If you spend a lot of time in the outdoors, it’s a good idea to have a 1 person tent at your disposal. Larger tents can be useful if you’re going with a group, and especially a group that doesn’t have their own tents, but with a 1 person tent you always, at least, can put a shelter over your own head, regardless of whether you are going solo or with a larger group. And if you get a lightweight 1 person tent, you also don’t have to get stuck carrying someone else’s heavy tent.
1 Person Tent
What to look for when you're looking for a 1 person tent.- Weight – If you’re getting a 1 person tent then there’s no chance of offloading that tent on someone else. You’re going to have to carry it. So you might as well make it a lightweight tent. Fortunately 1 person tents don’t need to be big, and some are small enough that they weigh hardly anything at all.
- Season – If you’re going out in the winter then it’s a good idea to have a four season tent. You can make do with a three season tent, but you have to really pick your campsite, and also hope that you’re not unlucky enough to be out in a storm. So for winter camping, a four season 1 person tent is a good idea.
Best 1 Person Tent
Some of the very best 1 person tents for those solo camping trips.- NEMO Equipment Gogo Elite Tent - The Gogo is an ideal tent for when it's just you. It's a cross between a bivy sack and a tent, and has just enough room inside for you to lay down. The door does have a screen, however, so you can ventilate the small space as long as it's not raining too hard outside. Rather than a pole it actually has an inflatable tube, which is what adds structure. So there's no pole to carry, and also no pole to break and have to replace. So a small 1 person tent with a tiny footprint, ideal for those solo adventures. It weighs 1 pound 7 ounces, or 652 grams.
- Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 Tent - The Fly Creek is one of the better free standing 1 person tents on the market. The 2 person version won the 2010 Backpacker magazine Editor's Choice award, and this 1 person version uses all of the same excellent design features, just in a smaller package. It has plenty of ventilation, and just enough room inside to sit up, but like the Gogo above this is a tent designed to be lightweight. And at just 1 pound 14 ounces, or 850 grams, it certainly does not disappoint in that area.
- Tarptent Contrail - The Contrail is an entirely different kind of 1 person tent. It's a single wall design, first of all, but gives you a whole lot of ventilation options to make sure condensation doesn't build up too much. It also gives you the option of using trekking poles as the tent poles, so that you can leave the optional pole at home. It's also a relatively cheap option, and weighs just 24.5 ounces, which is 700 grams.
