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1 person tents

memaquay

memaquay

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I've been thinking about these for a while. Going to be clearing out the Steel River loop with my buddy this summer, and even though we carry chainsaws and stuff, I'm going to downsize and try to lighten up the load. I've been up Diablo a dozen times or so, swore I wouldn't do it again, but I guess it's kinda like child birth. Anyway, a good deal came up on one of these.....Marmot tungsten 1-person tent. Anyone have experience with this tent?
 
I don't know Mem. I have a hard time picturing you being happy in a one man tent. I'm looking at tents for next year and I'm not even sure I'd be happy in a one man tent. Doesn't seem like too bad of an idea until I think about being stuck inside by wind and rain for 3 days straight. But I guess since there's two of you you'll probably have a big tarp and that would help.

For woodland travel I'm getting one of these later this month: http://www.shop.cookecustomsewing.com/product.sc?productId=194

A little more info: http://www.cookecustomsewing.com/leans.htm

It's like old school without the weight. I'll leave the tarp at home.

Bob B. has one too. Come on, join the cool kids.

Alan
 
I have an older EMS brand one man, it's okay but I always found it too confining and close in every direction - and that was the consensus a year or two later from two 12 year olds, just a hair smaller than me... I like the bivy sack, mosquito bar and a nicely pitched out Whelen or tarp to be much more satisfying for more than one nights travel...
 
The only way you will be comfortable sleeping in a 36 inch wide tent is on your back...aka like you were laid out to rest.

My dog takes more than 36 inch wide on the bed.

Go find a twin bed. They are 39 inches wide and see if a box that size would suit you.

I tried a Hubba at the LLBean store. It was like an upended pizza box.. ran out of there saying "nooooooo......" To be fair the Hubba was only 30 inches wide

I like my North Face Tandem 23 (Tadpole 23) but its an end loader. Its 45 inches wide at the head and my feet don't mind the 35 inches. Why they spec it out as a two person tent is beyond me. Though we brought it on a tandem trip by mistake. We fit the two of us inside but no one could roll around. And the dog wanted in too.
 
Alan Gage said:
I don't know Mem. I have a hard time picturing you being happy in a one man tent. I'm looking at tents for next year and I'm not even sure I'd be happy in a one man tent. Doesn't seem like too bad of an idea until I think about being stuck inside by wind and rain for 3 days straight. But I guess since there's two of you you'll probably have a big tarp and that would help.

For woodland travel I'm getting one of these later this month: http://www.shop.cookecustomsewing.com/product.sc?productId=194

A little more info: http://www.cookecustomsewing.com/leans.htm

It's like old school without the weight. I'll leave the tarp at home.

Bob B. has one too. Come on, join the cool kids.
Click to expand...

I can’t imagine me, or anyone else, being stuck inside a one-man tent for days on end. That’s why god made tarps.

But I can’t even imagine simply sleeping in a one man tent, much less being stuck in one. A small two man, two vestibule tent has just enough room for my sleeping pad, some night gear, clothing, and book and flashlight storage along either side.

I’ve considered manufactured leans – with bug netting drapes – but I’m not sure what I’m gaining in that guise. They need a bigger footprint than a small tent, are no faster or simpler to set up, and have windblown rain issues if I leave the foyer tarp cover up for a view. Plus the enclosed volume doesn’t lend itself to body heat warming on chilly nights.

If it is a blowy rainy day I’d much rather spend it under an open vista tarp than stuck inside a sil-nylon house with the front door closed.

What is the weight of a CCS lean, with poles and stakes, vs a small “two person” tent with a floor and vestibules and a separate sil-nylon rain fly.

I know it can do double duty, but I’d rather have a tented bedroom separate from my tarped living room and kitchen.

I’ll never be one of the cool lean-shelter kids. The first thing I look to do in camp is set up a secure, well positioned tent and stock it with my nighttime necessities, so I can hunker down at a moment’s notice. The tarp living room, kitchen and day-hammock cover are all secondary to that best dry and secure bedroom installation. If nothing else I’ll know I’ll sleep well.

And, quite honestly, on any trip with a companion I rather my bedroom be separate from our shared living room and kitchen.
 
Ya, I usually carry a cooke custom tarp with me....not sure about the little tent either, but I'm gonna give it a try. My old school air mattress is probably only about 25 inches across. I like the idea of solo tripping and being able to tarp over the tent and have room left to sit under the tarp as well. Of course, it could be the old ten pounds of bolognie in the five pound skin, guess I'll find out in a few days!
 
I was thinking about the hammock thing, but don't think I'm ready yet. I really need to find someone who has one so I can try it.
 
Black spruce and hammocks ..well not so much. If you do , bring dramamine.. those spindly swaying trunks
 
Mike McCrea said:
What is the weight of a CCS lean, with poles and stakes, vs a small “two person” tent with a floor and vestibules and a separate sil-nylon rain fly.
Click to expand...

The CCS lean is 2.3 pounds without poles, which is how I'll be using it (in the trees) since I'm not a beach bum like you. I believe two poles add about a pound and a small footprint to sleep on is about .5 pound. The 2 person version of Mem's tent is 5.25 pounds. I'm sure you could find one a little lighter. A 10x12 Tundra Tarp (1.1) would be another 1.5 pounds.

