SOLO TENTS
Gear Editor and long-distance walker Chris Townsend casts his eye over the latest in single-person shelters
CCHOOSING A TENT for backpacking involves a compromise between weight, space and durability. That’s especially the case with solo ones. There is a limit to how small a tent can be and still be functional. Tiny tents with just enough room to lie down but none for sitting, storing gear, cooking and eating may be ultralight but they’re not suitable for comfortable living in a storm. In this review, I’m looking at tents in which you can do more than just sleep.
How heavy should a solo tent be? That depends. Weight depends on materials as well as size. Lighter tents use more specialist materials and tend to cost more. How much do you want to spend? I think 2kg is the maximum a solo tent should weigh. All those reviewed weigh less than this, some far less.
The weight of a tent fabric doesn’t necessarily determine its strength or durability. Silicone-treated fabrics, used in the lightest models, are stronger and lighter than polyurethane-coated fabrics.
The hydrostatic head (the measure of how much water can stand on the material before it leaks) of an ultralight fabric can be as high as on a heavier one. For flysheets the hydrostatic head needn’t be very high anyway – anything over 1000mm is adequate.
That’s not the case with groundsheets, though, which have to deal with much more rough usage than flysheets. Ultralight groundsheets usually have low hydrostatic heads and may leak under pressure and wear out more quickly than heavier ones. Makers often recommend using a separate footprint under the groundsheet. This adds weight and cost, and should be factored in when choosing a tent.
Many solo tents are based on one long hoop that may run across the tent or along its length. This single hoop may be backed up by short poles at each end or else split into two to form a Y-shape at one or both ends. There may also be a cross-pole at the apex for more headroom. All these designs work. What differentiates models are the position and number of guylines, the fabrics, vents, doors and ease of pitching.
An increasing number of tents can be pitched using trekking poles, a design that makes sense if you use the latter.
Condensation can be more of a problem in solo tents than in larger ones because there is less space for air to circulate and it’s harder to avoid touching the walls. Good ventilation can help but won’t prevent it. Leaving doors and vents open whenever possible keeps tents drier. Low and high vents allow cool, dry air to enter and push warm, moist air out. Some tents have twoway flysheet door zips that can be left undone at the top for ventilation.
The tents reviewed are best described as three-season models. They can cope with very heavy rain and fairly strong winds but they’re not mountain tents for severe winter weather.