Tent Review: One Planet Goondie 1-15D

[Son of a Beach]

(This post has been updated a number of times to add additional information - mostly in response to questions and from further use of the tent.)

Introduction

I took possession of my new Goondie 1-15D tent a couple of weeks ago and have now set it up at home. I'll start by writing a little about it in the tame environment of my home and garden and will add more after using it in the wild (hopefully starting next weekend).

The One Planet 'Goondie 1-15D' is a light weight, one-person tent which weighs in at 1.66kg complete. One Planet make four variations of the Goondie: There are one-person and two-person versions, and each of these is available with either a 15 denier nylon fly (lighter) or a 30 denier polyester fly (stronger). See the One Planet Goondie web site for the specifications and the manufacturer's description of each model.

I opted for the one-person version, because I've already got a good large two-person tent and was specifically looking for something small and light for solo or self-catering walks. I chose the 15 denier version for its lighter weight because I can still take my proven, strong (but larger) two-person tent on solo walks if I'm not confident in the weather (at least until I'm more used to the new tent and it has proven itself in a reasonable variety of conditions).

Update - New Variants (May 2012)

One Planet have since added a 3 person variant and a mesh option. The choices in the Goondie line of tents is now:

• Size: 1, 2 or 3 person
• Fly fabric: 15 denier nylon or 30 denier polyester
• Inner fabric: mostly nylon or mostly mesh

Of course the mesh version is only marginally lighter than the nylon version. For example, the Goondie 1-15D Mesh has a total weight of 1.61kg. It appears to be aimed at warmer or more humid climates where better ventillation is more important.

Part 1 - Unpacking and Setting Up at Home

The tent comes in two separate bags; the fly is in its own bag, and the inner tent, poles and pegs are together in another bag. After having set it up, and then dismantled it again, I found that with the fly in its own bag, placed on the folded tent with the poles and pegs bags, it all rolled up together and packed into the main tent bag just fine. So it is easy to keep it in either two separate bags (eg, for when the fly is wet), or one single bag (for simpler packing), depending on your preference.

As Originally Packed and Shipped in Two Bags

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The Contents of the Main Bag Being Unpacked

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When packed all in the one bag (including fly) the packed dimensions are 52 x 11 cm.

All Packed Up Again in One Bag

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The inner tent is very easy to set up. Just insert each end of the two longer poles into the four corners, clip the hooks onto the poles, and then insert the short pole into the two small pockets on top. Pegging down the four corners is of course a good idea too, but the inner tent itself is free standing.

Inner Tent - Front

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Inner Tent - Back

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The fly simply gets thrown over the tent, attached to the poles by 4 velcro loops and then clipped onto the four corners of the inner tent. The two ends of both the inner and the fly are colour coded (black at one end and grey at the other) to make it easy to get the fly on the right way around (ie, with the fly door and tent door on the same side of the tent). The fly then needs two pegs which are not used by the inner tent - one in the middle of each side. These two pegs pull the fly out creating the two triangular vestibules.

You can optionally attach extra guy ropes (included) to half way up the fly above these pegs instead of attaching the bottom of the fly to the pegs, and then roll up the bottom half of the fly. This arrangement is intended for better ventillation at times where the door cannot be left open. Ie, for when it is hot or humid or raining.

Fly/Inner Clips and Straps - Grey End

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Fly/Inner Clips and Straps - Black End

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What's that you say? No integral pitch? No fly-first pitch? Yes, that's right. It was my main concern before getting this tent, and it is still my main concern now. However, my first tent was an inner-first pitch and I never considered it a problem then. It can only get so wet before I get the fly up. But I've gotten very used to my integral-pitch tent and I love it, so this will take some getting used to again, and of course I won't be able to make up my mind on how much of an issue it is until I pitch it during a wind/rain storm in the middle of a long walk somewhere. Having said that, it is quite quick to pitch the fly, leaving the inner tent exposed for only a fairly short time.

The fly has several guy points, each of which have triangular reinforced rope attachment points, which also double as triangular pockets for tucking away and storing the guy ropes. This is a very simple but very effective solution for guy ropes management. Very nice!

