Recommendations for ultralight tent

[Jeffrey Ritter]

Hi all. I would welcome recommendations for ultralight tent and sleeping pad for bike packing. So many options! Prefer 1 person with a vestibule to store stuff out of the rain. Larger than a bivy for sure.

Also what about sealing seams on the tent? Seems easy and highly recommended.

Will be riding S 4.0 with Cruzbike panniers and racks.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Frito Bandito]

Youtuber Oz Cycle has a video of waterproofing various materials with a silicon/mineral spirits mix that looks like the bees knees.

The Nemo Hornet Elite is something to check out at least. It does great in winds up to 15mph, but needs the guy lines when the winds get up to 30mph. The non Elite version and the Nemo Hornet 2 are also nice.

 

[ghostrider]

I just went out for a bikepacking tour across the Appalachians using a cuban fiber tarp with a bug bivy bottom and it worked out great. The entire setup was under 1 pound and is able to be setup in areas that a tent just will not go. Let me know if you decide to try this and I'll go into some more details.

 

[bret]

Terra Nova Laser Space 2. Ultra-light for its size (3kg). Fits two people and two bicycles inside:

Terra Nova – Laser Space 2

Spec For anyone who undertakes a cycle adventure the tent you pack will be an important choice. This will be your sanctuary for days, weeks or months on end and as such its ability to meet your nee…

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Any nylon fabric (rain fly) will absorb up to 5% of it's weight in water and sag noticeably. it won't sag due to the extra weight - it will sag because wet nylon relaxes and elongates. If you pitch your tent and it rains then your tent may collapse. But nylon is elastic and strong and so will manage more wind or snow load before failing.

Any polyester fabric will absorb up to 1% of it's weight in water and sag quite a bit less. But polyester is not as elastic and will withstand less load before failing.

Polyester burns. Nylon not so much. There are credible reports that breathing or touching flame-retardant chemicals isn't so healthy.

Dyneema (which is mylar sheet laminated with dyneema fiber in between) absorbs no water, does not sag, and is very strong. It is almost always seam sealed with Dyneema tape at the factory, and may be patched in the field the same way. Some dyneema tents are only taped instead of sewn - the tape is that strong.

Tarptent & Zpacks make tents of Dyneema, as does Hyperlite Mountain Gear - https://www.garagegrowngear.com/col...ts/ultamid-shelter-by-hyperlite-mountain-gear

 

[bret]

Do not skimp on a sleeping pad. If you don't sleep, your trip and life in general will not be good. It's up to your body what works, but you must satisfy two requirements:

1) Enough comfort to fall asleep and stay asleep - there are no points for being tough.
2) Insulation. Down, fibre, etc., do NOT insulate - the air they capture does. The insulation is AIR, unless you get a Klymit mountaineering pad which you fill with Argon gas (which is a better insulator than air - and yes, they make them for this reason).

The half of your sleeping bag you lie on has all the air (insulation) squeezed out of it and will not keep you warm - you must have a support that provides enough insulation (captured air) and thickness to prevent sleep loss.

If you are cold, your sleep will not restore you. You will not enjoy life, and your health will go downhill. There are no points for being tough.

If you can satisfy both of these without pretending by using a Klymit X-frame pad, go for it - deflated it's the size of a soda can, but few people are suited to it. Otherwise find something warm enough and comfortable enough to ensure relaxed deep sleep. This probably means a pad that is at least 2.5" thick, and 3" or 4" is even better. Especially if you sleep on your side - you don't want the bony parts to touch the ground (the cold will prevent deep sleep if the physical discomfort doesn't).

I have a Wilderness Innovation Beast pad which is very good kit, quite versatile with their other approaches, and is extremely durable because it isn't inflatable - it's made of open cell 3" foam. But it's bulky.

So you probably want an inflatable pad for the compact stored form. In that case, make certain you can inflate it without using your lungs (except as a backup). You risk getting black mould inside if you inflate by breath, and then you will be inhaling black mould spores later and your cycling days will be over. For this reason, most pads sold now can be inflated using their stuff sack as a pump, or with an add-on pump-sack, or a battery driven air pump.

Inflate the pad fully so it's hard, then lie on your side and release enough air to spread out the contact so you don't have pressure points. Then you should still have an inch or so between your lowest point and the ground.

An inflatable pad means impervious fabric against your skin. Depending on temperature, humidity, and your body this may be a problem. My Wilderness Innovation Beast pad breathes quite well - an inflatable pad will not. Klymit makes pads with alternating tubes and valleys, which does provide some transport for water vapour. I don't know if this will be a problem for you. I notice the difference sleeping on my Klymit pads relative to sleeping on the Beast pad. Impervious fabric is less a problem in colder weather - not as much perspiration.

