Solo UL tent suggestion

[danha1en]

This season, I am trying to reevaluate my gear and slowly shift to ultralight/lightweight. I know the transition will not happen instantly, but I'm hoping to upgrade my tent this year. I am currently using a Zepher II that weighs in around 4 lbs 12 oz.

http://www.amazon.com/ALPS-Mountaineeri ... B000MAOEB4

I bought it on Steep and Cheap a while back and its been a nice tent, but I usually sleep it in alone so there is too much extra space/weight.

Baseline goals:
- < 3 lbs
- Must have bathtub floor...I'm not down for just a tarp yet.
- Budget of around $200-250.

A few other posts on here have people saying their overall gear is 20-25 lbs...so others must be using lightweight gear. I've been eyeing a few:

Tarptent Contrail
$199, 24.5 oz
http://www.tarptent.com/contrail.html

Tarptent Sublite Sil
$209, 24oz
http://www.tarptent.com/sublitesil.html

Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo (or really any of the others they have as well)
$235, 23 oz
http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/tents.html

Go Lite Shangri-La 1 (with Floor)
$240, (200+40), 28 oz (19 + 9)
http://www.golite.com/tents/pyramid-and ... shangri-la

REI Quarter Dome T1
$199, 45 oz
http://www.rei.com/product/761891/rei-q ... me-t1-tent

A friend of mine has the REI Quarter Dome T1, and its a nice tent. I know its an apples to oranges comparison, but for 1 lb+ less, its worth looking into now. I have trekking poles that I use, so I don't find that to be a downside. I am worried about waterproofness and their general stability.

Does anyone have any experience with any of the other tents? How about any other suggestions?

[Rafiki]

http://www.departmentofgoods.com/msr-ca ... n-3-season

I love this tent in the three person version for my girlfriend and I. The two person version just is not enough space. If you want ultralight, then obviously the tarptent is the route to go. However, if you would something that is freestanding and has a bathtub floor I definitely like this tent. The great news is this tent is usually $500, but is 50% off at this site right now. You cant beat snagging it for $250. Hurry though. There is only 2 left. Goodluck. Only weighs 2lb 10oz too, but am sure you could cut it down to 2lb 8oz if you make some adjustments.

[Rafiki]

It appears as thought it sold out. Oh well...so much for that idea. Anyways, I would go with one of your tarptent selections. Henry at tarptent is a great guy to deal with. I almost bought a tarptent, but wanting freestanding to be an option on my tent, so I decided not to. The 2 verisons that you looked over are excellent selections and you may even want to think about the Rainbow too. Also, Gossamer Gear used to have a couple of nice 1 person tents. I believe they has something called The Squall or something similiar. I always forget cause it had a name that was similiar to one of the Tarptent ones. Anyways, in the long run going with a tent that uses a tarp is going to be the lightest option. I wish I would have be able to go that route, but for now, Im just going to have to deal with have a pack that is over 20Lbs. 22.75LBs to be exact. Ill get it down lower though eventually. Goodluck

[danha1en]

That MSR Carbon Reflex tent looks amazing (especially at $250).

I've heard people say that Henry from Tarptent is a really good guy to work with. The best part of the Tarptents is their price in comparison to the Carbon Reflexes and the Hubbas. If a few more people chime in with some firsthand experience I'll probably go that route.

[IncaRoads]

I bought a Tarptent Rainbow this week. The interior space is bigger than the Hubba, and you can't beat the weight savings.

[Vandy]

Regardless of the tent, but sure to replace the stakes with these:

http://www.rei.com/product/682543/msr-ground-hog-stake

They cannot be beat.

[DonNewcomb]

Stephenson Warmlite 2-person: ~2.3 lbs, ~$550-$580.
http://warmlite.com

[leeblue5]

Hi there,
Im not a big poster on this forum, but I can lend a hand in this area. First, dont buy new. Cruise the for sale forums at backpackinglight.com , hammockforums.com, and whiteblaze.net. You would not believe the deals there. For instance, the last round of gear I just sold this past week on backpackinglight included a excellent condition six moons lunar solo e, I sold it for $120, a Western Mountaineering bag, and a Granite Gear pack. For the price of one of the tents listed above you could get high quality ultralight gear, probably a tent, backpack and pad all for the price of one heavy rei or other dome tent. And as for solo tents, dont consider anything over 30 ounces, and thats on the heavy side. Get something that you can use your trekking poles as tent poles. Go to tarptent.com , gossamergear.com, warbonnetoutdoors.com, zpacks.com, and shop for what you want, then keep an eye out on the forums.
Im headed to Isle Royale in late August and my pack will weight 24 lbs. with food and water, and thats for five nights and six days. This is my heavier setup with my hammock and a couple down quilts. I purchased a lot of my stuff slightly used at about half off, and will be quite comfortable on the trail. Well I hope this helps, and let me know if you have any questions I could help out with.

[danha1en]

Thanks for the help. I have a wish list of about 3-4 tents that I'm keeping my eye out for on the the forums. I'll let you know which one pops up first.

Also, I'll probably grab a few of those stakes.

[fredly]

I picked up the Tarptent Contrail a little while ago and absolutely love it! Has a lot of room for very little weight. Roomier than the Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 I had and half the weight. Vestibule is twice as big and it has 7 inches more headroom. Neither tent is freestanding, but you only need 4 stakes for the Contrail compared to 11! for the Big Agnes. The service was awesome on the Tarptent as well. I live in Michigan, ordered it on Tuesday and received it from Washington on Thursday the same week. I paid $1 extra for Priority Mail and it was in my mailbox when I got home. (The box fit in my mailbox and closed completely!)

[PatrickBDunlap]

Could also do a backpacking hammock. Some of those are very lite and if you are camping in summer you could do away with your padding.