What's a good 1 man tent?

[Stirling3749]

I like the look of this little Snugpak tent http://www.snugpak.com/index.php?Men...113&ItemID=222

How good is it? Is there anything better out there in the same price range?

Also, What are your feelings on bivy bags? I think I still prefer a tent but I'd love to hear some thoughts on the subject as I'm always trying to lighten my carry load.

[mrcairney]

Hey there.

Look into hooped bivis. Also, a lot of one man tents are sold with the XC mountain bike community in mind so it's worth seeing what good XC stores have in stock.

Sorry I can't give you links or brand names though!

[ged]

That's not a cheap tent at around a hundred so you should be able to get something that suits you if you're prepared to spend the money. I've no experience of that particular model. Most of my camping is with a touring style motorbike so weight isn't such an issue as when I'm hiking, but volume can still be a problem. If it's to be just a tent, I personally would usually use a two man even if I'm on my own.

Thesedays if I can be bothered with the faffing around (in other words if I'm going to stay in one place for more than a short night) I usually use a tent and a tarp together, then I can have the door open all night and a one man tent is OK because there's room for gear and cooking and changing clothes and whatever under the tarp.

For me the main problem with small lightweight tents made of man-made fabrics is condensation. If I close the door flap I usually wake up wetter than if I'd slept in the open although I do tend to sweat a lot. If it's a choice between a one man tent and a bivvy I'll take the bivvy every time. Leaving the flap open is likely to let rain in on most tents and this one looks no exception. You really want some sort of a porch to keep the rain out when the door is open, maybe something where the door lifts up to make a sort of porch and you might only close it if the rain is coming down sideways on buckets.

The last couple of weeks on a trip in Europe I took my Aztec Rapido (one man tent, no porch) and ex-mil tarp (basha) and bivi. The shape of tent works well with a tarp but I only pitched the tent twice, the rest of the time I just used the basha and bivi, sometimes a groundsheet. The first time I pitched the tent was in England the night before catching the ferry. As I would be on a tight schedule for the ferry in the morning I didn't bother with the tarp. Normally I'll leave the door wide open but I thought it might rain so I closed the tent flap about three-quarters. Even so the whole tent was as soaking wet inside in the morning as it is when I've had the flap shut tight, which was a bit disappointing as I thought that might have been enough ventilation to have some effect. It hadn't rained at all but the fields were very misty early on and there was hardly any wind. The tent stayed wet until I was in the south of France and had a chance to dry it. When I used it in the middle of France with the tarp and the door fully open all night it was fine. It was warmer and dryer down there.

Even in the tent I use a Goretex bivvy bag and that keeps my sleeping bag reasonably dry even in the soggy tent. One thing to watch for is a mosquito net if you're going places where they'll be troublesome. I take one of those little head net things for if I need to stick my head out of the bivvy, which I usually do or I wake up a terrible soggy mess. I do still get the odd bite but the alternative is more faffing about with nets. I have another bivvy (Terra Nova Jupiter) which has a built-in mozzy net but it's quite cramped compared to the military one. It packs small, so I take it if I'm on a sportier bike.

[BillyBlade]

Really do prefer a bivi. Put it together with a hammock and a tarp over your head and kit if the weathers really bad, but it really beats that 'hemmed in' feeling a tent gives me.

Good news is, these days both are cheap enough that you can try either and see what you like best.

[Stirling3749]

Thanks for the replies folks. You have me looking closer at a bivi/tarp setup now.
Actually a tarp is such a multifunctional item I don't know why I never bring one even with a tent.

I've heard that getting a sleeping bag or wool blanket into a bivi is a bit of a trick, any advise on that one?

[marooned]

The Gelert Solo is very light and cheap:

http://www.gelert.com/products/solo_tent

[ged]

...I've heard that getting a sleeping bag or wool blanket into a bivi is a bit of a trick, any advise on that one?

Never had any trouble with a sleeping bag, I just use my legs as a sort of poker. If necessary I alternately lift up my feet, pull as much of the fabric up my body as will go, then arch my back in a sort of 'crab' movement to pull it further up, and so on. Well, now you mention it I suppose it could be considered a sort of a trick but I'm pretty fit and agile for somebody my age.

Never tried using a blanket in a bivvy, although it's a very appealing idea because I usually find a sleeping bag a bit clammy. I can't think why I haven't tried it after half a century of camping. I've just bought some army surplus wool blankets so that's now on my TOTRY list. Thanks!

[789987]

what about



packs really small and its light. i've used it alone and with a tarp for covering gear. never had it in any really serious weather though.

[ged]

what about

...

packs really small and its light. i've used it alone and with a tarp for covering gear. never had it in any really serious weather though.

It says in the details on the Snugpak Website that it's "1.13kg/46 ounces" but 46 ounces is 1.3kg -- any idea which is right? Even at 1.3kg it's light, but 1.13kg would be exceptional.

How do you find it for condensation?

[789987]

theres a section in the head area that you can unzip with a mesh infill. if youre under a tarp or its a dry night with it open and you wont have any problems. ive slept with it shut too in the rain and it was a bit clingy in the morning but nothing excessive.

as for the weight - sorry never weighed it before and its on a shelf behind a dripping tent after camping in last nights monsoon

[PDA1]

We're rather fortunate over here (USA) for solo tents. However, they tend to be expensive if UL. I have an REI Chrysalis
http://www.rei.com/product/766994/re...09-special-buy
which is really good at 1.4 kilos. It's on sale this week at about USD 125. If you call them, ypou could probably arrange shipping to the UK.
It is a damned good tent in my experience. I'm only 5'7" so fit easily. Over 6 footers (185 cm) might find it a squeeze. The floor area is asymetric, so there is room for some kit iside as well as your sleep mat and bag, otherwise, the vestibule (porch in English) is reasonably sized for cooking, boots and/or a dog. Unfortunately for UK use, it, as do most US tents, pitches inner first. If you had the footprint, you could pitch the fly first, but fiddling the inner into place would be an excercise in patience and contortion. It's fre standing, but properly pegged out it can stand really strong winds.
Otherwise, look at Henry Shires Tarp tents. Really light, really expensive, and possibly a bit fragile. A bit like a Ferrari, who wpuldn't want one?