Helinox and Thermarest cots are very comfortable, but provide no insulation. This is good when night time temperatures don't go below 21C or so - you may want this. Otherwise you need an insulating pad as well. Thermarest weights less.

 

[DavidCH]

I just went out for a bikepacking tour across the Appalachians using a cuban fiber tarp with a bug bivy bottom and it worked out great. The entire setup was under 1 pound and is able to be setup in areas that a tent just will not go. Let me know if you decide to try this and I'll go into some more details.

More details please

 

[ghostrider]

So, my experience is mostly with backpacking and have only recently started to bike-pack. Bike-packing is pretty awesome, however, it made me rethink some of the gear I was using, especially while on a recumbent. One of those pieces was all the tent poles and such that I would normally have around. This lead me to picking up a few types of tarps before settling on a Cuban fiber ( also dcf, also Dyneema) tarp. I believe mine is 9x11 ( 9x10 and below allowed for rain to come in unless I anchored it really low) . I then had the issue with the insects attacking me all night and so I found a single person netted tent floor to fit under the tent and tied that to the ridge-line. These two pieces and all the cordage used to tie down the tarp and a separate ground cover are then wrapped into a tarp snake ( tube of fabric ) and coiled into my main bag. It takes about 2-5 minutes to setup. It also allows me to camp in some very odd spots that I would not have been able to fit any tent I have tried before ( and I have had about 10 so far of varied sizes ). Some of these include setups on trails for a quick roof during a rain storm for breakfast, under a park table, anchored to the bike frame with a tree being the other anchor, inside a boulder field ( not recommended during rattlesnake season... ), as a hammock ( although it needs to be anchored and reinforced correctly for this use ), used it to collect water ( was just testing in this case, I recommend a sawyer squeeze with a 3L bladder and a few water bottles for daily use ), but it just allows for a lot of different use cases and packs down better than a tent for bike-packing.

My feeling on this setup is that it is great if you are going fast and light with plans of stealth camping in the mix. If you are looking for more of a touring setup and don't mind taking on more weight and volume and would like room to stretch out while in camp, then probably a tent would be nicer.

My trip went up and across the Appalachian mountains for about 250 miles in 3 days on a modified Q45. Mostly stayed on main roads, with some dirt and rougher roads in the mix.

Hope that helps.

 

[ghostrider]

"Cruzbike panniers and racks" this also did not work for me. Ended up with burns through the panniers while softly banking or the rack throwing the bike around and almost crashing me. Although, I'm new to both recumbents and Cruzbikes.

 

[bret]

"Cruzbike panniers and racks" this also did not work for me

A pannier with a 5kg battery in it on the Cruzbike rack threw my Q45 around and I did not like it. The foam sleeping pad I mentioned above and my tent might be good candidates for that cantilevered rear rack, but I've added the under seat rack and a set of Carradice panniers for heavy items. No problems with heavy loads in that location.

 

[Jeffrey Ritter]

Gosh, everyone, this input is terrific. For now, I have decided on a Nemo Hornet Ultralight 1P, which comes in at 1.8 lbs for the tent, rain fly, poles and stakes, together with an ultralight footprint and a Nemo Tensor Ultralight sleeping pad. I am really surprised how comfortable it all is, and light. I am aiming for 18 lbs load for panniers, racks, sleep system, cooking system, bike parts and tools, clothing and a bit of food and it looks like I can get close. Super to get such counsel from everyone. Love the Cruzbike Tribe!

 

[Jeffrey Ritter]

Youtuber Oz Cycle has a video of waterproofing various materials with a silicon/mineral spirits mix that looks like the bees knees.

The Nemo Hornet Elite is something to check out at least. It does great in winds up to 15mph, but needs the guy lines when the winds get up to 30mph. The non Elite version and the Nemo Hornet 2 are also nice.

Thanks. As noted above, I went with the Nemo Hornet 1P--super compact, great waterproof material and suprisingly roomy. Yes, the tent does not cover the bike, but the vestibules will easily accommodate the panniers. Thanks.

 

[TransAm]

I did the Trans Am Bike Race both ways stealth camping with just a bivvy, sleeping out about half the time. I froze my ass off in the Rockies, until I learned to just put on my rain gear if I woke up cold (I didn't put it on immediately after stopping while my metabolism was still up, because I didn't want to sweat in it--I was ride-eat-sleep only, so no campfires). I also tried to get under cover so I was not exposed to the cold sky. Covered picnic tables were my favorite place to sleep because it gets you up off the ground so you don't have to worry about critters, and I could leave my stuff out on the benches. But a lean-to or porch works too. So as long as you can find cover, you don't need a tent w/vestibule.

