The REI Flash Air 1 Tent (new in 2023) is a single-wall ultralight pyramid-shaped tent with a deep bathtub flooring and a big entrance vestibule. Weighing 27.2 oz / g, it’s an reasonably priced ($299) ultralight trekking pole tent (elective pole included) designed for backpacking that’s fairly livable, spacious – even for tall individuals, and wind worthy. The setup may be very simple for the reason that vestibule and interior tent are joined collectively, the tent has glorious air flow and is effectively appointed with line loc tensioners within the corners to get a taut pitch.
REI fully botched the Flash Air 1 product description on its web site, apparently reducing and pasting the descriptions of a number of tents collectively, so I hope you’ll discover this evaluation clarifying. I truthfully suppose the Flash Air 1 is a fairly nifty shelter and I actually like the truth that it’s competitively priced so that individuals with no belief fund can afford it. Ultralight backpacking was by no means meant to be costly and elitist and I’m appalled that it’s grow to be simply that.
Specs at a look
- Measurement: 1 particular person
- Sort: Single-wall
- Structural: Trekking Pole Tent (elective pole included)
- Precise Minimal Path Weight: 1 lb 11.2 oz (elective pole provides 2.3 oz extra)
- Minimal variety of stakes to pitch: 6
- Doorways: 1
- Precise Bathtub Ground Dimensions: 85″ x 35/27″ (L x W head/foot) inches
- Vestibule Quantity: 8.4 sq ft
- Peak Top:42 inches
- Seam-taped: Sure
- Cloth: 20D ripstop nylon
- Hydrostatic head: NA
The REI Flash Air 1 has a pyramid-shaped rainfly and a rectangular-shaped bathtub flooring (though the pinnacle finish is wider than the foot finish). The 2 are related internally by slim mesh panels, though the rainfly extends out previous the tub flooring partitions creating additional awnings which might be deeply curved (known as catenary curves) to enhance wind worthiness and save weight.
I’ve examined this tent in 30 mph wind and whereas I did add a couple of additional guylines to keep up the rain fly quantity, it did remarkably effectively. The rain fly might use a couple of extra gear loops for additional guylines on its extra expansive rear panels and seams which catch the wind, however their absence is on no account a showstopper.
The tent comes with an elective heart pole (2.3 oz) measuring 47″ (119.4 cm) which may be changed with a trekking pole. The deal with of a trekking pole matches into the bolstered peak, whereas the sharp finish matches right into a grommet on the entrance midpoint of the tub flooring. It’s a really safe and structurally sturdy setup. In the event you choose to make use of the included heart pole (coloured black), it has 4 shock-corded segments, with a most section size of 12″.
The inner bathtub flooring requires slightly extra clarification. It’s wider on the head and narrows on the foot, however with these dimensions: 85″ x 35/27″ (we feature a tape measure to make our personal measurements), it’s extensive sufficient and lengthy sufficient to carry a large sleeping pad or a tall particular person with loads of additional flooring area for inside gear storage.
The again wall of the interior bathtub flooring is taller than the entrance wall, to dam chilly wind and dirt from blowing underneath the prolonged awnings. The corners of the again wall are augmented with 16″ aluminum poles to create distinct corners and hold the again from collapsing. The design of those corners is harking back to the “pitch-locs” that the corporate Tarptent makes use of on lots of their tents for a similar function. There’s no must take away these 16″ poles from the tent corners when packing the tent (though you may) and I’d suggest leaving them alone.
These nook aluminum poles have one other profit, which is that they improve the space between your face and the rain fly. That is typically a problem with steeply angled pyramid-shaped tents and tarps (typically known as “mids” – quick for pyramids) the place the fly passes just some inches above your face and the tops of your toes. These nook struts tackle this difficulty by creating extra quantity and distance between you and the rain fly.
It’s price mentioning that the 16″ pole size of the nook struts gained’t match horizontally in some backpacks, which is one thing to contemplate in the event you insist on packing your tent horizontally in your backpack. A most nook pole section size of 12″ or 13″ would have made the Flash Air 1 extra appropriate with a bigger variety of backpacks, significantly ultralight backpacks, the place pack width tends to be narrower.
While you zipper the entrance vestibule closed, it creates a really giant cupboard space in entrance of the tent, for any gear you don’t need to convey inside. It’s a one-way zipper, so you may’t go away the highest open like a transom for extra airflow, however there’s a peak vent with a kickstand to assist launch moisture, significantly out of your breath, or in the event you convey moist gear inside with you.
If you need, you may open the left or proper facet of the vestibule and there are tiebacks on both facet to safe them. My recommendation is to tie one of many additional reflective guylines that include the tent to the loop on the apex of the rainfly, so you may roll again either side of the door and have one facet of the tent fully open, with simply the entrance mesh for insect safety. That is my favourite honest climate configuration.
For additional credit score, you may also need to add a Zpacks double hook equipment to the doorways, which helps you to use one guyline connected to the apex, to roll again the left vestibule door, the proper one, or each on the identical time with out having to re-stake the doorways individually.
A number of extra particulars:
- The rainfly has fairly a couple of additional man out loops sewn into the seams, however none on the bigger panels. These could be useful in excessive wind to assist keep the inside quantity.
- When establishing the tent, the corners of the tub flooring have fixed-length strains, whereas the corners of the rainfly have line loc tensioners. You need to use one stake for each strains, however some re-staking could also be essential.
- The top finish of the mesh has two facet pockets sized to carry electronics or private objects.
Advice
The REI Flash Air 1 is an ultralight trekking pole tent that weighs 27.2 oz and is made with extra standard supplies (ripstop nylon) to maintain its value affordable. The inside of the tent is kind of giant, with loads of area above the pinnacle and toes and alongside the edges. It has an enormous vestibule for gear storage and glorious air flow for a single-wall tent in the event you can hold the vestibule partially open. The tent units up quick as a result of the rainfly and bathtub flooring are all one piece so you are able to do it within the rain with out getting the inside drenched.
There actually aren’t that many aggressive tents to the Flash Air 1, in the event you solely contemplate single-wall tents, made with extra standard supplies, and never Dyneema DCF:
- The Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo (26 oz) is its closest competitor. Made with low-stretch siliconized polyester, it’s additionally a single-pole, single-wall tent with good air flow, however has considerably much less climate safety as a result of its flooring isn’t as deep. $260.
- The Gossamer Gear “The One” (17.7 oz) is a spacious single-wall tent with a two-pole design. Made with Sil/PU coated material, it additionally has much less room above the pinnacle and foot ends in comparison with the Flash Air 1. $299.25
- The Durston Gear X-Mid 1 (28 oz) is a double-wall tent requiring 2 tent poles to arrange that’s made with low-stretch siliconized polyester. Whereas it additionally has loads of non-screened cupboard space, the inside is relatively cramped. $240.
Disclosure: REI donated a tent for evaluation.
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