Tent recommendations please

[SS23]

Hello,

I've just moved to Australia, NSW, and would like to take up multi-day trekking here.
I did the Abel Tasman in NZ last year and loved it. I've also camped a lot and am comfortable with it, I just haven't carried a tent hiking before. So I've been looking for a durable one-person light tent - im not built or super-strong, so am interested in light/ ultra-light!

I don't like spending money on cheap stuff that doesn't last, but haven't found a lot of options outside of the US - so far I've looked at 'Agnes' but have read lots of negative reviews, Six Moon Design has rave reviews but is v costly, and have learnt about the differences between nylon, polyester, dynemma.... along the way! Finally I've arrived at Tarptents 'blemished' reduced price tents that will cost another $100 shipping and VAT, but are more reasonably priced than others and get solid reviews.
It'd be great to get any views on Tarptents and recommendations of any other brands I haven't come across.

Also, whichever brand the tent is, do people think its better too go with mesh or solid interior (of a double-walled tent) - mesh seems better for summer but I've read it isn't great for changing conditions...

Many thanks for your help!!
SS

[ribuck]

If you're buying a Tarptent, then "blemished" is the way to go. Their repair tape bonds so well that you'll hardly notice where it has been applied.

You may wish to start with a more mainstream tent for your first hiking tent, and I think the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL1 is a pretty good option - light and liveable.

[Warin]

will cost another $100 shipping and VAT,

Welcome of Oz. VAT is GST out here.

Also, whichever brand the tent is, do people think its better too go with mesh or solid interior (of a double-walled tent) - mesh seems better for summer but I've read it isn't great for changing conditions...

For most Australasia conditions mesh is the way to go. Only for snow or near snow conditions would you need a solid inner.

The present exchange rate is not good ... tents come up second hand occasionally, keep an eye out.

[SS23]

Thanks, both!

Warin, the interior of the 'blemished' tarptent im looking it is 2/3 solid, 1/3 mesh - do you think this could get too hot and sticky?
Might be cheeky and ask them if they'll swop the interior...
Great tip on second hand - there's a 2 person tarptent on fb marketplace right now...

[headwerkn]

We have two Tarptents - Double Rainbow Li and Pro Trail Li. They're great designs, very well made and - ignoring the whole buy-sight-unseen-from-overseas aspect and the recent USD-AUD nosedive - offer excellent value for money compared to the usual mainstream offerings (MSR, Big Agnes, Mont, One Planet etc) in our local market. Particularly if going lightweight is key.

You'll only want a solid inner in proper winter conditions. Too warm otherwise. Once upon a time my only tent was a Snowgum Storm Shelter. Great in snow, but usually cooked in it the rest of the year!

[SS23]

Thanks, Headwerkn!
Do you reckon apart solid/ part mesh interior will be a cooker too?
I know im trying to convince myself the tarptent on sale will be okay, but also have memories of boiling in an army surplus storage tent as a kid!

[headwerkn]

Both of ours are single-wall DCF tents so perhaps not an apples-for-apples comparison if you're looking at a double-wall tent.

The Double Rainbow's entrances are mostly mesh with the lower third-ish solid sil-nylon for a bit of spindrift/draught protection; in combination with the end "mesh gutters" it's pretty good at catching and circulating any breeze about. In warm (and dry) conditions we usually have either or both sides open or porch-mode'd overnight to help the tent breathe better and limit condensation. Obviously your sleep system will have a big effect on your overall sleep comfort too.

[Biggles]

MONT (Canberra/ACT) makes the very well respected Moondance 1 and Moondance 2 tents (1 and 2 person respectively, with the Moondance 1 pretty roomy for one person and their pack), available in both solid wall or mesh inner. In Australian summers e.g. in a rainforest or down at the beach or anywhere with persistently balmy and warm temperatures, day and night, a mesh inner is far more preferable than a tent with a solid wall, which will get stuffy as the temperature rises, and act like a refrigerator/freezer in colder weather (e.g. camping in the snow)! The Moondance is a very small, compact tent with just one, taut, 'X' shaped elasticised pole that makes set up way too quick and simple — when doing things quickly and simply really count, for example, after a day of hot and bothesome walking! If you need to shift it, no big deal: unhook the floor loops from the pegs, lift it up and resposition. Move pegs at our leisure (the Moondance tents don't necessarily need to be pegged down if there is gear (and you!) inside). These Mont tents are not cheap, made in the same Vietnam factory as The North Face garments. All tents are incredibly expensive nowadays. In 2009 I bought my first Moondance 1 for $459. In 2020 I bought my second and it almost $940. It — along with everything else, has gone up moreso since then!! I'm not dreamin'...

