The disadvantages of being tall…. Let me paint a picture.. granted with my limited grasp of vocabulary, it might not be a very clear picture.. but a picture nonetheless.. I am by most rights, rather tall – 190cm (6´3”) to be exact. Most tent designers are about 160cm (3’4”) and think a tight fit is just fine for them. (For somebody 160cm short). There are countless examples of this, so I don’t feel I need to list all the guilty tent producers here, I will instead highlight the few tents where the designers actually remembered there are tall people roaming this earth as well. Short people have many advantages within the outdoor world – Tents are smaller and lighter, backpacks that might fit a big persons shoe, can fit all their miniature gear.
Hence in most cases it’s rather impossible for a tall person to have an UL standard that small people would have. Which is also why I think harddrawn lines on what UL is just doesn’t work. I.e 2kg for UL baseweight – utterly ridiculous and simply not possible for anybody that is taller than 160cm and hikes further than their backyard. I still think the best overall measurement for lightweight is 3 for 3. Which simply means your biggest three items at a maximum weight of 3kg. Your sleep system – sleeping bag and pad. Tent/shelter system and backpack and all under 3kg.
This simple measurement will probably work wonders for most people. Now, back onto my headline here – tents for tall people. I am somebody who has grown accustomed to having my feet and head smush against the innertent on most double walled tents, I don’t mind it much, and in some cases it’s rather nice. The problem of course is when I mush so much that I mush the innertent into the outer tent and everything gets drenched in condensation. This on the other hand, is not very nice. So I will list a few of the tents designed for and by tall people.
Keep in mind this is just tents I can think of off the top of my head that I have tested. There are probably other tents that should make the list – but this is a good start
I hope this helps all of my taller friends out there!
Lightheart gear Solong 6. This tent is probably the single biggest solo tent available. Designed for users up to 197cm – even for me this tent seems like a palace. At 900 grams it’s rather light as well, and it’s got a pretty cool Awning feature (if you order within the next 4 days – I will include the Awning pole for free 390kr value). Long, wide and tall the Lightheart gear solong is the premier big person tent and takes tops spot hereHyperlite mountain gear Ultamid 2. The Hyperlite mountain gear Ultamid 2 is a good sized tent, of course a little unfair it’s on this list because it’s a two man tent. However, with a half insert, you can call it a very, very big solo tent. With that said, with an insert in, you will probably find your head or feet touching the inner tent if your over 190cm. Again, not an issue as long as your not musing the outer. But important to know. The ultamid 2 is by far the single best year round/ four season tent on this list and the lightest to boot. (500grams for the outer and 450 for half insert)Luxe outdoor lightwave. Big and cheap, but also on the heavier side for a solo tent. This is a proper double walled tent that can be used year round. Big and sturdy – but weighs in about around 1.7kg. Luxe outdoor Mini XL Massive tent. This is good for users up to 195cm who just need a ridiculous amount of space to spread out in. Perhaps you have a herd of sheep that you wish to keep sheltered with you? Who knows – in any case this is an excellent winter tent as it big and has a stove jack – allowing for a proper wood stove to be used inside the tent. Did I mention this tent is a steal at 200Euros?
Gossamer gear the one. A light, single walled, big man tent. 697 grams seam sealed and ready to go. This is great for users up to 194cm and probably you could get away with being a little taller. Granted, the 7Denier silnylon used to build this tent means that you probably wouldn’t want to take it up above tree line. It will work, and with the extra tie outs and so on it’s not a bad option – but of all the tents it’s the one I would trust the least when it comes to durability. Tarptent Stratospire 1. Big, roomy, double walled and light. The Tarptent stratospire 1 is a proper mountain tent, built for maximum sturdiness, durability, comfort and lightness. Great for users up to 194cm. I can’t give enough praise for the Stratospire 1. If I have to say anything negative it’s that it can be a pain to setup in the beginning, and it has a massive footprint. Vargo No-Fly 2p Tent. The vargo is new to my list, but boy is this a special tent. Carbon fiber poles, freestanding, proper two-man tent the No-Fly is a big, light tent at 1,2kg. While the copper spur 2 is a proper 1p tent for a big person, the Vargo is a proper 2p Tent that would even work for two big people. Fast and easy to setup and sturdy enough for three season use above tree line. Hilleberg Enan.
Tight squeeze, but I like it:
I use and love my Enan. I like that I can squeeze my pillow into the end the innertent will hold it in place all night without my head or feet touching the ends. I like the tiny footprint, the gorgeous and happy inducing yellow innertent, easy and fast setup, the fact I don’t have to bring trekking poles and because I use the Kerlon 600 version, my entire kit with pegs and pole weighs just around 1kg. (We still have a couple of Kerlon 600 in stock). On top of this, it is a proper 3 season mountain tent. Users up to 194cm should find this to be a perfectly fine tent. Though don’t expect maximum comfort and it’s not something you want to be stuck in long periods of time.