Guy Rope Reinforcement/Pocket (& velcro loops under fly - not attached!)

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The tent is quite strong and stable with just the two large fly pegs, but I would always use the four smaller pegs also. There were no additional pegs included for the guy ropes so you would need to either add more pegs, or (my preferred option - without having tried it yet) use the four smaller included pegs for the guy ropes and leave the tent inner unpegged.

The fly doesn't come down as close to the ground as with some other tents, but the inner tent has a good tub floor, so I think this will be OK. It will certainly be good for ventilation. There is also a vent in the fly near the top of the door, which matches the vent in the top of the inner-tent's door.

The inner tent is made of a much finer and lighter fabric than I've seen before (not that I've seen a lot of new tents lately). There is a panel in the top of the inner door which can unzip to reveal a mesh panel for ventilation.

The tub floor also looks very strong (good - I don't use ground sheets). It appears to be marginally lighter/thinner than the tent floor on my 10 year old Macpac Olympus, but it is certainly tougher than most others and feels as though it should be plenty strong enough.

There is a smaller zip-opening on the rear side of the inner tent. This give reasonable access to the other covered area (a second vestibule) on that side. There are no true doors to this vestibule, either from the outside (through the fly) or the inside; only the small semi-circle zip-opening from the inside. However, access from the outside is easy by temporarily unhooking the fly from the peg. It would be easy to store the back pack and wet weather gear under that back side, to keep it out of the way of the main front entrance (and cooking area). Anything left in the pack or in the rear vestibule could still be easily accessed from inside the tent using the small zip-opening.

The built in pockets inside the side of the tent are less generous that I've seen in some tents. I think this is sensible for a small one-person tent, where stuffing the pockets full would end up occupying too much space within the tent. I don't usually put much in tent pockets, so it suits me, but others may use them more than I do.

There is plenty of space for 1 average sized male inside the tent, including enough ceiling height for sitting up and moving around without problems. The walls are steep near the floor, meaning that all of that floor space is actually useable. There is not much spare room inside the inner tent to bring other items in, but there is plenty of vestibule space on both the front and back sides.

The only negatives that I've found with this tent so far are the lack of integral pitch, and the small cross-pole at the top. What's wrong with the small pole at the top? Well, nothing really. It just looks odd to me. In my mind, poles should touch the ground at both ends, and this pole doesn't touch the ground at either end. I'm sure I'll get used to it. (Don't get me started on tents with 3 way pole joints.)

Part 2 - First Real Use Out Bushwalking and Further Information

Firstly, to answer a question I received (in a subsequent post), the fly seams are all taped, as are the seams in the tub floor. I set up the tent on very wet ground (just a few centimetres above water level) and there was no moisture at all that came through the floor. Overnight there was a small amount of condensation on the inside of the fly (as expected for a small tent on a still night) but none on the inner tent.

First time out in the Wild - front

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First time out in the Wild - back

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I found the tent to be narrower than my previous solo tent (so less elbow and knee room), but somewhat longer, at least in useable length (due to the steep walls). This turned out to be a better size that I'd thought after my initial practice set up at home, with plenty of room for keeping a few items inside the tent with me (including all my food, clothes, etc). The shape also means plenty of room at the roof, so sitting up, moving around, and getting dressed was much easier than in my previous solo tent.

I kept my pack under the fly at the back of the tent. It is very easy to access from the outside by unhooking the fly temporarily. The port hole on the back wall of the inner tent also gives excellent easy access to the pack and its contents, and anything else that might be stored in this additional 'vestibule'. I was surprised at how well this arrangement worked. If it has rained, I would have also kept my wet rain jacket/trousers out there also.

The front vestibule has plenty of room for storing my shoes, gaiters, stove, pots and other bits and pieces, while also providing room for cooking and entry/exit (although I didn't actually cook in the vestibule on this occasion - I very rarely do).

Part 3 - 14 Days Out Bush with the Goondie

After spending 14 days in the bush sleeping in only the Goondie (except for one night where I slept in a cave), I was very happy with it. It survived some VERY heavy rain with no problems. It did get a little wet during packing up and erecting due to the lack of integral pitch but that did not end up being much of a problem, with water not really soaking through the inner tent fabric in any amounts that I noticed. There were a couple of drips on the floor which came through the mesh during setting up, and they were easily wiped dry with my clothes.

