Building the Owyhee 1P Tent
By Brad Brooks
All product ideas for me begin in the field. The Owyhee 1P was no exception. The goal was to create the ideal minimalist shelter for light and fast hunts, where ounces and fractions of ounces count. Think any archery hunt, sheep and goat hunts, early-mid season rifle hunts, scouting and anything else where weight and space in your pack are at a premium. I also wanted our 1 person tent to be the ideal blend of comfort, space and weight without sacrificing storm protection so you can ride out any wet, snowy, windy weather you need to in relative comfort.
Thus began my quest to create a super-light 1 person tent that could be used in floorless mode or with an insert with a vestible if bugs were an issue. We designed, tested, tweaked, tested and tweaked some more. It took us a long time to dial in the size, shape and materials, but the end product is something we're very proud of, and I think you'll see why if you use it.
First, let's talk about the final weight of the tent. At 14.2 ounces for the tent (16.4 oz. with 6 stakes), The Owyhee 1P is incredibly light for the amount of space (39 sq. ft) and storm protection you get. Add the insert, and you're still at 34.2 ounces with all stuff sacks, stakes and everything. That's a very light total shelter weight for a non-dyneema 1 person tent.
Not only is the Owyhee built for speed, but it can take whatever weather you encounter. Any tent, especially when used deep in the backcountry, needs to be able to withstand real, sustained weather. Snow, rain, wind and any combination of those three elements. There are plenty of lightweight tents out there that are great for summer backpacking, but just aren't made to withstand any amount of weather. Lightweight is great, but not at the expense of functinality and storm protection.
With a 20D double silicone coated ripstop polyester fabric (2000mm HH rating), the Owyhee has extreme waterproofness and is built for burly weather and importantly, your fabric won't stretch when it gets wet, maintaining the usable space inside the tent. We added in 5 additional guyout points for a total of 11 guyouts, and included extra 2mm paracord and mini line-locs with the tent for camping on exposed, windy ridges (recommended to bring extra stakes for using the additional guyout points in really windy weather).
The Owyhee is light and built for stormy weather, but still maintains what we think is a reasonable amount of space for a solo shelter. I hate feeling like I'm in a coffin when I'm in a tent, and we designed the Owyhee to have a very generously sized sleeping area with 2/3rds of the tent dedicated to sleeping while the other 1/3rd is made for all your gear. We also made the Insert with a full horseshoe shaped zipper that goes all the way to the ground so getting in and out of the sleeping area is easy.
The Owyhee is also versatile with how it can be used. can also be used with or without the insert depending on the bug situations where you're hunting. For most summer scouting and backpacking, I prefer to use an insert since mosquitos can be an issue, but by the time archery season rolls around I run all my tents in floorless mode as bugs aren't an issue. The Owyhee gives you the flexibility to use the tent either way, and since it pitches with a single trekking pole, there is no need to pack any extra poles to pitch the tent with.
Whether you run it floorless or with the insert, if you're looking for a minimalist shelter, I really think you'll like the balance we struck with the Owyhee 1P with space, weight, pack size and functionality. If you want to see all the specs, as well as videos on how to pitch it, head over to the Owyhee 1P Tent product page.
