PreTents Soloist Review

The PreTents Soloist is a 1-berth, pyramid, double walled tent. Single pole, pyramid tents should be the answer for a lot of bikepackers – they’re advantageous in terms of pack size & wind resistance, at the detriment of freestanding design.

Specification (provided by PreTents, actuals may vary);

• Weight – 0.95kg.
• Pack size – Length 40cm x Dia 15cm
• Interior size – Width 135cm x Length 250cm x Height 105cm
• Fabric – 20D 277T Ripstop nylon silicone outer fabric. 2000mm.  
• Poles – not included.  

After doing not much research when buying the MSR Hubba NX, I made sure to do a lot more this time round. I had a much better idea of the criteria I wanted – and whilst I’d never heard of this brand, the PreTents Soloist appeared to meet all the criteria I had written down. My intention for using this tent was as a bikepacking, specifically mountain bikepacking, shelter for use on ultra-distance races & events – instead of a bivvy bag. I took it on the Cairngorms Loop, the Badger Divide, as well as some local overnighters in the Yorkshire Dales & Lake District. Heres what I thought of it.

What I like…

Ultra-lightweight. At marginally over 1kg, with pole, pegs, inner & outer, objectively this is about as a light as you’ll get for a double walled tent. I should be clear, I’m comparing & contrasting this tent to a bivvy bag. For slightly more weight, its infinitely more advantageous than a bivvy bag.

Multiple pitching options. You can use it as just a rain shelter, ditching the inner if going ultra-light weight.

Its pack size is fantastic. Having a detachable inner means you can ‘stuff’ the inner & outer away separately – practical for keeping the inner dry and also better distribution of volume when bikepacking.

Low height & sloping sides means it sheds wind very well. Low height is also a disadvantage, especially in a pyramid tent, in terms of interior space. This criteria is subjective & depends what you value! Vestibule. This vestibule will be like marmite. Either you have it fully up, or fully down. It needs to be pegged in the middle to make it ‘vestibule shaped’, otherwise its just flappy material – its no good to just use this door as a half-opening door.

What I Don’t Like…

Its designed for hikers. Its designed to use a hiking pole as the center pole. Well, if you’re cycling, you aren’t carrying a hiking pole! I knew this when buying & thus I got a carbon pole from Bearbones bikepacking. Whilst it did a job – I couldn’t adjust the height of the tent. Quite frankly, pitching this tent is a ballache – especially on uneven ground. It takes a lot of practice to get it right and if you’re constrained by height due to the pole, then getting a perfect pitch is nigh on impossible.

Single, upright poles have a tendency to dig into the ground – and also are in the way when entering & exiting the tent.

Needs to be seam sealed by yourself. Whilst this can be overcome with a £10 silicone seam sealing kit & a few hours of your time, some may see it as a drawback.

Like any ultra-lightweight tent, durability is going to be a concern. I wasn’t worried about it once pitched, when stuffing it away or packing in a rush, the material feels flimsy. It wouldn’t need to catch on much to tear.

Condensation build up. Probably not helped by the fact I only had a fixed length pole, it meant I could never get the tent ‘off the ground’ – the sides were always touching the floor, meaning no airflow underneath. Because of the wide footprint, any condensation would never come int contact with me, or my sleep system. But still, the tent would always go away wet. You can, of course, sleep with the side rolled up & still be protected by the mesh inner from any bugs.

Lack of head space. The spec would have you believe this a spacious tent. it isn’t unless sat in the middle. The 105cm height is only at the center, created by the upright pole. Due to the pyramid nature and shallow wall angle, not a lot of the interior is actually usable.

Alternatives I Considered…

I was looking for a small, packable, yet solid lightweight tent for bikepacking. I considered the following alternatives;

• MLD Solomid. ‘often imitated, never surpassed’ – the PreTents Soloist is another imitator which hasn’t surpassed, not least in my expectation.
• Terra Nova Laser Compact 1. At the time of purchasing, I wasn’t sure about a tunnel style tent & it was also unavailable.
• Hyperlite Ultamid. I struggle to convince myself of import from the US, considering the cost, time & problematic returns.

Score

6.5/10. It did what I wanted. But the lack of headroom through the entire tent & difficulty of pitching created by the single pole, brought it down. Room for improvement.