i am looking for a solo tent for touring. it must have the following requirements:

-light (duh!, around three pounds is fine)
-excellent ventilation
-easy to set up
-short pole lengths (15-16in.)
-color should not detract from landscape (nothing white or red or yellow, etc.)
-not a tarp or hammock (not my thing)
-affordable


any ideas?

How about this?

This almost meets your criteria.

https://www.eurekatent.com/solitaire.asp

Except for the color. I have basically this tent before it was the solitare (prior model) and it is really nice for solo camping. The poles on mine were short, and the tent is so small and low to the ground it is barely noticable. Mine had a gray rainfly. And I have actually spent time in it during rainstorms and it is ok. I paid about $80 for mine (but it is probably 12-13 years old by now).

Something close would be this one

https://www.eurekatent.com/spitfire.asp

-D

i think bivy sacks might be a little too coffin like for me. if i have to spend a rainy day in a bivy, i think i might go insane.

I'm looking exactly for what you are looking for, but I thought I'd just thow that in there. Don't know if I would like it either.

I really like this one :

https://www.bigagnes.com/str_tents.php?id=sh1sl

though I use the SL-2 myself and have been happy with it touring for about 10 months....

I have a Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight 2. It's light, roomy enough (barely), and excellent in the rain. It was also cheap ($70) on Ebay. It's not freestanding, but that has never been an issue yet.

It's a shame you rule out a tarp. A silnylon tarp, with an inner bug net tent can easily weigh less than 3 lbs. It provides excellent ventillation. Setup is straightforward. you can use telecoping trekking poles that get down pretty close to your 15 in. limit, or, if riding in wooded areas, you can use dead branches or just tie to two conveniently spaced trees and carry no poles with you. If you make your own froma kit, you can choose from a range of colors. and finally, you can get a kit with everything you need to sew your own for less than $100.

In short, the tarp can meet all your requirements except for not being a tarp.

Another advantage of the silnylon tarp is it packs down to an embarrassingly small volume.

Here's one

Fast setup, packs down to 16", 3.3 lbs, green outside but cheery/bright inside and can be had for under $200.

I have an MSR Microzoid. I like it a lot it is a very small tent, but it works. You could stay through a rainy day, except I would want to get out on the road. Rain is no reason not to cycle, though it isn't pleasant, but it's better than lying around. However you can't sit up in this tent, I mean you can sit up to move in or out or arange things, but for a tent with room to move around you need more than this.

https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1160201828322

the ORA from katmandu



When space & weight are at a premium, this efficient, lightweight, single person tent comes into its own. Colour-coded poles allow rapid pitching, plus head & foot airvents provide maximum airflow.

A fully seam sealed bathtub floor in 210T nylon with 10,000mm PU coating for moisture protection
Fly constructed in 50D 255T ripstop polyester with 1500mm PU coating & silicone treatment
Inner made from 40D 240T ripstop nylon uncoated for good breathability
Poles made from 8.5mm 7075 T9 Alloy
Lightweight aluminium pegs

Size:
Please Note: Tent fly pictured has been made transparent in this publication to illustrate the design of the tent inner.
Weight: 1920gm
Size: › 1 person › 2 poles › 1 vestibule
Colours: Pine, Slate

nzd$399 ... but often on sale at half that ... or in usd$70-80 on sale

Eureka Backcountry in forest green.
Free-standing - stakes only for windy conditions.
Not expedition quality, but perfectly adequate for 99.8% of your touring.

https://www.eurekatent.com/Backcountry1.asp

This newer version is longer, narrower, and a little lower than mine.
Still, you should be able to get your panniers inside plus have plenty of room for you.
Lower is probably better when it is windy - but I can easily sit up in mine.

Cost - maybe $125 - less at outlets. Campmor has it for $109.
Weight - just under 4 lbs.
Simply and fast to set up.

I use a Coleman Inyo I bought a year old version for $50 at a Coleman Outlet Store. So far it has done well. In warmer, drier weather I use a nylon tarp.

Aaron

Eureka Zeus Exo 1, but for 6 more ounces, get the Exo 2

Mtn Hardwear Skypoint 1 CF.

Green, 1 person and only 2 1/2 pounds.

Are these in your "affordable" catagory?

https://www.hilleberg.com/2006%20Products/NewAkto.htm

https://www.hilleberg.com/2006%20Products/NewRajd.htm

don't skimp.

some of those single wall shelters suck for ventilation.

do your research,
i strongly reccomend buying a copy of Backpacker Magazine's annual GEAR GUIDE, or reading it at your public library.

and regardless of what tent you buy, pick up a lightweight silicone coated tarp to use as a bike cover, cooking/cover the picnic table shelter. very, very handy.

i personally like just tarps for everything except extreme bugs and/or KOA type campgrounds.

i guess i always figured that the bike would be fine outside, but i guess i can see the benefits of protection from the elements. i am curious, though: what would be the benefit of a "cover the picnic table shelter" tarp if i already have a tent? i would think that if a campground has picnic tables, it probably has enough open space to house a one or two man tent. under what conditions would the picnic table shelter be more ideal?

another option
www.tarptent.com
i have a rainbow, and have been extremely happy with it

When it rains for days on end.

A dry place to cook/eat/sit upright. Tarps are very versatile, with a little practice. I've seen people do some amazing shelters with tarps. Just as long as there is some bug netting available especially with some mosquito carried diseases hitting this area.

I use their PCT 1 which I really like. It's a full pound heavier, but it's double-walled, has a few extra sq.ft. of floorspace and is a bit cheaper. It has a greenish outer layer, though the website shows grey (mine is a couple years old).

I also use a standard bike cover to keep the dew or an overnight rain off the bike (and that nice, leather Brooks saddle!) I wrap it around my tent and Thermorest before strapping the bundle across the rear rack, so it does double-duty keeping the wet off my sleeping stuff while riding.

bringing a tarp lets you create a wind or rain break, a shelter out of the rain, and a privacy screen. also bike cover. and cooking in the rain is not a lot of fun.

you will get a lot of use out of a small tarp that packs to the size of a tennis ball or grapefruit.

this is in addition to whatever sleeping shelter system you choose to bring.

I have actually used one pitched over a fence to get out of a daylong constant rain. I don't remember where I was but there was nothing to seek shelter under for miles and miles, must have been the midwest?

Aaron

i think this is why i would prefer a tent. it can be set up in bad weather without needing anything to tie to like a tarp would. and since it would be a one man tent, it would not require a large flat plot of land to set up. plus i like the security of a tent as opposed to a tarp.