Microlight FS 1-Person Tent from L.L. Bean
...no rainfly ...with rainfly
The Microlight FS 1-Person Tent is a proprietary design sold by L.L. Bean as a shelter for a single camper. Weighing only 2 pounds and 11 ounces, the Microlight FS 1 is the lightest tent L.L. Bean offers and represents and excellent value in the single-person tent segment.
At the price-point of $199.00, the quality of workmanship, materials, and design of the Microlight is exceptional.
While many companies offer even lighter tents, the amount of weight savings benefit one might realize by spending more money (2 times or more) on a lighter tent would be negligible, especially to a cyclo-tourist. (A bicycle tourist typically carries 45-70 lbs of gear, so a few more ounces here and there makes little proportional difference.)
An ultra-light cyclo-tourist, however, and certainly a backpacker, athough it would be a stretch for either one, might be able to justify his monetary investment in acquiring a lighter tent, yet I would make the argument that he would be better served by going with a tarp set-up or a bivy sack and avoid a free-standing, rain-proof tent altogether if weight savings were his primary camping concern. The weight savings of buying a lighter tent could cost a purchaser as much as $25.00, or more, for every ounce of weight savings. The North Face Mica FL 1, for example, weighs 2 lbs, 5 ounces, and it retails for $320.00. MSR's Carbon Reflex 1 weighs 2lbs, 2 ounces and has a price tag of $399.00.
A careful inspection of the stiching of the fabric, the hardware, and general design of the tent, has given me a positive initial impression of the Microlight. After I have conducted a 60+ day field test of the Microlight FS 1-Person Tent, I will write a comprehensive review.
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