Tern UL1 Trekking Pole Tent Review
The Peregrine Tern Ultralight solo tent is perfect for three-season, high altitude backpacking/mountaineering. When we designed this tent we pictured 2-day summit pushes where you just need a quick pitstop at the base of the peak or long distance thru-hiking where every ounce counts towards taking that extra luxury item to help you keep trekking. Our Product Developer, Taybor Alplanalp, gives us the nerdy details on what makes this tent so perfect for those of us who love bigger adventures that require more advanced gear.
The Tern has a Sil/PU nylon fly for weight savings and durability. This is awesome for when the trail is long and you are looking for any relief in your pack! The durability also allows you to get away with a less than ideal camping spot without sacrificing the tent mesh, which we all know can be easy to put holes in. Especially when you are exhausted and ready to recharge. As an added bonus, the color is a nice light gray (inner mesh is also light gray) which makes for bright, natural lighting when inside the tent, making those sunrises all the more magical.
The tent is semi-free standing and sets up with a single trekking pole as well as a small aluminum pole for the foot box which will keep the condensation from touching your sleeping bag and a quick and painless set-up. With a vent at the head and toe ends of the tent, you get good ventilation helping to eliminate some of that condensation from exhalation/perspiration. No more waking up to a damp sleeping bag!
The asymmetrical design allows for a vestibule on the left side which provides enough room to keep a pack next to you, especially helpful at night when you don't want to get out of your warm sleeping bag to find that extra layer or you get a snack attack after burning all those calories.
The idea of just one trekking pole holding up the tent may seem kind of strange at first, like it could just fall over any second, but since the trekking pole is situated near the middle of the tent, it has good wind resistance from any angle. Trust us, this will hold like a champ once you get that perfect tension. Being able to set a tent up with a trekking pole and one pole at the bottom is a dream scenario when you are in a hurry to take down and get on the move again.
Overall, this is a great option for a more advanced user who is looking to cover their bases for bug or weather protection (instead of using a UL tarp shelter) but is still trying to pack as light as possible. It is not meant for someone who likes to have a larger area inside the tent, if that is more your style we recommend the Gannet or Radama Hub. If you take any Peregrine tents on an adventure, we want to see it! Share photos with us on Instagram @peregrineequipment.
