Re: [Paddlewise] one-person tents

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I have a Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight CD.  It's small, but very light.  I
chose it for it's lightness.  I do a lot of backpacking and bicycle touring.
I'm 6'4" and I use it as a one person tent, but I have a friend with the
same tent who sleeps both he and his wife in his.  He says it's a tight
squeeze, but it works.  It's not free-standing.

I also have an old Eureka Timberline I use for kayaking.  It's a bit
roomier, though heavier.  Weight doesn't seem to be as much of an issue to
me when paddling, as it is when cycling or backpacking.

A friend I've paddled with has a Gore-tex bivy.  I'm not sure how I would
like sleeping in it, especially in a rain storm, but I have to say it looked
pretty attractive when I saw how quickly and easily he "set it up" and got
ready for sleep.

I would think the following criteria would be important:

Uses - Is ultra light weight an issue?

Freestanding - Are you going to paddle in slickrock country?

Quality - A tent that works fine to keep out mosquitoes and a light drizzle
in benign conditions might be totally unacceptable in typhoon-like
conditions.  A good quality tent will also last longer and stand up to hard
use better.

Does the manufacturer stand behind their product? - I had an L. L. Bean tent
that "threw a zipper" after many years of hard use.  I phoned the company
and they sent me a new replacement, no questions asked.  All I had to do was
send them the old tent (at their expense!)  I had a friend who had a Moss
tent that was ancient.  The zipper broke.  They no longer made that tent, so
they instructed her to send them the broken tent and they would fix it.
They did, for free.
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