Can also recommend Macpac's Minaret (solid wall only) or Duolight (mesh/solid wall mix). The Minaret will pass for 4 season use and is mighty roomy and cosy for cold, foul weather camping, whilel their Duolight is somewhere between the Minaret and the Moondance, only bigger and a smidgeon heaver, but sill very fast to erect and pack away. MSR make similar tents, but I am not sure if they are all mesh/mixed mesh-solid wall or what.

Maybe resist the temptation to buy from overseas due to the lame exchange, and very especially, the fact that anything you buy will be ensnared by Customs with GST payable on top of everything else! Also avoid Facebook marketplace unless you have an excellent grasp of profiling the seller, and have no reservations in trusting them, even then with some extant risk. Unfortunately in my experience, and that of burnt friends trading on FB, it is the worst place to think of going when honesty and integrity count. Buyer Beware.

[SS23]

Thanks for the info, Biggles!
I was actually just looking at the Mont Batcave 2 on sale and trying to figure out if it's a great find or a lemon...
Appreciate the warning about fb marketplace too.

[SS23]

The bat cave 2 is a 'second' for $99 - says the tension on the inside pocket is wrong and it won't come under their warranty... bargain?
Yes, im tight with $$!

[vagrom]

Try a Macpac Microlight. Traditionally very popular in Tassie, amongst the hardies. Poly Vinyl floor used to be good for pitching over swamp. Not sure with the updates.

[Biggles]

The bat cave 2 is a 'second' for $99 - says the tension on the inside pocket is wrong and it won't come under their warranty... bargain?
Yes, im tight with $$!

If a floppy pocket is the only thing that has caused the tent to fail QC, it is worth a look, but make an enquiry with them just to make sure. The pockets normally have a taut, flush profile against the inner, stretching slightly to accommodate trinkets.

I presume you have trekking poles to act as supports for the tent? You might need to seek out a site carefully if there are strong winds. There would be quite a flap from the tent fly's offset with the inner.

[SS23]

Thanks, Biggles. Do you say there will be quite a flap from the tens fly because of the design of this? i.e. the fly and tent are only minimally attached to each other. Would this put you off it?

I've contacted Mont for more info. Still thinking of getting a 'blemished' tarptent as their covered by their full warranty...

Sorry for all the questions - I've slept in a lot of tents in my life but as the market for light hiking tents is so pricey I want to make the right choice!

[Moondog55]

So much depends on where and when you are going.
If sun and bug protection is more important then I tend to big fly sheet tarps and a mesh tent inner, if snow and/or big bad weather is the norm than I want all the protection I can get and for that I'm prepared to carry extra weight. Ditto remarks about you height and such as many tents only suit people on the smaller end of the scale and feel crowded when solo in a nominally 2P tent. I'd buy the Mont second for bug protection myself if I was one of these such people and use any cheap fly with it for mild weather use.
Experienced tarp campers have ways of dealing with wild weather, often using more pegs and extra guy cords etc
One of our members uses this tarp
https://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/grand- ... Abrigo-Fly

I use this one because I'm a cheapskate.
https://www.snowys.com.au/hiker-fly
Currently out of stock but there are others just as cheap around.

[gonebush]

Hi SS and welcome,

In the past I have had a range of MSR tents and couldn't fault them as light but definitely not ultralight tents. Importantly, I have also had great after sales service which has made it easy to get extra life out of the tents and make repairs. I'm now using Big Agnes Copper Spur (1 and 2p) and have found them to be good tents so far, although I haven't had any really windy weather in them yet and can't comment on how robust they will over time.

