Gus Riley

Not trying to be too quarrelsome on the subject of ease of freestanding vs. non-freestanding; "...tying the end points..." is not done nearly as "...quite easily..." as you may think. I have toured extensively with a very good non-freestanding tent, (Serra Designs Clip II). It was and is a very good tent, but tying it down as a free stander would be a real pain in the “you-know-what” on tour compared to the ease of a freestanding tent.

My Sierra Designs Clip II tent. It never failed me. However, I placed a priority on a freestanding tent for my TransAm...I was never disappointed and always glad for the decision.

staehpj1 

That is because the non free standing tent you mention is not the type of tent I am referring to. The tents I mentioned require tying out a single point on each end. I agree that the Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight 2 and other tents that would require tying out multiple points on each end would be a pain in those situations.

One like this is what I referring to. I have found it very easy to pitch on concrete in pavilions and I have done so many times.

djb

interesting, I find myself wondering about free standing vs not.
I dont think Ive slept in a non free standing one for , maybe 25 years, and so all my bike touring, canoe camping has generally been in free standers.
I dont really see the downside to freestanders vs non. Are some non lighter and such? I dont really see why they would be, but it must be in the pole design that makes a tent free or not.
I do admit that due to my experience with free, I am leaning to stay with free, as I like being able to move it around easily, or turn it upside down to dry or whatever.

I am open to suggestions and your experience with diff non models, but I think if the price diff is fairly small, as well as weight diff, Im more inclined to stick to what Im used to.

Gus Riley

Between my two tents, there is a slight weight difference; the non FSer is lighter. Both are designed for two persons.

staehpj1 

Weight is on average a bit less for non freestanding tents, but tents vary in a number of different ways. So some of the lighter freestanding tents may be lighter than some heavier non freestanding ones of the same size, but in general freestanding means heavier. Weight is fairly important to me, so I have moved to non freestanding.

Freestanding tents do have advantages. The one not supported by non freestanding models that I find to be the biggest is the ease of drying them out by inverting them. I can live without that though. I find that in all other ways the difference is small if you pick a non free standing tent that can be staked out with a single stake or tie out on each end.

I have mostly been using a bivy for my recent tours and supplementing it with a micro tarp (5'x5'), but when I take a tent I find that the price, weight, and convenience of the Eureka Spitfire is hard to match. It is under $100 if you shop around and 2lb 12 oz (once you get rid of the heavy stakes and replace them with some MSR Needle Stakes). I find it to be the perfect size for the way I camp when I want to use a tent and the best compromise I have found. It is an easy pitch even on concrete and is easy enough to move. Overall it is a great tent at a bargain price.

That is all my personal preference, yours may well vary.

MassiveD

Obviously tents that have to be designed to stand will have design focus heavily on that. It affects a lot of things. I think when you get to the venerable geodesic dome size and weight, you are at a sweet spot where everything pretty much works out great. But in lighter sizes they often look cool, but the compromise is pretty obvious. Lot of seams, weight, poor aero (as well as some of the best in certain designs). Lots of stakes in heavy weather, inexplicable if elegant shapes.

At one time the whole, what if you can't put in a peg thing got a lot of play, as ridiculous as it is for a competant person. However, now that tarps and hammocks are popular, and both put even heavier demands on tie downs, the issue on stakes looks even more tenuous.

That said if you find a free standing tent that hits all your needs and is free standing to boot, no downside. Keep in ming that freestanding tents almost always need stakes in bad weather. Sometimes a lot of stakes, and sometimes they have a lot of wind resistance.

djb

remember that in my case, I lugged around a 6lb or more Sierra Designs 3 person tent for years and years, just because I wanted a 3 person that really is good for 2 people and stuff inside. That SD is pretty darn old now, but the zippers and all still work well, and it has held up very well over the years.

so basically, even a 4 lb tent for me would be an improvement and one I could live with (that Flashlight jobee however does certainly seem pretty good for living space for one person, compared to "coffiny" ones Ive been in that were borrowed.)

JackieO

My Civia Bryant and REI Quarter Dome in Confluence, PA. A great combo.

arctos

I have used the Stephenson's Warmlite 2R tent for bomb proof 4 season bike touring, kayak tours and backpacking for over 20 years. It is not free standing but only requires 3 stakes. In the most recent version the weight can be as low as 2#12ozs; the 2X version weighs even less @ 1# 12ozs. Seemingly expensive although amortized over 20+ years the yearly cost for me has been less than $20/year. [I shifted to the 2R from an excellent but heavy Moss free standing tent I used during the 1980's.]

When I do not need 4 season traits I use various other non-free standing shelters from shaped tarps- SMD's Gatewood Cape to Shire's Tarptents like the Contrail to WP/B eVent or GTX bivys. All can be deployed quickly. I too have never found a situation in which I could not erect one of my shelters.

Personal preference altered by experience is the best guide that i have found in choosing shelters.

Western Flyer 

Custom altered GoLite Shangri La 1: 2 poles & 8 pegs

In my experience, thousands of years of human tent design and innovation, the classic A frame, non-free-standing pup tent still best fits the proportions of the single camper.

zeppinger

1) Camping on the banks of Quinghai Lake in central China
2) Camping inside a military checkpoint because of the risk of getting eaten by tigers in Bardia National Park, Nepal
3) Ditto

juggleaddict

Greenbrier Trail, WV, mile marker 4.7

This night was about 45, I had a sleeping bag (40 degree) and a blue sleeping pad.

It was miserable enough that I am going back to get a tent. I did have a profly over top but when I got there it was midnight and it was literally thrown over the paracord line just to protect me from dew.




I slept here the next night:



Bathroom, water, fire pit, and a picnic table were there as well. Wonderful night compared to the hammock. . .

The biggest issue I have found is that I cannot get situated in a hammock, perhaps I toss and turn too much during the night but It takes me at least 20 minutes from the time I get into the hammock to the point where I stop squirming about. . . oh and it was colder than I expected, even with the pad and sleeping bag.