Naturehike VIK 1/2 Person Tent 3 Season

TL;DR: great value for price/weight/function. Good buy

I bought this tent in 2020 after years of fussing with a non-free standing tent—weight weenies you know the kind. I really wanted something I didn’t have to fight with at the end of a long day on the trail. Cost/durability/flexible camp selection. Enter Vik1

It’s super easy to set up and has two features I really love: the awning set up and the ceiling vents. Both are very functional and make this tent stand apart from other single walled options on the market. During a summer hike along the AT, this tent cast the only shade on our chosen bald campsite. *chef’s kiss*

The ceiling vents have never allowed rain to come pouring into my tent and function without issue. If you are a tent “stuffer” vs “roller” for packing, the little rigid stays that hold the vents open during use will effect how you do that. I’m a roller and have no issues here.

More like a 1.5 person tent, There is plenty of space. I am 5’9” 155lbs and have room to sit up, do floor stretches, change clothes, etc. I keep most things in my tent rather than in my pack at night without feeling cramped. My 50lb, slim built lab fits comfortably in the extra space as well. With her own blanket and sleep pad. She’s not a restless or wiggly sleeper though. The two vestibules are appropriately sized-one is smaller and primarily accessed from inside the tent. I keep water, shoes, etc. there. One door, double zipper. There is a vestibule magnetic closure on mine that can cause some snagging if you don’t disengage it and hold it open with your finger while unzipping. Sometimes I forget when I’m tired. Practice makes perfect.

I take very good care of my gear which means using the included footprint to reduce friction/wear points when camping on rough surfaces. You can go with a lighter option or nothing, but that will effect the life of the tent. Sap and holes suck. The bathtub bottom is high “enough” and the entire tent comes factory seam sealed. The tent has held up in pouring rain—zero leaks anywhere. I have not resealed any seam myself at this point and it’s almost 3 years old. It’s single walled, so do your diligence for condensation management. This is an issue for ALL SW tents. I always bring a small microfiber towel (think shamWOW) with me to wipe off excess moistureg. Mouth breathers beware! Worth the money and heavier weight.

日本アルプスで利用するなら、初夏から秋中盤までです。軽量です。設置も簡単です。中についている綱やペグで北アルプスの稜線上にはりましたが大丈夫でした。問題は、少し冷えてくると、風で生地が擦れる音が、風が吹いている間します。気になり私は寝れませんでした。また、網の部分を防ぐ布がないので、風が強い日は、テントの中は、結構強い風が抜けます。結露は少ない方と思います。

写真ではスカート付きでしたが到着したテントはスカート無しでした、性能以前写真に偽りありです型式確認しなかった方が悪いのでしょうか？

5 June 2021 – Earliest impressions

My first impressions of the VIK 1 are mostly favorable. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

Pros:
– Affordable: compared to many of the other light and ultralight solo tents on the market, at $140 USD, this is very affordable

– Lightweight: on my digital scale, the tent, aluminum frame, tent stakes, guy lines, footprint, and stuff sacks come to a combined weight of 1288 g / 45+ oz / 2.84 lb. That’s pretty impressive at this price point.

– Ease of set up: Very easy. It took me less than 4 minutes to set this up the very first time – it is so intuitive that there was no need to look at the instructions. It really is impressively easy. Just remember to twist the top crossbar so that it is resting on top of the main frame, rather than hanging underneath it.

– Build quality: Too early to tell. Quality generally declares itself over time with durability and resistance to failure. Only time will tell. My initial impression, though, is that that workmanship and materials are of good quality.

So, why not 5 stars?

Cons:
– Condensation: This is probably the biggest fault that most reviewers point out and, in fact, it is a real issue. I set this up in my backyard last night and spent the night in it. Temps dropped from upper 70’s down to the mid 50’s. I tend to sleep warm, so I had all vents and both the front and rear vestibules wide open. In the morning, the interior walls were very wet and the foot box of my sleeping bag was soaking wet where it had touched the tent wall. Even with the tent maximally vented, there was significant condensation present.

– Font Vestibule: The attached tarp that provides the front vestibule only covers about half of the tent front door opening, which means that in rain – depending on how the wind was blowing – a good deal of the screened in front door would be open to the rain. Here in the Northeastern U.S., rain and cold are absolute givens – I would greatly prefer a tent with an awning that spans the entire length of the front of the tent.

– Rear Vestibule: This is not a bad feature but, personally, I would have liked it to be just a bit more generous in terms of space. It would have been nice to have a larger rear screened in window to allow better cross ventilation.

– Front Zipper: As other reviewers have pointed out, the front zipper is at the top in the closed position. What this means is that to access anything in the front vestibule, the screened door must be opened fully or nearly fully. It would have been a much better design to have put the zipper at the bottom when in the closed position.

Initial Thoughts:
Am I happy with this tent? Yeah, I really am. I think it is a good investment and the few cons are easily outweighed by the pros, particularly at a cost of $140 and with a < 3 lb. weight for the entire setup. That's not bad. I've noticed that many manufacturers of light or ultralight gear tend to crow about how little their products weigh, but fail to tell you that the weight of their super-duper-ultralight tent, which weighs less than a sneeze, doesn't include poles, stakes, footprint, lines, sacks, etc.

So, If you’re looking for a good, sub 3 lb. shelter system in the < $150 range, you would be hard pressed to find a better overall deal than this.

I’ll try to post an update in a few months or so after I’ve had a bit more experience with this.

Happy Trails, Buckeroos!