In terms of mesh, I liked the old MSR Hubba Hubba mix which was part mesh inner, it provided good ventilation and also privacy when used without the fly, which I would do quite a bit in central Aus. I find that the more mesh in the inner, decreases the condensation and I just take a warmer sleeping bag for colder regions. This has only failed me once in Tassie, where wind driven snow was able to get between the tent and the mesh

cheers

[Biggles]

Thanks, Biggles. Do you say there will be quite a flap from the tens fly because of the design of this? i.e. the fly and tent are only minimally attached to each other. Would this put you off it?

I've contacted Mont for more info. Still thinking of getting a 'blemished' tarptent as their covered by their full warranty...

Sorry for all the questions - I've slept in a lot of tents in my life but as the market for light hiking tents is so pricey I want to make the right choice!

Yes, tents are pretty exxy nowadays. I won't be buying any other tents when the service life of the existing trio are completed — a comfy campervan will be just fine!

If you happen to have the misfortune of a vigorous wind striking the front or the rear of the Batcave, that wind will have a turbulence affect in the space between the fly and the inner. Tents like dome and tunnel designs have the fly pulled taut close down to ground level, with no wide open spaces between the roof and inner that could cause an intensely irritating buffeting affect— and I do mean truly infuriating when you are tired and trying to sleep! To a great extent, you would have to select your tent site carefully to take advantage of any shelter present, and pay attention to any ominous signs of impending bad weather, especially in summer with wild thunderstorms, furious wind and intense rainfall.

None of the above precludes the problems I have had with extreme weather in the Mont Moondance 1. Exhibit A: At Sealers Cove, Wilsons Promontory in 2009, a warm and balmy day gave way to an eerily calm evening with progressively heavier, threatening clouds. By 10pm that night, the weather broke into violent crashes of thunder, blinding flashes of lightning and a wind that was truly frighening.I was battling to keep myself dry within the Moondance 1 with a problem I had not experienced before: horizontally-driven pelting rain came under the skirt and saturated the inner tent. The howling wind (really spooky!!), despite the shelter afforded by pitching in a gully, lept over the scrub and belted the tent in all directions. By morning, the storm had cleared. The tent had lost 3 pegs somewhere! Long story short, the weather there held out only for 2 hours before another furious storm touched down. Drenched like a pickle, I was annoyed how sunny, warm and dry at was Tidal River!!

The Batcave 'second' is "probably" right for you, taking into account the above observations about where to pitch it, shelter and potential weaknesses caused by wild weather. Don't ask too much of it in the notoriously changeable summer weather, an example of which are are having at this time, with summer a virtual no-show in November!!

[north-north-west]

Unless you want blizzard- and bomb-proof, you can't really beat Tarptent on value for money. The designs are great, the quality control is good and the materials are strong enough for most normal conditions.

[Hiking Exped]

Just to throw in a curve ball and something very different (I have used many tents) and these days use mostly a cheap, light, flexible and durable tent called Illumina ultralight from Novasport in Melbourne. It’s got a crab style one piece folding pole system, four seasons, half inner mesh, great in hot and cold, takes a bit of snow, comes with an extra footprint, can fit two, so is spadeful for one, can be set up external fly first if pouring, weighs about 1300g without extra foot print and bag, 1600g if you take the lot and costs about $250. I am in love with mine, but very much a personal preference thing too.

[Joynz]

Hi SS23
It would be helpful to get an idea of your budget, the max weight you will accept in a tent, and if you walk with poles.

[Warin]

H8 SS23
It would be helpful to get an idea of your budget, the max weight you will accept in a tent, and if you walk with poles.

The usual response would be;
cheap
good quality, and
light weight.

And the following response would be "Pick two."

[Joynz]

Do you walk with poles?

[Biggles]

Do you walk with poles?

Definitely a prerequisite for the Batcave, unless the OP is happy to wander far and wide looking for two robust sticks to hold the caboodle snug and tight...

[Stamina]

I have two tents i've been using this year. The Nemo Hornet 2P and the Macpac Duolight. Both great tents.
Really like the Hornet when I'm on my own as it's so quick to set up and disassemble in the mornings with cold hands. 1kg weight.
The Duolight I bought for wet and cold Tassie conditions. 2.2kgs
Also very happy with it.

