How to Choose a Backpacking Tent

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The lightest semi-freestanding, full-featured backpacking tent for 1 in the MSR lineup, the 3-season FreeLite 1 tent offers generous room to fit a large camping pad and gear for your solo trips.
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View all MSR Backpacking TentsBest Use | Backpacking |
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Seasons | 3-season |
Sleeping Capacity | 1-person |
Minimum Trail Weight | 1 lb. 13 oz. |
Fly / Footprint Pitch Weight | 1 lb. 10 oz. |
Packaged Weight | 2 lbs. 3 oz. |
Packed Size | 18 x 6 inches |
Floor Dimensions | 86 x 30 inches |
Floor Area | 18 square feet |
Vestibule Area | 9 square feet |
Peak Height | 38 inches |
Number of Doors | 1 door |
Number of Poles | 1 |
Pole Material | 7000-series aluminum |
Pole Diameter | 8.64 millimeters |
Canopy Fabric | 10-denier nylon micromesh |
Floor Fabric | 15-denier ripstop nylon |
Rainfly Fabric | 15-denier ripstop nylon |
Footprint Included | No |
Ultralight | Yes |
Design Type | Semifreestanding |
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I was very excited to receive my FreeLite 1 today. I immediately placed it on my postage scale and was shocked to find the packaged weight to be 2lbs 8oz...and increase of 5oz or nearly 15% over the product specs. I called MSR / Cascade Designs, their information showed the same 2lbs 3oz. They will submit a ticket to their product techs to pull one off the warehouse shelf and weigh it and (hopefully) get back to me. Perhaps my tent is an oddball with a little "spare tire" however, for the time being, anyone ordering should be aware the product spec weight may not be accurate. Hopefully other people can post their weight findings.
This is an excellent tent. Lightweight, perfect for 1-person. Gotta say that the quibbles listed in other reviews are quite lame. It's only 30" wide? Duh! It's a one person tent, incredible that someone rated it down while admitting that they didn't pay attention to the specs when they ordered it. No room for your gear inside? Again, duh! It's a 1-person tent. BTW, your gear and pack actually belong outside of your tent anyhow; backpacking 101.
I didn't look closely at the specs before ordering, but after getting it and setting it up in my living room I realized this tent is only 30" wide, about the same as a normal guy like me is at the shoulders. Very claustrophobic inside. I returned it. It is also a few ounces heavier than the listed packaged weight. I love my MSR Hubba-Hubba two person -- which is very roomy and solidly built -- and was looking for a smaller one-person ultralight version for solo backpacking, but this won't be it.