favorite tents

[AaronLeo]

just wondering what everyone's favorite tents are. is there a certain brand, style, etc. that you prefer?

i'm looking to possibly purchase one that i can make good use of for the next few weeks before school starts again (that is if i find the right one). i'm not really rushing into any purchases, and am willing to wait as i would assume there is a good chance of finding one on sale during the late fall/winter (my off season).

[Grannyhiker]

It depends on what style of tent you want.

Double wall--the traditional kind sold at REI and other outdoor stores; have inner tent of either netting or breathable nylon, outer fly of polyurethane coated nylon (unfortunately the coating tends to start peeling after a few years). These tend to run heavy. They supposedly have less of a problem with condensation, but with the last one I owned, I had lots of condensation on the inside of the fly which then dripped through the inner tent to create puddles on floor and my sleeping bag. You do therefore want your double-wall to be ventilated and not to have an outward-sloping screen door so that you have to close the fly completely in the merest drizzle. I personally would rather have a single-wall tent where I can wipe off the condensation if it gets too heavy. Your Mileage May Vary. There are versions of double-wall tents that are almost as light as a single-wall tent (see below) which are made by MSR, Big Agnes and others. However, to achieve the light weight, they tend to be a bit cramped for space. One problem with US-made double-wall tents is that you have to set up the inner tent first and then put on the rainfly. If it's raining when you make or break camp, the inner tent will get soaked. Most European-made tents are configured so that you pitch the fly first and then the inner tent underneath it, but they are hard to find, and pricey when you do find them. Tarptent.com's Scarp 1 and 2 are double-wall tents that follow this pattern (pitch the fly first) and are also 4-season tents. You can even buy a breathable nylon inner tent for winter and a mesh inner for summer. The tents from Lightheart.com have an integrated inner and outer which keep the fly over the entire tent while you're pitching it.

Single-wall--generally made of silicone-impregnated nylon (silnylon), or (more expensive) of silicone-impregnated polyester (spinnaker) or (more expensive yet) cuben fiber (spectra threads embedded between mylar). These tents need to be well-ventilated to reduce internal condensation. They are therefore a bit drafty and are not suitable for winter camping. Most of these are made by "cottage" manufacturers, where most of the innovative tents come from. Nearly all of them are complete tents with floor and bug netting. The best known of these are Tarptent.com, whose name has become almost synonymous with single-wall tents, SixMoonDesigns.com (in Beaverton), GossamerGear.com (spinnaker tents and tarps), MountainLaurelDesigns.com (floorless pyramid tents of silnylon, spinnaker or cuben), Oware.com (same). These are all reputable firms, and their tents are made in the USA rather than China, if that matters to you. GoLight (part of a larger corporation) makes single-wall pyramids, but by the time you add their "nest" (bug netting with floor) you have the same weight as a double wall tent. I own two silnylon tents from Tarptent (for family trips) and (for solo trips) a spinnaker tent from Gossamer Gear that was designed by Henry Shires of Tarptent. (I happen to like Henry's designs and have found that his tents have the best ventilation; once again Your Mileage May Vary.) These tents are much lighter than the traditional double-wall tents. My Squall 2 from Tarptent is 34 oz., my three-person Rainshadow is 43 oz. and my Squall Classic from Gossamer Gear is 25 oz. These tents use your trekking poles for support. If you don't use trekking poles, you can buy poles from the manufacturers, although these will add a couple more ounces to the tent weight. Two of the most popular two-person tents in this category are Tarptent's Double Rainbow and Six Moon Design's Lunar Duo.

Probably the lightest single-wall tent is the Hexamid from Zpacks.com, made of cuben fiber with a netting floor, which comes in solo (8.2 oz.) and two-person (10.5 oz.) versions, but with a rather hefty price tag. More and more manufacturers are coming out with cuben tents, if you can afford them.

Tarp plus bug net, plus either a ground sheet or a lightweight DWR bivy, is another good shelter configuration. The bivy is needed to keep splash off your sleeping bag if the tarp is small. This combination is generally lighter than a tent but is not for everyone--some people feel more secure cooped up in a tent, even though the "security" of a thin nylon wall is purely fictional. I plan to try a tarp in the fall after the bugs are gone, but I haven't found a tarp plus ground sheet plus bug net combination that will allow a bug free space for my dog as well as me and that is lighter than my single-wall tent. The super-ultra-lighter backpackers take a poncho that doubles as rain coat and shelter (for an example, go to SixMoonDesigns.com and look at their Gatewood Cape). I would not recommend the poncho-tarp method for inexperienced backpackers.

Finally, there is the hammock, which I haven't tried (there's no way I could get my 80-lb. dog, who is part of my sleep system, into a hammock!) but I know many who swear by them--for one thing, it frees the owner from dependence on cleared level tent sites which can be hard to find in our brushy Cascades. You'll find everything you ever wanted to know about hammocks in the hammocks.com forum.

If you plan to winter-camp, you probably want a double-wall tent whose structure is strong enough to support significant snow loads. Such a tent is usually too heavy to consider for summer backpacking, when most of us want to cut the weight so we can go farther and/or faster. Some like to use the floorless pyramid tents from Mountain Laurel Designs or Oware for winter camping.

You might want to read the info on the various kinds of shelters here for more background: http://www.verber.com/mark/outdoors/gear/shelter.html. The site describes everything from the latest technology to low-budget options.

