The GG The One is actually made of nylon, not polyester. Nylon sags in the rain, polyester does not. I have an X-Mid and have had it out in some soaking rain storms and it never sags. It also doesn't soak up the rain like nylon does, so you're not carrying extra water weight. Just to clarify 😉
On GG's website, The One is listed as being made of SIL/PU, or silicone-impregnated polyurethane, or silpoly for short. Please consider amending your comment to avoid confusing viewers.
@@RotasOpera LOL. The material they list is 10 denier Nylon (which is super flimsy). The Sil/PU refers to the waterproof coating they apply which is a combination of silicone and polyurethane, which TBH makes it even worse due to the PU coating being crap. Sil Poly is silicone/impregnated coated polyester fabric.
@@RotasOpera LOL. The material they list is 10 denier Nylon (which is super flimsy). The Sil/PU refers to the waterproof coating they apply which is a combination of silicone and polyurethane, which TBH makes it even worse due to the PU coating being crap. Sil Poly is silicone/impregnated coated polyester fabric.
Great vid brother. I just got the solo plex this hiking season and used it twice so far, really digging it so far. I used a duplex last year during my AT thru-hike and really dug it. Good to hear you liked the solo plex. Be well out there and keep on hammering.
I picked up a Hexamid tarp last summer, and paired it w a sea to summit mosquito net.(6.1 & 2.9 0z) sub 10oz(zpack groundsheet is 3.2, tent spikes 4oz). I LOVE the weight and not having to deal w Zpacks rainbow zipper nonsense. I still find it a challenge to pitch this thing, but I really like net only option, when its cold, no net at all(every mountain or higher elevation.) Zpacks really makes great gear options- dynema, dynema, dynema.
Check out the Durston X-mid tents. Bomb Proof trekking pole tents that uh..are not shapedl ike the typical tent (some geometric principle that seems to hold up better in high winds and such).. Spent the night (well many nights, but this one in particular) in a 60+mph wind storm in Scotland this past year. That was 100+ nights out already with the tent. Plus the stargazer kit gives you some good star viewing for those nights you do not need the fly but it might be buggy.. Price and weight is about the same as the Gossamer Gear tent
I used the Zpacks Duplex on my 2021 thru-hike. It's an outstanding tent and I thoroughly enjoyed using it. I'm switching to the Durston Xmid Pro2 for my 2023 thru-hike. It has an offset floor design that makes it more structurally sound in strong winds. The Duplex is great but using it in 40+ mph winds is nerve-wracking!
Good break down of everything! However the GG The One is Sil-Nylon/PU not Sil-Poly. Sil-Poly does not sag nearly as bad as Sil-Nylon. Did you run into any issues getting either tent set up in more confining camp spots on the thru-hike?
I had a seam sealing issue with my tent after a 4 week hike. GG did warranty replace the tent. I don’t have enough nights on the replacement to know if it might have similar issues. Overall I was really happy with the GG tent once I had some practice setting it up. One pro it is to put a stick prop under the front and back tie outs to give them a bit more lift.
Once you go with Dyneema, its hard to even consider going back to other materials. I really like the packability of nylon though. Being able to carry a smaller backpack saves weight too, so im often just as focused on packsize as weight.
I have hundreds of miles on the GG “one” and the “two”. Some of that time was above tree line. I’ve had no issues with rain at all in both tents.. I will say that in the wind in open areas the GG doesn’t do as well as I’d like but its never failed on me. The nylon tent material tends to give more in the wind… but its not been overly problematic.
Hey Kyle, now that you have the Zpacks Duplex, what would your preference be for multi-day solo hiking? The space of the Duplex or the lightness of the Plex Solo?
Also, I recommend always carrying a light ground cloth because-when in a shelter-it doubles as a little something extra between a sleeping pad and shelter floor.
Dyneema is superior material for tents, if you punch a hole in Dyneema you just simply patch it up and in 5 minutes your tent is ready for the night or your next adventure. You can't do that with Silpoly or Nylon.. another big pro is you can completly soak up the condensed or rain water with a towel if you have to.
