UL tent/shelter options on AT thru hike

[featherhiker]

I have had my share of tents and want to know what is a good, one to two man tent for a resonable price. I am looking at a 1-2 man tent on aliexpress for 70 some dollars and I can replace the pole with one of my diamond z - poles. I am also playing with the idea of hammocking since I love my ENO single nest. Please tell me what you think.

[mattjv89]

Some additional info will help tailor your suggestions a lot, otherwise the responses are going to be all over the map. What is the dollar amount you consider "reasonable"? Do you have a maximum weight in mind? If there is a compromise to be made between those two, is lighter weight or lower price more important? Side entry, end entry, or no preference? Do you want a shelter with a sewn in floor or open to models that use a separate groundsheet? Are you comfortable selecting sites and pitching a single wall shelter to reduce condensation, or prefer to stick with a double wall?

As far as that tent on Aliexpress, you may not hear from anyone on here who owns one as it looks like a generic straight from China item. You might luck out and get a solid tent or you might get exactly what you paid for which is not much. The pictures look like it would at least do a good job shedding wind. Hard to tell much else though when there's only a few reviews with questionable English. You will need to seam seal that one as with many lightweight silnylon tents. I can't comment at all on your hammock choice

[Frye]

I wouldn't recommend Aliexpress. If you don't want to pay a lot then I'd keep an eye on the gear selling forums. Here, BPL, and Geartrade to name a few. You'll find something sooner or later that will fit your needs.

As for Hammocks. Don't do it! Hammock Hangers cannot be trusted. Like hoodlums, always hanging around. Very suspicious. Reminiscent of those damn kids who just won't get off my lawn.

[Connie]

One forum participant sent for the Aliexpress $78 tent to evaluate.

If it is thin simple nylon fabric like big-box stores tents for kids, it will disappoint because that fabric is not durable.

The design seems worthy.

We will have his evaluation.

[AO2134]

SMD Scout - $125.00 fairly cheap, fairly light. I use it. I like it so far, but hasn't been bad weather tested.

[tammons]

If you go to the Eureka outlet they have a Solitare for $28. Its a Bivy tent and you need to replace the poles with alum poles (you need to prebend them) first thing but its cheap and works. You can not sit up in one.
Good for sleeping in and thats about it. Under a tarp and its more useable since it has a full length zipper down the middle of the top. I removed the fly sheet from mine and use it like a hooped bug bivy occasionally.

They also have a Spitfire 1 for $75 and you can get the weight down to about 40oz easily. Its a decent tent, with a micro sized, IE tiny, vestibule.

They also have a Backcountry 1 tent for $94 and it has a 3' x 8' floor so pretty big, but no vestibule. Its heavier at about 3.5#.

Some of the Luxe tents are pretty nice, but not cheap.
Those are the only tents I would buy from the far east.

[tammons]

The backcountry 1 tent is freestanding.

[tammons]

Sorry the Backcountry 1 is more like 4# -4.5#

[fastfoxengineering]

The TarpTent Protrail looks like a winner at a really good price point. It's an updated version of the tried and true contrail.

Probably won't see too many on the trail this year because they just released them, but next year I have a feeling the AT is going to be crawling with them.

[takethisbread]

I have had my share of tents and want to know what is a good, one to two man tent for a resonable price. I am looking at a 1-2 man tent on aliexpress for 70 some dollars and I can replace the pole with one of my diamond z - poles. I am also playing with the idea of hammocking since I love my ENO single nest. Please tell me what you think.

The AT is the one trail I would say not to worry about too much about price or weight when it comes to shelter. As Baltimore Jack says, on the AT weather its usually ****ty, about to be ****ty, threatening to be ****ty, or just getting over being ****ty. Lots of rain, the cold wet kind too. I would say buy a good, durable, tent and if it costs a additional $100 or adds a additional lb of weight, it's not the place to save. Imo. If I was to go out there a third time I would probably grab maybe a BA Copper spur 2 freestanding or something similar with room and great ground protection. All due respect to some who have to done it with less, it just didn't seem like it was worth a lb or 2. IMO . Good luck!!


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[Praha4]

I agree 110% with Digger's comments on shelters/tents on the AT. I've hiked sections with U/L solo tarps, and with several different front and side-entry solo U/L tents. (That's why my gear room looks like a Campmor Outlet). Now after trying so many, I usually grab the BA Fly Creek UL1 tent. (I will admit I'm now looking closely at Henry Shire's new TT Protrail.) The BA UL1 Fly Creek is easy and fast to setup, freestanding, and by replacing the 11 aluminum BA tent stakes with some 6.5" Ti stakes, I've got the total weight down under 2 lbs. Think about it, just carrying one extra liter of water all day is an extra 2.2 lbs, the weight of an extra U/L tent! So I think by managing how much food and water you carry on the AT you can very easily make up for carrying a slightly heavier 1 or 2 person tent.

[bpowell1014]

Just got my ProTrail in the mail today...super light and awesome!

