I was looking for a lighter tent for backpacking. Tents and sleep gear can easily get very heavy, and when you're hiking several miles, you want as light as possible. Unfortunately, I didn't get in much backpacking this summer, instead only out-and-back hikes, so I didn't get a chance to test this tent until last weekend. I'll be honest, I'm not much of a fan of small tents. Mainly because, without fail, no matter what the weather forecast calls for, there will be one kind of weather - thunderstorms. Every. Time. So, I like to have room to put my pack down, room to change clothes, etc. But, with bigger tents comes more weight. I wanted a tent that was lightweight, but durable, roomy but didn't take up much space, warm at night, but offered plenty of ventilation during the day. This is that tent! At 6'3", 230 pounds, I'm not a small guy. But, I still had room inside this tent to lay my pack across the top to act as a pillow, and enough room on the sides for things like my knife, bearspray, and flashlight. The inside pocket just inside the door is actually pretty large, and can hold quite a bit of stuff. There is also a nice little vestibule that is large enough to store your shoes under, plus a bit of gear if needed. There is a very nice screen mesh to the actual tent, and additional flaps with velcro supports at the top left (by your head) and bottom by your feet for plenty of ventilation. I didn't get to try out how water resistant it was, seeing that I only did an overnight trip, and surprisingly had decent weather. So I can't speak to how waterproof it is, but I had planned to do seamsealing and waterproofing on it anyway, as that is my standard practice for all new tents. This tent also packs down extremely small, which checked another box on my wishlist for a new tent. Let's be honest, tent makers invoke some dark magic and space-time voodoo to get their products into those bags they ship in, and once you take them out the first time, you're not getting it back in there without the help of Master Yoda and all the Jedi combined. But you'll get this one back in the bag!! It actually fits in the bag incredibly easily, and I even found room to include the official footprint for the tent along with everything else, so everything is all in one nice neat bag. I just simply laid everything flat, individually, tri-folded everything length-wise, and rolled it up, and into the bag it went. No muss, no fuss. Get everything in the bag, secure it together with the included tie strap, tuck in the cover flap, and snap down the clips and tighten down the straps. I've included photos to show how small it folds down. You also don't need trekking poles. While they do offer a nice option for setup if you want the vestibule propped open, just know it isn't required. I actually forgot my poles at home, and as you can see in the photos, it set up just fine. My only, and I mean only complaint with this tent is that it can be a bit difficult to set up by yourself, especially if you have any wind. It can definitely be done, but it isn't as quick and easy as most standard 4-person tents. Not a deal breaker but I thought I should mention it for sake of being thorough. Also, I feel I should mention that, if you do purchase the official footprint (VERY highly recommended) with this tent, just know that it only covers the tent area, and not the vestibule area. While this isn't really a big deal for me, I know it can be for others, and so I wanted to make mention of that as well. And so, having said all that, I absolutely love this tent, and can't wait to put a few miles and nights in its history. I've written a novel, which should say a lot in itself, since I don't write reviews very often to begin with. FINAL THOUGHTS: If you're looking for a lightweight tent that will pack down small, and offers great ventilation and surprisingly adequate room inside, I think you'll like this tent! I do recommend it, and will likely be looking to more Sierra Designs products in the future. Great little 1-person tent!
