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So I'm out doing some recon on what I might spend my ill-conceived economic stimulus check from Dubya, wandering through REI and came across this gadget.

 

http://www.rei.com/product/761891

 

Its the first free standing one man tent I've ever liked. Tough little bugger too. Might just have to add this to my quiver, not that my wife would be very happy about it, but hey! its a one man tent!

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No can do scotty.

I can't sleep in a hammock. Gotta toss and turn all night long.

My current one man ultra light is a Coleman Exponent but it isnt free standing and you can't sit up in it. Its really a glorified bivvy bag, and not a really good one at that.

Anyone else got a free standing one man tent that they like? Got some free money coming my way and its burning a hole in my pocket!

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I'm with you Gern, I don't think I could sleep in a hammock.

 

I've slept in an MSR Hubba, a very similar tent to the REI Quarter Dome 1, in that they are both coffin-shaped and all mesh. It's a little bit tight, but good for taking your own tent backpacking. The Hubba has a different pole arrangement - I'm not sure it makes a lot of difference in practice - and it also has a slightly larger vestibule. Anyway, I liked it, my kids use it regularly, and I'd recommend it. And I assume the Quarter Dome T1 would perform similarly.

 

I've been looking at getting myself a new one-man tent, and I was looking at the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo. It has no tent poles - just uses a hiking pole. http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=36

It's more spacious and it's lighter, and since I use hiking poles anyway, I figure it's worth trying.

 

Anyone else have experience with solo tents?

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No, can't do a 7lb'er. Not for one man. I have several 2 man that fit that bill. Got an REI .5 dome that really is a great backpacking tent at 6lbs. I want something under 3lbs with fly, free standing and something you can sit up in.

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I saw one of these set up at the local REI store (I'm fortunate to live in an area with a couple of them around).

 

Its got a rather odd pole arrangement - only one pole runs from corner to corner - the other corner to corner pole has been reconfigured to be 2 half poles (or slightly more than half poles). Instead of both ends terminating at a grommet in the ground, the "half" poles terminate at one end in a grommet over the door (as the 1/4 dome has a door on both sides, there are thus 2 "half" poles). It sure does increase head/ceiling room in the center of the tent. The wonders to tension.

 

I'm pretty impressed with this tent, though I'll carry the extra 3 pounds for the half dome - just because I like the room.

 

Calico

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Yeah Calico, I've never been too impressed with one man tents, but this one caught my eye. Never seen too so much headroom in a such a small package. The pole arrangement is quite origami. Must have been designed by Japanese graduate students.

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I use a Kelty Teton 2 (I'm a big guy and I need the extra room). It weighs a bit more (4 lbs 2 oz), but I'm willing to carry an extra pound or two to get the room I need. And it cost about $115 at a local outfitter.

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OK, Fgoodwin, at least its free standing. One of the criteria, but its a two man tent.

I have an REI Half Dome, at 5 lbs is a great 2 man tent.

I'm really pushing for the one man free standing, under 3 lbs. I don't need any more room than my bag as I hope it has an ample vestibule for my pack and boots. I do like the simplicity and utilitarianism of tents that use hiking poles for support, but they ain't free standing.

See, I hate tent stakes. I like to setup my tent, move it around, get just the right angle, then bed down and snooze. Hammering in stakes just makes it so... so.. permanent. And a lot of places I might solo camp is above timberline where the ground is solid rock.

I was hoping for you guys to give me other options than the REI quarter dome. Its expense at $175, might really irritate the better half, might only be used on a few campouts this year, is highly unnecessary and selfish, and George Bush really wants me to spend the money on stuff!

PLEASE SAVE ME FROM MYSELF!!!!

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If you had bought a few days ago, you would have gotten 20% off. :-(

 

That would have brought it down to $140.

 

If you opened a new REI Visa and used it for the purchase, you would have gotten your 10% divident plus and extra 5%. So that would have been $21 off. $119 now. And then, since you used your brand new REI Visa card, you'd get a $50 gift card from REI.

 

That puts the cost of the tent at $69, roughly the cost of a Eureka Solo.

 

 

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Gern...

 

wanna really blow your budget and maybe your mind take a look around to see if you can find a MSR Hubba Hubba...I love mine...40 inch height, just over two pounds ..but really pricy...

 

I looked at the REI tent last week... they had one set up without the fly...it seemed a bit "less than wind proof" sorta shaky...Maybe with the fly "on" it firms up a bit but I couldn't get anyone to install the fly for a non-buyer...(made the mistake of saying I had all the tents I needed and was just curious)...They were too busy (in the middle of a store wide sale) to locate the fly and asked me to come back later...Havn't had the time to finish the quest....

 

but there are lots of toys out there...and so little time....

Anarchist

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Now you guys are talking.

What I found with the quarter dome, wasn't that it was flimsy, but presented a broad flat side the wind would just roll it over. I suppose all one man free standers would do the same.

 

how about this bad boy?

 

http://www.bdel.com/gear/oneshot.php

 

$300, 4 season, just under 3 lbs. No vestibule though. But I have a pack cover to do that. Only 4 season one man I've found.

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