December 22, 2017

Tents

I am reworking this page after spending many years ultralight backpacking and avoiding tents. I still recommend considering this approach (not taking a tent). So many people think that a tent is mandatory, and they are wrong. In some locations, especially in the American southwest, you can do just fine sleeping under the stars when weather is agreeable. A tarp can provide all of the rain protection you need, and may be preferable to a tent in that you don't have condensation issues.

But I am reexamining the tent option now that some very nice 2 pound tents have appeared on the market. There is nothing like a tent when there are serious bugs or really serious weather.

General Advice

As has already been said, the best option is not to carry a tent at all! That is certainly the most ultralight approach.

There can be good reasons to carry a tent. Among them are protection from rain and bugs, warmth, and privacy. Mostly it is certain ladies who feel the need for privacy. As a male, if I am any place where I feel a tent is essential for privacy, then I need to rethink my choice of destinations! Even without rain, a tent can add warmth and wind protection, which can be important in big mountains in "hinge seasons". Here in Arizona we have little (or predictable) rain and even fewer bugs, so not carrying a tent is often a great and sensible option. To hedge your bets with regard to rain and warmth, you can carry a bivy bag, as I often do.

Colin Fletcher gives the advice that you really want a 2 person tent, even if you are going solo, if you anticipate actually being forced to hole up due to weather. This allows you to pull your gear inside and do more than live in a cocoon. I think this advice is solid, but it is definitely not minimalist thinking. Each person has to pick a point on the risk/weight/comfort curve. Other people say that 2 person tents are really suitable for one person and a dog, which also seems to be absolutely true.

Right now I do not own a real tent that I would actually use in the outdoors. I carry a bivy bag, and have a Ray-way tarp tent that I have carried (and used with complete satisfaction). I do contemplate a "real tent" for use in fall trips to the Sierra where I seriously push my warmth threshold at night, and when it might be wise to carry insurance against an early winter storm. My old tents have turned weird, and I no longer am willing to use them. In particular the coatings are breaking down and they produce a nasty and strong plastic smell. I suspect that breathing their fumes in a confined space for several nights in a row would be hazardous to my health, not to mention almost intolerably disgusting. So they are officially (as of Summer, 2010) retired, and now (2017) long gone and discarded.

Nemo Hornet

Nemo is a tent company that seem to have come out of nowhere and is producing a lot of very nice tents. In particular, the Hornet is a 2 pound 2 layer tent. It is available in a 1 person (2 pounds) and 2 person (2 pounds 5 ounce) version. There are also more expensive "Elite" versions that use lighter fabrics and also have a more roomy rectangular footprint (the regular 1P version is 87 long, 40 at the shoulders, and 31 at the toes -- the Elite is 40 inches head to toe). I am somewhat baffled by the Elite concept. I would make the Elite the tapered version and use lighter fabric for the lightest possible tent. These are made from nylon ripstop. 10D for the fly, and 15D for the floor. (The "Elite" version uses 7D for the fly and 10D for the floor). Polyurethane coated. I would prefer silnylon, but the PU coated fabric must be cheaper, or something. Delicate fabrics, especially in the Elite version, but that is how it is when you get serious about an ultralight tent.

The 2P version is 11 inches wider (so 51 tapering to 43), but you get two doors, each with vestibules, and for only 5 extra ounces. It seems impossible. This will indeed fit two standard 20 inch wide pads, but will be awfully cramped. And only one person will be able to sit up at a time. I view a tent like this as a minimalist shelter for sleeping only. Sort of a "super-bivy". Not something to hang out in. And this fits my style of being on the move from early to late and spending a minimum of time "in camp".

Other Ultralight options

The Big Agnes Fly Creek is now eclipsed by the Nemo. The main complaint I hear about it is that it has the door at the end of the tent. In particular, with the Nemo Hornet 2P, you get two doors, one on each side, which is ideal if you actually intend to have two people in it.

A friend has a Mirage from Big Sky International. This is a one layer "hybrid" tent. It weighs about 2 pounds, is very quick to set up, and is roomy. They caution that this is not a good tent for high humidity areas, which indicates that it tends to have condensation issues.