[Paul_B]

Well if you think 1.3kg is light for a solo tent then you probably haven't heard of the solo tents out there weighing 560g up to about 1kg. In fact you can get 2 man tents less than 1kg with two entrances and porches. Google the following list for good solo and lightweight 2 man tents: -
Terra Nova (TN) ultra = 560g (or a little more if you replace the 1g pegs for ones that actually work)
TN Laser photon (or the last year's version called the copetition - also available in a 2 man version IIRC)
Vaude power tokee
Vaude power lizard
Scarp 1 and 2
various other Vaude tents such as hogan superlight IIRC

Then you could go to various single skin tents, not as bad as people who have never used them much or at all make out. MSR twin sisters (and other models), Golite Shangri La 1 through to 3. The SL3 is a pyramid hex style single skin that can be bought with a mesh inner or just a ground sheet (bathtub) also in the UK there are cottage industries to make half and 3/4 nests and groundsheets for them to be used solo or 2 man instead of the 3 man it is capable of. Use trekking poles joined together you can get it down to sub 1kg!!

Then you have tarp-tents. These are shaped tarps that benefit from lightness of a tarp but the full enclosure or a tent. Look at Henry Shires Tarp-tents (probably the original from USA) and Mountain Laural Designs (check out the Cricket Tent or the Trailstar which is the flysheet only part of the cricket tent). I've heard the trailstar is a real star performer.

Then tarps - personally I prefer a flat tarp than a catenary cut tarp as they allow a more varied pitch styles. The usual material is sil-nylon which is pretty good and can be light. It does stretch which particularly when wet it can slacken off overnight a little bit, just like it does on a tent. Spinntex (a type of sail cloth) is a little lighter than sil-nylon but I'm not sure it is much better) and then the lightest which is cuben fibre. This is very light fibre between two mylar films, as such its not a fabric so doesn't stretch at all. It is very waterproof and quite tough which means its used at lower area weights. The typical tarp in cuben is say 200g or in sil-nylon its about 4-600g or so. Usually they are supplied as catenary cut tarps to minimise flapping (it can be noisy in a wind if it flaps a lot so cat cut helps with a taut pitch in a-frame pitch (pretty much the only style a cat cut will do).

Anyway these are my opinions and suggestions, it is your choice but I'd steer away from hooped bivvys or even small tents that are little different such as Jack Wolfskin Hornet. If you have plenty of money and want a very good and bombproof tent then the 1.5kg hilleberg atko is pretty good (just thought of it). Also check out the vango banshee and other vango tents. You should get the 2 man for about £60 by shopping around and its a good solo tent or usable as a 2 man. Vango and the sub brand force10 are pretty economic and good performing tents. Some are rather light considering they are to the lower mid or lower end of the tent market on price (but not quality).

I hope this helps. Tents are what I kinda know a bit about for the lightweight backpacking sector as I spent ages looking at tents like these for me. I had a little to spend but being very tall I need something near impossible to find... a long internal dimension that can fit me. Ended up with thee £100 at the time Vango Force10 Vitesse single skin, then onto a tarp.

[malcolmc]

I’ve been very pleased with a Vango F10 Helium Superlight 200, which I purchased in April.

It’s about £50 more than the Snugpak and a little lighter (1.2Kg pack weight). Officially it’s a 2 person tent (although I think 2 people would have to know each other rather well to use it as such ), but plenty of room for 1 person with kit. I’ve always gone for 2 person tents for backpacking, I just perceive the 1 person tents I’ve seen in the flesh as a bit too tight for me, mind you I do now need my sleeping accommodation to be large enough to take a Dutch Army self inflating mat; I’m getting a bit soft these days.

The Vango pitches fly first or combined as opposed to the Snugpak which has to be pitched inner first (personally I would not by a tent that had to be pitched inner first in case I’m pitching when it’s tipping down). To pitch or strike the Vango takes around 5 minutes if you’re experienced with this type of tent. I’ve used it in the various weather conditions we’ve had this year and not experienced any problems with condensation. It took the storm the weekend of 22 May in its stride giving me a good night’s sleep.

There is a lot of attention to detail in the design, such as an internal pocket for glasses, torch, mobile phone etc. and a loop/toggle to hold open the fly in the day.

If your budget can stretch to it the Vango may be worth considering.

[Doc]

Malcolm is right, the Vango Heliums are extremely good - roomy, no condensation, good build quality, midge proof and light. I did a review on Song of the Paddle.

Hooped bivis are very good if you for low profile camping because of the low height. But this makes them awkward to get in and out of when it's raining hard. And where do you put your wet waterproofs? I sold mine because of the disadvantages, and as Malcolm says modern tents are often lighter than hooped bivis.

The Argos tiger paw is a copy of a good Lightyear tent and has a strong following. You see plenty in the Scottish mountains. About £50, sometimes as low as £20. Alloy poles and genuinely waterproof, but zips are weak and need TLC. Don't get the single skinned Argos - more condensation than a sauna.

[Satyr]

I have a Jack Wolfskin Gossamer that is light. It is long enough to put some gear in with you (I am quite short too so that helps). At £90 ish it is a little bit cheaper and I like the fact that you can roll up the outer skin to give you a night under the stars if the weather is good.

http://www.jack-wolfskin.com/en/desk...plate-product/