve never been excited about how wonky those struts are.

<b>Monte</b>: you could use silicone or rubber hose to connect dual struts. With a slight gap between them, they could easily fold over into a V which would also work for folding them for carry.

<b>William</b>: I love the dual guy line idea. I may even have new strut cups sewn from some leftover Tyvek (1443) that are pyramidal with two guy lines on the “outside”.

Brilliant!

The tieout is also where the seams meet, therefore many more layers of DCF to sew to and not just applied to one layer of DCF on a “panel” the way I envisioned it.

The tie-outs on the tent are well reinforced, IMO, though the tie-outs themselves are very minimal, as always with Zpacks.

Seems like fashioning 2 Easton carbon .296″ poles in a upside down V that could somehow attach to the trekking pole would enhance the lateral side to side stability even more… I thought a sleeve for 2 poles on the outside of the tent might have been a good idea, kind of like a big strut.

That sounds like a very strong set up. It is probably more worthwhile on the Offset Solo, whose users won’t be carrying four trekking poles.

As a side note, there are quite a few things that I don’t like about the Offset tents as they are supplied (such as the inability to roll back the headend doors, or to close only the footend doors to block wind), but being DCF it’s easy to modify.

Well, I ordered the Pivot… will put up some thoughts and pictures. We have an incredibly mild start to our winter here, so I decided to take the plunge instead of waiting til’ what we jokingly refer to as “Spring.”

Congrats, Brad! Let us know what you think when you get it. I’m especially interested to hear about the livable interior space.

@JG H

Thanks for the kind words and explaining. I am a bit of a loss to reconcile your request for a more spacious tent with my experience with our tents. My goal is to make quite a spacious tents and I think the X-Mid layout does that because it uses two full height poles and places them further apart than other designs, so the headroom extends over more of the tent. Is it possible yours wasn’t pitched well on that first attempt, causing it lose space? It will lose a lot of volume if the poles aren’t tight enough. I do agree the Pro 1 is not as wide as some other 1P tents, but if a solo hiker uses the Pro 2 then it should be more spacious in all regards (length, width and headroom) while still weighing less than the more spacious 1P options discussed here. So I am trying to provide what you’re requesting, but I am at a bit of a loss because I think we do have that now. An A-frame is a nice tent too but normally has the poles closer together (e.g. 30″ apart instead of 50″) so you usually can’t comfortably sit two people in an A-frame 1P like you can in the X-Mid Pro 1.

@Durston, wouldn’t working out a customer’s opinions of your products be better discussed in a DM or a thread that is the subject of one of your products rather than a thread dedicated to a Zpacks product?

It’s turning into a Durston customer service tangent that is off topic. One comment is understandable, but you are making it a back and forth.

Apologies, Baja. I’ll take it offline with Dan.

Sorry yeah…I was asking about something that was brought up by others in a genuine attempt to understand and it seemed like the conversation had drifted into a broader discussion on this class of tents, but yeah it’s off the original topic so a DM would have been better. Will keep it there.

Well, I ordered the Pivot… will put up some thoughts and pictures. We have an incredibly mild start to our winter here, so I decided to take the plunge instead of waiting til’ what we jokingly refer to as “Spring.”

Excited for you Brad! Can’t wait for your impressions.

@William Chilton Those mods are brilliant. Could you post a close up of the pole cup and how the additional red lines attach?

Could you post a close up of the pole cup and how the additional red lines attach?

It’s packed away at the moment, but I’ve cropped the image and hope that it’s now easier to see.
It’s a standard Zpacks pole cup, which comes with a Lineloc on one side and a loop on the other. I larksfooted another Lineloc onto the loop, and it’s as simple as that.

This pole cup is then slipped on top of the tent’s existing pole cup, but sideways.

It’s packed away at the moment, but I’ve cropped the image and hope that it’s now easier to see.
It’s a standard Zpacks pole cup, which comes with a Lineloc on one side and a loop on the other. I larksfooted another Lineloc onto the loop, and it’s as simple as that.

This pole cup is then slipped on top of the tent’s existing pole cup, but sideways.

Thanks William. Makes perfect sense.

Recent sectionhiker review of the Pivot Solo.

https://sectionhiker.com/zpacks-pivot-1p-tent-review/

Here’s a review of the Zpacks Pivot Solo by The Trek:

https://thetrek.co/zpacks-pivot-solo-lite-review-the-most-livable-ultralight-shelter-yet/