Renting or borrowing is one way to find out more about tents, and I would suggest this rather than rushing into a purchase. If you're interested in a tarp shelter, a cheap plastic tarp plus a piece of cheap bug netting draped from it to cover your head and shoulders and a piece of plastic painter's cloth underneath you is not the lightest combination, but it will let you decide if tarping is where you want to go without your having to spend much money.

[AaronLeo]

thanks for the reply granny! what tent are you currently using? do you have any pictures, a review, etc?

i think i'm going to try renting from my local rei before i buy. i never thought of that, but i really like the idea.

[dohman]

I really like my north face, lyra is the model I think. Weighs in at 4 lbs and some change, so its not the most light weight. It is just big enough for two, as long as you are comfortable spooning each other. But like Granny said, as with most double wall tents condensation and setting it up in the rain are the downfalls.

[Excursionista]

I love my Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1. I bought the footprint for it because it was recommended by store staff and a majority of reviewers. Even with the footprint, it’s a sturdy, lightweight solo tent that has more than enough room to stretch out and sit up (I’m 5’10” ). That said, I bought it this summer and haven’t used it in heavy rain, but it’s done well so far in light rain. Condensation is occasionally an issue when using the fly, but so far, it’s been minor. The stakes and pitching system are great, but because it’s a lightweight tent, the stakes are aluminum and wouldn’t work well in rocky areas. There’s a two-person version that would be great for taller people, a dog, a pack, or maybe even two people (but I never trust that 2-person means it will fit anyone other than me and that dude from Willow – which would be awfully uncomfortable, and perhaps not a factor anyone should consider in buying a tent).

[Pnw.hiker]

My MSR Hubba has always kept me dry. It's free standing and big enough to stretch out, sit up and change in (I'm 6'3"). Free standing is a big thing for me because I don't stake anything unless needed. If I were to get a new tent I'd look at some of the new designs that are free standing and a little lighter, like the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 mentioned above. I don't use trekking poles so haven't considered some of the ultra light tents that use them, like the Lunar Solo.

[drm]

Not only do different folks obviously have different preferences, but frequent campers can have different needs. Here are a couple of issues I don't see mentioned much.

I got a single-wall to save weight last year and have used it a lot. But one thing I don't like about it is that there is no option for open mesh and flow of air. If it's buggy and I need to get in it in the afternoon, it can be stifling. So I bought an REI Bughut - a tent with no rain fly at all - just 100% mesh on top. That's fine for reliably summery trips, and very light. But for longer trips where you can't be sure no thunderstorm will occur, it doesn't work. A two-wall tent let's you not use the rainfly on sunny days, and on those summery trips, you can choose to leave the rainfly at home.

One other issue is tent setting up and taking down in the rain. This might be a rare need, but if you camp frequently, especially in the spring and fall, it will happen. A single wall is best for this as the rainfly is already on and the inside will not get wet. However, a double wall with a proper footprint might let you set up or take down the rainfly first. I have had a couple of occasions where it was nice to take the tent down and pack the pack while the rainfly was still up. Then I just took the rainfly down in the wet and stashed it on the outside of the pack, separate from the dry inner tent.

But in the end, it is going to depend on how and when you camp, and what your priorities are regarding weight, space, free-standing, etc.

[turtle]

I like my Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape with a Serenity net tent. Total weight with stakes and Gossamer Gear groundsheet is about 18 ounces not counting hiking pole. It has just enough room for one hiker and gear, sets up pretty darn quick once you get the hang of it, and doubles as a rain cape. I can also set up the net tent by itself. I also use a Tarptent Rainbow single at 2 lbs. packed weight. In my humble opinion you might want to take a good look at Tarptents. For winter trips I splurged a year ago and got a Hilleberg Soulo. This is a bomb-proof one person mountaineering tent @ 4 1/2 lbs; probably overkill for winter trips in this area. Hope this helps, turtle

[vibramhead]

I'm happy with my Tarptent Cloudburst 2, a single-wall silnylon tent. It weights about 2.5 lbs with stakes, poles & a polycryo ground sheet. It's a 2 person tent, but I've only used it solo so far, and it's quite comfortable for one. After a total of about 3 weeks of use, I can say it generally doesn't have condensation problems, and it pitches pretty tight. Haven't had it in really bad weather yet.

[Grannyhiker]

The tent I use for solo camping with my dog is a Gossamer Gear/Tarptent Squall Classic. Designed by Henry Shires of Tarptent, manufactured by Gossamer Gear. It's made of spinnaker fabric instead of silnylon, so is lighter (and more expensive). It weighs 25 oz. without stakes. It is a nice roomy size for me and my dog, but would be a quite snug fit for two adult humans.

My other two tents are my original lightweight tent, a Tarptent Squall 2 (34-oz. with stakes) which is a nice roomy 2-person tent, and a Tarptent Rainshadow 2, a roomy three person tent. Both these are now for backpacking with my son's family. We're hopefully going out with all three tents next weekend, although the current long-range forecast does not look at all good. It will be 5-year-old "Bear's" first backpacking trip! He and his Mommy will sleep in the Squall 2, Dad and the older two kids will sleep in the Rainshadow, and Hysson (shown in my avatar) and I will sleep in my Squall Classic.

All three of these tents have a rear hoop pole but are supported in front with trekking poles, which thus do double duty.

I have my eye on the ZPacks Hexamid, made of cuben fiber and probably the lightest tent available right now, but at this point I am not ready to switch. $200 (assuming I could sell the Squall Classic for $200) to save 10 ounces pack weight is a LOT of money, and probably not worth it!