Big Agnes Tumble 1p mtnGLO tent – Review

BIG AGNES TUMBLE 1p mtnGLO TENT – REVIEW

A little while back I was sent the Big Agnes Tumble 1p mtnGLO tent from WildEarth in support of my photography and bike packing adventures and goal of completing the Monaro Cloudride 1000 mtb bikepacking race.

http://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/big-agnes-tumble-1-person-mtnglo-tent/TT1MG15

I’ve had a chance to use the tent a number of times and must say I’m impressed. It’s easy to pitch, has some great features and is a good combination of comfort, durability and lightweight, here’s my review.

The Big Agnes Tumble 1p mtnGLO is a lightweight 3 season Backpacking tent, it features a single door and vestibule, Big Agnes mtnGLO light technology, its free standing and can be pitched in two configurations, full set up and lightweight fast fly (fly and optional footprint) heres the specs and Feature list.

Specs,

Trail Weight 3lb 9oz
Packed Weight 4lb 1oz (1.8kg)
Footprint Weight 6oz
Fast Fly Weight 2lb 9oz (1.3kg)
Packed Size 7″ x 17″ (approx 18cm x 43cm)
Floor Area 22sq ft
Vestibule Area 10sq ft
Head Height 37″ (94cm)
Foot Height 14″ (35.56cm)
Full Features,

• Features patent-pending mtnGLO™ tent light technology using durable LED lights to illuminate the interior of your tent with enough light to sort gear, play cards and hang out with friends without blinding them with a bright beam of light. A simple push button controller with three settings – on, off and 50% brightness – controls the mtnGLO® lights LED light strand is integrated into tent seams and is durable and flexible enough to withstand repeated tent pitching and stuffing. Requires three AAA batteries (not included) to operate the mtnGLO® light controller
• Single door and vestibule
• Storm flaps on vestibule zipper
• Steep wall construction and cross over pole improve tent interior’s living space
• Media pockets located above sleeping area enable clean ear bud cord routing from phones or other devices
• Reflective guylines and webbing on tent corners
• Fly is polyester rip-stop and floor is polyester
• Fly and floor have 1500mm waterproof polyurethane coating
• Tent body is polyester rip-stop and polyester mesh
• All seams taped with waterproof, solvent-free polyurethane tape (No PVC or VOC’s)
• DAC Press Fit pole system with press fit connectors and lightweight hubs
• Plastic clips attach tent body to pole frame
• Hub pole design
• 8 aluminium hook stakes
• Three interior mesh pockets
• Two internal media pockets
• Gear loft loops included
• Fits Wall, Triangle and Trapezoid gear lofts – sold separately
• Compatible with Big Agnes Entertainment Center loft and PowerCase/Loft- sold separately
• Fast Fly setup available – pitch a shelter while leaving the tent body behind. The Fast Fly configuration requires the footprint, rainfly, poles and stakes.
• Footprint sold separately
• Light strand can also be powered by any USB source
  CE Certified

Whats in the package?

Tent body, fly, pole system, 8 hooked aluminium stakes, mtnGLO light controller, guy ropes and emergency field repair splint. Unfortunately the footprint is not included but this is pretty standard practice across all manufactures.

Set up.

The Tumble is extremely quick and easy to pitch in both configurations, full set up and fast fly (footprint needed). I had absolutely no problem setting the tent up the first time. This is how a tent should be, no fuss, there’s nothing worse than struggling to put up a tent at the end of the day.

Why is it so easy to pitch? It has some great features to make it easy.

The aluminium pole is a “single” pole well more of a “single pole system” with 3 “hubs” and poles connected via shock cord, the poles simply slip into the hubs and then each other, you then slot each end into the holes in the tabs of each corner of the flattened tent.

It’s then a matter of attaching the clips along the tent body to the poles, slip the top pole into the attached pockets, attach the fly by matching up the colour coded buckles, dark green for the foot end and lime for the head and stake out the tent, guy lines and vestibule and its done. It really does only take a few minutes. Don’t take my word for it watch the quick time-lapse.

You will notice in the above clip I have set up the full tent and also taken the time to put my large camera bag and small nanuk hard case under the vestibule and blow up my sleeping mat (Klymit inertia ozone, review to come) etc all in approx 10mins.

Colour Coded buckles and straps for easy pitching.

The tent body clips to the poles with these easy to use clips.

Pole Hub, there’s one of these both ends

Small “hub” and tent body centre clip. These little, easy to use features really make the Tumble easy to get along with.

Comfort/Size.

For a 1 person tent there’s quite a bit of room inside, the first day I got the Tumble I set it up in the lounge room threw my sleeping mat inside and climbed in with my 7 year old son, we could both spend a night in the Tumble if needed but it would be a squeeze.

Obviously its not a 2 person tent but it is quite roomy. I’m 180cm and found in practice there is plenty of room for me at the head, end, foot end and all around, measurements supplied by Big Agnes are Length 229cm, foot end width 76cm, Head end width 109cm. Height wise I can sit up and get changed etc easily, the height in the centre is 94cm and at the foot end 35.5cm.

