REI Sololite Review

"A very easy tent to pitch up and can fit in some very tight spaces. I've backpacked and car camped all over colorado and this kept me dry for the most part. Condensation can be a problem in cold weather, I've had frozen droplets on my bag a few times down by the feet as the nylon down there collects it off the rain fly."

"I took this tent into the Georgia wilderness this past weekend and found the ventilation to be spectacular. Pitching it is kind of a pain as it is not freestanding, but it is without parallel in my opinion in viewing the stars on a clear night. I recommend it wholeheartedly."

"This tent is a piece of garbage. For my AT thru hike, I carried a tent for one reason - to keep me dry when it rains. Due to a design flaw (the fly does not cover the whole tent body!), the sololite will not keep the occupant dry. Its a piece of junk at any price."

"The Sololite is a one-man "hoop" tent that has velcro tabs on the underside of the fly permitting it to be left ON when putting up or taking down. A DISTINCT advantage in the rain as it keeps the body dry. I put velcro on the front center of thr fly edge & pole sleeve to make the fly always stay completely over the body. This tent's ventilation is excellent and the net door is vertical so rain doesn't enter when the vestibule/door is opened as it does on tents with slanted screen doors.
All in all a light, tight easily set up tent and the best solo ten I've found after years of searching. See my article on "Rainpacking" for how I made a front awning to cook under in the rain. My only (little) complaint is that the ground cloth is heavy nylon oxford which is out of keeping with the tent's "mission" of being very light. I replaced it with a light ripstop ground cloth. The Sololite has been my home for the past four years and always kept me very comfortable in 3-season use."

"i have had this tent for around 4 years now i guess and i am in boy scouts and venture crew we do a lot of backpacking stuff and i use this tent a lot now for having it for this length of time and nothing has once broken or torn anything the only thing is that it is true about being a pain but after you get use to it you can put it up in the dark easily which is awsome i also like the great ventalation because it keeps you dry from percipitation very well also i like the vestibule keeps your gear pretty dry unless there is a lot of rain draining downward it can unless you have a rain cloth down underneath so i havent found a major problem yet with it if you can get it i highly recomend it to you first timer or old timer"

"I agree that this tent can be a pain to pitch. However, mine has kept me bone dry under some nasty rainstorms, which goes a long way in my book. Kernel I don't know what was wrong with your tent, but the rainfly hasn't caused me any problems. You do have to make sure the rainfly stretches over the top of the large pole, and use the velcro tabs. I admit the first time I set it up I was a bit confused about the design, and I had to put a real stretching on the fly to get it where it needed to be. Then under my first rainy night, I was sure my toes would end up wet. I stayed dryer than my buddy who had a brand new Clip Flashlight."