Single Wall Tents...

Well, I am a newbie to this site. I have done quite a bit of packing and decided to join this site because of the good info I saw on here. So here is my first post/question.

Have any of you had any experience with single wall tents? I have been looking at a few MSR models such as the Missing Link, Fling, and the new Skinny Too. I have heard that the condensation can be a problem in single wall, along with stability. My ve24 is gettin old, and would like to try a new style of tent. My trip for this summer is 3 months in AK so I need something I can tolerate for a decent period of time. Thanks to all.
Little Otter.
PS-Great site!

little Otter

First off - welcome to the lite gear site.

Secondly - you didn't fill out your profile so we don't know much about you.

Thirdly, we hear from a lot of newbies who intend to disappear into wilderness for 3 months in Alaska - its true. Do you have any qualifications for the trip?

Fourth - There is a wealth of information about single walled tents to be found by searching this site - someone will tell you how. And you get what you pay for whether its single or double walled.

and again welcome,

Jim

Does that explain why so many new folks that come here asking questions don't follow up when we ask for more information--they're already lost in the wilds?

Seriously, though, we do need to know a bit more about your background and what kind of trip you're planning to be able to respond to your questions.

I do know that Erin McKittrick and Bret Higman, in their hiking/packrafting/skiing expedition up the BC and Alaska coast from Seattle to the Aleutians, used a MLD Mid. Here's their web site. Note, though, that this pair had a lot of experience with Alaska conditions before their trip--3,000 miles of backpacking and packrafting.

I can imagine you hear it alot. I'm not much of a newbie to backpacking itself, just this site. I spent the summer after high school up there in Denali then down on the Kenai. It is like the itch I can't scratch. I feel as though I need to get up there again. I spend most of my days off traveling to different points in the midwest and weekending spots. This trip is more of a preview/info gathering trip for a move in spring of '10. Thanks for the tip on the search. I do enjoy my VE24, but it does get warm and muggy on a sunny day. I do have all of the other equiptment including a great tent, just looking for insight on a lighter tent.
I have been leaning towards the MSR Fling. Anyone use one?

There have been many amazing updates to tents in recent years. The Hubba Hubba (first viable 2 man, 4lb., double-door, double-wall, freestanding tent), cottage-industry tents like the TarpTent, and various designs of single wall tents. There has never been a better time to buy a tent.

I've used the Fling and really like it. It is freestanding, but can be made lighter by leaving the middle pole at home. I personally like the fact that it's freestanding and am willing to carry the slightly extra weight. It has a ton of room (almost a 3 man tent) and has some unique technologies that make it livable.

One of the best things about the Fling is it's ease of setup. Although you will experience condensation in the Fling (much more than in your ve24 by the way), the moisture will run down the walls, and due to the unique "pockets" located on the sides, will pass outside through no-see-um mesh.

I also really like the new Skinny 2 tent from MSR. I've slept in it a couple of times and felt it was one of the best single wall tents currently for the money. It is patterned after the MSR DragonTail (ultra-light mountaineering tent) and uses a wind tunnel to keep things dry inside, even if it is raining. I also love the huge window at the end of the tent that offers great views outside and for the condesation from your breath to escape. However, if it starts raining, all you have to do is quickly zip up the window and you will remain perfectly dry. This would be my recommendation if you are serious about a single wall tent.

Hope that helps .

Thank you Jason for the info.

I really like the Tarptent Rainbow and Double Rainbow - check them out at www.tarptent.com

Spacious, very light, deal pretty well with condensation, and fully sealed up from bugs.

Thanks for the tips all!
Actually the dragontail was the reason I started looking into the single wall design. Prior to that I thought single wall was a nice way of saying, "too cheap to buy a decent tent" When I saw the dragontail it reminded me of a design I saw on my trip to AK in '03. A couple with a heavy german accent (I think) had a Tatonka tent and it was very interesting to me. I really like the fact that the Fling can be self supportive.
Bmisf, Are the floors "attached" on the rainbow? I can't tell from the website's photos if screen connects the flooring to the walls.

Thanks again all!
Little Otter

Little Otter
" Prior to that I thought single wall was a nice way of saying, "too cheap to buy a decent tent" ". That is a very interesting comment that I have never seen before, I wonder how many others think like that (consciously or unconsciously) . Having worked in retail for 30 years I am well aware that a perception is also a reality so it is not that uncommon for products to fail because of some perceived notions.
Most of the single wall tents I think of are actually more expensive than the avarage double wall ( IE Bibler/Integral Design/Stephensons/ Tarptent/Six Moon Design/Gossamer Gear) but as it is with a lot of products (for example HI Fi and cameras) the elite brands are not the ones amateurs are aware of.
Franco

Tarptent and Six Moons more expensive? I dunno about that. Maybe more expensive than wal-mart perhaps, but if you consider something like your typical REI or MEC house brand "three season" tent that won't be a complete and utter POS - they're quite a bit cheaper I think.

Otter -

Some tarptents are available floorless, but the Rainbow and Double Rainbow have a bathtub floor and mesh walls suspended from the single-wall tarp; they're really tents.

I'm recommending your taking a look at these based on your need to use them in summer, the amount of room they give you and the airiness, plus the flexibility of the vestibules. You'll get a lot more ventilation in this than in the Dragontail, and a lot more ways to open one or both vestibules to create views or ventilation. The Dragontail (and other similar single-wall tents would be sweatboxes in summer.

Phat

It was about perceptions .
The OP perceived that single wall tents are a cheap ( as in nasty ) alternative, my point was that they are not necessaraly "low quality" hence the various top brands mentioned nor cheap in price ( IE comparing Kelty/Eureka/Sierra Design $79-149 tents with the $179-289 Tarptents, never mind the $550-700+ Stephenson's)
I use two Tarptents so there is no argument about the value.
As a buyer for a busy photographic shop I had to keep focusing on how customers perceived products not on what I knew about a product. A common frustration amongst specialist retail salespersons is juggling between trying to educate the public in buying better products (spending a lot of time doing so and risking to lose a sale) or just selling what people perceive to be a better product.
For example when Samsung were making cameras for Minolta and some models for Nikon , Olympus and others, I still had to consider that most customers would purchase the same model with their "perceived" better brand on it regardless of the fact that the camera was the same.
Franco