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Im wanting a new tent. the old Mk2 force ten is just too old and to heavy and I fancy once the whole lockdown thing has cleared a bit of an excursion up the great glen way on track/path hopefully bikepacking.
The Zephyros 1 I though would be ideal, but the you tube vids dont rate it well, and some rate it really bad.
Im not into spending £400 and I like the price of the soloist.
Taller than average at 6'3" and it appears not many reviewers are as tall. If anyone else is and has experience of mid range priced 1 man tents some advice would be welcome.
I do like a bit of a porch so i can sit out the wind and cook in it and gaze out.
I've always for the last 20 years anyway went car camping with the best mate who sadly died a couple of years ago and I've not been out since. We were often in that part of the country, so be nice to be out without that drunken barsteward not having a bike lol.
Soloist looks good on price @£120 last I looked, and I like the pole shape for pitching, looks very easy, and although it is inner first, which is dumb if its raining, which it usually is, but Im sure you could manage to pitch outer first.Weight looks god too.
Only thing is length. Usual few mats, down bag. mess kit, most can live outside. I just really need a decent length and not low at the end so you wake up with a saggy inner stuck to your face.
Have a look at the Naturehike tents on Amazon (and other places). They are semi rip offs of some of the Big Agnes designs and others.
1 -person option here.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Naturehike-Cycling-Backpack-Aluminum-NH18A095-D/dp/B07BMH7MZ7
I've got a cloud up 2 man, which is about 2kg. Big enough for two, luxury for one. I'd probably go with the Mongar if I was buying again.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Naturehike-Ultralight-Silicone-Backpacking-Cycling/dp/B072J8C4JB/
Edit - sorry, not sure what's happened to those links - tried to fix it but no joy...
6’3″
This is the issue.
I'm 6' and find many lightweight tents are creeping down in size to be able to brag about a few grammes less.
Imo you need to look carefully at having vertical walls at head and feet, and 215/220cm overall for sleeping.
How much will you lug the tent up and over hills?
What budget?
I'm also a fan of a tunnel tent if your tall - your head can always push against the door and stay dry.
I'm also a Vango fan - one of these is on my 'i would like' list.
https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/camping-equipment/1110-f10-xenon-ul-2.html
Funny I pitched a Soloist in the garden yesterday! I bought it back in Feb when they were on offer and forgot about it until after I had put the kids play tent up. I thought it would work for cycle touring where a flat tarp is a bit open for campsites.
First impressions are that it is nice piece of kit but I think I would prefer either the extra space of the Ordos 2 (100g and £150 more but could take 2 person or 1 person plus kit) whilst touring or a Gatewood Cape or lunar Solo for a more stripped back bikepacking trip. I haven't tried or seen either of these solutions so may need to change my mind again! Depending on if Alpkit let me exchange I may well have a brand new Soloist up for sale!
I've got a Vango Helium UL2 which is very roomy, you can increase the porch size by pegging the inner back allowing you to cook indoors. It also has doors both sides.
Couple of downsides for me, the sewn in groundsheet does not seem very durable, so I bought the specific footprint for the tent which adds about 200 grams to the packed weight. Still very light at around 1.4kg
It's also a tunnel style tent rather than freestanding, but this isn't an issue for me and my intended use.
Not sure of your budget but the UL1 one man version can be had for around £180 and is slightly smaller and the UL2 around £200.
a Gatewood Cape or lunar Solo for a more stripped back bikepacking trip. I haven’t tried or seen either of these solutions so may need to change my mind again!
There's a few taller folks using the Lunar Solo. Works best if you use one or both of the mid-panel time-out points as a lifter.
Have a look at the Naturehike tents on Amazon (and other places). They are semi rip offs of some of the Big Agnes designs and others.
I've never seen/used a Naturehike, but my experience of a Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL2 is that while it's a nicely done, very light tent, the fabrics are filmy in that semi-translucent modern way and the groundsheet area, in particular, feels worryingly not very robust.
More generally a lot of the one-person tents - Vango for example - use a transverse pole layout that means there's limited head room when lying down. As above, unless you're fixated on gramme counting, a lightweight two-person tent is often only a little heavier, but a lot more comfortable/spacious in use.
Personally I'd rather have the dependability of a Hilleberg or the Fjallraven equivalent and carry a little extra weight. Or possibly something from MSR. None of them cheap though.