Of the 6 tents on this two week expedition, the Goondie was the only one that did not get moisture through the floor (we camped in some very wet areas). The floor is quite tough and certainly waterproof.

Once set up, the top of the fly protrudes a few centimetres out from the tent and provides adequate protection from rain even with all doors fully open. However, it's a very near thing and it wouldn't take much wind at all from the wrong direction to require that the fly door be kept shut. I ended up leaving the fly half-to-three-quarters shut most of the time during rain. This provided good rain protection while maximising ventilation. Next time I should try out the feature of the rolling the fly part way up and attaching to the peg by rope as it is designed to do in hot/humid/rainy conditions (for better ventillation).

Over most of the tent, the fly is a VERY long way from the tent, and the only areas in which it is even remotely close to the inner tent it is also close to the poles. So the fly cannot come into contact with the inner tent removing the possibility of water seeping through by contact.

I've not yet had this tent out in strong winds, but have heard from others (see later in this topic) that their Goondie handled a wind storm very well while the tent next door got quite damaged.

Part 4 - In the Snow

I tried out the Goondie in snow on the BWT 5th Anniversary Walk (March 2012). There was already several cm of snow on the ground when I pitched the tent on the platform at Pelion. The snow continued to fall for most of the night.

The tent shed snow very well and I didn't feel the need to knock the snow off during the night at all. I got up for a call of nature once during the night so I dug the snow away from around the bottom of the fly to make sure that ventilation was maximised, but it was not really necessary (it was not pushing the fly enough for it to touch the tent).

This photo was taken immediately after getting out of bed the next morning...

Goondie in the Snow

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Summary and Conclusions

I've tried the tent in all conditions except for heavy wind and I've heard from others (in this topic) that their Goondie handled an other-tent-destroying wind storm OK.

I love the tent and if it got destroyed and I had a choice of any one person tent to buy right now, I'd buy the Goondie 1-15D. No doubt about it. It's a brilliant tent.

However, it's not perfect. My only real issues with the tent are quite minor:

• No integral pitch. In practice though, this is not a big deal. Even in heavy rainfall, the tent can only get so wet before the fly goes on. The inner fabric resists passing water through it quite well and it dries well again once covered.
• The port-hole on the back wall would be better with a mesh lining so that you could choose to leave the port-hole open for better ventilation without letting the mozzies in. I left it open a few nights anyhow, when there weren't many insects around, and I think it did improve ventilation.
• The velcro tabs that hold the fly to the poles should have built in heaters. They're very hard to manipulate when they're frozen and the fingers are numb!

Of course these would all increase the weight of the tent, so it's a trade off.

Disclaimer

All the usual caveats apply, including the fact that like anybody else, I will subconsciously want to justify my new acquisition, and will likely try to persuade myself, as well as any readers, that this tent is better than any other comparable tent I could have possibly bought, and will attempt to justify that position by whatever means may seem reasonable to me at the time.

Please note that One Planet became an advertiser on this web site after posting the first part of this review. I got a very good deal on this tent as part of that advertising deal. However, doing a tent review was not part of that deal and the content of this review is not influenced by it (at least consciously ).

[South_Aussie_Hiker]

Looks good! Apart from the slightly different pole layout, seems very similar to the MSR Hubba (more accurately, the Hubba HP version which has less mesh on the inner).

I can never work out whether to pack my tent in two parts or one. Packed as one it takes less space and is a fraction lighter, but then there's less flexibility with how I load my pack. Can never make up my mind on this.

[Mountain Rocket]

Thanks for this. Every time I go into Passion 8 I can not help myself from looking at the ones they have set up in there.
I do not think I will be buying one, but there seems to be some interesting design features.

I look forward to reading about how it performs in the field!

[ninjapuppet]

Nik,

Great review. Cost and weight?

Opposite your main door on the inner, theres a little semicircle zipper. is it big enough to fit your pack through? or is that just for you to reach out to empty the pee bottle at 3am?

