One Person Tent

A shelter cut to the width of one sleeping mat

A one person tent is designed around a single sleeper and nothing more: a floor about the width of one mat, enough length for a body and a bag at the feet, and a height that suits sitting up rather than standing. The range covers bivvy-style shelters, trekking pole designs that use a walking pole instead of a frame, four season models and elevated tents that pitch off the ground. Cutting the floor to one occupant is what makes them light enough to carry alone. Roomier options are grouped in two person tents.

Is a solo tent big enough in practice?

For sleeping, yes. For living, it depends on the porch. The inner is sized for a body, so wet boots, a stove and a rucksack all end up in the vestibule between the inner and the flysheet. A usable porch turns a wet evening into something manageable; without one, everything comes inside with you. Height at the head end matters more than height in the middle, since that is where you sit to cook and read.

What is a bivvy tent?

It is the smallest step up from sleeping in the open: a low shelter barely taller than a sleeping bag, with a hoop or short pole to keep fabric off the face. It pitches where a full tent will not fit and disappears into a pack. The trade is space: no room to sit up and no porch worth the name, so most tasks happen outside. Between that and a full tent sit the trekking pole designs, which use a pole you already carry to raise a taller shape from less material.

Which specifications matter for solo camping?

• Packed weight: carried by one person, so every part counts, and the figure to compare is the weight of everything needed to pitch it.
• Pitch order: a tent that pitches outer first, or all in one, keeps the inner dry when you set up in rain.
• Floor length: the sleeping bag needs room at the head and the feet without pressing on the fabric, where condensation gathers.
• Porch size: space for a pack and boots under cover is what makes a small tent liveable.
• Ventilation: vents at the top and a gap at the base are what move the moisture your breath produces overnight.

How do you pitch on wet ground?

Choose the spot before the tent: slightly raised, out of a hollow, clear of the line running water takes. Point the low end into the wind so the shape sheds it, and tension the guys early rather than in the dark. Keep the inner off the flysheet, because any contact between the two wicks water through.

How should a tent be dried and stored?

Hung fully open at home, even if it went into the bag dry, and never left packed damp. Brush grit off the zips and pole sections, since that is what wears a zip out and jams a joint. Store it loosely in a large bag, and keep pegs in their own pouch so the points do not press against the flysheet. The same routine applies across camping tents. A hammock tent dries the same way, straps included.