Incidentally... Vango's new F10 Hydrogen Air tent. 'World's lightest double-skin tent' using an inflatable AirBeam as per, I guess, the old Nemo Gogo Elite bivi tent. Weighs 680g allegedly, retails for a cool £600. In reality it will weigh more than that, but the lack of poles should make it decently packable and maybe ideal for bikepacking:
https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/camping-equipment/1248-f10-project-hydrogen.html
Impressive bit of kit, uses a Schrader valve to inflate which is a neat solution.
I've got a Soloist, I quite like it. Though not had a chance to use it much yet. I'm not too tall, but feels fairly spacious inside. And high enough to sit-up in is good.
And seems fairly tough, better than some of those ultralight tents. If you have the footprint, can pitch it outer first. Though probably a bit more fiddly than the usual inner first.
Soloist does look quite similar to some of those Naturehike tents, maybe it is a rebranded version.
I also have a soloist, really like how it goes up and having the footprint so you can pitch it out only or inner only is nice. I'm 5'11 though and feel like I can touch the foot end and head end if I'm stretched out, I wouldn't want to be much taller but then it might not be an issue if you don't sleep straight.
Thanks for the replies ,I didnt think it would get more than a couple .
Soo the soloist is beginning to look too short, and ive on board about the square ends, but hopefully head at the door end I can use the porch if needed better than the mirror ended.
Budget could stretch to £200, and make use of the extra time stuck in by researching each is part of the fun of it. And I like to check out reviews before looking on youtube and then ebay to see what things go for. More often than once Ive though ive something i needed(Wanted on a whim) and looking on ebay one pops up at a bargain price like fate lending a hand.
WOW. F10 hydrogen. WOW at the price but great idea for cyclists.
Price seems excessive though, can it really be that different without the poles to command such a price.
Makes the maker in me wonder if given we are pumping up bits of rubber(cept those modern tubeless) would fitting one of those open ended tubed into the slot the pole goes and then pumping it up might just achieve the same thing 😆
I'll also look again at 2 man lightweight. As suggested the more room, better for longer trips, and the footprint would be a must. I agree they all seem super thin, not like the old stuff, but there materials have moved on.
Food for though, and plenty of routes to look at thanks all.
I’ve done plenty of nights and miles with a soloist. Fine as a tent if you’re 6’ or less. I’m 6’ and I wouldn’t fancy it if I were taller.
Nice and light though, and easy to put up and pack down.
Weighs 680g allegedly, retails for a cool £600.
Wow. My £60 Alpkit Delta at 900g is a real bargain...
I'd echo the concern that some of the uberlight tents are firmly in the less weight, less durable stakes. My Delta has four groundsheet repairs, even using an undermat. The silicone fly is also showing signs of pulling apart at the seams - it's well sewn, just so thin, slippery and stretchy that it's working it's way undone.
I'm looking for another tent, F10 helium is top of the list at the moment, but with a proper foot print.
For maximum space per weight look at single pole pyramid tents.
WOW. F10 hydrogen. WOW at the price but great idea for cyclists.
Price seems excessive though, can it really be that different without the poles to command such a price.
It'll be discounted for sure, because that's how the tent market rolls. It caught Alpkit out with their first tent range because they looked at SRP prices for the competition rather than what they actually sold for.
But also, ultra-lightweight, but still reasonably tough fabrics are heinously expensive. If I ever get hold of one of the things, I'll report back 🙂
Oh, if you want light and reasonably tough, but again, expensive, Nordisk is worth a look. They wind tunnel test their tents and even the very light stuff seems to survive quite impressively, which isn't always the case - hello MSR Hubba Hubba with your imploding end panel 🙂
I've been looking at a telemark they look good but the 2 man is sized like most other tents 1 man they seem tiny
Again thanks for all the lovely replies, there are certainly tents maybe in 2 man I'm going to look at as well for winter. Many of the 1 man are 3 season.
After fair deliberation, and hunting down review vids I found one vid that was ideal, posted for tall people by a guy @6'7". So if he can about fit in it, then im hunkydory.
All the other vids youre trying to guess their height, so this is just the perfect review and good for everyone here who've also found it difficult finding a tall review of standard tent/bivy options.
Quite impressed with the Ionospere. Seems to tick all the boxes, and is a bit bigger than most, though theres not much of a porch, angled off the wind and a small windbreak i reckon it could be still quite cozy. 8)
I also liked the Hubba and the Big Agnes, but none were reviewed by someone @ 6'7" Hey Ho.