Your tent colours look very similar to my Brooks Range Propel tent which also uses 15D silnylon in green and yellow, making me wonder if these 2 companies source their materials from the same supplier. Is yours taped? the interior of my propel is all taped up, unlike the golite shangrila which is not taped.

I havnt tested my 15D floors yet, but I really am weary of how they will go. Are your floors 15D too or just the fly?

[John Sheridan]

In what Universe is 1660 grams, considered Light ????

My whole YET TOP BE PURCHASED gear, including tent,Pack and Sleeping bag weighs in at 1.5 kg's, I guess thats Ultra Light !!!!

A Zpack tent is light at 350 grams, that's with all the gear needed, though the Goondie is probably a lot cheaper

Hope the tent works out for you.

Cheers.

[Empacitator]

In what Universe is 1660 grams, considered Light ????

My whole YET TOP BE PURCHASED gear, including tent,Pack and Sleeping bag weighs in at 1.5 kg's, I guess thats Ultra Light !!!!

A Zpack tent is light at 350 grams, that's with all the gear needed, though the Goondie is probably a lot cheaper

Hope the tent works out for you.

Cheers.

A Zpacks tent is also a very different kind of tent, I'm not sure what the point of your post is to be honest?

Thanks for the review Son of a Beach, out of interest what made you choose this tent and what else did you look at?

[John Sheridan]

So what does this tent do that a zpacks tent does not do ???


????

[stepbystep]

So what does this tent do that a zpacks tent does not do ???


????

Looks a hell of a lot more robust than the zpacks, apples and oranges I reckon.

Nice review Nik, I looked at this tent but the lack of integral pitch lost me.

[Empacitator]

So what does this tent do that a zpacks tent does not do ???


????

I like the Zpacks. I have one on order and am waiting to receive it, I'm not saying that it's a bad tent. But this isn't the right thread for this discussion.

[Gusto]

So what does this tent do that a zpacks tent does not do ???


????

The tents are very different, as are the people that are buying them (Different strokes for different folks). The two fundamental differences are design, fabric aswell as one key difference in quality/reputation of manufacturer .

Design:
* There is LOTS more space in the Goodie. The pole design enables this tent to have much more usable roof space (not necessarily floor space). Lots of campers prefer this as they have more room to wriggle and feel comfortable in.

* The Goodie has more poles and is freestanding. As a generalisation, it will survive harsher weather than any Z-pack tent. Lots of campers prefer to know that they tent has been "over engineered" for the climate they they sleep easy being confident that their tent will last the night.

* The goodie is a full double skin tent. It will be a much warmer tent to sleep in then a Z-packs tent. ESPECIALLY on a windy night. In a 2 person Goodie the warmth advantage over a 2 person Z-pack would be much more signifcant than the 1 person tents.

* The goodie has vents that can open and close. Z-pack tents are just naturally breezy all the time.

Fabric:
Weights of fabric are measured in denier or ounces (in USA). 24D is equivalent to 1oz

* The weight of the Goodie's fly fabric is either 15D (.63 oz) or 30D (1.3 oz), depending on the model. Zpacks fly fabric is either .51oz or .7oz depending on the model. So as you can see the Goodie Fly fabric is heavier by a little bit. Under a direct line of tension the fly fabrics of both brands can probably hold the same amount of weight before breaking. This is because the threads in the Cuben fiber are stronger than that of the Sil nylon so in strength the two tents are similar. However in durability, it is generally accepted that Silnylon will last longer than Cuben fiber. However to be fair, Cuben fiber is still a very new fabric to the market, and hasn't fully been given the chance to proove it's self.

* The much BIGGER fabric difference is the fact that the Goodie not only has a floor, but it's floor is 100D (4.2oz) compared to a Zpacks that have an optional mesh floor of .7oz or Cuben floor of .7 or 1.2oz. Floors tend to be the first part of a tent needing to be repaired as a sharp stick may have strached it etc. Many campers like knowing that they have a tough floor that is going to last them a few years. Unlike a Z-packs floor that may only last a single trip. This depends alot on how you care for your tent when pitching it and if you use a ground sheet or not etc. The flip side is that it's very easy to patch small holes in tent floors too, especially with cuben.