Sucks that the GG tent wasn’t seam sealed. Not trying to poop on dyneema, but the lack of stretch in DCF is a liability in that it will fail over time. Silnylon does stretch a bit, but it’s matter of personal preference and specifics of the pitching job on the night of rain, whether this is a problem (assuming the seams are correctly waterproofed).
I used The One on the entire PCT last year, but there's no way in hell I'd take that thing on the AT. I loved that tent, but I wouldn't want to take it out in an area with a lot of rain.
What are your thoughts on the SMD Lunar Solo? I decided to get one at $50 off on Moosejaw. I have a Duplex as well but sometimes like the smaller footprint of a single w/ room for gear.
Thanks for your videos! Can you give me a contact link for your buddy Brandon from the PCT. If I remember correctly, he was from Houston (so am I) and I wanted to ask him some questions about my '23 PCT attempt. Thanks in advance.
I still have never used hiking poles or a hiking pole tent in my backpacking. Thus, I'm curious. What the heck do y'all do if you snap your hiking poles during a hike! How do you set up your tent?
Or you can tie one end up to a tree, but you also have to rig up vestibule tie outs. You will have the same issue with free standing tents if the poles break.
Like the channel and the videos, but the ridiculous confused-face you put on the opening of some videos is THE most annoying thing RU-vidrs do. Make good content, not stupid faces.
People donate so many tent to us homeless, and then that same night the police take them from us. And the next day a brand new tent is handed to me. And these are expensive people tents.
I thruhiked with a dyneema tent and ended up with many tiny holes in the floor. If you can always be sure you'll set up the tent somewhere soft, you don't need a groundsheet, but if you ever have to set up on pokey things like pebbles, a groundsheet could save you a lot of money.
Dyneema has incredible tear tensile strength but not good at puncture resistance. This is why I got the. Xmid with a silpoly floor. Stronger, packs smaller and heat bonded seams instead of tape that peels off too.
I'm really curious since both of these were so close in almost ever category except the weight and weather resistance what your opinion would have been if you had a more true direct comparison if the GG One was the DCF version? Do you think that there would have been a clear winner then? And would it have been the GG One or not?
Great video honestly : well organized, specs, feelings, detailed shots. And for which people each tent would be good (because there is no perfect tent).
GG The One is Sil-Nylon not Sil-Poly, which is honestly a big difference. Sil-Poly is the same as DCF in that it does not absorb water and will not sag. Poly is heavier than Nylon or DCF. Have personally written off nylon from a dangerous situation I experienced on the PCT. Ran into a situation where we had wet snow fall overnight, where the tent started to sag heavily from being soaked and the weight of the slush. Should have been able to retention the tent, but in my case the ridgelines were completely taut. I assume this had something to do with the stitching material in the tent I was using, not being able to stretch as it began to sag. Rather than risk buying a nylon tent and having to test if this will happen again, I just won't use nylon. Either pay extra for the DCF or accept the weight penalty of Poly.
I use the Duplex because basically I can only afford one $600 tent and when I go hiking with my adult son, we can fit in it together yet it's not too heavy (~24 oz - I got the heavier "camouflage" Dynema material) to bring alone. Basically, similar to the Plex but bigger. Only uses 8 stakes too. And I modified it slightly with some loops on the floor that makes the bathtub floor a little more effective.
In this comparison its between a two trekking pole tent and a one trekking pole tent....seems.obvious but for someone like the one.wouod actually be alot heavier the plex so as I hike with no poles and if I ever do its only one....so the added pole has to be added to the weight in my case. I have been uaing the Altaplex for a few years now even using the lighter carbon pole making "my" set up even lighter than the one. I must say I have very much enjoyed the dcf. Great video as always Kyle. Always entertaining. Jeff
Whilst I have no experience with the Solo, I do have the Duplex and it's an awesome tent. I took it backpacking in Croatia and for the most part it was amazing. However it did get totally annihilated in a thunderstorm. All my gear got soaked and muddy. Heavy wind is really not its bag! Love your videos dude! Keep up the good work. 👌
Most light weight tents are going to have a problem like that. To get a tent to be fairly wind resistant you would need good stakes, nice ground, and beefy tent poles. Going to be a lot heavier.