[rcaffin]

2-man tunnel tents.

5621c.jpg (63.12 KiB) Viewed 14984 times

It survived (very well) a night on Mt Anton in a bit of a storm: 100 kph wind and snow all night. We slept OK. (This photo was morning before.)
Yeah, well it was a silly place to camp, right on the crest of the Main Range in mid-winter. But visibility was down to about 1 m.

Cheers
roger

[johnw]

That's a very long tunnel tent Roger. Single wall? How does it go with condensation?
Although in those conditions I guess it wouldn't matter as it would ice up.

[rcaffin]

That's a very long tunnel tent Roger.
Not that long. 3500 mm long over all, 2200 mm for the groundsheet, a very small amount at the windward end and the rest is the lee vestibule. The last holds our packs, is room for changing when wet, and is my cooking area. Yes, that is longer than a minimal tarp, but it is a double-skin WINTER tent for living in.
Worrying about 200 g extra weight when ski touring in our Alps in poor weather is just plain stupid. We want to enjoy ourselves, not struggle to survive.

How does it go with condensation?
That depends on several things.
The biggest one is whether there is any wind: if there is a breeze the water vapour gets flushed out and the inside is dry.
Mind you, at -15 C overnight there can be some frost on the inside of the fly in the morning. If there is no wind overnight then there can be condensation on the fly and even, at -10 C, on the inside of the inner tent. What do you expect?

0821.jpg (80.18 KiB) Viewed 14966 times

We were at FourWays on the upper Geehi one night with a little breeze, and in the morning the inside of the tent was dry. And the sun was shining. Who's complaining?

Cheers

[johnw]

That's a nice set up Roger, I didn't realise it was double skinned. Sounds cosy if you were stuck in a blizzard, but seems like nothing is totally condensation free.
Far more spacious than either of my one man tents. They both weigh under 1kg, which makes my dodgy knee happy, but are 3 season at best.
I've wandered about the main range in summer often but never camped up there, and no snow camping.
If I did I'd take my older WE Second Arrow, which is more than twice as heavy but much better suited to those conditions.
Yes, comfort and coming home in good condition are the goals.

[rcaffin]

The following photos were taken in almost exactly the same position. The first was in the late afternoon; the second was next morning. The corn snow on the tent overnight was like a machine gun. But we were warm, well-fed and dry.

We left without visibility, traveling by compass. Sue in front trying to avoid holes and rocks, me behind say 'a bit more left' and so on. With the right gear, it is not an epic.

Cheers
Roger

[north-north-west]

That's one of your home-made specials, isn't it, Roger? Nice. What's the packed weight?

[rcaffin]

Yes. It is the first double-skin winter tent I made: 3 poles.
It is indeed totally waterproof, being made from Dimension Polyant Titan fabric. (The fabric was originally made for long-duration high altitude balloons for NASA. Extremely UV-resistant. They sent me a few metres for testing - but I had to pay the Fed-Ex freight!)
It has since been superceded by the red 4-pole tent whose photo I posted on Friday 6th 4:45 pm.
The red tent weighs
Fabric: 1430 g (breathable inner, silnylon outer & silnylon groundsheet)
Poles: 370 g (4 poles, carbon fibre)
Snow pegs: 400 g (ultra-reliable titanium angles plus Ti dead-man anchors for the ends, designed for the snow)
Total packed wt: 2200 g (for 2 people inc poles & pegs)

The orange tent is 1954 g withOUT pegs. Easton aluminium poles. Breathable inner.

You can have much lighter tarps, pop-ups and so on, but the red tent just sat there with a 100 kph storm blasting it all night on top of Mt Anton on the Main Range one winter. A very silly place to camp of course, but at that stage I had about 1 m visibility and had to watch how the snow balls from my snowshoes rolled to be able to tell up from down. I KNEW the tent could handle that.

We could have gone down the gully from the saddle that evening - but that had a 10+ m cornice which I fell over in the morning - zero visibility. I bounced. Given the sub-zero weather and the wind up top, Sue jumped off the edge to join me below. No, I do not have any photos of the cornice! Sue did comment that the wind was a bit much: she kept falling (being blown) over.

Cheers
Roger