Manufactuer:
* One Planet are a well established manufacturer with a reputation that they don't want to tarnish by selling a product that is likely to break if misused. Their gear is forsale in shops that any tom, dick, harry or sally off the street could buy. They don't want to make a tent that has fabrics that are so delicate that it will be broken quickly in the wrong hands and consequently need to be returned for repair. Which is complete contrast to Zpacks. The only people who buy Zpacks have hunted them down online and are gear freaks who understand how gear should best be treated. In turn it means that Zpacks can make ultra light gear and be confident that the gear will be treated with care. This is a common difference between cottage manufacturers and larger brands.

Almost all the differences mentioned above add weight, by extra fabric, extra zips, extra poles, heavier fabric etc.

Given that it sounds like you are about to buy a Zpack. it's worth you understand these things before diving in and buying a cuben fiber tent. It's also worth you know that Cuben fiber is best taped and not sewn. Zpacks sew their cuben gear. If I bought a tent from them, I would probably want to go to a local sailing shop and buy 50 or 75mm wide mylar tape and tape the seams. But then again, that's only because I like the idea of being slightly over engineered. I also wouldn't be pitching my a zpacks tent to early in the day to reduce the uv damage.

If this is your first tent then I would discourage you from buying a cuben tent. Your probably better off spending $100 buying something like a luxe mini peak tent. If you use that without an inner it's very light. If you decide you like that tent then you would be ready to commit to a smaller, light Zpacks version.

[John Sheridan]

Always open to advice from experts, which I am NOT

It is a bit hard not to want a Zpack tent, I mean it's 350g with everything, pegs,pole,rope,ground sheet, I want to be an Ultra light backpacker/camper/Fisherman/hiker and the lightest tents up from this are probably 600,700,800,900,100 kg.

the tent you recommended was 1.3 kg, not what I call light.

When your ultralight and a one person camper every gram counts and you really need to get the lightest,tent,bag and pack, and even sleeping mat.

I guess if I do get the zpacks I will have to take care of it.

Cheers.

[Gusto]

The Luxe tent is lighter than that if you don't use the Inner. Also if you spent $12 you could get titanium pegs that would save you another about 200grams.

I suspect the outer and pegs would weigh 700grams perhaps. I'll tell you when mine arrives in a week or so. I realise it's heavier, it's also much bigger and cheaper and more durable. The main reason I am actually getting it is because my employer offers a budget for gear and I am able to get that tent for free and potentially buy other things in the future with the remainder. For my purposes, the tent is very light. My pack weight would regularly be over 20kg. Sometimes even over 30kgs when I need to carry lots of water.

First aid and comms alone is over 3kgs, so 700 grams on a tent isn't bad. I'm contemplating getting titanium pegs though.

[Son of a Beach]

Nik,

Great review. Cost and weight?

Opposite your main door on the inner, theres a little semicircle zipper. is it big enough to fit your pack through? or is that just for you to reach out to empty the pee bottle at 3am?

Your tent colours look very similar to my Brooks Range Propel tent which also uses 15D silnylon in green and yellow, making me wonder if these 2 companies source their materials from the same supplier. Is yours taped? the interior of my propel is all taped up, unlike the golite shangrila which is not taped.

I havnt tested my 15D floors yet, but I really am weary of how they will go. Are your floors 15D too or just the fly?

I haven't weighed it (I'm not really a gram counter), but the specs say it is 1.6kg, total packed weight. The little semi-circular zipper hole gives access to the back vestibule, but the hole is quite small. Not big enough to fit the entire pack through, but enough to manage items which are stored in that vestibule, and to bring almost anything into/out of the tent/vestibule (the entire pack could be put in/out of there from the outside, by temporarily slipping the fly off its peg on that side.

I didn't look closely enough to see if it was taped. I'll have to check that next time I get it out.

[Son of a Beach]

In what Universe is 1660 grams, considered Light ????

My whole YET TOP BE PURCHASED gear, including tent,Pack and Sleeping bag weighs in at 1.5 kg's, I guess thats Ultra Light !!!!

