GEAR REVIEW: Gossamer Gear One Single-Wall Tent

By Will Rietveld

I reviewed the original “One” tent from Gossamer Gear back in 2008. It was made of spinnaker fabric and weighed 18.5 ounces. It became an ultralight classic, but spinnaker fabric had its disadvantages and has gone away as a tent fabric.

Enter the new 2018 One, which is roomier, more featured, and only 3.5 ounces heavier. This One is made of woven fabric, specifically 7-denier high tenacity nylon with a blended silicone and polyurethane coating, which is about the same weight per yard as spinnaker, and approaches the weight of cuben fiber (Dyneema Composite Fabric) used in some shelters. The best news is it costs just $299, about half of what a cuben fiber shelter would cost. Considering these attributes and comparisons, how does The One perform as a lightweight backpacking shelter?

The new Gossamer Gear One has finally arrived. It weighs a little over a pound like its predecessor, its roomy, more featured, and a great value for a lightweight backpacking shelter.

Specifications and Features

Manufacturer	Gossamer Gear (www.gossamergear.com)
Product	The One single wall tent
Fabrics	Body is 7-denier high-tenacity nylon with a blended silicone and polyurethane coating, 1200 mm waterproofness. Floor is 10-denier high-tenacity nylon with a blended silicone and polyurethane coating, 1200 mm waterproofness. Factory taped seams.
Dimensions	Floor is 36 in wide at head end and 24 in at foot end x 88 inches long. Headroom is 46 in. Floor area is 19.6 sq. ft. Entry vestibule is 16.2 sq. ft.
Features	Trekking pole support, side entry with vestibule, zippered mesh wall with entry door, mesh floor level vents, protected mesh vent panel on upper back wall, large mesh storage pocket on back wall, bathtub floor, catenary ridgeline, interior clothes line and flashlight loop, 4 supplementary guylines, ultralight stuff sack. Stakes not included.
Weight	Mfr. Specification 21.95 oz (includes shelter, guylines, and stuff sack); measured weight 21.85 oz.
MSRP	$299.25.

  

Description

Like its predecessor, The One is asymmetric, as shown in the drawing below and photos. A lot of designing and testing went into the final version.

Front View. The tent has a vestibule protected side entry through a mesh wall. One side can be tied open for easy entry (left), or both sides (right) in fair weather. The bathtub floor is visible in both photos.

Side View. This photo shows some of the asymmetry. The ridgeline is extended to allow the back wall to lean out a bit to provide more interior space. The canopy has an extension to channel water away from the tent.

Back View. This view shows the angled back wall. There is a large mesh panel in the upper back wall for ventilation, which is protected by a large overhang.

There is a mesh vent just above the floor on each end.

Corner reinforcement in bathtub floor.

Included clothes line with flashlight loop.

The One is nothing like the silnylon tents purchased from small companies a decade ago, which were Spartan and required seam sealing. The One is featured and comes complete, even with a clothes line, flashlight loop, and guylines, and does not require seam sealing.

Setup is similar to most tents: 1) lay the tent out on the ground in the desired orientation, 2) stake out the corners, 3) insert trekking poles into pockets at front and rear, and 4) stake out and tension the ridgeline.

Field Testing

I tested the One on several spring backpacking trips in southern Utah and summer trips in southern Colorado.

A minimum of six stakes are required for setup, which results in a sturdy pitch. Using trekking poles for support saves a lot of weight, if you normally use trekking poles.  I really like a shelter with a two-pole tensioned ridgeline anchored to a sturdy stake at each end. It really resists and deflects the wind, as I saw with The One.

I am impressed with Gossamer Gear’s proprietary 7 and 10- denier high tenacity nylon fabric, which is stronger than ordinary nylon. Fabric this light weight and strong is an alternative to Cuben Fiber (Dyneema Composite Fabric) for construction of a lightweight shelter at a more reasonable price.

I am also impressed with the tent’s construction quality and completeness. Looking closely, I find quality sewing and reinforcement, and overall attention to detail. And everything is there, including a clothes line and headlamp loop and four extra guylines for extra wind stability when needed. However, stakes are not included.

On one spring backpacking trip in southern Utah, we had daily strong winds and blowing dust. The One stood secure with 6 stakes; rocks on top of them for security purposes (standard procedure in Utah). Utah dust does stick to the ten’ts exterior coating, but not as bad as it does to silnylon. At home, rinsing the tent in cold water in the bathtub (no soap) easily removes the dust.

Another like is the tent’s roominess for a single person tent; it’s more like a 1+ tent compared to other single-person tents I have tested. There is ample room for gear between the tent interior and vestibule, and items in the vestibule are easily reachable.

Roominess abounds inside the tent. The floor is 88 inches long (that’s 7 feet 4 inches), ample for tall hikers. And it has headroom to match. What makes the tent interior so voluminous is its extended ridgeline, which I measured to be 47 inches. The floor at the center is 38.5 inches wide, so the front and rear walls angle outward about 4.25 inches, which is a clever trick to gain interior volume.

The tent’s ventilation is excellent and I noted very little condensation on the interior walls, even on calm nights below freezing. However, as with any single wall tent, I don’t expect it to be exempt from condensation when humid air plunges below the dew point. A quick wipedown with a camp towel is a simple remedy for condensation inside a  single wall tent.

The only criticism I have is the floor level vents are easily blocked by gear inside the tent, and a special effort is required to keep them unblocked. The mesh panels are set as high as possible, but perhaps they could be full width to reduce the issue.

Likes and Dislikes

Things I like about the Gossamer Gear One:

• Very lightweight yet strong nylon canopy and floor
• Excellent alternative to Cuben Fiber in terms of lightness, strength, and cost
• Impressive design to maximize functionality, features, and inside space
• High quality sewing and reinforcement
• Very light weight (21.85 oz measured weight)
• Trekking pole support saves weight and provides good support
• Tensioned catenary ridgline provides excellent wind deflection and stability
• Side entry
• Good vestibule storage
• Interior roominess (length, width, headroom, volume)
• Good ventilation minimizes condensation
• Factory taped Seams

Dislikes:

• Floor level ventilation panels are easily blocked by gear.

Assessment

The One stands out as a functional, roomy, sturdy, and very lightweight tent without bearing the cost of Cuben Fiber. It’s well designed and well constructed, and provides plenty of room for one hiker. Some manufacturers make their tent lighter by making it smaller and eliminating features, but that’s not the case with The One.

I should note that The Two, a 2-person version of the same tent, weighs 8.65 ounces more and costs $90 more ($389). Hikers who hike solo part of the time and with a partner part of the time may opt to get The Two because the weight and cost difference is not great.

Either way, it’s a great value for a very light weight backpacking tent.