Bushwalk Australia

G'day

Im trying to get into the whole camping scenario and i want to buy myself a solo tent for following reasons

Its lightweight
Less Space
Quicker Setup

I don't really see the use in taking a bigger tent unless its a group trip and other participant's don't have tents. For me smaller = better for above reasons.

Now although i mentioned wanting a one person solo tent i am leaning towards getting a 2 person variation of some designs listed below because its a bit roomier. I could take a partner with me or store my gear in the extra space.

I have looked at the

Euereka Spitfire(my fav, only problem is the 1200mm rating, is this enough to keep rain out?)
Black Wolf - Mantis (Aussie made, high water rating, thin flooring though)
Darche Hornet (Aussie made, Highest water rating and denier, one door only)
Mountain Hardware Sprite 1 (No two person variation, very durable and great pricepoint)

$200 would probably be the height of my budget. Give or take a little. I cant really see the point in spending $500 on a solo tent, to my understanding they were meant to be cheaper and better for above reasons due to sacrificing tent space.

What conditions are you intending on using the tent in? People will be able to give more informed advice. I was not aware that there were solo tents as cheap as the Eureka Spitfire, although I am very happy with my recent purchase of a Laser Competition 1. It looks like the Eureka Spitfire would be about $150 with ground sheet.

Most likely i wont be using it in winter. I'll probably by another tent purely for that at a later date.

Im only just getting into camping. I usually go with other people and sleep in bigger tents ,however i'd like to start getting outdoors more.

Hiking seems perfect. And i can use it for general camping until i buy a second bigger tent as im not fussed with the amount of space.
Im not gonna be scaling mountains or anything extreme. But id like something decent enough to make it enjoyable.

I suppose the last thing is rain. I'm not going to be camping in torrential rain, the sensible thing would be to pack it up and leave it for another date. However it would be nice if the tent could put up with heavy rain to a degree.

I posted this on another popular US trail website and so far i've been recommended lightheart gear solo tent http://www.lightheartgear.com/LightHeart_Gear/Solo.html

I suppose a few dot points are

-->Needs to be able to withstand heavy rain(Not stormy monsoon weather)
-->Doesn't need to be suited to winter (I'll by a tent for that at later stage if need be, but i can't see myself camping in snow or freezing weather to warrant it)
-->I like windows and lots of mesh
-->I like some wind resistance
-->I like lightweight
-->Must be spacious enough for a bit of gear or have a decent amount of storage outside inner tent

When it really boils down to it i want something that i can see out of to make it seem a lil more spacious and i want something that will last.
I cant have it leaking every five minutes when i get a bit of rain and i can't have the floors being paper thin even though ill most likely get or make a footprint for it.

Hey mate,
I bought a mantis I (in bright 'look at me' yellow ) as my first "proper" tent a while back.

Haven't had any major problems or concerns with it. (also had no idea it was aussie made??)
It's symmetric and has spacious vestibules on either side (more than enough room for a pack).
There are small little ventillation areas on the extreme ends of it which you open up by velcro. I've had a bit of condensation on the inside walls once or twice but it must have been very still nights. If it's a dry night you can also roll the outter fly up, exposing the 'no-see-um' mesh which should mitigate most condensation (although I stupidly had not considered doing this before typing this response )
I'm 6ft tall and it's long enough to sleep in without hitting the foot of the tent with your feet, etc. but from memory I don't think there was enough room to sit upright. Though you can regulate the height of the tent by flexing the main pole more and pegging the ends closer together.

Haven't had any problems with waterproofness of the floor and it's been in a few puddles for extended periods

I remember I didn't buy the mantis II because if you actually set it up and look at it, it appears too 'square-ish' didn't look like being an optimally shaped 2-manner (unless you sleep with your arms outstretched lol), which is in contrast to the side-angle 'media' shot (where it looks quite good):


Negatives:
Mass: the website says 1.9kegs, (I'll weigh mine at home but it shouldn't deviate too much from this). Are you going to join the 'ultralight' bandwagon and look for something lighter in 6months time? You may be better off spending 250$+ now, instead of sub-200$ and then another 200$+ on a different tent. (e.g. some american stuff floating around sub 1kg and even a 525g tent -> here.) But of course we don't know your plans so if you're not doing any 30k days soon it may not be an issue

Mesh 'tubes' where you put the poles through when setting it up: Maybe I'm just paranoid here but to set it up you have to push the poles through a mesh-tube area. It hasn't happened yet but I think it's only a matter of time before I pierce the mesh using the end of the pole while setting up in the dark/in a hurry, etc. so I'm always careful about that, but I think there's a better material they could have used there.

Opening fly up in the rain: Hard to explain but I remember a problem where if I opened up the fly there was just enough of a gap for rain coming vertically down to land within the 'bathtube' inner section. If I set it up again I'll probably remember what my concern was - haven't used it in a while.


Tbh I quite like the Sprite 1 from your list, nice and tall too but I don't know the price/stockists or manufacturer. My Mantis I was I think 160$ or so, and I don't think the Mantis II should not cost more than 210$, irrespective of whatever 300$+ RRP they say it is.

As flatfoot says, if you provide more info on what kind of trips you intend to do, and where abouts you're going, etc. then the more experienced members of the forum can help out more. Happy to set up the mantis in the backyard over the weekend if you'd like some pics ?
Cheers

Ive got an MSR Hubba, Lightweight at 1.3kg, packs quite small if you pack the poles separate, easy and very fast to set up and has a two person version called the Hubba Hubba. Its not cheap in Aussie though but you can pick it up cheaper in the UK of US.

If you can stretch your budget by another $50, have a look at this:
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5858
Seriously good price for this product.

Still pretty hard to find a new hubba for under $200 delivered to Australia tho. I'm selling mine cheap if you're interested - PM me.

My latest toy is the mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar.


I originally thought it looks cr@p compared to other types of pyramids, but the more i set it up, the more I'm starting to like it. A friend just borrowed it and took to some crazy snowy mountains in japan over 3000m and reported it handled 50kph - 80kph winds better than any tent in that price range.
There wasnt much snow so no reports on that front yet. I'm taking it to the snowies for a few days but wont think our conditions will be anything like his.

for $159 USD + postage , you can get this for under $200 AUD delivered with our aussie smackaroo stronger than the USD.

If you're abit inexperienced, then i would go a more traditional 2 skin tent but if you've been camping for a while and ready to step up to the next level, give this one a try. you wont regret! In my opinion, one of the best sub RRP $200 shelters around.

check out the pdf review posted by alliecat here http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3697


EDIT: didnt see the post above, but thats right, you cant go wrong with a tarptent moment.

dazcakes, you PM'ed me about my hubba.
I asked if you nearly a week ago if you still wanted it for $100 but havnt heard back from you.

Let me know soon or its going up on ebay.

the hubba is / is not single pitch is it?
good price at $100 - doubt youd need ebay someone here'll buy it i'm sure!
i am finally getting a tarptent moment atm....btw