A Zpack tent is light at 350 grams, that's with all the gear needed, though the Goondie is probably a lot cheaper

Hope the tent works out for you.

Cheers.

I'm far from a light-weight walker. 1.6kg is considered light-weight by many people for whom weight is not as high a priority as it is for you. It is also light-weight when compared to my 2 person Macpac Olympus, which I would trust in just about anything short of a cyclone. Certainly when you look at the full range of 1 person tents available, it is lighter than many comparable tents on the market. I don't think the Zpacks is comparable, and I think it is aimed at a different segment of the market. My priorities are that it must be able to handle substantial wind and rain storms, heavy overnight snow (without needing to be knocked off every half-hour during the night), double skin (for warmth and condensation), tough floor (I don't want to have to carry a second floor).

I'm also constrained by what I know. I know that the materials, design and construction of this tent should hold up to all the conditions that I get caught out in from time to time (in theory, at least). However, I do not know enough about the newer materials, and the more minimalist designs and constructions to be sure I can trust them. They may be fine, but I've not heard enough to make me confident in them yet.

From the little I have read of the Zpack tents they are not something I would trust in some of the conditions I walk in. Not because they are inferior, but they don't appear to be built to meet my requirements (whether my requirements are sensible may be another matter altogether).

Yes, I would say that 1.5 kg for all that gear is ultra-light. I'm not sure what your point is there.

I think we're in the same universe - perhaps just different planets, or at least just different climates; or maybe, dare I say it, simply different priorities when selecting gear.

[Son of a Beach]

Thanks for the review Son of a Beach, out of interest what made you choose this tent and what else did you look at?

I had a look at several tents over the last few years. I even bought one a couple of years ago (full review of that other tent is here), but sold it again when I found that it did not handle heavy overnight snow very well (I had to keep bumping the snow off during the night - read right through the linked topic). I was very seriously considering a pyramid style tent, in particular the Go Lite Shangri La. However, I would have had to modify it, or get a custom made inner tent for it to make it meet my requirements (I'm not that keen on all-mesh inners, although it may just be because I'm not used to dealing with that draftiness in mid-winter in Tassie); and to be honest, I just wasn't sure about the Pyramid style - again, just something I'm not used to.

Some other tents I've considered are: Hillebergs (Unna, Soulo, Nallo 2); Tarptent Scarp 1; and others (see here for some of my thoughts on some of the alternatives).

The reason why I chose this tent are two-fold:

Firstly, I've got a lot of respect for One Planet due to the quality of their products, based on my own experience and that of many other people I know who've used them. They are not an ultra-light manufacturer, and I'm not an ultra-light consumer. They appear to be very good at strong quality gear, and also very good at customer service.

Secondly, I wrote to them (after first hearing about and writing about the new Goondie tents in this topic) and came up with a good deal for a new tent (in return for advertising on this web site - note that deal does not involve writing a review. ). So in other words, I got the tent very cheap. This was a big deal to me, because I was thinking I would have to wait another year or two before I could afford to buy a decent 1 person tent.

Cost played a big part in my previous tent purchase too - it was on my short list at the time, and I found a very cheap deal on it from an online retailer. Unfortunately, that other tent did not perform to my expectations so I sold it soon afterwards, for a small loss. I'm expecting more from this new tent, but only time will tell.

My other (2 person) tent that I still have cost me nothing - it was a wedding present. Before that my first ever bushwalking tent (which lasted for many years before being damaged in a storm at Mt Anne) cost me $90. So as you can see, cost has always been a big factor in tent choices for me.

[Gusto]

I am very interested in hearing about the performance of the 15D sil nylon. It is a very rare grade of fabric as most brands of 30D silnylon. I think Golite use 20D silnylon.

I would also like to see the Goodie tested against the WE Ace UL as I see the two tents as being very similar. Only out of curiosity, I personally am unlikely to be buying either for my needs.

[Son of a Beach]

Oops... I think the short pole on the top is supposed to go under the two long poles. I had it over the top of them, and I do recall that the tension seemed a bit extreme to me at the time. So the photos in the first post show a slightly incorrect setup. I might replace them if I get better photos, later on.

