Freestanding VS Trekking Pole - Why I DON’T use Freestanding Tents

hey guys it's Darwin and today we're talking tents freestanding versus trekking pole the pros and cons of each why I don't use a freestanding tent and what the best option is for you yeah I know I know I'm not out on the trail I'm inside but it's like 15 degrees outside tons of snow and the wind is crazy believe it or not here in Arizona it does get pretty nasty during the winter and obviously I'm dealing with it right now but I did bring a couple plants in here so hopefully that helps bring the outside inside a little bit give me a break it's cold all right in the past I've talked about tents versus Bibby's tents versus hammocks and I think we've come to the conclusion by now I'm a tent person and it's my preferred shelter on the trail but a debate that I see come up all the time is about freestanding tents versus trekking pole tents and why you would use one over another and I get questions all the time about why I always prefer a trekking pole tent over a freestanding tent so today I figured I would give my opinion the pros and cons of why I use one over the other but keep in mind that like all gear it's super subjective and it's all a personal preference and what makes you comfortable on the trail but here's my two cents over the last five years I have used a bunch of different tents both freestanding and trekking pole from my Big Agnes copper spur ul - that snuggles and I used out on the 80 in 2015 - the Z packs duplex that I used last year on the PCT the Z packs Plex amid that I used this year out on the Arizona Trail and a Big Agnes Fly Creek ul one snuggles still uses today whenever we go out on trips but you'll notice since I got off the 80 I use trekking pole tents and I would not use a freestanding tent on another through hike and go over that in a second but first let's go over the pros and cons of each alright so mainly using trekking pole tents over the last five years on the trail I can tell you the number one Pro for me is some félicité now most of the trekking pole tents that i've use are very simple designs take the duplex for example it is a one-piece tent which means that the fly the inner with the netting the bathtub everything is one piece so it all fits in this one bag and because it uses my trekking pole that I'm already using anyways it's super simple everything all attached in one place so for me I just throw it on the ground stake it out put my trekking poles in there pull some tensions and voila I have a home I don't have to mess with setting up a pole system putting on the inner then putting on the tarp it's very simplistic and really easy to use on the trail and because it's all in one it's only one piece of gear the next Pro for me is weight because there isn't a separate pole system and a footprint and a fly and an inner it obviously weighs less than some of the freestanding tents on the market now weights not everything but it is nice to keep that overall base weight low and keep me comfortable while I'm hiking and in my case that means I can carry more camera gear more lenses to make well videos while I'm out on the trail so that is definitely a pro for me and then that brings me to my last Pro which is pack ability now what do I mean by pack ability well when I go to put things in my pack every day while I'm out on trail I want to take up the least amount of room as possible now sure I use small packs but a good example is if you look at just the footprint from the Big Agnes copper spur that snug was not used out on the 80 and compare that with the size of the duplex a two-person tent I mean everything is here all in one now if I have a freestanding tent like the copper spur or the Fly Creek I'm gonna have my separate poles that I'm gonna have to stick on the outside or strapped to the bottom along with the tent that I'm gonna have to put on my pack and the footprint that I'm gonna have to put somewhere else so packability is always a huge Pro for me just because I can't stand having extra stuff hanging off the outside of my pack strapped to the bottom stretch that strap to the side I like having everything in my pack so good packability is definitely a pro with trekking pole tents all right so let's talk about the cons of using a trekking pole tent number one is definitely going to be condensation because most trekking pole tents out on the market are single wall they don't get as much ventilation as a freestanding tent so they do have condensation problems they don't have that space between the inner and the fly to allow good air flow so chances are a lot of times you're gonna wake up with a wet tent now there are some tents out on the market like the Aeon Li that I just recently picked up that are trying to combat that with certain vents and different styles of how they design it but still in my experience most trekking pole tents you still have that issue and the second big con on using a trekking pole tent is the setup because it does require tension to set it up and it doesn't have any type of exoskeleton frame to it like a freestanding tent you can't just set it up everywhere now I could probably debate this a little bit because I've set my tents up in some really weird awkward places but most of the time you do need a good piece of flat ground with plenty of area around it to be able to guide it out to tension it to set it up and because it doesn't have that exoskeleton frame in some cases whenever it's really bad weather super strong wind like it is right now you do have an issue with the strength of the tent being able to hold up in the wind because it has less structure to it alright so I could talk a little more about trekking pole tents but I do that quite a bit on this channel so let's talk about freestanding tents now even though tents like the Z packs duplex are a super popular tent on the trail I would say most of the hikers that