Easton Mountain Products has a reputation for innovative outdoor equipment. Last month, they announced the launch of their new Kilo 1P ultra-light one-person tent. Like the original Kilo, which not surprisingly, was a winner of a 2011 Utah Innovation Award, the Kilo 1P is designed as a more comfortable alternative to that glorified high tech body sock, the bivvy shelter. If you’re looking for the ultimate lightweight tent for any sort of camping, especially by bicycle, this is for you.
One of the key design features that makes this tent so compact is the shorter pole sections. This allows the tent to pack down small enough to fit just about anywhere, such as a bike pannier, the smallest of backpacks, or even stowed in a kayak. But there’s no reason to give up comfort in exchange for packability. Unless you’re a sumo wrestler or professional basketball player, you should have room to move around a bit on the 18.8 sq ft/ 1.75 sq m floor area, perfect for when you’re changing clothes. And it’s tall enough that you can sit up and have some cookies and milk, or read War and Peace, which probably weighs more than this 1 lbs 14 oz. / 0.84 kg tent.
Now for the geek tech that makes this tent so light: Rather than aluminum tent poles, the Kilo 1P utilizes high strength carbon (cyclists are probably more than familiar with Easton’s success in building carbon wheels) without the usual shock cord. Instead, their Airlock has a short tether to connect the patent-pending Carbon ION poles, which then snap together. A very strong and effective solution, which results in a huge weight savings.
While it’s obviously a one-person tent, it still has you covered for three seasons. The lightweight nylon ripstop is waterproof, which is perfect if you live in Oregon, where those three seasons are rain, rainy, and rainier.
Compact, simple to use, yet very lightweight. Check it out at Easton Mountain Products.
– Brian
Another use that you might come up with for this cool little tent is having a dedicated “gear tent” at your campsite. I know that a lot of the newer tents have the fly extend out over the door a bit so you can fit your packs there, but let’s be honest, your stuff still gets soggy. With a tent like this dedicated to storing everyone’s stuff, it will probably stay dry better than you do.