I reckon that changing this and adjusting the straps at the bottom 4 corners will result in a much nicer pitch in terms of tension and creases. I'm hoping to find out if I manage to go walking this weekend.

It's also clear from those photos just how thin the inner-tent fabric is. Without any light coming from behind the tent, you can see the back of the tent through the fabric of the front (zips, seams, etc). It's not as transparent as cuben fibre (from the photos I've seen), but it is somewhat more transparent than what I'm used to. The fly is marginally more transparent that the fly fabrics of other tents I've owned too, but substantially more opaque than the inner tent.

[Franco]

Looks to me that the top cross pole is set correctly as it is the inner in freestanding mode.
It looks to me that the floor is not square .
The problem is the right corner on the long non door side.
That one should be further away and further out than it is (probably only 3-5cm...)
If you look at the floor the corner that is set wrong will have ripple like wrinkles coming from it.
Franco

[photohiker]

Thanks for the review Nik. What are the packed dimensions in the single bag?

Like: Vertical sides, ventilation, colour, guy pockets.

Not so like: Lack of integral pitch, weight is a bit high (probably all those poles) Looks to have limited internal space, and rear vestibule access seems a bit of a faff.

Like any tent, you are going to have to be careful pitching and taking down in the wind. Without integral pitch, you have two wind catching sails to manage rather than just one. I'd be pegging the inner before taking down the fly..

Look forward to actual usage review.

[Son of a Beach]

Agreed. I'd be pegging it all down any time I pitch any tent anyhow, so no problem there for me.

I'll try to remember to measure the packed size next time I get a chance. In the meantime, the photos show it sitting on regular modern floor boards, which should give some perspective.

[South_Aussie_Hiker]

In the meantime, the photos show it sitting on regular modern floor boards, which should give some perspective.

Floorboards look like Tasmanian Oak!

[etrangere]

Great post 'Son of a Beach'.

I just purchased a MSR Hubba about 4 - 5 weeks ago but had I seen your post I would have gone for one of these tents instead. The main advantages for me over the MSR Hubba are:

Slightly larger floor space
Less mesh in the inner tent - better for keeping out sand/snow
The small zipper opening to the non entry side - allows use of that space even if just for small items such as boots etc
Poles pack better - my main gripe with the Hubba is the hub and swivel pole design packs down into an bulky/untidy mess compared to the slim/tidy packing of the Goondie poles

Lol anyone want an almost brand new msn hubba???

[Son of a Beach]

In the meantime, the photos show it sitting on regular modern floor boards, which should give some perspective.

Floorboards look like Tasmanian Oak!

Yeah, where I live "regular floor boards" means Tasmanian Oak. Are there any other kind of floor boards (apart from particle board)?

(Estimating off the two photos above, and guessing a standard 80mm 85mm floor board width, I would guess the packed dimensions of the tent would be 55 x 15 cm - with the fly included all in the one bag. Lets see how accurate that is when I get around to actually measuring it.)

[sthughes]

Great review Nik.

These look like a real competitor to the Hubba HP. Do you want a tougher floor, more room and more stability or do you want outer pitch first and 300g lighter? Personally I'd probably go the Aussie One Planet (albeit made in China) as I rarely need to pitch the outer first anyway. For an extra 110g and $30 less the 30d version might be tempting too, especially for frequent users. Shame about the colour on the heavier model though!

A couple of things I like better than the Hubba HP is the way the fly clips to the inner/poles at the ends, closeable vents and the fact they have included two larger pegs for the heavily loaded vestibule peg outs.

I'd love to see a modular setup for this style of tent where you could replace the short pole with a full length one that supports the vestibule area for when the weather looks bad. As the side elevation can catch a fair bit of wind as is.

Look forward to seeing this thing in the wild. Be interesting to see how water resistant the inner fabric is.

BTW floor boards are 85mm not 80mm

[Son of a Beach]

The packed dimensions of the tent, when all in the one bag (fly included) is 52 x 11 cm.

(I'll add this to the original post too, to keep this kind of useful information in one place).

