Zelt Big Sky Evolution 1P

yet to find anything as good as this one. Had it for 5years, and done a 3000k hike with it

This one man tent is the same weight as a bivy bag. You can actually live in this, sit upright, store items in the vestibule, even cook there if necessary. I am 65 years old, been backpacking, canoeing, hiking etc since I was a kid. I bought the bikepacking model of this tent and it’s outstanding. First night out on an extended wilderness trip I was camped on the edge of a lake. A severe thunderstorm rolled in, really high winds, hail, torrential rains that caused pooling, ponding and running water. This tent was not phased, it is a very well designed and manufactured product. I highly recommended it.

I was caught in a monsoon type storm, high winds (20 - 30 mph), cold, steady rain/hail, lightening, for 2.5 days, at high elevation, 11,400 feet. The Evolution 1P kept me warm and dry as I waited out the storm. Not sure if I would have made it with a single wall or lesser tent, the winds were really blowing. I was a long ways from anyone, San Juans at Knifes Edge, and hypothermia was the main threat. This is an exceptional, well made tent for the life threatening conditions. This tent works well above tree line where site selection is imperative, usually tucked in behind a pine tree. If I had a single wall or lesser tent, not sure I would be writing this today.

Keith (Gresham, OR) 9/11/2014 10:36 PM
What can I say but this is the best tent I have ever had in over 50 years of backpacking. It is hard to imagine any improvement. I've owned the tent since 2007- back then in the early days of Big Sky, I had to wait 9 months to get it! But it was certainly worth the wait. Now Big Sky seems to have most versions in stock and they clearly show in stock status. The tent pitches tight, sheds torrential rain, sheds wind, it's quite roomy for a 1 person tent, the side entrance is easy to exit, the vestibule is large, it's ultralight, and has been durable. I recently had a zipper problem (after 7 years of use) and emailed the company- Bob emailed back the next day with a solution. So I add good service.

I did a ton of tent research before finally pulling the trigger on this one. I bought the marigold color and if you can find another tent at this weight and quality for less than $250 you should stop reading this review and buy that one. If you do, it’s probably pitched right next to a field of Unicorns.

Super easy to set up. Sub 5 minutes once you’ve done it a few times. Breakdown is even easier and faster as you would expect. I roll the inner and fly up for storage but I stuff them when backpacking and I keep the poles separate just to avoid any chance of tearing a hole.

Not sure if the detail bullets were reused from another tent but there is only one top vent on the door side vestibule.

One word of advice, know if two zippered vestibules is important to you or not and why before making a decision. Besides having better access to the second vestibule, that second door would offer the ability to cross ventilate on warmer trips. In my experience so far, this tent is on the warmer side and you don’t want to find that out the hard way. I don’t consider this a negative just another thing to factor in when making your decision.

Love this tent and I’m glad I stumbled on Big Sky when I did!