This is a review of the Onewind Solitary Ultralight Single-Topped Cape Shelter. Made by Onewind Outdoors (company specialized in making camping-related outdoor gear), it is an ultralight shelter advertised as a reliable companion for your wilderness endeavors.
In the world of ultralight travel where every ounce matters, reliability in the wilderness is no less important for hiking and backpacking enthusiasts. That’s why in this detailed review, we dive into the Onewind Solitary Ultralight Single-Topped Cape Shelter exploring its design, features, and functionality. We also examine its coverage, weather protection, and overall performance highlighting the pros and cons to help you make an informed decision about this shelter.
At the end of this post, you will hopefully have enough information to judge for yourself if this shelter has what it takes to consider it for your next outdoor adventure.
Table of Contents
Quick specs: Onewind Solitary Ultralight Single-Topped Cape Shelter
Price: $44.90
Weight: 394 g (13.9 oz) with the stuff sack and the suspension
Sleeping capacity: 1-person
Dimensions: 87″ x 79″ (220cm x 200cm or 2.20m x 2.00m)
Dimensions (packed): 4.7″ x 8.7″ x 2″ (12cm x 22cm x 5cm)
Material: 100% Synthetic (1.1 oz, Silnylon (ripstop)
What’s included:
- 5 Y-Aluminum tent stakes
- 10′ Light reflective tent guyline
- Stuff sack
Where to get it: Amazon | Onewind
Notable features:
- Ultralight, with minimal weight.
- The Silnylon ripstop fabric of the cape shelter is lightweight, yet strong and durable for a high strength-to-weight ratio.
- The material comes with a dual silicone and PU 3000mm coating to stand the test of inclement weather.
- Light reflective tent guyline, five aluminum tent stakes, and multiple attachment points to secure it closer to the ground.
- While it functions as a half-covered triangular shelter, two units of these can be combined to form a pyramid-shaped tent for enhanced protection.
- Comes with a compact stuff sack with a drawstring and cord-lock.
Pros:
- Quick and easy to set up, taking just a few minutes. Equally effortless to pack away in its convenient carrying case.
- Affordable – the shelter and all other features come at roughly the price of a mid-range daypack, making it an exceptionally budget-friendly choice at just $45.
- An excellent choice for an emergency shelter, the Onewind Solitary Ultralight Single-Topped Cape Shelter is compatible with most common sleeping pads and bags. A person who’s 186 cm can fit in. It’s highly likely that individuals 5-10cm taller will also find it suitable in terms of size.
- Multifunctional. If you have two of these shelters, they can serve as a substitute for a traditional tent. It is not a very spacious tent but it can accommodate one or even two persons. Additionally, it can double as a sun-shelter during camping trips providing a shaded area for relaxation. And finally, you can use it as a rain poncho or cloak.
- Lightweight design and easy portability, will not take much space in your pack. Crafted from high-quality materials. Whether faced with unexpected showers or a light drizzle, it will hardly let rain ruin your outdoor experience. The shelter effectively keeps you protected.
Cons:
- Will suffice for emergency cases only as well as for those loving traveling lightweight.
- Highly doubtful that it will be capable of enduring strong winds (when used as a shelter). Works great for calm weather as well as mild winds.
- It’s preferable to have either a trekking pole or to find a branch or suitable support nearby to set up the shelter properly. Not very practical for all kinds of backpacking, especially if you’re far from a forest or don’t have a trekking pole available.
- Combining two shelters into a tent is fairly easy, but the improvised setup isn’t as easy to enter or exit as a regular tent with a zipper. Additionally, you’ll need to have some kind of ground protection as it doesn’t come with a groundsheet/floor.
Summary
We received the shelter (two items) during late fall and had the opportunity to test it over the last several months. And we can confirm that it can be an excellent option for thru-hikers and those in need of an improvised shelter while in the backcountry.
The shelter is thin and lightweight, and it is super easy to pack into your hiking backpack. Both installation and removal are fast and relatively simple. The shelter can easily accommodate a sleeping pad and a sleeping bag, ensuring comfort during your stay. If you are in a hurry, you can use it as a rain poncho or cloak. Additionally, it creates a protected area to place your gear. If you have two of these shelters, you can easily combine them to create a tent substitute. While the tent may not be very spacious, it offers reliable protection in still weather and light rain/snow.
Overall, it is a good budget-friendly solo or survival shelter that’s convenient to carry around and can come handy in case of an emergency. Interested in learning more about this single-topped cape shelter? Below, we provide details and insights into its performance.
Detailed review
Material and construction
The single-topped cape shelter is constructed from Silnylon ripstop fabric. If you’re unfamiliar with Silnylon, let me explain. It is essentially tear-resistant and lightweight ripstop-nylon that’s silicon-coated on both sides. It’s great for tents, tarps, ponchos, repair patches, bivys, and ultralight rain protection. The material is lightweight, yet surprisingly sturdy. Its strength-to-weight ratio is high.
The construction appears to be strong and durable. The seams are taped with a layer of PU 3000mm coating for additional protection in inclement weather. Additionally, each attachment point features PU coating on the inside, enhancing both waterproofing and the material’s durability at these potentially weak points.
The product can be seen as a poncho that converts into a shelter, and vice versa. The coating significantly aids in keeping the user dry during camping or walking in inclement weather conditions. The generously sized hood effortlessly accommodates helmets and other substantial headgear. The hood is drawstring-adjustable for a customized fit. With two drawstrings – one to cinch the outer and another to cinch the inner of the top/hood – along with four cord locks, users can easily adjust and secure the shelter to their preference.