Not really a tent, but a tarp in a modified pyramid design is the "Trailstar" from Mountain Laurel Designs. This is a floorless tarp with a shape that is trending towards a pyramid and has gotten very good reviews. 17 ounces in silnylon (Cuben fiber yields 12 ounces) and does require a short pole.

Another option is one of the tents from Henry Shires at Tarptent.

The product I hear most about from Tarptent is the "Moment". This is a one man tent that uses a single stake at each end, and a fiberglass hoop in the middle. 28.5 ounces, $215, 18 square feet. It deflects wind from any direction and is extremely easy to set up. The center crossing pole is optional.

The big complaint I hear about with the Moment and other Tarptent products is condensation issues.

Six Moons designs has a couple of tents to look at (the Vamp and Lunar Solo).

Henry even sells Tyvek groundsheets for $12. Nice.

Tarps

These are popular among the ultralight folks. Apparently any concern about bugs is pushed aside. In part, the bug issue can be addressed by intelligent choice of camping spots, but this takes a certain amount of experience. Camping in low areas, alongside of likes, and in boggy areas will in general lead to amazing insect experiences. Seeking out somewhat higher sites, with some breeze is the proper approach - and if your camping strategies liberate you from needing to be within a handy distance of a water source, your site selection options enlarge dramatically.

My current thinking, heavily influenced by reading Ray Jardine's writings, lean towards modern and ultralight tarps.

Groundsheets

Somewhere along the way, the idea was imparted to me that Tyvek (a Dupont proprietary name for a HDPE (high density polyethylene)) was the perfect thing for ultralight groundsheets. I dutifuly bought myself 7 feet of it (in comes in a 9 foot width) from a nice guy who is selling it by the foot on ebay). I cut this into 3 pieces 3 by 7 feet in size. My first observation is that it is no lighter than a same size piece of 4 mil clear poly sheet ("visqueen") that you can get virtually anywhere. It is also noisy as all get-out in any kind of wind (the little 3 inch edges sticking out around my pad kept me awake all night on one windy trip), so now I am wondering what all the fuss is about. I was advised that the cure for the noise problem was to run the stuff through the washing machine (without soap) to loosen it up, and after 2 trips through the washer, I am pleased, no more rattling groundsheet! I really want a groundsheet to protect my thermarest pad (or bivy or tent bottom) against puncture and abrasion. Indeed, Tyvek may be a lot more durable than the poly sheets for this purpose, only time will tell. My stuff is the "housewrap" variety (i.e. the "hard structure" variety), which I am told is by no means waterproof, just tough as heck. It also makes your campside look like a trashpile at a construction site, which is less than optimal in some ways.

Take a look at:

The "soft structure" tyvek is used for tear resistant clothing and might be less noisy and still durable.

Bivy sacks

These add warmth, wind sheltering, and even rain protection in a pinch. No sane person wants to be in a real rainstorm with only a bivy sack. They do fine in sprinkles and brief showers.

My Mountain Hardware bivy weights 1 pound 2 ounces. Only a select few ultralight tents (such as the Sublite tent from Tarptent at 1 pound 2.5 ounces) are this light. A typical tent is 5-7 pounds.

Bozeman Mountain works makes some 8 ounce bivy sacks out of pertex quantum and other exotic materials. They don't do direct sales, and their gear is hard to find. Here is an article by a fellow who was making his own bivy using Pertex Quantum and Cuben fiber material. Cuben fiber is 0.33 ounces per yard and can be gotten from Quest outfitters. He uses 2 ounces of this in the bivy. Other sources were Thru-Hiker and Outdoor Wilderness Fabrics.

Tents I have known and loved.

I once owned (and regretfully sold) a wonderful Sierra Designs tent. Two layer (with fly) and big enough for two (though I almost always used it solo). It had a nice zippered cook hole in the floor, which was handy for cooking in the tent (which you should never do by the way, the main risk being carbon monoxide). It was plenty heavy, although palatial, perhaps it is for the best that I no longer own it.

I still have an ancient Chouinard Equipment Megamid (not a typo, it is not a Black Diamond, this is an old one). This "tent" is a floorless wonder weighing about 3 pounds and said to be suited for 4, though I cannot imagine how that would be arranged. My wife curses the thing, as do many others. I adore it for its lightness and simplicity, or at least I used to. (You pound in four corner stakes and shove the top up with the pole, and you are done!)

