Solo tent recommendation for high winds

The most wind-worthy solo tent I own is the Hilleberg Soulo (#1). I simply never, ever worry about it. I’ve used it in gales up to sustained 70 mph winds and with earplugs, have slept ok!

I’m also *lucky* enough to have a 3-pole Caffin tent – that’s a close second (#2). I’d be OK with either of these tents in just about any condition. I have legit fears about the carbon poles in the Caffin tent, because I’ve broken them during setup (my fault). They’ve never broken in a storm – just max out the guyline options and be careful. It’s worth it! @rcaffin, c’mon, mass-produce these things!

The Hilleberg Akto and Hilleberg Enan really need a double arch pole to be considered “storm-worthy” in serious conditions. They’re a bit wobbly otherwise, but strong enough not to fail for the most part. I’ll rate them later.

The Trailstar is as good as it gets for a 1- or 2-trekking pole tent, but it has to be pitched pretty low to get that benefit (the geometry allows for this) AND it has to be the silnylon version. DCF doesn’t fare well when large panels are involved. If it’s pitched high enough to be “comfortable” the wind actually caves in those big walls quite a bit. I’m not as enamored with the sil Trailstar in extreme winds as others.

The most wind-worthy DCF tent I own is the Locus Gear Khufu DCF-B. It’s quite a lot more stable than the Akto/Enan. Low stretch, great manufacturing precision, lots of tie-outs, low profile. It’s my #3 preference for extreme winds.

#4 is the Trailstar or Akto/Enan with 2-arch poles.

#5 is a tie between the Tarptent Notch Li and Locus Gear Djedi.

Hillberg Akto or Enan with 1 arch pole is #6. Akto is a little better for winter/snow. Enan is better ventilated for summer, and lighter.

Most of everything else I own (1- or 2-pole trekking pole tents) I wouldn’t trust *much* in a real storm (with sustained wind speeds > 50  mph winds) above the treeline.

I no longer own geodesic domes (except the Hillberg Soulo), except the Nemo Dagger 3 (my wife and I use this now for it’s livability:weight ratio), so there’s a caveat here…(real geodesic domes like the NF VE-25 are very good) – I just don’t spend a lot of time in environments where wind destroys tents.

Most “ultralight” tents do fine with occasional 40 mph “gusts” (not sustained), which is what we mostly experience during the “extremes” of summer above treeline here in the mountain west.

A bivy sack pitched in a strategic location is actually pretty awesome in extreme winds…

it’ll flap some if the wind is going pretty good; I’ve never found it too be excessively loud or bothersome though

Perceptions don’t always correspond to reality.

I’m also *lucky* enough to have a 3-pole Caffin tent – that’s a close second (#2). I’d be OK with either of these tents in just about any condition. I have legit fears about the carbon poles in the Caffin tent, because I’ve broken them during setup (my fault). They’ve never broken in a storm – just max out the guyline options and be careful. It’s worth it! @rcaffin, c’mon, mass-produce these things!

That’s the sort of thing that would dissuade manufacturers from putting that design into production. (Hard to believe that Easton would have not thought of it from that perspective). The relative fragility of the thin diameter carbon poles is a customer support and repair service nightmare. At the cost of adding a little extra weight, why not modify the design slightly to make it robust enough for the unwashed masses?! If it were 3 or 3.5 lbs instead of 2* (1.6 kg instead of 0.9) but could exponentially reduce potential CS issues, perhaps that could be a realistic way forward. (*That weight is what Ryan reported for the solo tent in silnylon that Roger made for him).

As for solo tents stout enough to stand up to high winds, I think there is a case to be made for polygonal mids with 5 or more sides.

The Trailstar has 5. I used it a lot in some very nasty weather but it has a lot of downsides. The footprint is huge and it’s a bear to set up alone in very strong winds.

The six sided Luxe Hexpeak Sil has a following in the UK. The hexagonal Astagear First Snow on Aliexpress might be great budget alternative.

I’m still putting a small octagonal mid through its paces, but I think that it is probably the ideal choice for people under 175cm.

A 30d Mid with lots of tieouts ( 16+)  and over reinforced tripple stiched seams + corners.   Mid Note: Many  guess that an external Mid peak tieout is for overhead suspension, but it’s more for really high wind auxillary guylines. We’ve heard of more pole breaking  vs any mids failing and keeping the pole centered and stable and helps reduce stress on all the tieouts.

We’ve heard of more pole breaking  vs any mids failing and keeping the pole centered and stable and helps reduce stress on all the tieouts.

Hi Ron, I’m curious to know if the use of a Dual Pole Connector (aka DPTE) mitigates that (I think so) and if so how much? Thanks, Jon

Hey Ryan, thanks for fielding that question. That’s not what I was expecting but I’ve only just started using a DPTE since last year. Does the “standard guyline configuration” include the sort of apex tieouts that Ron was talking about? Again, it seems to me like the addition of apex guyouts in a mid (and I’m thinking especially of an octagonal mid) would effectively stabilize that rotation.