Flash Air 1

I have one because I wanted a standing-height tent and metal poles that long are hard/painful for me to manage solo (shoulder issue). Pitching mine is easy for one person. I can't speak to long-term durability, but the air poles are tough - you'd have to really be trying hard to puncture one. No problems with stability with the guy lines staked. Mine has short metal brow poles and lots of stakes, so it isn't totally effortless to pitch but the type of effort it requires is better for me. I use a battery-powered stand-up paddleboard pump. It's heavier than a metal pole tent because of the thick pole fabric, but it is a whole lot lighter and packs a lot smaller than a Gazelle, which I would have no room to store. If you have no physical limitations (or you have help, or you're getting a tent small enough that you can handle the metal poles), then you might not need an air tent for the same reason I got one. And if you care what people think then maybe you shouldn't get one - I gather from the replies that some people really dislike other people's air pole tents? I don't get it, they're just tents and who cares what's holding them up? Anyway, I am too new to this to give you a useful comparison of air pole vs metal pole (other than my shoulder not hurting with the air one) but overall I'm happy with mine. Was the least expensive air pole tent at REI (meaning a reliable brand).

It's hard to find tents under $500 dollars that are as ultralight Honestly, if you want something lighter than the flash air 1... You're probably looking for a tarp and string

Flash air one is 28oz, 27.2 if you use a trekking pole for the main pole (no stakes) that includes the tent and rainfly, none of the other stuff which would make it 2lbs 4oz I'd guess + 1.5oz for stakes flash air 2 minimum is 34oz if you use trekking poles every ounce counts but I think it's a lot better than you thought, especially for the 1

hi everyone! I’m looking to buy a 1p tent in the $200-$300 range and am looking for recommendations. I tried out the rei flash air 1 and ended up returning it because of issues with extreme condensation and setup difficulty. Let me know!!

Thank you for the recommendation! Haha by setup difficulty i mean that i took it on a 10 day backpacking trip and i swear everyday that tent looked completely different. There was also multiple incidents where a stake would pop out in the middle of the night and the whole thing would collapse on me. could be user error, i’m not sure, but was definitely enough to warrant a return

REI gear is fine for beginners, but it’s definitely bulkier. You can trust that it’s good enough without relying on reviews and can always return it within a year. That’s what I started with in my early 20s. If you stick with backpacking, I’d say you should use this first tent for at least 10 trips before justifying another purchase.

The Flash Air is 2 lbs, 13 oz. The Tarpent Protrek is 26.7 oz for $250. You’re right that it’s pretty much tarp, string, and 1 pole, but it’s sufficient and I’ve used one for years.

I used the REI Coop one recently. Super easy to set up, but is kind of bulky and traps air whenever I tried packing up. Withheld 45+ mph winds, and with the rain cover on it was pretty warm, outside temp was probably only ever 30F or 40F. Definitely spacious enough to fit all my gear and probably another person. Hit me up if tou have any other questions. Honestly IMO it was just too big to fit into my backpack.