Single wall vs Fly

[apopj]

Hi guys,

I've been camping with a Eureka Tetragon 5 for several years and while it is nice and does everything I have asked of it, the poles are a little long at about 22 inches, and it is time for a new, lighter tent.
While looking around at the local backpacking store, I noticed a couple of "single wall" tents wherein the rain fly is actually a part of the tent, not an add on item. The salesperson who was really quite knowledgeable, said that his only complaint about the single fly tent was the ventalation issue.
After talking for awhile, I found out that he actually owns and uses a single wall for his backpacking trips. His reason? Once while on a trip, he had to put up his tent in the rain. While the tent went up without trouble, by the time he put the rainfly on, the inside of the tent was soaked due to water running through the mesh on the tent. After that episode, he went to a single wall and has never had a problem with the tent getting wet again. And, he said he has never really had an issue with heat or moisture in the single wall tent, contrary to what the "experts" had to say.
So, has anyone any comments to add? Anyone using a singlewall tent? Thanks for the help and good camping.... Jeff

[Mellow]

I've thought a lot about this as I almost never put the tent up without the fly.

There is a tent, I think Eureka makes it-The EXO?-, where you can actually put the poles on from inside the single walled tent in case it does rain.

I don't have any actual experience with the single walled tents so I can't add much more that that. Hopefully, others will provide some better comments.

Welcome to the site!

[funny-biz]

I love going flyless if there is enough privacy. And with the humidity here it could be unbearable without the air circulation. OTOH, a small tent fan would help you if air and moisture became a problem....

[mongo]

I stayed at the KOA in Needles, CA a few years back and it was deffinately flyless! I woke up sweating @ 4:00 AM, packed everything up, showered and hit the road. One of the battery fans would be nice in that weather for sure!

[Trailace]

I like going flyless and did so 5 nights on my last ride. Its great looking at the stars.

[Mellow]

I like going flyless and did so 5 nights on my last ride. Its great looking at the stars.

Yeah, unless you wear glasses.. fly, no fly, tent, no tent... without my glasses it could be cloudy or clear and I wouldn't know the difference.... That's my I have the little glow in the dark stars on the inside roof of my tent...

[MikeP1300]

Jeff;

What you need to ask yourself is "what do I want from a tent"? If you're a cool weather camper and can manage to avoid heavy rain, the newer single wall tents may serve you well. Some weigh in at 3-4 lbs and have lots of mesh for ventilation.

I've thought about going that way myself until some of my most memorable (say wet) backpacking trips come to mind. If you plan on long road trips you will most likely get to experience all that mother nature has to offer, including terrible thunderstorms. At least on the road you'll be able to find a laundramat to dry things out, but I'd rather carry a few extra lbs and not have to worry about getting wet. If you've ever had to spend a cold night in a wet sleeping bag, you'll know what I'm talking about. I once had to endure a long, cold, wet nite in a cheap 2 man single wall tent with 2 buddies. I think we got wetter from condensation than from the rain. My next camping purchase was a three person double walled tent.

I just bought an inexpensive ($150) Kelty Gunnison 2 person tent for motocamping. It's roomy for one person and cozy for the wife and me (not for 3 guys). A large fly should keep us dry and 2 doors w/vestibules for equipment storage. Lots of mesh on the tent canopy for warm nites. Fast setup with pole clips instead of sleeves on the canopy. About 5 lbs but the poles at 22" won't fit into the ST side case or top box. It will be a bit chilly in below freezing temps, but that's why I have a good sleeping bag: goose down if I expect really cold stuff. That's another reason to get a good dry tent, goose down is less than worthless if it gets wet.

All that said, a couple of friends just hiked the AT with a glorified tarp and mosquito netting.
To each his own.

Sorry for the long post, hope it helps.

[Mellow]

Yo Mike!... great comments... there are no such thing as too long of a post here... just tons of information.

Welcome to the site.

[Trekker]

I have backpacked using a single-wall floorless shelter.... and learned the hard way I also needed to put my sleeping bag in a dry bivy bag that breathes.

I agree with Mike. Ever see those large cabin tents setup with blue poly tarps over them? That's because these are single wall tents and are worthless in anything harder that a light rain. The rain fly keeps the tent protected from both rain & sun, while the much needed venting comes from the mesh roof panels in most tents. Best advise I could ever give regarding tents and rain flys is..... get one with a FULL coverage fly. Not one of those partial flys that only covers the tent like a cap. You need the full protection to keep the tent walls out of the downpours. And if the fly can be peaked out over the doors & windows, so much the better. Keeping the rain out while letting the air flow is most desirable. Condensation is not fun inside the tent.

And if it looks like it will be a dry night..... you can always leave it off.

[STeveGray]

And if it looks like it will be a dry night..... you can always leave it off.

Unless you have my kind of luck. I can pretty well guarantee rain if I leave it off. If I go to the trouble of putting up the fly, I can be pretty sure it'll stay dry. :o

[Trekker]

Unless you have my kind of luck. I can pretty well guarantee rain if I leave it off. If I go to the trouble of putting up the fly, I can be pretty sure it'll stay dry. :o

And then...... We Dance!!!!! We Dance Like Tigers!!:D

[apopj]

I am not sure why you folks were getting wet? The single wall tents I have considered all have bathtub floors and are waterproof. They have vents, just not a separate rain fly. It is a waterproof single wall tent? The only time my gear got wet was when I tried to pitch my two wall tent in the rain. While I was putting up the inner tent, rain came in through the mesh net on top and soaked the floor. By the time I was able to get the fly on, it was too late. I am thinking that if I had a single wall tent, this would not have been a problem. So, am I missing something? How did your gear get wet? I am not talking tarp here, just a single wall bathtub floor free standing tent.... Thanks again, Jeff

[STeveGray]

Jeff, I can't really answer because my experience with single wall tents is so limited. I haven't had one for many, many moons. The only time I remember using one in pouring rain was one year at Laguna Seca where it isn't really a normal camping situation. I was on a hillside on grass and it turned out that there was a pothole hidden by the grass (it sure LOOKED OK when I pitched the tent) that ended up under the floor of my tent. When the rain started that pothole filled with water which then came up through the floor of the tent, even though it had a bathtub floor. (I had an indoor swimming pool :( )

Everything got soaked but I don't think that had much to do with the single wall construction of the tent. Even if it did, that was so long ago that today's tents are entirely different animals from what I was using back then.

The issue you bring up about the difficulty or the added complexity of setting up a double wall tent in the rain is, I think, a valid issue.