[marangaroo86]

15D Fabric
Is there a down side to using this lighter fabric?
wear & Tear?
Snow weight?
Stretching?
I have noticed some newer UL tents using this 15D, other tents are 30D and 40D.
What is the differance other than weight?
Can 15D handle wind and snow?

THANKS
Marangaroo

P.S Goondie looks like a very nice solo tent.

[gayet]

If worried about the strength, go for the 1-30D. Weight difference is only 110g total (1.66kg to 1.77kg), hardly noticable really. From the specs that appears to be the only difference between them. If I ever feel the need for a 2 person tent I'd seriously consider the 2-15D 1.96kg or 2.12 for the 2-30D

[Son of a Beach]

I've finally got around to taking this tent bushwalking. It was only a 1 nighter, and the weather was quite reasonable (quite cold, and a bit windy, but nothing that really pushed the limits of the tent). I'll probably ramble on over the course of a few posts as I think of things to add to this topic, but I plan to eventually summarise the main points in the 2 reserved posts near the beginning so that all the essential information is in one place.

Firstly, to answer an earlier question... Yes, the fly seams are all taped, as are the seams on the tub floor. The tape is transparent and not easily noticed at first glance, but it appears to be a good seal.

I set it up with the small cross pole under the larger poles this time. It was certainly easier this way, but made the top of the fly less taught, but the rest of the tent looked much better. When drying the tent out at home, I realised that there are velcro loops under the fly to attach it to the poles. I really should read the pitching instructions one day.

I deliberately set up the tent on a very wet area. The floor certainly did not let any moisture through at all. As with any solo tent, there is a tendency for condensation, however this was confined to the fly, with no condensation in the inner-tent at all (except on my sleeping bag which seems to suffer from this a lot - very weird). In a few spots where water had dripped off the fly onto the inner-tent, it did not seep through to the inside at all.

I found the tent to be narrower than my previous solo tent (so less elbow and knee room), but somewhat longer, at least in useable length (due to the steep walls). This turned out to be a better size that I'd thought after my initial practice set up at home, with plenty of room for keeping a few items inside the tent with me (including all my food, clothes, etc). The shape also means plenty of room at the roof, so sitting up, moving around, and getting dressed was much easier than in my previous solo tent.

I kept my pack under the fly at the back of the tent. It is very easy to access from the outside by unhooking the fly temporarily. The port hole on the back wall of the inner tent also gives excellent easy access to the pack and its contents, and anything else that might be stored in this additional 'vestibule'. I was surprised at how well this arrangement worked. If it has rained, I would have also kept my wet rain jacket/trousers out there also.

The front vestibule has plenty of room for storing my shoes, gaiters, stove, pots and other bits and pieces, while also providing room for cooking and entry/exit (although I didn't actually cook in the vestibule on this occasion - I very rarely do).

It's difficult to be certain, but judging by the shape and rigidity of this tent, I think it will handle heavy snow quite well. The steep sides means that most of the snow should just slide off, with the small flattish area on top being where three poles cross should be quite strong.

I still need more practice setting up this tent, to get a tighter pitch (although my second attempt was definitely better than the first), and also to do it faster, which would be desirable in heavy rain.

[phan_TOM]

Thanks for the top notch review SOAB, very comprehensive first look even if it was done in your 'tame' backyard and its first nights in the wild look like it is off to an auspicious beginning, stunning spot and weather.

Appears to be a very nice little tent & just like modern cars it seems that a number of modern tents are looking more and more similar all the time, cetainly looks like it is ticking a lot of boxes to me. I've been casually looking at upgrading to a new, lighter 1-man tent and this one, helped along by your report, is definitely on the list. Even if it is made in China, One Planet are a reputable brand & I love my Mcmillan.

When drying the tent out at home, I realised that there are velcro loops under the fly to attach it to the poles. I really should read the pitching instructions one day.

I discovered that our car camping tent has these also, except it only took me a year or so (more like two ) to work it out. Makes for a much tighter pitch and all the doors/windows now line up a lot better (bah! who needs instructions...)

[etrangere]

The ability to place your pack on the non entry side and still access it sounds great. Makes the entry side less cluttered and possibly easier to get in and out of I suspect, esp if you have stove, boots etc on the entry side.