DCF is not stronger than nylon. Nylon is more abrasion and puncture resistant. This is why the X-Mid Pro (a DCF tent) uses nylon for its floor. If you look at a recent thread on /r/Ultralight where a bunch of tents suffered a hail storm in Alaska, all the DCF tents failed and none of the nylon tents did. Nylon also packs much tighter than DCF, because you can stuff nylon but have to gently roll DCF. DCF has a lot of impressive qualities but durability is *not* one of them.
Not going to comment on whether DCF or nylon is stronger, but I will say that I was caught in a nylon dome tent during a hailstorm with literally tennis-ball-sized hail, and the tent did astoundingly well. For the most part the tent simply deformed and sprang back, allowing the giant hailstones to bounce right off. I'm not saying people should base their purchasing decisions on the likelihood of a hailstorm like this, but it's another point in the data.
I use the one and love it but I can agree with you on weather. If you set it up and the wind changed and starts hitting that flat wall it feels like the tent is gonna fall over.
The gossamer gear “the one” is not sil-poly. Its 10d nylon with a sil/pu coating. If it was sil-poly you wouldn’t get that sag when it gets wet as sil-poly doesn’t hold on to nearly as much water as nylon.
The "rainbow" door on the Plex Solo is the worst. It clearly has been made by someone who has never heard of bugs, since you can't get a tight opening as you would with a regular door. This means you can't cook in the vestibule or get things in and out without dozens of bugs getting in. I likely will have to get the front mesh replaced to correct this issue, which is insane on a 600 USD tent.
Clearly the z-pack tent is a superior tent. The ability of DCF to provide a more consistently tighter pitch, with less sag and stretch inherent to silnylon, will make for less condensation.
i followed your thru hike along with the other guys, fkn wicked trip. just before you left, i was also contemplating on getting the GG "the one" as an upgrade to the lanshan 1pro. after seeing you post about the tent failure, im glad that i stuck with the lanshan, because i would of been pissed af that i spent nearly double the price of the lanshan for it to fail similarly to how it did for you. have stuck with lanshans and they have yet to fail, even in -27C. kinda questioned the design of the GG "the one" with the rear of the tent being made how it is, kinda weird and looks like water would get in some way.
@@djw8504 its super easy, the only way you will screw it up is if you are careless and messy. use the syringe it comes with, take your time. it will come out fine.
The Plex Solo is a fair weather tent. Water will get in from the back where there is no elastic cord keeping the tub higher than the wall. As soon as you put gear down in this area, it will sag and water will pool there. Moreover, the guy line is so short on the front side that it runs almost verticaly, which offers no wind resistance whatsoever. I've had this tent collapse in three separate occasions and had to replace this guy line with a longer one. It is ridiculous that such simple issues on haven't been corrected before hitting the market. This is supposed to be a "premium" tent.
A few videos ago you mentioned that you will switch to another trekking pole from Cascade Mt Tech since you could not replace the tips. Andrew Skurka has a long time review of these trekking poles on his web site, including how to change the tips.
I have The One and it's a decent tent. I have had the tent thru a couple nights pf light rain without issues. But if you want to get rid on the ZPACK tent I'll take off your hands. I plane to buy the Plex Solo before a CT thru hike next summer.
Thanks for the honest review. I used a kumo on the pct and had durability and fit issues (hip belt too big for women and shoulder straps too wide), gossamer gear deleted my review on their website 😂
A lot of people have ripping near the zippers of their Z-Packs because of over-tensioning the tent. The mesh is the most fragile part of a tent so I can see where it would be easy to rip it.
I've had it on the PCT this year. Never once was I wet. Never once did I worry about it in the wind. Never once did I lack for space. Heavier than both of these tents by over 300g, but I simply do not care. Weight worth carrying for the best shelter on the market. Now, whenever the 1P "Pro" version comes out (DCF) - you bet your arse I'll be getting one and by my estimation it will be comparable in weight to these tents.
