MSR Skinny One tent

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MSR Skinny One tent

Author: josh

Published on Saturday, 20 March 2010 10:27

Written by Josh

Say hello to my next kayaking expedition tent - the MSR Skinny 1. Anyone who's followed my frequent posts related to kayak camping might have already figured out that I have a huge amount of admiration for Mountain Safety Research (MSR) tents, one that has developed from years of using them in a variety of scenarios. To put it simply, I have never ever been let down with a single solitary product with 'MSR' written on it and have endured many nights inside their tents where others would have surely failed. So I had absolutely no hesitation in ordering the new MSR 'SKinny 1' tent without actually having seen it in the flesh. I didn't choose it simply because of my faith in the MSR name, however - I chose this tent because it's design perfectly suits the needs of my kayak expedition ambitions. Torn between the concepts of 'tent' and 'bivvy' this tent is a bit of both, offering the liveability of the former and simplicity of the latter.

My current tent - also an MSR (Mo Room 2) is an absolute corker 2-person tent and is probably the most liveable tent of it's style in the world, though after about a year of solo use I've decided it's just too big and heavy for my solo-adventuring needs. It also takes a little longer for one person to set up and pack down than I'd like, which isn't to say that it's overly complex, but I have had a few experiences where I was spending time packing up my tent while I really wanted to be doing something else. Watching longtail tuna jumping around off Fraser Island while packing tent poles away comes to mind.

For a while there I considered picking up an MSR Hubba HP tent, which is an excellent free-standing model that is incredibly light and highly suited for beach camping. I used the 2-person 'Hubba Hubba' for numerous hiking trips in years gone by and was very impressed with it, so the updated solo version was a clear contender. Not only are the Hubba tents easy to set up, they provide a good amount of room inside the tent and in the vestibule and are highly reliable in wind and rain. The only thing holding me back from buying a Hubba HP (apart from it's price) was the newly established existence of the MSR Skinny 1 tent (almost half the price of a Hubba HP), which packs up to be only slightly larger and heavier. There were pros and cons of both tents to consider, which were as follows:

Hubba HP Pros:
- Free-standing - this can be a massive advantage in areas that are difficult or impossible to use pegs, as well as soft beach sand)
- Large vestibule - handy for storing items under for shelter
- Ultra light - only 1360 grams, and packs down nice and small
- Double skin design aids condensation issues
- Highly livable - good internal room for a solo tent

Hubba HP cons:
- Pole design - takes a bit longer to set up
- Double skin - can make it harder to set up in rain without getting inner wet and adds to set up and pack down time

Skinny 1 Pros:
- Single skin tent - flysheet not required = fast set up & pack down
- Simple pole design - aids in packing size, weight and set up times
- Only four pegs - simple to erect
- Good ventilation system - including mesh window for permeability and clear-night star-gazing
- Liveable - roomy for solo tent, though lacking the headroom of the Hubba

Skinny 1 cons:
- Single skin design will probably make for higher condensation on calm cold & humid nights
- Not free-standing - pegs must be used for set up
- Not quite as small or light as the Hubba HP (1610 grams)

As you can see, there's a fair bit to weigh up there. Whilst the Hubba HP is lighter (by over 200 grams) and has the benefit of being free-standing, I know that it's almost always going to take a bit longer to set up and pack down. Not so much because the pole system is a little more complex, but more so because both the fly sheet and inner have to be set up and packed down. It's design also means that if having to set up in a downpour, the inner is likely to get wet. The Skinny 1, on the other hand, would set up and pack down faster, and would be much easier to manage in wet conditions. The simplicity of the Skinny 1's design - a cross between a tent and a bivvy - is pretty much exactly what I've been looking for. Speed and ease of use are very high on my priority list here, although I did spend some time considering the cons (not to mention a very positive hands-on impression of the Hubba tents).

Primary among them is that single skin tents are much more likely to trap condensation (due to an inherent lack of ventilation) and instead of having a fly sheet to catch it, moisture instead forms on the inner. This is a problem for most single skin tents and from all accounts I have heard and read, in some ways, the Skinny 1 is no different. It does, however, have excellent venting for a single skin tent, although it can only be used properly if the weather isn't too drastic outside. So as far as single skin tents go, the Skinny 1 has less issues with condensation, but doesn't eliminate it completely.

That's a compromise I've decided that I'm prepared to live with. I'd rather have the luxury of fast simple set up and pack down 100% of the time and suffer some inner tent moisture every now and then than to have to spend an extra couple of minutes setting up and packing down on every use. Not to mention I've had some horrible experiences setting up tents in torrential rains before and in the past have had to sleep in an inch of water because of it. That wouldn't happen with the Skinny 1.

The Skinny ! is only available through Australian outlets by special order, as the MSR distributors don't usually carry this model in stock (single skin tents aren't popular in Australia), so it's available by special order only. Perhaps that's a good thing, because although it's less expensive than the Hubba HP, its still going to take me a few weeks to save up for it. It should arrive just before the end of next month. With plans to undertake numerous coastal kayaking expeditions this year, no doubt I'll get to put it through plenty of use. Once I've had the opportunity to use it in various conditions, I'll follow up with a full report.

Update: The Skinny One has been pretty good and has had a fair bit of use. It doesn't offer much room though, and condensation can be a bit of a problem on a wet night. I prefer to use my Mo Room tent most of the time, though the Skinny still gets used on minimalist trips and also in situations where there is limited room for set up.