just want to know from anyone who has used this tent if you have a good use of the 3 sq ft vestibule? I like the idea of a vestibule in a solo tent but would like to be able to cook/ keep gear overnight in it. thanks for any info.

Consider that floor plan of average shoe box is nearly or about one square foot.

For about a week's worth of camping I used a Mountain Hardwear solo tent, now discontinued, that had a fairly similar design to SD Light Year, but slightly heavier. For about six months' worth of (discontinuous) camping I've used the (also discontinued) SD Divine Light, which is smaller.

I found both these tents very cramped. Also, many solo tents are too heavy compared with many 2-person tents. The Light Year, in my opinion, is borderline. I looked at one in a store once, and was somewhat put off by weight and bulk considering its size.

For summer conditions, a lot of people might do well with the somewhat larger Wenzel or similar coated pup tents. http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___35842

These cost $30 new, offer full flooring and netting (unlike tarps), and if you ditch the poles, are roughly same weight as one-person tent.

When I had my Lightyear, I basically used the vestibule to keep my boots in. It worked for its intended purpose, but not too much room in the area.

I have and use the Sierra Design Light Year. The vestibule is small and mostly I store my boots and water bottle there at night. Actually I usually put my boots in the tent. I boiled water a time or two in the vestibule under very windy conditions, but I'm not a big fan of doing that.

I use a SD Light-year quite a bit for my high-mountain, possibility-of-changeable-weather hikes. I prefer a double wall tent in those conditions. I made a new rain-fly for it out of sil-nylon to save some ounces; it works pretty well and lets more light through in addition. I use the "vestibule" for water bottles mainly.

I am now trying to figure out how to extend the fly to give a bit more protected space for cooking; so far nothing really clever has come to mind. I will, on occasion, take along a 4' x 6', 3+ oz. sil-nylon tarp as a cooking fly if the weather looks ominous. If you don't mind the extra hassle of setting it up and the minor weight penalty, this is probably the better alternative.

I agree with previous comments. The only time I can fit my pack in the vestibule is if it's empty, which by the time I've hung the bear bag and stuffed a sack with clothes for use as a pillow and such, it effectively is. Even then it's pretty cramped and doesn't leave room for my boots. In fair weather it's not a problem, but I hate to leave my pack out in driving rain. The tent itself is pretty cramped as well. It's hard to change clothes inside without hurting something. I did exchange the stock stakes for Ti ones and the stuff sack for a smaller SilNil one, which with my Tyvek groundcloth gets it under 3lbs. I wish I was crafty enough to make a custom fly for it. But... I've had my eye on the MSR Hubba to replace the LightYear for those trips where I'm forced to the ground (I've taken to the trees and am never looking back!). My main gripe with the LightYear is that it's not free-standing.

For all my griping, though, it's a great tent for what I paid for it and it's never let me down.