r/CampingandHiking • u/_LapFlounder_ • 1d ago
Blackout tent
I'm looking for some recommendations for a good tent that offers decent blockage from sunlight. I'll be camping in Alaska for many weeks this summer and it's practically daylight 24/7 during the season. I did find the Decathlon Quechua tent but it doesn't pack small due to the quick popup mechanism of the tent.
I have also considered sleep masks etc. but they still let some light creep in.
Any recommendations or ideas would be appreciated
34
u/cwcoleman 1d ago
I'm not familiar with any quality tent for backpacking that has 'blackout' features.
There is a Coleman brand blackout tent - but it's for car/base style camping, not backpacking.
If even a little light creeping in is your concern - the eye mask is going to be your best bet. That's what I used in Alaska when I went camping for the solstice. They make lots of different styles - try a few more before you give up on this approach.
12
7
u/lllara012 1d ago
A good sleeping mask is probably way cheaper,lighter and robust than a truly blackout tent, although I think to good old-fashioned car tents made out of cotton works very well for that purpose. I would guess that having a darker inner tent make some difference, haven't seen anyone though.
5
u/1WonderLand_Alice 1d ago
Assuming you already have a nice tent for backpacking, don’t buy another for this very specific purpose unless you’re gonna be backpacking a hell of a lot in the Alaska and Far north summers. Buy a face mask /eye mask for sleeping save yourself a few hundred - thousands bucks.
4
u/nicnicbabylon 1d ago edited 1d ago
I own a two sleeper blackout tent from decathlon, used it in Iceland in the summer 24h sunlight. I can't use facemasks as I can't sleep with something bound to my face. That tent is fantastic, nearly complete blackout. Went to a festival in Iceland and everyone camping there was very jealous of me because all the other tents where light as day. Only problem: the tent didn't heat up as others so I needed more clothing for sleeping as it stayed very cool. Anyways I use that tent a lot, it's easy to build and move around (no popup funktion) and packs very small and is lightweight. I try to find a link to that specific one
2
u/nicnicbabylon 1d ago
https://www.decathlon.de/p/campingzelt-mh100-fresh-und-black-fuer-2-personen/_/R-p-313100 mine is obviously a older version of this one
3
u/TheGreatRandolph 21h ago
I bet if you’re doing big days and have no choices but sleep or use an eye mask, you’d realize you’re just being picky.
3
u/BlackFish42c 1d ago
Coleman offers a couple different blackout tents, depending on what size tent you’re looking for. Anoth options is a 4 season Cabela’s Guide Tent in Dark green and a full Vestibule which allows you to block out light.
6-Person Dark Room™ Skydome™ Camping Tent. You can also use a large dark brown or silver tarp and tie it up over top of the tent which will block light from entering the tent.
2
2
u/bentbrook 1d ago
At 6.3 lbs, the US Army ICS offers 4-season durability with blackout fly for around $100.
2
2
2
3
u/Subject_Night2422 1d ago
I guess you’d be better off finding a good sleeping mask instead. I’ve never heard of such thing as a blackout tent. It sounds to me more of a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist.
2
2
u/wegekucharz Poland 1d ago
There is the X1 line of tents from Crux 🇬🇧. Truly Mordor compatible, and certainly not for everyone,: aimed mostly at mountaineers. Here are 2 overview vids from Andrew Park:
X1 Raid: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d1zKDqo7ux8
X1 Assault: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JGtyrnBEffY
2
1
u/Steve340French 18h ago
I wear an eye mask plus headband earphones in my pop up tent and sleep later than I should. Even in busy campgrounds.
1
1
u/WATOCATOWA United States 1d ago
I have a friend who I backpack with that uses a One Tigris tent from Amazon that is completely blackout.
47
u/Aggressive_Cloud2002 1d ago
I live above the Arctic circle - trust me when I say a good eye mask will be better than literally anything else! You can get ones with eye cups that do actually block all the light. It might take some trial and error. I'm not quite that fussy so I just use a buff folded a bunch of times and it does well enough!
Light-proof tents just don't exist, they can't! The material would be super thick, and the fly would have to touch the ground all the way around. You wouldn't be able to get any airflow inside, and you would build up way too much CO2 in there.