The cord locks are strategically positioned on the hood, with two on each side. These are actually half cord-locks, but each can function independently as an individual cord lock. Additionally, two of these half cord-locks can be joined together to create a larger cord lock, allowing for adjustment of the hood around the neck. This configuration also enables the garment to be used as a cloak. Similarly, the other two cord locks can be joined or attached to form a larger cord lock to manage the hood adjustment. Separating the larger cord locks is simple as you just need to press a small button.
The other components include five Y-shaped aluminum tent stakes and a 10-foot orange cord, also known as the reflective tent guyline. Both are lightweight yet effective in securing the shelter closer to the ground.
As for the durability of the shelter, we haven’t encountered any issues so far. However, only time will tell how well the shelter holds up under extended use.
Packaging
The shelter comes neatly packed in its own stuff sack. The stuff sack has a drawstring and cord lock at one end for easy tightening. Its lightweight and compact design, along with the compressible stuff sack, ensures that the shelter is easy to store and transport. Overall, it’s super easy to pack and store, and fits perfectly in a hiking bag. When inside the stuff sack, its dimensions measure 4.7″ x 8.7″ x 2″ (12 cm x 22 cm x 5 cm). This includes everything in the package including: shelter, tent stakes, and tent guyline. To put it into perspective, this size is comparable to that of a lightweight synthetic base layer.
The overall weight of the packed product we measured is around 394 g (13.9 oz) including the stuff sack, suspension, and everything else in the package.
Setup and use
Before talking about the setup, let’s discuss the possible uses. The multifunctional design of the product allows it to be used as a cloak in dry weather, rain poncho in wet weather as well as a solo shelter, emergency shelter or tent (when you combine two shelters).
You can use it as a full-round cloak – a nice piece of clothing that works great when warmth and wind-resistance are needed. Adjust the cinch cords and you get a rain poncho with a hood. Those in thru hiking and ultralighters will probably prefer to use it as a solo shelter. It can be used both in mild weather as well as in less-than-ideal conditions. I guess that most hiking and backpacking enthusiasts will just carry it in their pack just in case and use it primarily as an emergency shelter. And finally, if you get two shelters, you can combine them to form a tent. It provides a more secure shelter that ensures not only a more comfortable stay in the woods but also protection from showers and light rain or snow.
What we like a lot about this product is that this multi-purpose design works really well in most situations and conditions.
Setting up and taking down the cape shelter, and pitching the tent (when using two of these shelters) are fast and simple. The aluminum tent stakes are lightweight and perform adequately for securing the shelter to the ground. However, they are not designed for use in stormy or extreme weather conditions. Keep this in mind.
The reflective tent guyline (the orange cord) is easy to adjust and is used for helping the shelter hold a comfortable shape when set up. You attach it to the attachment point at the top of the shelter and use it either as a ground anchor or to tie it to a tree. This design requires a ski or trekking pole for pitching, but a tree branch or a similar item can also serve as a support for the construction. Alternatively, you can hang it up from the top of the shelter using the attachment point. However, we found it slightly more effective to use a trekking pole as it has a carbide tip and is easy to anchor in the ground.
As we said, it takes only a few minutes to set up the shelter. It’s straightforward to do it properly, but watching a couple of instructional videos, like this one, can also be very helpful.
Comfort and sleeping
Once you set up the shelter and get inside, you will find out that sleeping comfort is acceptable. What we mean is that it is spacious enough to accommodate a sleeping pad, sleeping bag, and a guy weighing around 98-100kg (216-220 lbs) and standing at 186 cm (or 6’1″). It also provides a stable and secure shelter throughout the night or day. Note that we said ‘okay’ and not ‘great’ because this shelter isn’t for glampers. It’s designed for hardcore adventurers, ultralighters, and other enthusiasts who need only the essentials for the night.
The PU-coated ripstop fabric provides protection from wind and rain in most situations ensuring a reliable barrier against the elements. It effectively keeps the user and his/her gear dry. However, note that we definitely don’t expect that it would protect you if there is strong wind or driving rain. In such conditions, no shelter can guarantee complete protection.
For those seeking comfort, there are options for making the experience much more comfortable. You can add a lightweight tent underneath the shelter (the shelter can be used as a tarp in this setup). Another option for a more enjoyable outdoor experience is to add a mosquito net beneath the tarp for protection from mosquitos and other bugs.
Price
Lightweight/survival shelters come at different prices as they vary a lot depending roughly on factors like the brand, materials, build quality, features, functionality, and… ultimately weight. You can find both cheap and premium-priced shelters ranging from less than $100 to $250 or more.
Here comes this shelter offered by Onewind. It’s not only budget-friendly with a great price-to-quality ratio – it’s reliable, multifunctional and we believe that among its biggest advantages are its possible usage as a rain poncho and the 2-in-1 setup. What’s even better is that this multi-purpose design works really well in most situations and conditions.
Conclusion
The Onewind Solitary Ultralight Single-Topped Cape Shelter is a remarkably versatile product that can be of good use on the trail for hiking, camping, and overnight stays. It’s not only the budget-friendly price that makes it a great option. Its smart design, easy set up and repacking, and the lack of unnecessary features or fluff make it a very versatile and adaptable choice that’s lightweight and compact.
It works well enough for sleeping, providing shade or protecting against rain. We highly recommend it as an excellent survival shelter for ultralight camping setups or emergency protection in less-than-ideal conditions.
Disclaimer: Onewind Outdoors provided the author with two sample shelters for this review.
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