[Connie]

I would like to know how it performs in wind and rain.

I would love to hear a report.

[tammons]

To add, I would not buy an unknown tent from China and hit the trail. It will fail and you will have problems.

About the cheapest lightest decent real tent you will buy will be a spitfire from the outlet like I mentioned above, but its about 40 oz min but only $75 for now.

About the only Chinese tent I would trust personally would be a Luxe Outdoors tent, but they are not cheap.

If you can scrap up $200-250 then go for one of the tarptent models and save some weight. They are moderately priced for the weight.

If you want a freestanding tent and light then have a look at Big Sky International tents. Not cheap but very nice and some of the lightest freestanders.

If you want to hammock, you may want to check out this guys rig. I believe his base was about 9# and he made the AT thru. Personally I would have gone with a longer double layer hammock and some other different gear. That said he made it and its a cheap budget UL setup. He has 128 or so videos of his walk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nVoX6mlmdI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sTft2mLI0k

[honogica]

In the fall and winter I use an old bombproof Sierra Designs 2 man. Weighs 6 lbs wo a footprint but handles wind gusts to 90 mph and sleeps fine at 25 below (I havent braved anything colder than that yet) . $45

Summer packing I just use an old rain fly I got at a second hand store and prop it up with my trekking poles, a couple sticks, a piece of twine, or a chunk of roadkill. Weighs like 5 oz and keeps the rain off my head and the wind out of my bag. $2

The point is; while the newest products on the market are definitely well thought out and probably worth the money even a plastic garbage bag will keep you warm and dry. Weight of a 80 gallon heavy duty garbage bag? 6 to 10 oz. Cost? 25 cents. And a 80 gallon bag can be propped up with your poles too.

Theres one for you UL guys

[brancher]

If you know a lot about how to manage tarps, they can be fabulous. I have a DD Frontline 10X10 that works extremely well at 16 oz, but I do supplement it with a UL bug net when needed, and a silnylon poncho/groundcloth. I've used larger, 2-man freestanding tents that i THOUGHT I needed but didn't, went to a BA Seedhouse SL (outstanding tent, btw), and now use either my tarp or my Tarptent Moment DW (also a wonderful solution).

Inre: hammocks, I've also used hammocks/tarps. Can be comfortable to sleep in, but you need to pay attention your underside insulation. And don't let the hammock crowd convince you that they are the lightest option. They are not.

While I agree that you shouldn't lowball yourself on your shelter, there are some options that are robust, inexpensive, and light.

[Praha4]

Do your own seam seal or get it done by Henry?

Just got my ProTrail in the mail today...super light and awesome!

[fastfoxengineering]

Just got my ProTrail in the mail today...super light and awesome!

Are you planning to thru hike with it? I've only read good things.

[LogHiking]

I've got a protrail in my house due to a hiking buddy needing to hide the purchase for a month or two, lol. After playing with it I'm really impressed and will have one soon. It is very simple to set up and offers a wide variety of well thought out features that allow it to handle a wide array of conditions. The space to weight ratio for a sil fully enclosed storm worthy tent in this price range is really amazing. I said it a couple other times already but I think we are going to see a ton of these on the trails. Would be my go to choice if I were thru hiking the AT this year.

[CarlZ993]

The AT is the one trail I would say not to worry about too much about price or weight when it comes to shelter. As Baltimore Jack says, on the AT weather its usually ****ty, about to be ****ty, threatening to be ****ty, or just getting over being ****ty. Lots of rain, the cold wet kind too. I would say buy a good, durable, tent and if it costs a additional $100 or adds a additional lb of weight, it's not the place to save. Imo. If I was to go out there a third time I would probably grab maybe a BA Copper spur 2 freestanding or something similar with room and great ground protection. All due respect to some who have to done it with less, it just didn't seem like it was worth a lb or 2. IMO . Good luck!!


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I ended up with a different perspective in choosing a tent. With all the shelters available along the AT, I expected to use shelters primarily & my tent occasionally. I ended up w/ the Zpacks Hexamid Solo Plus (big $$$$ & super-light). After a rather stormy night in VT, I got a little damp in my tent. I also feared that I might have trouble setting up my tent on platforms as I went further north. So, I got a small 1-man free-standing tent (EMS Velocity-1). As it turned out, I never had to set up my tent on any platforms. For my entire 152 day hike, I only slept in my tent 14 nights (10 in my Hexamid & 4 in my Velocity-1). I only had one occasion where a shelter was full where I had to tent (vs. planned to tent). And that was @ The Birches (Baxter State Park). I liked everything about the Velocity-1 except the weight. Everything is about trade-offs. If I had it to do again, I'd probably use the Hexamid (or similar tent) the entire way.

As the saying goes, 'There's more than one road to Dublin.' People have successfully completed the AT in a multitude of different shelters. It's your personal preference & what you are willing to hump. Just don't go shelter-less (I saw that end badly for a couple one stormy day in ME).