Around winter is the time I start going through all my gear and seeing what might actually work and what won’t work in the winter. After reading a blog post a few years ago on Jörgen Johanssons excellent blog at http://www.fjaderlatt.se on the Black diamond firstlight, I decided to go ahead a purchase one. At the time the firstlight wasn’t being produced anymore and instead the updated version the Hilight was available.
The tent is by far at least for me the funnest part of the whole transition. As I wrote in earlier posts it was actually the Hilleberg Akto that showed me the way. It’s not exactly light or large, but it is lighter than most 2 person tents – and that’s it really for me – I always thought I needed two person tent in-order to be comfortable. Or course after buying and testing about 15 different tents I realised this to be true. I do need at-least a two person tent to be happy and comfortable. I just don’t need one made for everest style expeditions that weigh 3-4 kilos.
I imagine that most people will ignore my other posts and jump directly to the tent purchasing phase – which is just fine of course, not many of us have any willpower to speak of; So I get it. Buy the tent first 🙂 I purchased and tested many different tents over the years some of the reviews you can read on this site, other reviews I haven’t gotten around to posting yet and a few more I haven’t even started writing. I enjoy being out in nature more than sitting in front of my computer screen. Here is a list of some of the different tents I have tried over the last 5 years:
Zpacks duplex
Zpacks Hexamid solo
Tarptent double rainbow
Hilleberg Akto
MLD Trailstar
MLD Supermid
MLD Solomid
MLD Duomid
Hilleberg Nammatj
Hilleberg Nallo 2
Hilleberg Suolo
Six moon designs Skyscape trekker
Gossamer Gear Qtwinn (tarp)
Zpacks winter hammock tarp w/ doors (used even as ground tarp)
These are the ones I remember at least for the time being. Anyway, I found that I prefer the single wall two man tent style. The double rainbow by Tarptent is one that I can recommend to just about anyone making their transition over to lighter gear. Its large, relatively light 1.1kilos on my scale, more traditional tent feel and is also relatively cheap for what you get. It can be set-up as a free standing tent or stakes in ground. You can even purchase an inner tent cheap for it.
I sold my Double rainbow because I started using walking sticks and wanted to be able to use my sticks as tent pole instead of having to carry that extra weight of the tent poles. That led the way for the more popular single wall tarps such as the MLD Trailstar and Qtwinn. The trailstar is nice and roomy, quite large floor space actually and a very large vestibule when it rains if you just want to hang out in the tent. But the tarp didn’t work for me for a number of reasons, mainly because I don’t like the idea of having to add-on an extra inner tent in order to keep bugs out and close up shop. Of course you don’t have to have this option, but most people, including myself do eventually get the add-on for the comfort. Also, I prefer now the headroom of the Duomid. On top of that I thought it could be a pain at times to set-up on forest trails – it requires a lot of ground space, most of my trips or in forest and tight spaces. The trailstar Just didn’t work out to well for me. Though I am willing to give it a shot again in the future and see if my opinion changes on it.
That is when I made my move over to the Qtwinn – single wall cuben fiber tarp. This was excellent for weight to size ratio. 300 grams on my scales and large innerspace for two people. The problem here of course is that it can’t be shut, and in Sweden bugs are rampant which meant I would bring a ground floor and innernet. It became more hassle than just setting up a traditional two man tent with poles, and I didn’t have enough room under my bugnet to even read a book. Now I know there are more bad ass alphas out there that love the tarp and getting eaten by bugs, but it’s just not my thing. My site is after all called ultralightandcomfortable.com. My reviews and why I don’t use the Hilleberg akto and Skyscape trekker
The Zpacks tents were fantastic, both of them, just not really what I was looking for. I have gotten to the point where I don’t want a floor on my tent – I think it’s just an added bit of comfort and simplicity not having a floor that I really like. I like being able to walk into my tent without worrying about all kinds of shit and dirt getting in. In the winter I like being able to dig snow caves and have the tent as a roof. On top of that my preferred rain gear is the Zpacks poncho ground floor. So it is a fantastic ground sheet, large and roomy (I have the two man version) and it is in my view more practical as raingear compared to rain jacket or umbrella. – Even if it looks terrible.
So eventually I found my way to the older MLD pyramid tarps after a quick try with the Lotus Gear Khufu – which this was a very quick trip down Lotus gear lane as the pyramid was way to small for me. Both my feet and head touched the sidewalls at the same time. Anyway, the first MLD pyramid I bought was the Supermid because I had fantasy of bring along my family with me on trips.. of course this ended up just being a fantasy. In any case I found the Supermid to be fantastic in the winter – big and roomy
Just not something I wanted to carry with my during my other trips. It’s just way to big for a solo adventurer such as myself. Massive in fact – but still weighed less than 1 kilo. It is also a bit of a pain to set-up as I had to strap both of my trekking poles together in-order to make the tent stand. I prefer simplicity over complication. SO from the Supermid I tried the solomid – too small. Again, I am 190cm and 95kilos, I prefer my comfort. Also the weight saving from the duomid to solomid in my mind is rather negligible. So I eventually found a Duomid on ebay with a sewn in perimeter bug net for 150usd.
