This Winterial Single Person Tent review is about a reliable and incredibly affordable lightweight 3-season bivy tent suitable for hiking, backpacking, and hunting.
Key features
- Incredible price.
- Lightweight.
- Aluminum poles.
- Non-freestanding.
Description
The Winterial Single Person Tent is a 3-season tool, non-freestanding double-wall tent. All terminology will be explained below, here to stress that the term ‘double wall’ implies that you have the tent body plus the rain fly which offers full coverage for the protection of elements.
As you see from the title, this is a bivy tent, and by this, I mean a rather low shelter, 2′ 4” (71 cm). So bear this in mind when you plan your outdoor adventure. If you expect to spend a lot of time in it due to bad weather situations, you will not feel so comfortable because you cannot sit inside. I have one tent of this type so can tell you this from my own experience.
But if this is only about setting it up and sleeping in it overnight and having good weather and sitting outside in your camp, this is a perfect tool. With 3.3 lb (1.5 kg) this shelter is in the category of lightweight tools. To put this in the perspective, you might want to see this text with a huge comparison table with many great tools for solo adventures.
Surface to weight ratio
I like to give this parameter for tents reviewed here in the site because it gives how many square meters you have per kilogram. So for the Winterial Single Bivy Tent this parameter is approximately SW = 1.3 m²/kg. This is a great number, but again, if you want to see an ultralight tent check the Big Agnes Fly Creek Platinum 1 tent with SW = 2.48 m²/kg.
In fact, it would be appropriate to give the tent volume because this is equally important, however, most of the manufacturers do not provide such data (but see this MSR Access 1 tent).
So again, the SW parameter is big, but bear in mind the height of this tent; it is not the most comfortable option on the market. You cannot sit in it.
Materials
They do not give numbers regarding the durability of materials and waterproofness rating, this is very disappointing and unacceptable, to say the least.
The rain fly is with the zipper and with Velcro tabs which are there to keep the storm flap in place. All seams are taped for sure, so all these elements look good. The entrance door can be rolled up and fixed to the fly. Behind it, you have the mesh door of the same shape and with a zipper.
In one version, the whole inner tent is practically mesh and this is good for ventilation. It is supported by two looped poles of different sizes. So this is great if you sleep under the stars in a dry environment. But the fly in one version is without vents. This is not so in the version shown above, the vent is there and this is a great detail.
But the fly in one version is without vents. This is not so in the version shown above, the vent is there and this is a great detail.
In this video, you can see the version with the mesh body:
What is in the package
- 3 bundles of strong cords.
- 14 heavy-duty stakes.
- Two shock-corded poles (the meaning of this is that the segments of a pole are interconnected and you cannot lose them).
- Tent body, this includes the main tent structure (the floor, the walls, and the ceiling).
- Rain fly.
- A nice stuff sack.
The tent packs nicely in its carry sack, the package is cylindric in shape and can easily be attached to any backpack or carried on a motorbike.
Specifications
- Weight: 3.3 lb (1.5 kg).
- Size (W x H x L): 38 x 28 x 90 inches (96 x 71 x 229).
- Packed size: 18 x 4.5 x 4 in (46 x 11 x 10 cm).
- Floor area: around 2 square meters (this is not a precise number, they do not give it and the floor plan is not rectangular to calculate so easily, see the picture above).
- Poles: 2, aluminum.
Who is it for
If you do some outdoor tours only occasionally, then spending too much makes no sense. The Winterial Single Person Tent will be a great choice. The same holds for the beginners and scouts. But for more intensive use, I would suggest a proper tent which offers more comfort, first of all a higher tent.
Summary, rating, pros & cons
To summarize this Winterial Single Person Tent review, here you have a tent that has been on the market for many years already so it has been tried and tested by many users and all is known about it. But if you need something for extended backpacking tours and intensive use, I would suggest you considering completely different tents, which offer more comfort and which are even lighter.
Regarding the non-freestanding feature, if you are not familiar with the terminology, this means the tent must be anchored to the ground in order to set it up.
But this opens the issue of the ground; you cannot pitch this tent on the rock, on concrete, on frozen ground, on gravel, on the sand. This is simply because either of the following two: a) you cannot force the stakes in the ground, or b) they are useless even if you put them in the ground (in the case of sand or gravel).
So you have to plan in advance where you will be camping. This can be an issue if you are at high altitudes above the tree line. This is my typical situation in the Alps and I have experienced it myself.
Here is the breakdown of my rating:
Winterial Single Person Personal Bivy Tent
$79.99
Pros
- Great price.
- Very lightweight.
- Large floor area.
Cons
- Not freestanding.
- Quite low.
- No info about waterproofness.
Thank you for reading. In the case of questions and comments, please use the comment box below. I wish you a nice day.
William Lee says
I’ve been reading through these articles and have appreciated the info. Have you used any of these bivy tents?
Jovo says
Thank you William for the kind words. I am an active mountaineer and have been dealing with outdoor equipment in the past 33 years.