Best One-Person Tent

Daniel Guerra wrote:

Im strongly considering the Akto 1 Person Tent. Thoughts? 

The Akto is the Red level of the Enan (Yellow) I discussed above.  The difference is slightly heavier material and a different design for the ends of the tent which will allow for a little better pitching of the tent.  It has the same poles.

I do not think the Akto would be a good 'on route' tent pitched high on a mountain on a tiny ledge, it takes quite a long space to setup in.  But it should be fine for other uses in Patagonia.  The Enan and Akto are short with my head rubbing the top of the tent while sitting in the middle of the tent.   In my quest for the perfect tent I have learned the looking at the peak height is another important consideration along with the length of the tent.  For reference I am 5ft 11inches and I found the peak height (36 inches) of the Enan to be a little small but not all that annoying especially if all you do is sleep in the tent.  That the tent is high in the center and low on both ends is also a little annoying in that you sit up and stretch out your legs from the center of the tent.  The wall of the tent is just above your face when laying down.  I hope the Atko's different end design keeps the tent from laying on your face if it snows.

The solid inner tent  and the outer tent walls going all the way to the ground means it will be much more windproof and warmer than the slingfin portal discussed above.  

Telefly wrote:

The sling fin may stand up fine in the Patagonian winds, but it will probably be a very drafty, and cold tent for those conditions. The fly is a few inches above the ground, and the  solid material on the long sides only comes up maybe 6”, and a bit higher on the short end walls. Blowing spin drift will probably get thru the mesh. If they made it with a solid inner tent, it might be better for your needs.

The crossbow and indus are solid inner walled versions of the portal (3+ season).  Slingfin also makes the hotbox, a full on 'on route' mountaineering tent competing with BD firstlight et all, TNF Assault 2, Rab Latok, or some of the MSR advance.  The Slingfin Windsaber which another expedition level tent (4 season).

Patagonia is where tents go to die, unless you have unlimited funds I wouldn't blow too much of your budget on the tent. Maybe prioritize good customer service and a warranty. be sure to collapse the tent whenever you're up climbing, doesn't matter how many rocks or packs are in it, it will still be quite capable of flight in those winds. 

climber pat wrote:

Slingfin also makes the hotbox, a full on 'on route' mountaineering tent competing with BD firstlight et all, TNF Assault 2, Rab Latok, or some of the MSR advance. 

I'm intrigued by the Hotbox. Anyone own one and care to provide their thoughts?

Daniel Guerra wrote:

Im strongly considering the Akto 1 Person Tent. Thoughts? 

I’ve seen this tent and the Enan in use. They are fine tents but not freestanding.

It is my preference to always have a freestanding tent because of their ease of setup and versatility for setting up in less than ideal pitches.

The Hilleberg Unna is a freestanding 4 season option for 1 person tents. 

With any tent in heavy winds, the tie down points are of supreme importance. I personally was in a 60+ mph wind storm in an Unna, camped on snow, in the rain. The anchor points melted out no matter how often we got up to fix them.

When the storm got gnarliest the tent poles snapped in one place and bent in three places.

On this same trip, an MSR Hubba Hubba was next to me. It was completely annihilated by this storm. The poles exploded into 20 pieces. The rain fly ripped in half. The occupant was being blown across the snow, sliding across the ground inside of the inner tent in the middle of the night. 

I second the advice to flatten/break down a tent unattended so it survives you being gone. Put it back up when you return. 

Alex Fletcher wrote:

I’ve seen this tent and the Enan in use. They are fine tents but not freestanding.

It is my preference to always have a freestanding tent because of their ease of setup and versatility for setting up in less than ideal pitches.

The Hilleberg Unna is a freestanding 4 season option for 1 person tents. 

With any tent in heavy winds, the tie down points are of supreme importance. I personally was in a 60+ mph wind storm in an Unna, camped on snow, in the rain. The anchor points melted out no matter how often we got up to fix them.

When the storm got gnarliest the tent poles snapped in one place and bent in three places.

On this same trip, an MSR Hubba Hubba was next to me. It was completely annihilated by this storm. The poles exploded into 20 pieces. The rain fly ripped in half. The occupant was being blown across the snow, sliding across the ground inside of the inner tent in the middle of the night. 

I second the advice to flatten/break down a tent unattended so it survives you being gone. Put it back up when you return. 

The Hilleberg Enan is far from freestanding, in fact I found it rather difficult to pitch mine tightly. I've heard that the thin silicone impregnated nylon used in this tent stretches when wet, which may have been part of the problem. I would expect the Akto to be similarly difficult to pitch well, since it is essentially the same design as the Enan with heavier fabric. 

In addition to the Unna, Hilleberg makes a freestanding, 4 season solo tent called the Soulo, in two versions. One version (the Red Label Soulo) uses somewhat lighter fabric and 9 mm poles, and the other version (the Black Label Soulo) uses slightly heavier fabric and 10 mm poles. Both are fully freestanding, 4 season tents with 3 poles. A Red Label (lightweight version) Soulo was used on a January ascent of Denali, so even as a "lightweight" 4 season tent it's capable of withstanding some severe use. A functional difference between the Soulo and the Unna is that the Soulo has a vestibule, while the Unna has room for gear in the inner tent, but no vestibule. A benefit of most (if not all) Hilleberg tents is that the inner and the footprint (if you use one) remain attached to the rainfly, which speeds up pitching and taking down the tent. The external poles on the Soulo make pitching and taking down even simpler, IMO.

I own a Hubba Hubba and I'm not surprised that it got annihilated. It's an excellent lightweight 3 season tent, but no way was it designed for the scenario that Alex Fletcher describes.

Rexford Nesakwatch wrote:

I'm intrigued by the Hotbox. Anyone own one and care to provide their thoughts?

The Hotbox looks really good. I have a Slingfin Crossbow2, which I really like, and the Hotbox is a pound lighter, door orientation is better for alpinism. The Crossbow2 is extremely strong, and also versatile, as one can change the inner tent. It’s a bit heavy for what the OP wants, however.