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1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations


Postby al78 » Sat Oct 12, 2019 2:13 pm

I'm going to Dalwhinnie/Culra bothy on the first May bank holiday next year for some backpacking/Munro bagging (Ben Alder munros), and after June's experience, feel that my current two man tent and sleeping back is not optimal for poor Scottish weather. My current 2-man tent and sleeping bag weigh a little over 3kg combined, and I'm sure it is possible to do much better. I'm after something that is lightweight and doesn't have condensation problems, and for the sleeping bag, a down filling, lightweight, and will be suitable for Scottish glen overnight temperatures in early May (so well down into single digits). I have just had a look in my local Cotswald store and founds these two:

Robens 300 sleeping bag
Laser competition 1 tent

Does anyone have any opinions on these, or any other decent lightweight suggestions? I don't mind paying a premium for kit that is up to the job and I can have confidence with.
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby Marty_JG » Sat Oct 12, 2019 6:04 pm

Well, 3kg as a base weight isn't the worst in the world, but if you're going to reduce you could stand to be a bit more ambitious than a 1kg saving. For example there are plenty of tents in the half-kilo-ish range:

https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/equipment-c3/tents-shelters-c25/all-tents-c148

And again, plenty of bags at half a kilo-or-so in your temperature range:

https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/equipment-c3/sleeping-bags-c21/sleeping-bags-c88


As I'm a cost-cutter I'd be remiss of me to not mention the current Chinese options. For sleeping bag the Aegismax 800 (£70, 530g, 6c) or the warmer Aegismax 800FP (£100, 750g, -2c) are the ones to beat, available on Amazon UK.

Chinese tents aren't yet hitting the current ultra light mark as they're stuck on 20D silnylon and 7000 aluminium poles; but they have great quality and unbeatable price/weight ratios. The sub 1kg option is 3F UL Lanshan 1 and 2 which require trekking poles. Naturehike has a roomy trekking-pole Taga 1 (1.25 kg) or freestanding Cloud-Up 1 (1.5kg). All under £100 on Aliexpress.
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby al78 » Sat Oct 12, 2019 9:44 pm

Thanks for those links, I have bookmarked them. I didn't know you could get that sort of stuff so lightweight.
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby Essan » Sun Oct 13, 2019 11:43 am

Alpkit's new 1 man tent looks worthy of consideration - not seen any reports on it as yet though

https://www.alpkit.com/products/soloist

(Currently sold out but I would expect more stock to arrive before too long)
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby bydand_loon » Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:26 pm

Agree with the posts above, 3kg for that 2 items isnt actually the worst weight by a long way.

Cant recommend these folk high enough for lightweight down products though, they also do pretty much any special custom stuff you want, their quilts are fantastic.

http://sleepingbags-cumulus.eu/
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby al78 » Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:52 pm

That website with sleeping bags looks excellent.

It is not just the weight that I am trying to cut, it is the bulk as well. My sleeping bag was bought a long time ago and is rather bulky when packed. I saw one at Cotswold which was less than half the size of mine packed. The tent is also bulky since I lost the bag for it back in June and I had to make do with a large drybag.

In a perfect world, I would use my 45L rucksac for a weekend's hillwalking where I have a base camp, rather than have to use my 65L bag. My stuff doesn't come close to fitting in the 45L bag at the moment, I would have to tie both the tent and sleeping bag to the outside. If I could get the sleeping bag, stove, gas, mat and clothing inside the 45L bag, that would be ideal but have the feeling this would be amnbitious without going very minimalist.
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby Marty_JG » Sun Oct 13, 2019 8:40 pm

al78 wrote:If I could get the sleeping bag, stove, gas, mat and clothing inside the 45L bag, that would be ideal but have the feeling this would be amnbitious without going very minimalist.


Starting to make sense. Through-hiking ultra-lighter types often use 45 litre backs so it's doable. I have an Osprey Lightning 60L, just over 1kg; it has compression straps, and is otherwise minimalist, so it doesn't feel oversized if under-packed.

Any good bag & shelter will reduce your pack size, so you'll definitely see that benefit.

PS, you should be able to fit your entire cook-kit into your pot. I have an Evernew Solo, a 750ml pot with 400ml cup nesting around 140 grams the pair. If gas is your thing it'll take a 110g gas cart and throw a 30 gram BRS in there.
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby Giant Stoneater » Sun Oct 13, 2019 8:54 pm

al78 it would be interesting to know also what clothing etc. you would take for a 2,3 or 4 day hike,for myself when doing multiday hikes I normally take one set of clothing for a change at night and one set to wear during the day.
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby rockhopper » Sun Oct 13, 2019 9:19 pm

Over the years I've managed to bring the weight and volume of certain items down but stopped short at changing the tent. I've been happy with a banshee 200 which is now nearly 10 yrs old but see no reason to change it just to save a few hundred grammes. Changing to an ME Xero 350 bag dropped the bag weight down to a little over 700gr so tent plus bag = 2.7kg.

al78 wrote:The tent is also bulky since I lost the bag for it back in June and I had to make do with a large drybag.
I don't use the standard tent bag. Poles go down a corner inside the rucksack, pegs in a bag near the top and the tent goes in a relatively small drybag or compression sack and I compress it down quite a bit - it also sits inside near the top so that I don't need to empty the rucksack when erecting the tent (in case it's raining). Tent inner already attached to the outer so I can erect it in one in just a few minutes.
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby al78 » Sun Oct 13, 2019 11:59 pm

Giant Stoneater wrote:al78 it would be interesting to know also what clothing etc. you would take for a 2,3 or 4 day hike,for myself when doing multiday hikes I normally take one set of clothing for a change at night and one set to wear during the day.