I think for me I'll be happy using the lean as my daytime as well as night time shelter which, in the above scenario, will save me nearly 3 lbs and considerable pack volume. But I think we trip considerably differently. Layover days for me are usually only caused by bad weather. Plus I'm already in the shade (forest) so sun protection during the day isn't such a big deal. In good weather I can find a comfortable rock or log to sit on. If the bugs are bad I can retreat into the Lean and still have a nice view and good elbow room high ceilings (5').

In bad weather (wind driven rain) I think it will give me better protection and considerably more room than my 10x10 tundra tarp. Either one needs to be erected intelligently to block the wind and rain and, if possible, leave one end up to provide a view or a protected area for cooking. I'd need a really big tarp to provide such a large covered area.

Whether or not it will work out that well in practice I can't say, but it sure seems nice in my head. I'll have to update you at the end of the summer.

Alan
 
Many of the new two-person tents are light enough and compact enough for one person to carry.
Otherwise, some solo tents I have been considering:
Hilleberg Niak, technically for two people
Hilleberg Enan
North Face Triarch 1
Best of luck in your search.
 
I'm not a big fan of small spaces, really really small spaces.
When I left home I was "ready to run" but hadn't yet "learned to walk", so my older brother invited me to move in with him till I figured out my new found freedom. It was a strange old house, poorly reconfigured into apartments. Our bedsit and kitchen/bath areas were separated by a communal hallway. We kept both bedsit and kitchen/bath rooms locked against tenants weirder than us. Believe me, there were some in that house and neighbourhood. One day we found he'd locked us out of the kitchen/bath. (Two rooms with two separate keys?) My brother had done it so many times the owner refused to come by any more with the spare keys. What to do? After brainstorming, which admittedly didn't take much time, we realized there was an old air duct at the bottom of the wall between these two rooms. "Cool. Just unscrew one side, kick the other off and crawl through. Right?" Right. I was skinny back then so I was delegated to do the great escape thing. No problem. I stripped down to my undies for streamline purposes and commenced to slithering through. Try it sometime. Hold your arms outstretched ahead of you and squiggle wiggle through an inflexible permanent tight opening. I was already halfway to freedom when, well you know what happened. I couldn't go forward, and then found that I couldn't go back either. There was no retreat, but there sure as heck was surrender. My brother was too occupied laughing hysterically with his girlfriend (he just had to invite her over to see this) while I was trying to suppress my growing claustrophobic panic attack. It felt like I was clenched in the great maw of an angry monster, made of bricks and mortar, wood and metal, plaster and nails. The ducting scraped my skin like galvanized teeth. "Should we call the owner? He won't come. Fire department? We'll have to pay for damages. More friends and the pizza guy?" That's when I concentrated double quick and made myself smaller smaller, and thinking thin I finally managed to eek through. Standing in the next room and calming myself down, I wasn't in a hurry to unlock the stupid door. I was scratched up a bit, and my undies were now around my knees (the ductwork snagged a lot of things), I composed myself and reached for the fridge for the last beer. The spectators could wait.
Once in awhile when I'm crawling through our tent opening I get a sudden feeling of discomfort. The zipper brushes against my skin, the outside air feels like freedom while the sunlit interior reminds me of that kitchen so long ago, and I wish I could reach for a cold celebratory beer.
I don't recommend a 1-person tent memquay, but that's just a personal thing.
 
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Hey Mem, considering how much you like to read at night, consider you will have limited options for positioning inside a one person to read, either on your back or stomach, not likely enough room for on your side at all.
 
Rob,
I bought a couple Hennessy Hammocks a few years back to use as rentals, and they never, ever, go out. You could certainly borrow one for a season, if you could figure out a good way to get a hold of it. I'd bring one up, but I don't think we'll be up your way until the fall.
 
Thanks for the generous offer Quinn, one of these years I'm going to be down your way, planning the grand American canoe tour!
 
I have an old North Face Pebble I bought at Campmor for about $120, it's long since discontinued but as a solo it works for me. The only thing I don't like about it is it doesn't have a rear window so on a hot night there is not enough ventilation. One night on the Noire I rolled the fly halfway off to get some air.
I use it on all solo trips now and like Mike I depend on my tarp for daytime protection.
Here it's set up on Dog Island on Marshall Lake, the most disgusting Crown Land site I ever saw. I called it dog sh&* Island and stayed out by the edge. Anyway, I arrived late, "dog" tired and set the tent up under the tarp in the rain. I cooked my dinner on my twig stove while sitting on a bench left by a fisherman. In the morning the tent fly was dry. Nice to pack up a dry tent after a night of rain
If I ever buy another tent for solo use it will be a 2 man Timberline, nice ventilation, good price, easy to find parts.

 
That Marmot Tungsten-1 has some good points. The price is right, and I really like a side entry. I don't know where they're available around here. It's surprising to see some eye watering prices on solo tents vs 2-person etc. Lots to choose from out there. Yeah, when you first posted I wondered if you'd consider a hammock. Do you guys normally rig a tarp? It's not all work work work, is it? Too tired to pull up a log and kick back? That diablo sounds like, well you know.
My first tent was a Timberline-1. Solid tent, but small of course. Later changing to a free-standing dome felt like moving into the Taj Mahal. But it's hard to beat the small light packing of a solo tent-hammock-whatever. Our 2-person tent was meant to be a tentative step back from big and heavy to small and light. There's room for improvement there.
 
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