Please suggest a good 1-person tent

[MargS]

Hello,

Would anyone be able to suggest a good one-person tent? By good, I mean, waterproof, light and compact. I would probably use it at most about four times per year and then for one or two nights. Bearing this I mind I would balance the low usage against the cost.

Many thanks.

[gregoryoftours]

How much stuff would you want to keep in the tent with you? Personally i only consider 2 person tents for just myself and my stuff

[rotavator]

Yes^^, assuming that the the tent is for cycle touring, go for a two person tent.

You would save a bit of weight with a one person tent, assuming it is a similar model, but depending on the design it could be like living in a coffin, I am thinking of my Terra Nova Laser Comp. "Coffin" tents are OK in fine weather when you are only using them for sleeping but can be dismal in wet weather.

What is your budget and do you want to have your bike under cover too?

[Richard Fairhurst]

I was lucky enough to buy a Hilleberg Unna at a very reasonable price off this forum. It's a wondrous thing: very spacious for a one-person tent, so certainly there's no question of feeling like a coffin. Easy to pitch, light enough, and you feel beautifully insulated from the outside world. Loads of reviews online if you want to find out more.

[silverback]

2 man Zephyros is a good choice of the cheaper tents, 2 man has a bit more room than the 1 man but is still small.
I'm currently using a Hex peak mini which allows plenty of room to sit up in.

[whoof]

If you want a low cost 1 person tent Go Outdoors have a OEX one 1.6 kg for £60. Or another for £79 weighing 1.25 kg. Both gets good reviews.

[colin54]

If you want a low cost 1 person tent Go Outdoors have a OEX one 1.6 kg for £60. Or another for £79 weighing 1.25 kg. Both gets good reviews.

I've got the 1 person oex phoxx 1 mentioned above ,I found it too cramped, to get in it's side entrance

you have to reverse in whilst ducking your head if you didn't want to drag in wetness etc on your

shoes,awkward, I can't sit upright inside it,

also there's not much room between the inner and outer to store panniers etc

I'm 5ft 5ish.

It does pack up nice and small though and seems waterproof.


Best to go and have crawl around inside tents set up in the shops.

There's a forum thread about it here...

viewtopic.php?f=42&t=114586&hilit=phoxx

[crazydave789]

for the UK then you do need a two person tent. most light hike tents are designed to be coffins so you need the extra space just to exist.

it also allows you to do your cooking prep inside, set up a candle lantern/heater or spread stuff out to help it dry. all you put in the porch then is your stove morning brew setup, spare water and such.

[willem jongman]

For a light budget tent I would think the Wildcountry Zephyros or the Decathlon ultralight 900 are good choices, but both are cramped in different ways. The Decathlon Quickhiker Ultralight 2 at 129 euro is more spacious but also a bit heavier (about 2 kg). If budget is even more important, there is also the Decathlon Quickhiker 2 for 89 euro. I recently bought one for my son as a tent for festival use, and borrowed it for a short trip to find out how good/bad it was. I was pleasantly surprised. I would not want to use it with two people, but it was fine for solo use. But it is 2.7 kg.
However, you did not quite mention either budget or the environment it will have to be used in (France in the summer, or Schotland in the autumn makes quite a difference).

[pjclinch]

If at all possible crawl around in some pitched examples. IME this tells you more about whether you'll like a tent than diagrams and other people's recommendations.

A couple of points from your original brief...

"Waterproof" is, perhaps sourcing from Poundland excepted, pretty much a given. Staying dry while camping is typically more about management and good habits than kit.

"Compact" presumably refers to space taken when packed, but the less space it takes up when packed usually correlates to taking up less space when pitched, and while you want a small footprint to get in to tight spaces you also want loads of space for more comfort. You choose, you lose... For packing the poles are often an issue for getting something stowed on a bike, but you can always pack them separately. Short pole sections means easier to pack in a short space (like a pannier) but OTOH it means more joins which means more weight and less strength. Again, you choose, you lose...

Pete.

[tempsperdu]

Have you had a look at Trekkertent?
http://www.trekkertent.com/home/

[Paulatic]

Have you had a look at Trekkertent?
http://www.trekkertent.com/home/

Aren’t they more for someone trekking with walking sticks?
Certainly cost more than something I’d buy for 3 or 4 nights

[andrew_s]

If you want a low cost 1 person tent Go Outdoors have a OEX one 1.6 kg for £60.

There are quite a number of very similar tents available at similar prices.

The problem with them for many people is that they are pretty low to the ground (70 cm max inner height in this case), which means sitting up in them is difficult. I'd recommend something 90 cm or so, unless you are short.
This is where getting the chance to actually sit inside is good.

[mxg01]

I've used my Vango Banshee 200 for cycle camping. It stuffs into one of those Ortlieb small front panniers no problem. I put the pegs and poles in a back pannier. It's easy to pitch and I can get all four panniers in with me and still have a bit of spare space. I've used it for backpacking in Scotland so it's proven itself in the waterproof stakes. I bought it a few years ago. It was the previous year's model so very much reduced in price. That seems to be the trick with getting outdoor gear these days.

It's not that big though. Sitting up requires some thought and positioning. You wouldn't want to spend long in there unless you are asleep. I've cooked in the little porch when the weather has been bad which worked out fine. It's sold as a two person tent but it's not. More like one person and their gear. I'm very happy with it.

[pete75]

This https://www.decathlon.co.uk/trek-900-1p ... 92462.html . 95 quid. Have had one for a while now - bought because I was fed up with using a bivvy bag. It weighs about 1.5kg and is compact when packed, 40cms long and only 6 litres so fits into a pannier easily, comes with built in footprint and DAC poles and pegs. Sitting headroom and a good sized storage area under the flysheet and protected by the footprint - more than enough for panniers to fit in.
Slow to erect the first time you do it quick after that.