As you can see by the measurements its quite generous, certainly not cramped, I think it would be suitable for most. I found you can have a have a few things inside the tent with you such as your pack if needed.

Sleeping in the tumble I felt comfortable, not claustrophobic with plenty of room to spread out and relax for a good nights sleep.

The single vestibule is small and extends out 79cm in the middle, but its adequate. In the time-lapse above and in the pictures below I’ve put my large lowepro camera bag under there along with a small nanuk hard case. The Camera bag holds 2 pro dslr’s a pro 70-200 2.8 lens and 5-6 smaller lenses along with a laptop, its a decent size bag. You would have no problem fitting a large say 70L pack under there along with your boots. While I mention the vestibule it splits in two and rolls to the side, making it very easy to get in and out of the tent.

Plenty of room to get in and out along with ample space under the vestibule.

I’m 180cm and there’s still plenty of room around my feet.

Plenty of room up the head end, both around and above. You can also see here the media pockets top corners, these have routing for ear buds theres also a pocket bottom right (above the tag) so theres plenty of small Item storage inside. I believe theres also an entertainment centre loft available, sold separately. You can also see one of the fly air vents (closed centre). The sleeping pad is a Klymit Inertia ozone (mini review to come).

Features.

The Tumble has 3 internal mesh pockets (above), 2 media pockets (above), provisions for an add on loft (wall, triangle and trapezoid) and is compatible with the Big Agnes entertainment centre lofts and power/case loft. There’s storm flaps on the vestibule zipper, reflective guy lines (easy to see at night). Fly is polyester ripstop and the floor is polyester, both have a 1500mm waterproof polyurethane coating, all seams are taped with waterproof polyurethane tape. It also features Big Agnes mtnGLO tent light technology, a great feature!

Reflective guy ropes for easy visibility at night.

mtnGLO Light system.

The mtnGLO light system is a great feature that I didn’t think I would really use, but its fantastic. Basically its a lighting system for the tent. An LED strand is sewn into the top seam, this strand is powered by a small controller (powered by 3 AAA batteries) with 3 settings, on, off and 50% power, so handy its a standout feature. This controller weighs a tiny 60g with batteries, I guess you could leave it at home if you wanted to cut a few grams, but I think its well worth it. It stows away in a small pocket at the top of the tent when not in use. The LED strand itself can be powered by other usb power sources so you could use a small solar power bank or similar if you were already going to carry one on a ride or hike.

You can see the small led lights across the top of the tent

The mtnGLO tent light on full power, a little bit of luxury! I can’t wait to get this tent out under a clear night sky with the milky way above, the shots will be epic, yep the photographer in me thinking about how I can use the lights in a shoot!

mtnGLO controller/powerbank is tiny and weighs only 60g

On the bike.

Along with my photography adventures I got the Big Agnes Tumble 1p for Bike packing. So Its only fitting I add my thoughts etc on this.

​At first I thought the pole system may be an issue as the poles don’t sit flat against each other due to the pole hub, but in practice the hub is fantastic and the poles sit closely together, its a non issue.

The fully packed tent sits in a handlebar harness nicely with plenty of space between it and the tyre. Although I haven’t actually used the tent for bike packing yet I have ridden with it on the bike for training a few times and I haven’t had the tyre hit the tent once (due to suspension compression). The fully packed tent fits in an 8L sea to summit dry bag (just), so its a fairly small package, you could also compress it a little smaller if needed. But the best bet would be pack it in a larger, say 13L dry bag along with the rest of your sleep system.

I’ve also packed the tent (without poles) into my medium Oveja Negra gear jammer saddle bag, along with a first aid kit, with the poles up front in a harness with a large down sleeping bag and mat. Basically just to test different ways I can carry my kit on the bike.

The Tumble can be set up fully or as a lightweight shelter, fly and optional footprint, giving you the option to drop a little weight if needed. Minimalist camping is becoming increasingly popular so I’m sure there will be plenty who will love this lightweight option.

​Is it the lightest tent out there for this use, no but its features, weight, comfort and price make it a pretty good option for those after a tent not a bivvy.

The fully packed, uncompressed Big Agnes Tumble 1p hanging from the bars in my Bike Bag Dude Harness.

Loosely packed up under the bars, still plenty of room.

Conclusion.

So far I’ve been really impressed by the Big Agnes Tumble mtnGLO 1 person tent. After a couple of nights in it I can say its comfortable and roomy for a 1p tent, its easy to pitch. The build quality is excellent, all fittings, poles etc are good quality. For a lightweight tent its pretty robust and think it will take a bit of a beating. It can be pitched as a full tent or lightweight fast fly, shelter for those that want to cut the weight even further. The mtnGLO light system is a fantastic feature, i really like it along with the media pockets, you can never have enough pockets! it shows Big Agnes are creating modern up to date equipment.

​For those looking for a lightweight 1 person tent for hiking, bike packing, kayaking or solo photography trips like myself the Tumble really should be high on the list of tents to consider.

Author,

Daniel Gangur

Thank you WildEarth for your support http://www.wildearth.com.au

The sleeping pad shown in the above images is the awesome Klymit Inertia ozone, mini review to come!