I see out on my hikes are still using a freestanding tent and I'm no exception because I did use a freestanding tent on my entire hike of the 80 and still to this day snuggles uses a Big Agnes the like Creek ul wanted it's her tent of choice I think the number one pro of using something like a freestanding tent is the set up because it has that exoskeleton structure you can basically set it up wherever you want you don't necessarily have to stake it out like you do with a trekking pole tent so you can set it up on uneven ground you can set it up on wooden platforms if you wanted to you could even set it up in your living room because you don't necessarily have to use States to get it pitched so I would definitely say they're much more versatile than a trekking pole tent when it comes to set up because you can basically put them wherever you want the next big pro of using a freestanding tent on the trail over a trekking pole tent would be ventilation now because most freestanding tents are double walled meaning that it has an inner mesh with a bathtub and an outer rain fly there's a space between those two walls that allows air to circulate flow through therefore giving you less condensation and because there are those two walls and you can take that outer rain fly off on a really nice clear night you can take it off lane your tent still get protection from bugs and whatnot but you can get a 360 view stare up at the stars which is something that I actually miss going to a trekking pole tent and what are some of the cons in my opinion of using a freestanding tent well number one for me is definitely pack ability like I said earlier with a freestanding tent you have the actual tent you have the pole system and in some cases you have a footprint so there's multiple things to figure out where to put in your pack so you do have some pack ability issues if you have a smaller simplistic pack now because there are more pieces to the tent set up with the poles and the fly and the footprint and the inner and the outer that obviously equals number one more weight and it also for me equals more things to break in the field more things to keep track of and things to pack up whenever you're ready to go in the so why don't I personally use freestanding tents on the trail while I use them in the past but I wouldn't use them on any future hikes well basically for the same reason I don't use hammock systems is simplicity when I'm out on the trail from two to four to six months I want the most simplistic setup I can possibly get if I wake up to a wet tent whenever I get to a dry part of the day I don't have to hang the rain fly separate from the inner I can just throw one piece of gear out and dry it I like using the most stripped-down simplistic gear I can possibly get which is why I don't like packs that have zippers and extra pockets on them because those are more things that can break and go wrong when I'm in the field you know if my tent poles break on a freestanding tent I am basically screwed and I can't set my tent up but if my trekking pole breaks I can either ask someone else that I'm hiking with if I can use their trekking pole or I can even use a stick and still set it up so overall for me it's just about simplicity and efficiency sure I might have to take a little bit longer to find a perfect flat spot with enough room to put out all my stakes but when I find that flat spot I know that I can very easily and efficiently throw that tent down put some poles in it and I have home so I can spend more time relaxing eating shooting video or doing the thing that I came out there to do which is hike now if you're someone that's still on the fence about what tent you should use maybe you're planning your next section hike or your first through hike and trying to figure out are you a free-standing person or a trekking pole person my suggestion is get out on the trail and try both maybe you have a friend that has a trekking pole tent you can borrow it from them get it out on the trail and make sure that you're going to be comfortable for four or six months and setting it up and living in it every single day it's all about trial and error people you gotta figure out what works best for you because remember it's all subjective and it all comes down to what makes you the most comfortable while you're out now I've rounded up some of my favorite trekking pole and freestanding tents plus some budget options so I'll put those links down below do you guys want to check those out real quick you guys have asked for them for the past year and I recently relaunched two t-shirts over on bonfire so right now for a limited time I have backed by popular demand the embrace the SUP t-shirt and a new t-shirt design to celebrate my new website the outdoor evolution so right now you have 12 days to put your order in at the end of those 12 days that orders will be over which is on December 10th and they'll start shipping on December 17th so if you've been wanting a shirt now's your chance and you should get them in time for Christmas I'll leave links down below to both of those shirts but again right now if you're watching the video and it's the first day I've put it out you only have 12 days so what tip do you prefer freestanding or trekking pole and why leave me something down below and let me know your thoughts if you found any value in this video go ahead and hit that like button subscribe to my channel if you haven't already and as always guys thanks for watching [Music]

Channel: Darwin onthetrail

Views: 257,256

Rating: 4.8837852 out of 5

Keywords: UL Hiking, UL Backpacking, UL Hiking Gear, Appalachian Trail, AT, AT THru Hike, Zpacks Duplex, Zpacks Plexamid, PCT, Pacific Crest Trail, Tents, Backpacking Tents, Freestanding, Long Distance Hiking, Backpacking, Hiking, Hiker Trash

Id: UJycCvm_WCw

Length: 12min 32sec (752 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 28 2019