Lightweight tent recommendations?

I see your sorted with a Hunka Hippy.

Not a review, but some thoughts on the SOL Emergency, i bought 2.

Claimed weight 99g actual weight 105g, the bag is a further 4.2g =109.2 total grams.
0.4gram is a small paper detail sheet :)
Got them from backpackinglight as they had cheapest deal when i got them and good service too.

I still have my old plastic orange bag, cold war spec, so proper hefty, think it was 800+g, been carrying foil blankets and a bag for years, only had to use twice.
Couple years ago we nearly lost a tent in a remote part of scotland, i got the SOL bags when we came home.
Lightweight, repairable with tape, can be used as groundsheet to protect the tent's ground sheet on rocky ground, scrunches up small and is reusable. On one hand, £15 for a plastic bag is steep, on the other hand £15 for a multi useable lightweight practical bit of kit that will last years isn't so bad afterall.
So far haven't had to sleep in it so no experience on sleeping in one. On other experience's you get a bit damp, if it's really really cold your sleeping bag gets frosty instead of damp.

Would i ? if the tents gone, then thats what i have it for.
Would i take this instead of a tent/bivi bag ? No i like comfort and would look at the thermal version or a proper breatheable bag.
Could i ? if i was doing some sort of race/event in the UK and not in winter then i would, and suck up the fact it's non-breathable so you will get damp from condensation.

I fall firmly in the "comfort zone" but watching what the "Ultralight" mob get up to has helped me trim loads of weight.

Yep, Hunka incoming...

SOL Emergency claimed is actually 3.8oz which is 107.728 grams :)

+2grams of extra survivalness :)

@hippy - real life reviews of various products here > http://www.buachaille.com/c2-23-0-0-0-2/Bivi-Bags/

Not really a lightweight - but currently free on gumtree!

https://www.gumtree.com/p/freebies/wynnster-brecon-8-tent/1146686414

Spanks. Once I've tested the Hunka a bit (and not died in my sleep) I'll make a decision about what, if anything, I want to change up. I've got a large Revelate bag now so (assuming it fits) I'll be able to carry all this kind of stuff.

Also useful site for down jackets, which it appears every ultra racer owns..

Hey hippy, I'm a bit of a tent nerd.

My input is based on how I like to tour though, and that snot how Mike Hall and Jesse Carlson do it (FWIW I ride with Jesse sometimes on Wednesday nights #humblebrag). I love camping out in a tent where it's dry and warm and comfy, but I still try and make it light.

I've ended up with a Tarptent Contrail (now called the Protrail) and it's bloody brilliant. It packs up small and weighs bugger all for the space it gives. When my wife and I rode the Mawson Track in South Australia we managed to both camp in it and it was ace. When we went to NZ though, where it was going to be wetter, we got the Tarptent Stratospire 2. Again, it's very roomy, packs up small, and is reasonably lightweight for what it is.

Not long ago I rode the Goldfields Track here in Victoria with a Vischacha, a medium Tangle and a small Swift rando bag. It was wet and cold, but the Contrail was excellent. For me.

I was looking at tarptents a while back. They're awesome design.

I'd raise you the point that by spending 10 minutes putting up and taking down a tent, that's 10 minutes wasted. Hence bivi is far better for the application of racing. Touring then no bother.

I used to have one, condensation was more of a problem than was worth it for me.

10 mins

I'd say 3 mins to setup, maybe 5-6 to pack away. I'm certainly no racer though.

I used to have one, condensation was more of a problem than was worth it for me.

Yeah I've used it in some pretty humid places in NZ and Australia and haven't had any problems. I'd even say less problems than my old Hubba Hubba. I do pretty much always sleep with the door(s) open though if I can, and I haven't tried two people in the Contrail when it's humid.

Well doors open, sure, but mine was used in Manitoba; the bugs are bad here.

They're fully mesh sealed though eh, so bugs aren't a problem with the silnylon doors open.

The old ones weren't (as I recall) and it would have been too cold with that much exposure anyway.

Cheers for the info. I'm gonna stick with the bivvy bag idea for now (it should've arrived already hmm). My Macpac and sleeping bag and Thermarest are all old, big and heavy but will work for touring, if I ever do any again. I'm focused on speed for TransAm and also being as discrete as possible when free-camping. The tent might be a bit obvious if I'm sleeping on the roadside. :)

TransAm

Ah right, I should have read further back to get the context. Should be a great adventure!

No stress. It's still good to get tent talk in the tent thread and if/when I do something else I'll be able to come back to it.

You've got me looking at Tarptents again. Nothing wrong with my Terranovas but those tarp tents are really nice.

^ I'm pretty happy with my TarpTent Cloudburst 3. Wouldn't use it for exposed winter conditions but it's great otherwise. It's a really comfortable place to be - two entrances, vestibules big enough to cook under, and the interior bug screens mean you can open it right up to get a nice view without getting eaten alive.

It's certainly not a 3-minute pitch despite what Henry Shires says, so no good for racing. It has no issues with condensation even here in wet-but-temperate NZ. But maybe it would in wet-and-much-colder UK, I don't know, I bought it when I moved here.

Got my Hunka. Not sure why @skinny found it small. Seems big to me.

Packs down to...

Hey just a little thing I thought worth mentioning: Tarptents are designed for trekking poles. The thin one that you can order with the Protrail is pretty much fine for all but the windiest conditions, but I'd definitely recommend the stiffer poles you can get for the Stratospire 2. I strap them to my top tube under a M Revelate Tangle.

tarptent: double rainbow, even for one man. Enough room for all your gear and really good in windy/wet conditions. I've taken it to Patagonia with no troubles. Done.

I'm actually fat.

I knew it. Hiring a body double to do all your photo shoots, etc.