Jonathan Hanson 

Don't scrimp on your tent. Period. It is your ultimate refuge from weather, and your essential guarantee of a restful night's sleep. You can get by with a cheap sleeping bag and a good tent, but if your cheap tent collapses in wind or leaks in rain, the best sleeping bag in the world won't help. Please read this.

bark_eater 

I love me a good what tent thread. I had to blink a couple times as the picture of the $4000 bike packing specific weapon is kind incongruous with the "Hi guys, I just started camping, what tent should I get?" For all I know you won this bike in a card game and said "What the heck, might as well go camping" So yea nice bike. I dont know too much about new bikes, but I'm going to guess that $2000 dollars of its "value" is the 4 pounds of weight it shaves off of a $2000 bike, so something like $500 per pound saved. Working with in that "economy" I suggest spending time some over at https://backpackinglight.com/ and figuring out a sub 10lb "system" that will complement your ride.

As far as specific recommendations, I can say from experience that The Trestles sleeping bag did not work for me. I actually bought it and returned it twice from REI because I'm not a small person and I really wanted to love the wide size they had at the time. I dont know if the design has change much since but mine was heavy and bulky. This wasnt a problem because I was useing it for canoeing, as it was supposed to be relatively warm if it got wet. In my experience the shingled top insulation never lay correctly and there where always cold spots. The insulation was thin on the bottom, which is fine when useing a sleeping pad, but not a lot of help in a hammock.

If your going to keep trying your hammock into the winter I would get a wide insulated inflatable pad. A torso leangth one works if you put an inflatable sit pad under your heels. I would also find a wide but thin closed cell foam Hammock pad for additional insulation that will wrap up around your shoulders, to keep cold spots under control.

There are a number of winter hammock tents out right now, with end beaks that can be set for a tight A frame enclosure. If you have one of these you can also use it for winter ground sleeping with a water resistant bivy and a sufficient pad. If you go big enough on the tarp you can get you bike under it as well. In the summer you can add some sort of bug net/bivy/tent.

As far as Solo tents go, I assume that my criteria where different from yours, but I had a list of features and qualities.

Free standing, simple to set up and hard to break when the reptilian mind has taken over.

Side entry with vestibule to slow the entry of dirt and water into the sleeping area.

Fabric on lower part of tent body to keep blowing sand and spray out, and keep cross ventilation above my body in the cold.

Fly with doors that opens wide for ventilation in heat.

Guy line points on fly for wind and snow load "Unplanned weather events"

Shorter poles for going on bike.

Reasonably durable.

Not too heavy .

Can get on sale at REI.


I ended up with a Kelty Gundison 2 that I got for under $150 that has served well.

I wanted to try an actual solo tent for this years adventures and picked up an REI Passage 1 for under $100.

Since 2020 was a bust, I haven't had a chance to try this one out.

Have fun on your adventures.

staehpj1

I resisted replying to this for quite a while, because everyone has an opinion and what works for you is what matters. I am not saying you are wrong, but my experience is different. Truth be told I have used cheap tents and cheap bags. I have used medium priced bags and an expensive one. I have used junk tents way back in the day (I am almost 70 so I remember cotton pup tents and $15 nylon tents), inexpensive tents, and medium priced tents, but never really high dollar ones.

Truth be told, with proper care it was possible to manage with the worst of both if chosen for the trip and used with care. I backpacked with some terrible gear back in the 60s and 70s, but managed just fine. I spent 73 day on the Trans America in a $70 sleeping bag and a similarly cheap 8' dome tent (shared with two companions). We managed fine. We knew the limitations of the gear and lived with them.

I owned models like the Eureka Timberline years ago and it was pretty nice. I have fond memories. I have since used some nice Eureka and MSR models and they were fine. The thing is that the one tent that I actually am still most likely to use is one that was cheapest of the decent relatively modern models at $100, a Eureka Spitfire 1.

The sleeping bags I have owned on the other hand definitely are ranked in how fond I am with them in the same order as what they cost. The one that probably cost as much as the rest combined is my favorite piece of gear. I love that bag! My favorite tent is a long way from the most expensive especially if you adjust for inflation. It is also quite a few notches from my favorite piece of gear. It is a nice solid workhorse that serves it's purpose admirably.

I'll add that I actually don't use tents much these days more often using 7oz bivy (or 5.3 oz bug bivy) that isn't much more than a bag cover with a light tarp.

Jonathan Hanson 

I certainly value your experience, and as you say, experience differs. My own philosophy comes not just from bad personal experience with cheap—or, if you prefer, simply bad—tents, but also from years of guiding sea kayak trips in Mexico, when I had to deal with literally dozens of clients' tents that collapsed in moderate breezes and leaked in moderate rain, making their owners miserable. (I don't consider Eureka tents "cheap" at all, by the way; they're good value for the money.) I've seen $39.95 dome tents with "rain flies" I could breathe through, and with poles that broke pitching them. Look at the scene below on a breezy day on the Sea of Cortez. There's a Eureka on the right looking just fine, and a Sierra Designs tent way in the back that's fine too. Would you want to be in any of the other tents here? Obviously not everyone can afford a Hilleberg, but my strong opinion remains that your tent should have budget priority for your shelter, no matter what your budget is. If you have $200 to spend on the tent and sleeping bag, spend $150 on the tent and $50 on the bag.

IAMSpecial

Thank you so much everyone, I work at a hospital and it has been a total mess so i apologize for the late reply. I will read these in a few. Thank you!

IAMSpecial

Hahah! Yes I know how that looks! lol I actually do a lot of biking, Mtn, gravel, Road etc I did not get the bike with the intention of bikepacking but then I saw pictures of it with all the bags and i'm like ok Ill try it!

IAMSpecial

These are awesome! Which one person tent would you recommend for all year round? I really like these tarp tents and the prices are great

IAMSpecial

Thank you all so much , I am leaning towards the Bowfin 1S from tarptent. I have to do some research on free standing but it looks like it checks all the boxes. If anyone else can chime in on them I would def appreciate it.

andrewclaus

I'm a minimalist and I've always liked the Tarptent Protrail for it's utter simplicity and ruggedness. Others may not like the front entry and that you can't sit up well in it. It's a highly personal choice.

Carbonfiberboy 

1 person 4-season tents seem to be much less common than 2 person tents, and for good reason. Not that many people want to go up into the winter mountains alone. Big Agnes makes a couple of 1-perosn bikepacking specific tents. They have some mesh in them, but at least you don't have a moisture problem in them. Good tents. Many PCT thru-hikers use the Copper Spur. We have woken up in the morning to find snow on the fly of our Big Agnes mesh tent. We had not idea it was snowing and were perfectly comfortable. But it was what's known as a no-poop day among thru-hikers. We went socks-gallon Ziolocks-trail runners for our feet which works fine. For sleeping bags, a down bag with down only on top and a pocket for an ultralight pad on the bottom can't be beat for comfort and weight. Big Agnes makes such bags. We have a double of that design from Feathered Friends in Seattle.