Backpacker Magazine – 2010 Editors' Choice/Gear Guide

Gear Review: GoLite Eden 1P Tent

This durable tent wins "Best All Around" for the one-person category.

by: Kelly Bastone

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• Tents
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Best All-Around
“It’s the ‘extended stay hotel’ of solo tents,” says our tester, who spent seven nights in this roomy single-wall hybrid in Idaho’s Sawtooth Wilderness. Its 100-inch-long floor fit his 6’1” frame with room to spare, and the 32-inch width even let his wife squeeze in with him for a night. The lofty 45-inch peak height gave him the freedom to sit and even to kneel in the middle of the tent. Pitching this nonfreestanding hoop tent is fast and intuitive, with three poles that feed into sleeves at the head, middle, and foot; four stakes achieve a supertaut pitch that easily sheds heavy rain and strong winds.

The roomy (8.7-square-foot) vestibule is peaked with a structured vent that shunts water down the sides: Our tester stashed his boots and pack in the covered side of the vestibule, while rolling back the other half to increase ventilation without admitting rain inside the tent door. The full-coverage rainfly extends to just above the ground, and kept water from splashing up onto the mesh tent body. Ventilation is excellent—no condensation accumulated on Rocky Mountain test trips. The durable, 70-denier nylon and 20-denier mesh showed no sign of wear and tear after a summer of use.

Caveats: The XL living space and tough materials add weight, and testers wished they could detach the fly from the head area on starry nights. $300; 3 lbs. 7 oz.

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