The pole is always in the way. If you erect it in forest, and have some cord with you, it can be nicely set up without the pole. I have found this a viable option exactly once out of the countless times I have set it up. It affords absolutely no bug protection whatsoever, and in fact some people believe that it attracts and concentrates bugs. The tent weighs 2 pounds 14 ounces. Add the 10 ounce pole and you are up to 3 pounds 8 ounces, and don't forget four stakes!

My copy is ancient, has become sticky due to the polyurethane coating de-polymerizing (they do that if you store them with any trace of water), not to mention it stinks like plastic, and is probably toxic and carcinogenic. Happily replaced with a Ray-Way tarp tent which is much lighter, and not sticky or stinky.

This design was later sold by Black Diamond, and apparently still is as of Summer, 2010. There is some hard to fathom relationship between Bibler (who once made this thing with their name on it) and Black Diamond. See the Black Diamond web site and good luck (Caveat Emptor).

I also own a very old 1.5 person Sierra Designs tent, which is pretty nice for solo trips and could hold 2 people in a dire emergency. However, it too has become sticky and stinky and has been retired. This is a 2 layer tent with a fly and fiberglass poles. It weighs 4 pounds.

Traditional Tents

There are now a multitude of fine tent choices. Sierra Designs is still around and still making excellent products it would seem. Mountain Hardware has entered the field and has a good reputation for quality, but is not making ultralight stuff. North Face still makes what look like excellent tents, but I am suspicious of their quality, but maybe everyone has their gear made overseas these days and I am being unfair. Marmot makes (or should I say markets) a number of nice looking tents.

One tent that has caught my attention is the Half Dome 2 from REI. This is probably the best tent deal going if you are in the market for a 3 season tent and are not concerned about going ultralight. There are two (maybe more?) variants, the "plus" seems to get much better reviews, due to the extra room.

Notes on the "vanilla" version:
Many people complain that the original Half Dome was much better and simpler (why didn't they hang on to their original version, or did it fall apart?). Some of these recommend the Kelty Gunnison 2.1 as a better choice that is more like the old Half Dome they loved. Other cranky owners are looking to the Marmot Limelight 2. The new design has more poles and complexity and less floor space (maybe this is why they came out with the bigger "plus" edition). One user says you cannot get two 25 inch wide pads in the tent side by side and he measures the floor space at 47 by 78 Some people say they ruined the design to get a few inches of headroom. Like all tents, ventilation and condensation can be a serious issue.

Notes on the "plus" version:
Fewer complaints about space and condensation issues. Still a bit tricky to put up (practice at home rather than trying to figure it out in the dark with a cold wind). The fly zipper is in the wrong place and will dump rain water into the tent. A lot more space for only $20 extra (and 13 ounces!), and a fine tent if you don't expect to be dealing with rain all the time.

The Kelty Gunnison 2.1 (mentioned above as an alternative) weighs 5 pounds 9 ounces with 37 square feet of floor space and sells for $190 (but you can find it on sale, like right now on Amazon for $155). Complaints are plastic clips and "hub" that look fragile.

The Marmot Limelight 2P is another "keep it simple" dome tent with 2 poles that form an X over the tent (as the original Half Dome 2 apparently did). Retail price of $189 32 square feet of floor space, 5 pounds. Includes a footprint and gear loft. Has been on sale for $99 and free shipping, so shop around. Looks like a winner, especially if you shop around. The only complaints are a lack of instructions on how to set the tent up.

The four season tent

Now we are roaming in the direction of mountaineering and winter camping. Some people want to scratch some kind of macho itch and buy a 4 season tent when they have no need for one, and end up carrying needless weight and bulk. Don't do this.

If you really plan to do winter camping (a whole different game), then you are probably going to own more than one tent -- or do like I used to do and haul around 3 or 4 pounds of extra weight and use your 4 season tent in the summer. I think it is probably fair to make a distinction between summer shelters (including tarps and ignoring the bug issue), and 3 season tents. It would be tempting to carry a 7 ounce tarp from Bozeman mountain works in the summer, and reserve use of a real tent (or add a bivy sack) in times when I am going out in fall transition weather, or expect serious bugs.

Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's hiking pages / tom@mmto.org