Deschutes Plus

Every year I take a trip to a certain remote hot springs in the pnw. The Deschutes Tarp with bug netting is new to me; this trip was a test for it as a replacement for my aging and beloved TT protrail Li. The weather looked like light precipitation and I thought it would be a good way to ease into the new gear. It was not so. A freak cloudfront dumped 3 inches of snow overnight. Inside, condensation was immediately an issue. While not excessive for a single wall in sub-freezing temps, the shallow angle of the walls meant that any lumps dropping from the trees overhead spritzed me with condensation like some sort of moist HESH spalling. Despite the angle, the walls proved very strong under significant snow load. Snow slipped off the upper half of the tent, falling off the beak but collecting on the sides and rear. Sag was noticeable at 4 inches of buildup but there was still just enough room for my 6 foot self, 20 degree quilt, and thermarest. I was able to easily displace the snow by pushing on the walls. The side walls have tie-outs I wasn't using that would have eliminated the sag entirely. Like most single-pole tents, room at he head and foot are at a premium but sufficient. I laid at a diagonal to give my head some space since I can get a bit claustrophobic. In this position I had no issues with snow ingress but I can imagine there would be minor splash in heavy rainfall. The bug netting obviously protects from bugs but does a decent job keeping out inclement weather, making the Deschutes much more forgiving than a tarp. Airflow is very good, similar to my protrail but less than the excellent Lunar Solo the Deschutes is based on. Setup is a bit of a chore with 6 mandatory stakes and a need for a near-perfect pitch, however making adjustments once the tent is up is very easy so it's almost always possible to achieve said perfection. I recommend ignoring SMD's instructions and pitching like a TT Aeon, starting with the rear corners first, then the pole and beak, then the rest. Overall, livability is very good with this tent. It's a true 1+ with a reasonable pitch, excellent manufacturing, and surprising weather resistance. The floorless design puts its weight around the coveted 1lb and combined with its affordability, this may be the best true affordable ul tent currently.

I brought my Six Moon Designs on a PCT thru hike and absolutely loved it. If you plan on backpacking and use trekking poles, it's a great choice. If you're doing more car camping, I have a cheap pop-up tent from Amazon for that and it sets up in about 1 minute. For car camping, the easier the better IMO.

I’ve got a Six Moons trekking pole tent I like. Not the lightest but won’t break the bank either.

IMO, many small manufacturers offer much better designed tents than anything at REI. Tarptent, Gossamer Gear, Six Moon Designs, Durston Gear. They generally have high end tents for $600+ which are super light, but also have $300 tents that are almost as light - certainly nothing like 5 lbs. I have two Tarptents and a Six Moon Designs and they are both top notch in design and manufacturing.