Lightweight, 4-Season, Solo Tent Recommendation

[w2tq]

I am planning to purchase a lightweight, one-person, 4-season tent. At present, my trips would be largely in the Northeast (PA, NJ, NY, CT, VT, NH, MA, ME), but possibly other places. The tent should be able to withstand a "moderate" amount of snow loading and wind and, on infrequent occasions, it may be used above treeline. For purposes of discussion, I will arbitrarily set a "moderate" amount of snow load at up to one foot and "moderate" sustained winds not in excess of 35 mph and gusts up to 50 mph, but these numbers are not absolute. The tent should allow for cooking under adverse weather conditions, but of course not in the tent proper (no hanging systems). My initial preference is for a double-wall tent.

I note a number of offerings by Hilleberg (the Akto, the Unna, and the new Soulo), Mountain Hardware (the Bunker and the Spire 2), Sierra Designs (the Assailant), and others. Also, there appear to be lively debates over the merits of free-standing vs. non-free standing, single vs. double wall, vestibule or no vestibule, etc.

I am most interested in what others are using or recommend, and any associated thoughts and the reasoning behind the purchase of a particular tent.

Thanks.

[redhawk]

Whatever kind of tent I'm looking for, I get a Sierra Designs model because I believe their tents are techinacally the best.

I have had several and used them in adverse conditions, including -40 degrees with high winds and snow loads and they have never failed me or leaked.

Hawk

[w2tq]

Lightweight, 4-Season, Solo Tent Recommendation

I wish to clarify my earlier query somewhat. This tent will be used primarily in the winter (I have other tents for the rest of the year). The areas where the tent will be used are principally the mountains of the Northeast: the Kittatinnies (New Jersey), the Catskills, the Adirondacks, the Green Mountains, and the Whites.

Again, I am most interested in what others are using or recommend, and any associated thoughts and the reasoning behind the purchase of a particular tent.

Thanks.

[wiiawiwb]

I'd consider a single-wall tent and the gold-standard is Bibler. There are, of course, others which would do well. I've linked a Backpacking Light article that reviews various single-wall tents:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/single_wall_tents_shelters_review_summary.html

Here is a link to Bibler and it's a tent you'll see serious high-altitude mountaineers use:

http://www.bdel.com/gear/shelter_overview.php

[James_W]

I would advise something like a Bibler Tripod or Intergral Designs Sola bivy

[Buckethead]

For a winter tent, I would go with others here and agree single wall is your best bet.

I would also advocate a vestibule for convenience in the winter for gear and cooking.

My winter 2-man tent is not lightweight by any means but it is bombproof, and will easily stand up to 50mph gusts and a 1 foot snow load. Its a TNF mountain 25.

http://thenorthface.com/opencms/open...5E&language=en

[kayakrski]

I too am looking for solo tent. For the sake of a little extra weight and cash, I'd like to go with a 4 season. I plan on using it mostly during the summer but I really don't want to spend the money for a 3 season and then decide to do some winter camping. Here's my question. I've read that condensation can be a big problem with single wall 4 season tents in summer. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Gregg

[Bill I.]

I've read that condensation can be a big problem with single wall 4 season tents in summer. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

I certainly have thoughts on this, based on my own experiences and which might not necessarily agree with what they say in "Backpacker" magazine.

First, unless you intend to winter camp in heavy winds and snowstorms, you won't need a four-season tent even in winter, in my opinion. I use a solid 3-season tent, made just before everyone decided to go ultralight. Current 3-season tents, with the lighter poles and all-mesh bodies, might not work so well in winter. Frankly, if the weather forecast is calling for heavy snow and winds, then a tent is the last place I want to spend the night. But if you do plan to spend the night no matter the weather, then yes a four-season tent will withstand the wind and snow better.

Second, regarding ventilation: Any tent lacking high-level ventilation will have condensation issues. Be wary of single-wall tents (or mesh tents with wrap-around flies) that have no vents located near the top. The amount of condensation inside can be discouraging.

My hunch is that a lot of the newer tents were made with drier Western environments in mind. I did some tent shopping last year, and I was disappointed with most of the choices.

[w2tq]

Thank you for all of your thoughtful responses.

In the end, I decided upon a Hilleberg Soulo, a single-person, free-standing tent with three poles, which Hilleberg introduced for 2008. Without the footprint, the tent weighs under 5 lbs and compresses down to a small volume (about 1/2 - 2/3 of an [older] OR #1 compression stuff sack). See http://hilleberg.com .

See also http://www.moontrail.com/hilleberg-soulo.php
for a number of pictures showing assembly, features, etc.
(Moontrail has an extensive list of tents and other items. The website offers a lot of information and photographs enabling one to compare products.)

I agree that a 3-season tent would likely be suitable for most conditions -- my Sierra Designs Meteor Light would do just fine for most trips but is a bit on the heavy side for one person (7-8 lbs). My MSR Hubba is very light, but I would be concerned in any kind of wind. However, given all the mesh, condensation would not be an issue. I also have a Mountain Hardwear Trango 2 (10 lbs +), but I would only use that if sharing the tent with a partner.

I have used the Hilleberg Soulo once so far - for an overnight in the Catskills. There was snow on the ground, the nighttime low temperature was about 7 deg. F, and there was little wind. The only issue I encountered was condensation. After re-reading the manual, in the future I will open the fabric panel on the inner door and that should reduce condensation somewhat.

While the Hilleberg tent is not inexpensive, it appears to be well designed and built, assembles easily, and hopefully will provide years of service.

Finally, the comment by wildriver about dry, western environments caught my eye. It does seem that a lot of gear is designed with the Sierras (or similar mountains) in mind. Not just tents, but sleeping bags and clothing. Indeed, I have read about drying out one's down sleeping bag during the day. That just doesn't seem possible in the Adirondacks in the winter, but perhaps I've been going to the wrong section of the Daks.

[Bill I.]

However, given all the mesh, condensation would not be an issue.

An all-mesh tent body does not help the overall tent ventillation if the fly has no vents of its own. The tent I bought last year was a Sierra Designs Iota--light, small, and not too expensive. The body is all mesh, and the only way to vent the fly is to leave the vestibule open or unzipped. This is fine in fair weather, but if it's raining I can't leave the fly open because that will leave the inside of the tent exposed. There is a way to close the fly without zipping it, but in my experience this still doesn't vent the tent properly. I guy the tent like crazy to maintain as much separation between the fly and the body as possible, but so far nothing works. Whenever I wake up after a night with the vestibule closed, the underside of the fly is always soaking wet from condensation.

My "old" dome tent purchased in 2003 has a vent at the top of the fly. It is angled downward and has a small prop to hold it open, and can be used no matter the weather. I can also leave the front door cracked open near the top without having to worry about the rain. So if I know the weather is going to be wet, this is the tent I bring--damn the weight!

The current trend with backpacking gear is to go as light as possible, and so the final weight of the tent is being given too much attention by both manufacturers and consumers IMO. All of a sudden, a 5-lb tent is embarassingly heavy. It's one thing to make tents lighter by devising lighter poles and fabrics, but it's another thing when the designers start dropping useful features in the name of reducing weight. Any tent that can't keep you dry in a simple rainshower is less than useless. A simple vent on the fly of my Iota may have added a few ounces, but it would have made the tent infinitely more practical.

Indeed, I have read about drying out one's down sleeping bag during the day. That just doesn't seem possible in the Adirondacks in the winter, but perhaps I've been going to the wrong section of the Daks.

If anyone finds a dry spot in the Adirondacks, let me know!