Zephyros 1

I'm a big fan of Wild Country (and Terra Nova) tents, they're generally well designed and constructed. Having said that, I found the Zephyros 1 quite tricky to get pitched well enough to be confident in strong winds. It is really lightweight for the price and has enough space for me (5 feet 10 male) to sleep and sit up reasonably comfortably. I tend to only use it when the conditions are likely to be good because of the pitching issues.

I have an older version of the zephyros 1 man it was my first wildcamping tent. Tbh I never use it over my other tents now. It is easy to put up but very hard to get the fly correct at the ends. The poles are very intuitive however getting the fly taught takes a lot of practise. Test a lot at home or at a local park before out on the hills. The wildcountry tents are well made. It comes into its own in the wind and cold. It is very small and low profile. Because it is small and the fly goes low to the ground it is very easy to warm and stay warm. It is very well made so does well in high winds and rain. It has a small footprint so finding pitches is easy. Downsides, condensation, the fly goes to the ground so there is little air flow even from the end vents. you can unzip it a bit to reduce condensation but not much. In heavy rain on uneven pitches the fly is so low it can pool if the fly isnt straight down. The biggest issue is the size. It is very small, most people wouldn’t be able to sit up in it, it can feel slightly like a coffin. You can’t sit up in the vestibule either due to the zip placement. The zip doesn’t go all the way to the top so you feel like you have to crawl in. There isn’t loads of space to fit your gear in, pack outside the tent etc. If you’re looking for a lighter tent for summit camps often pitching and then just sleeping in adverse weather it is ideal, it’s a step up from a bivy bag or bivy tent. But it isn’t a 4 season tent and it isn’t very comfortable for more than 1 night trips. For most people I think there are better options it’s primary issue is size. Edit: slight rambling on some of my other tent opinions: I haven’t owned an oex tent but a couple of my friends do and most haven’t been that impressed with the quality. But they are often the cheapest. I have a very old vango mirage 2 (style is now called hellvellyn) and borrowed a vango banshee 1 for a while. Both are old but are good tents and well built. The wildcountry zephyros I think from a build quality is a step up from vango but design wise vango is better. The banshee is easier to pitch up than the zephyros. And the banshee is easier to get in and out of but I would trust the zephyros more in the wind. Rain they are both the same. My got to one man tent is a lanshan 1 with 3 season inner for weight and space but if you don’t have trekking poles it can be a more expensive option. They are also a bit like marmite some people love them some people hate them. Quality wise they can be hit or miss. Also because you often import them if you don’t like it or have quality issues you don’t have any customer support unlike the other brands.

I rate the Zephyros, great little tent