For a 2 day hike (like when I walked the Minigaig), I'd have one set of clothes for both days, which I would wear when travelling there and back (by train), plus a warm layer, waterproofs and maybe one spare base layer in case I get wet. For 3 and 4 day hikes, the equivalent of two complete changes of clothing plus warm layer and waterprooofs. At the moment I would need the 65L pack for more than two days out. I am a beginner at backpacking, and have yet to learn how much I really need and what I can do without.

One contribution to the bulk is the stuff that I take just in case, but rarely or never end up using. For example, the warm clothing might not get used if it is warm or near average for the time of year, but the Scottish highlands can get cold early morning or late evening if a northerly wind sets in, so can't really justify leaving the extra layers behind if I am going to be out in the hills for several days. I never used the gaiters when I was in Scotland in June, even though the weather was unsettled, and I could have managed without the poles, possibly without the extra footwear as well (it all adds up), I took that because of the river crossing near Shenaval bothy.
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby al78 » Mon Oct 14, 2019 12:01 am

rockhopper wrote:Over the years I've managed to bring the weight and volume of certain items down but stopped short at changing the tent. I've been happy with a banshee 200 which is now nearly 10 yrs old but see no reason to change it just to save a few hundred grammes. Changing to an ME Xero 350 bag dropped the bag weight down to a little over 700gr so tent plus bag = 2.7kg.

al78 wrote:The tent is also bulky since I lost the bag for it back in June and I had to make do with a large drybag.
I don't use the standard tent bag. Poles go down a corner inside the rucksack, pegs in a bag near the top and the tent goes in a relatively small drybag or compression sack and I compress it down quite a bit - it also sits inside near the top so that I don't need to empty the rucksack when erecting the tent (in case it's raining). Tent inner already attached to the outer so I can erect it in one in just a few minutes.


That is a good idea, I'll try that next time. I'm sure I could get my existing tent packed very compactly with the poles and pegs packed separately.
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby bydand_loon » Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:16 pm

Drop are doing the XMid again 170 quid (plus import taxes), I have one, but i haven't had it out other than a couple of test pitches, has a lot of good reviews so far, think mine comes in at just about spot on 900g after swapping the pegs for some bigger easton pegs, very decent weight for a twin skin tent imo, packs down very small, goes up very easy, huge vestibules, mesh lining that i'm not 100% sure about.

https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-x-dan-durston-x-mid-1p-tent
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby weesmudge » Wed Oct 16, 2019 7:42 am

I'm using the Vango helium F10 1 man tent and do far it's been great.
As for a sleeping bag I've got an Aldi summer bag it's ok when temperatures aren't to cold wouldn't fancy using in the cold nights but for summer it was fine and packs down small and light at a cost of £11.99 so a bargain I rekon.
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby rosslister59 » Sat Jul 04, 2020 12:29 pm

bydand_loon wrote:Drop are doing the XMid again 170 quid (plus import taxes), I have one, but i haven't had it out other than a couple of test pitches, has a lot of good reviews so far, think mine comes in at just about spot on 900g after swapping the pegs for some bigger easton pegs, very decent weight for a twin skin tent imo, packs down very small, goes up very easy, huge vestibules, mesh lining that i'm not 100% sure about.


Hi

Would you mind sharing your thoughts on the Xmid 1P and your experience using it in the British climate? Many thanks
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Re: 1-man tent and sleeping bag recommendations

Postby bydand_loon » Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:46 am

rosslister59 wrote:
bydand_loon wrote:Drop are doing the XMid again 170 quid (plus import taxes), I have one, but i haven't had it out other than a couple of test pitches, has a lot of good reviews so far, think mine comes in at just about spot on 900g after swapping the pegs for some bigger easton pegs, very decent weight for a twin skin tent imo, packs down very small, goes up very easy, huge vestibules, mesh lining that i'm not 100% sure about.


Hi

Would you mind sharing your thoughts on the Xmid 1P and your experience using it in the British climate? Many thanks


I sold it on pretty much straight away and bought a Tarptent Stratosphere lithium instead, the Tarptent is/was rather expensive tbh ($500 more :shock: ) and maybe only about 100g lighter.

Reason i sold it, im not a fan of full mesh inners, just my own personal thing really, not a slight on the tent at all, plus I'd always craved the SS li. I got the XMid as a look see/stop gap, more than a serious long term purchase.

The XMid was huge as a 1 person, I found it easy to pitch (only pitched twice and never in a gale mind). If I was just starting out with tents or looking to lighten my load I'd have loved to have gotten the XMid, theres a two person version out now as well.

Lots of uk based users on trek lite dot com seem to really rate/like it. If you look on there, there is loads of discussion, reviews and pictures of both xmids in action. I think if the TGOC had gone ahead this year it would have been the tent of choice for a lot of walkers.

For the cost + weight + design the xmid is a wee cracker imo
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