For the sleeping pad, I tried without the first night, then bought an inflatable at Cabellas the next day. Bring a patch kit just in case it leaks.

 

[bret]

I did the Trans Am Bike Race

I crewed on a RAAM (1987 - she won) so I have some idea of what a racer (and crew) will put up with to succeed. I don't want to take away from that at all, but many of the people who post here have that bent so I'll let them write about that approach.

I'm more speaking to the side of 'not luxury but not extreme'. I have an older body with some significant mechanical and health problems, but I still am exploring how to be light and compact - I'm posting about that. Here in Perth it's winter now, and temperatures are down to about 50F - it should get colder in a month or so. I'm working out my 'get home kit' - being the most compact to carry to ensure I stay healthy if I need to walk home some day and sleep out in the field to get there. We do have fires and very occasional floods and later I might live somewhere with other problems - also I can turn an ankle or worse and be forced to spend a night out.

I'm succeeding in sleeping through the night quite comfortably now with this set up:
SOL Escape Bivvy (either regular or Pro)
Sea to Summit Reactor Extreme liner
Wilderness Innovation Osni poncho liner/quilt: Osni

I don't wear any clothes with this so my clothes don't soak during the night - no hat, no socks - this is enough insulation on it's own for deep sleep so far. I'll find out about colder later this year.

The Osni has the benefit of acting as a Great Coat when I'm up and around or sitting at the fire, and also matches their ponchos for weather protection. The poncho also serves as a tarp and as a gathered-end hammock - it's designed for all this - it's their main product in many fabrics.

In a compression sack, the Osni is about the size of a large coconut, but offers multi-use versatility. And it's got a warm hood!

You might do the same with another solution - there are other poncho liners. But I haven't used them.

I am about 6'-1.5". The SOL bivvy is marginal for me, but works - with my height it helps to stand up and put on the layers ensuring my feet are flat on the ground and pull the hood of the bivvy over my head and cinch (the hood only - not the front) so it stays in place before I lie down. Some taller people have complained the bivvy is too short online, so I'm mentioning that detail so you know it can work for my height and less.

It's also snug - dead space permits convection loss. My approach is to snug the drawstring to close the hood so it all stays on, but leave the front drawstring slack and just tuck the front in as a draft collar around my neck and face. It's quite easy to get out of the bivvy when I want to - just push it open.

You need the SOL Bivvy versions that have the word 'Escape' in the name - this is not about drama, it's about water vapour escaping through the fabric, and they work very well at this. At the same time, both versions stop rain very well although it can still get in through the opening - try turning over so the bottom/hood is on top.

The reflective coating inside the bivvy won't help if you are touching it - you'll get conduction loss then instead. You need some insulation between you and the bivvy for the coating to do its task, but it works well then.

Again, my criteria aren't focused on bike packing - I want to deal with twisting my ankle and falling in the river. As well I don't want to buy 8 sets of equipment for specific conditions - I am assembling one solution I can be sure of and use for anything as it's light and compact - so I will have it with me. For this reason, I won't use down - it won't keep me alive if it gets wet. Staple fiber insulations are poor - Apex Climashield will handle any conditions and I've seen several testimonials of people who deliberately soak their Climashield bag and then sleep out in it - without squeezing the water out first. They say it's dry in the morning from their body heat. Wilderness Innovation uses this insulation.

My kit is not the most convenient (snug mostly), but it's very compact and it does the job. It's not aimed so directly at what you asked about, but there may be some useful ideas for you.

If you are interested, but taller than me check out 2GoSystems and their Arc bivvy.

I also recommend Wiggy's sleeping bags, but they won't satisfy the bike packing extremes unless you're thinking of going out with serious snow on the ground - then they will justify their bulk (and they can be smashed really small for their size over and over - they will loft again).

 

[jond]

A one man tent is a little mistake. Buy a two man tent. Little weight penalty and more room.

I’ve used everything from super light and expensive that fitted into 25 litres of luggage radical design banana racers.included a tent inflatable mat and pillow plus a quilt and clothes. To mediocre two man tents 1.4 kg for $150. Always the mediocre last longer perform better and no buyers remorse.
3 season bike packing a quilt makes sense after all the underside of the sleeping bag is crushed by body weight thus no insulation.
I’ve used a henness hammock too at around 1 kg but really only suitable down to 18 deg c unless you shove a mat in or under quilt. Meh.
it really depends on exactly what you’re planning. A fast trip big miles every day. Or a slower trip.also your budget. There are some expensive options for everything. Bit like Dura ace v ultegra lol.
Read some crazy guy on a bike blogs check out there packing list.
regarding seam sealing on todays okay tents. Yeh not required.