Tarptent Aeon Li review

Ultralight backpacking tents put to the test

By Erik Plankton

April 14^th, 2020

Ultralight tent test series 1/3

I do a lot of outdoors stuff by myself. I have managed to hoard three one person shelters along the years. So let's put them to the test and see what I like and dislike and if there is a winner.

You are reading part one: Tarptent Aeon Li: 2019 first generation model. Bought online at msrp price and imported to Finland. .

Part two: MSR Carbon Reflex 1

Part three: Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL

Field notes: I pitched each tent in the same place and measured the dimensions. The ground was not totally even, so the measurements differ from the manufacturers specifications. There are my personal real world measurements (and they can vary slightly from pitch to pitch). The sleeping pad shown in the pictures is a Big Agnes Q-Core SLX insulated pad, that is about as big as you can get. Measuring in at 1,98m x 64 cm this pad gives comfort for a big bodied restless side sleeper.

Part one: Tarptent Aeon Li

The Tarptent Aeon Lithium is a truly ultralight single wall, single pole shelter made of Dyneema® fabric. It requires one trekking pole to setup, or you can get a dedicated aluminium pole that weighs 116 grams. The Aeon Li weighs in at 524 grams fully packed with Easton Nano stakes, which is crazy light for such a liveable shelter. I got the Aeon Li for longer combined hiking, packrafting and fishing trips, where the total weight of gear tends to rise above the 20 kg mark (with 10 days food). I use trekking poles on hikes, so this type of ul shelter should be quite optimal for stays in the Lapland wilderness areas.

Overview

The single wall pyramid structure has a integrated bathtub floor and mesh for full bug protection. The Aeon Li requires six stakes (and one pole). Pitching is pretty straight forward and fast once you learn the geometrics and how to set up the special PitchLoc corner struts. I recommend reading the manual before the first pitch. I have used this tent only on 5 nights so far with temperatures ranging from -2 to +8 C, with two nights of prolonged rain. It seems to handle rain very well and the bathtub floor walls are high enough to keep things dry. On the rainy nights I experienced quite a lot of condensation, which is typical for Dyneema single wall shelters in humid conditions.

When using a trekking pole you can adjust the height of the pitch to match conditions. Pitch low in wind and rain and use the maximum height for best airflow and ventilation. In these pictures I used the aluminium pole I bought from Tarptent. It is now height adjustable, but you can tweak the pitch by adjusting the angle of the pole from the ground. When set slightly to the left it also creates a bit more space for the entrance, which is the biggest of the three tents tested here. No problem for a 1,86 m guy to get in and out.

Stakes and setup

The Aeon Li comes with six Easton Nano stakes that are really light, but I have found them to not hold up really well if the ground is even a bit loose. I will replace these with traditional v-shaped titanium stakes and live with a 13 gram weight penalty. Two rear corners have the folding PitchLoc struts. The first time I pitched this was on a rainy and dark night with only a headlamp as the only light source. At the first glance the struts and straps seemed a bit complicated, but once you set it up a couple of times they are completely logical and the pitch is fast. The guylines have plastic locks that work as expected.

Setup instructions video: https://vimeo.com/318620375

Packing up is simple: gather the corner and top struts into your hand and roll the tent fabric around them in a relatively tight package. Putting the roll into the stuff sack is a snug fit, but not frustrating. I always put the stakes inside the roll to avoid loosing them.

Note: you don't need to remove the struts when packing up, but they dictate the minimum length of the package. It can be too tall to fit horizontally in modern lightweight backpacks. You can remove the struts if necessary, but this will increase packing and setup time.

Entrance

A fourth carbon strut is located on the top of the pyramid to give more space inside. There is only one place for an extra guyline located above the front door. This can be used to give extra stability. Overall the stability of the Aeon Li feels really sturdy and I am not afraid to take it to the open fjells in Lapland. Dyneema fabric does not stretch even when wet, so once you have achieved a taught pitch it will stay that way. There is a ventilation opening on the top, but there is no way of closing it. It might be a slight issue on extreme conditions when light snow is picked up by heavy winds, but you shouldn't be in those conditions in this shelter anyway.

The door closes with light weight velcro that seems to do the job nicely. Double YKK zippers on the mesh door that open up a spacious entrance. The zipper does not snag, but there is some extra resistance where there is a seam on the floor. Let's see if this turns into a problem along the way.

One of the best innovative features on the Aeon Li is the magnetic vestibule door closing mechanism. Just roll up the door and flip the strap with the magnet at the end to secure. Easy and effortless. The inner mesh door has a magnet too.

Living space

Even with my extra large pad there is some extra space left inside for smaller gear and clothing. A backpack (68 liter ULA Circuit pictured here) fits in the vestibule with room to spare and does not interfere with the entrance. One small mesh pocket inside is the only storage space provided for small items. The length and width of the Aeon Li is plenty for taller persons, but my only gripe is the ceiling hanging so close to my face when lying down on the thick air mattress. I might glue a small loop on the outside and use a guyline and my other trekking pole to pull the ceiling a bit further away. The same goes for the other end. One rainy night I had wrestled around in my sleeping bag so that the leg end was touching the ceiling. My sleeping bag mopped up all the condensation from the wall and felt damp.

Floor and ventilation

Both rear corners have flaps that can be opened for extra ventilation. I guess they work ok, but are a bit difficult to reach and operate with one hand. The bath tub floor can be lowered for extra space and ventilation or secured tight with a bungee cord when it's raining. Next time I will take the Aeon Li out I will experiment with the pictured v-shape titanium stakes instead of the Easton Nanos that don't seem to hold up that well.

Tarptent Aeon Li overall

At around half a kilo for a sturdy water and bug proof shelter the Aeon Li is really impressive.

What I like:

Crazy light.
Seems sturdy in wind (but have not experienced gale force conditions yet with this one).
Spacious and tall. Plenty of living space.
Adjustable pitch and ventilation options.

What could be better:

Pitching is fast when you get a routine, but a steeper learning curve to get the perfect pitch than with traditional double wall tents with poles.
Ceiling is close to face when lying down.
Only one spot for extra guylines.
Very expensive and limited availability