I found the Duomid with perimeter bug netting to be the perfect tent for my style of backpacking. Larger than most 3 man traditional tents, took less ground space than the Trailstar, can be zipped up and closed off completely, can be opened up completely to give a massive panorama under the stars feel, simplistic to setup and tear down and for what you get the weight is 743grams with guy lines, seam sealed, stuff sack and bug netting – is amazing. So that’s where I am now. The MLD Duomid with perimeter bug netting could only be better if it was en cuben fiber. Which I will eventually purchase – just not yet.
So what tent would work for you?
I have no idea, I wrote what works for me and why I have the tent I currently have. Everyone’s journey is different. I can however give a few tips and some things to think about.
For one, do you use walking sticks? if not, why not? Anyway, if you have walking sticks than it is only logical to have a tent that you can setup with only walking sticks. You don’t have to worry about the hassle or weight of tent poles.
Do you need double wall? – if so why? Is it because you are scared of being in the wild? The icky bugs or water? then perhaps a tarp is not your optimal solution, nor the Trailstar as you can’t close it off. What purpose does the double wall tent serve? Less condensation? warmer? – I haven’t noticed any of these advantages when compared to the Duomid – though very prevalent in other tarps and tents – even the double rainbow lets in a lot of wind, which can get very chilly in the middle of the night. Are you traveling where there is a lot of sand and dust in the air? perhaps double wall is that best solution.
Do you need a floor? Again, why? This is different for different people: I found bringing a ground sheet was a better solution than having a floor built in. My reasons of course I already wrote about.
Also, how big of a tent do you need? I am a big person hence I need or at least want a big tent – if you are small then a lotus gear khofu or MLD Solomid would probably be more than suitable.
I think a pretty good guideline is to keep your total tent weight to under 1 kilo. In my next post I will go through one of the philosophies of the lightweight movement which is called the 3 for 3 – your three biggest pieces of equipment – tent, sleep system and backpack for 3 kilos.
There are an unlimited amount of suppliers that sell 1 kilo or less tents. Though if you want a double wall tent your options are pretty limited to expensive and tiny tents such as the Hilleberg Enan (around 1 kilo), the Terra Nova laser and the Nordisk Telemark. That might work for you, but I go insane in such tiny little shelters.
If you can upgrade your beta ways and enjoy the freedom of a single wall tarp or tent than your options become very open and very enjoyable.
Such suppliers I have already mentioned are:
Mountain laurel designs
Zpacks
Lotus Gear
Six moon designs
Yama mountain
Hyperlite mountain gear
Henry shires tarp tent
In conclusion:
Buying a tent much like buying gear in general is a pretty personal experience. You have to find and buy the gear that works best for you. A general guideline is to keep the tent at around 1 kilo. Also, know where you will be camping, there is no such thing as the one tent for all trips. For 99% of your trips a floorless, single wall shelter is probably more than adequate. My shelters have to have a bug net, I find that the duomid with perimeter netting works superbly well even in the densely bug populated regions of northern Sweden.
Also, don’t be afraid to check out and purchase different gear – usually the resell value on a good shelter from the smaller producers don’t lose much if any value – if anything they gain value because the wait time is non-existent. I have bought and sold many shelters on Ebay at a profit. Buy gear, try it and if it doesn’t work for you sell it on.
This video is from our third night out along kingstrail. I had apparently put my MLD duomid on top of a bug whole or something as it started to get pretty bad in there. In any case I found a little trick to getting them out. I noticed early on that once the bugs got in they just wanted to get out. So I opened up the top of my Duomid where my bug netting is and noticed within a short amount of time that all the bugs went out without me getting eaten or having to kill them. Read More
I love to be out in nature, I love sleeping over and just enjoying my time out in the woods. I don’t need to be gone very long, usually when I just need to get out, a one night sleep over is enough. However, I have one constant problem always bothering me and the reason I even changed over to a Hammock: I get massive pain in my hips and shoulder when sleeping on the ground. Read More
The SMD skycape trekker is by all accounts a great lightweight solo tent. Well made and extremely easy to setup. I originally made a video for this review out in the wild but I realized that as with my Laufbursche Huckepack video the resolution is horrible. (filmed with an ipad) on top of that my “on video” charisma is about as charming as a stick. (I would say rock but some rocks are pretty interesting) Read More
To get things started let me say just this one thing: The hilleberg Akto is the best made solo tent on earth. Quality wise it is simply perfect. This is the kind of tent that will last a life time and then some if treated with care. There are a lot of reviews about this tent stating it’s among other things “bomb proof”, I’m sure it is… Read More
