Single-wall tents

Hi Intrepid-
I've been out in the Lakes in the UK with a friend who has a single skinned tent. I was the control experiment in the Hilleberg. Over a few nights of mixed weather the Hilleberg kept completely dry. The single-skinner was wetter inside than outside most mornings. It helped to keep the side-flap wide-open but on nights that were windy or wet, this wasn't possible.
Friend had to dry his kit mid-morning during the short stops. If he hadn't snored so badly, I would have been more selfless.

Single-wall tents work gr8, on paper. The biggest draw back of singles is that you dont have that second layer. No matter how breathable the wall is there is always things that will change the way H2O molucules move thru the wall. I very cold misty conditions it hapens that the mist forms a ice layer of 2 or 3mm on the outside of the tent, that prevents it from letting the condensation move out, so the condensation runs down into the tent. The same can happen with double walls but the diff. is that the outside wall is not conected to the floor so the water runs to the ground outside the tent, that is if the tent is pitch right and pulled tight. Light rain can have the same efect as the droplets doesnt run down the outside but sits on the wall preventing condensation to go to the outside.

With that said, single wall tents is gr8 for dry areas where moisture is not that big problem, and they are a lot lighter.

This is just my take on it and i have now experians with the higher end single wall tents (north face, Hilleberg)

on my next hike i am seriously considering carry a bivvy bag instead of a tent. i think a tent is overrated in the berg! on both my last hikes i carried the damn thing without once feeling a need to take it out. next time leaving the tent and taking the tripod.

plouw wrote: next time leaving the tent and taking the tripod.

Go to any photo shop and ask for the smallest tripods they have. Mine cost R30, weighs 90g and is 30cm. Combined with a rock or a backpack it is just as functional as a large tripod, but it fits into your camera bag and weighs very little - carried mine on the GT...

Am I the only one (other than those who publish Berg Books) that carries 1kg of camera equipment on a GT?

ghaznavid, i took my gorillapod with because of weight concerns, but never again. i got reminded, again, that the thing is not stable enough and you never seem to get the right rock in terms of height or position.

plouw wrote: on my next hike i am seriously considering carry a bivvy bag instead of a tent. i think a tent is overrated in the berg! on both my last hikes i carried the damn thing without once feeling a need to take it out. next time leaving the tent and taking the tripod.

Way to go Plouw - in winter sleeping out in the Berg is a great bonus. It makes for huge flexibility and is really enjoyable. I reckon it is also much more secure than sleeping in a tent.

The difference between some established caves and shelters you can find to sleep next to is also just that one has a name on the map and the other doesn't.

Check the weather forecast of course, but the high pressure system that sits over SA in winter takes a lot to budge it.

Agree no tent with bivy bag is the way to go for lightness and flexibility. Also fresher and safer than being inside a tent.

However if there is a chance of bad weather and sleeping out is likely then a good double wall is hard to beat. I have a Hilleberg Nallo 2 that weighs 2kg and has stood up against raging winds, snow and heavy rain and breathes well.

That said, we slept in Pins Cave through one of the longest thunder storms I have experienced. Continuous lightning and thunder for hours and rain through the night turned the drip over the cave entrance into a veritable waterfall. We were happy for bivy bags that night.

Intrepid - I think what we are saying is that when it comes to single skin tents, sleeping out is better or as good as sleeping in. Its hard for the 'we hate tents' club to resist trying to convert the stubborn! Apologies.