ZPacks Pivot Solo First Look
I recently got a Zpacks Pivot Solo to review, and I’m excited. The Zpacks Pivot Solo is an ultralight, single-wall, solo tent that with poles, eight stakes, and stuff sacks weighs 1 pound 5.5 ounces (611 grams). It’s surprisingly roomy for this style of tent, and that may mean many nights of great sleeping without carrying an additional pound of weight that carrying a freestanding or semi-freestanding tent would bring.
What is the ZPacks Pivot Solo tent?
This single-wall, solo, ultralight shelter packs packs a surprising number of features for the weight. Using a 52-inch main pole and a 32-inch secondary pole, it creates a near vertical wall at one end and a slightly sloping wall at the other. The inside floor is 84 inches long and it’s 29 inches wide at the narrow end and 42 inches wide at the wide end. It offers 21 sq. ft. of interior floor space plus a vestibule big enough for a portage pack or several Ikea bags full of kayaking gear.
Zpacks offers the Pivot Solo tent in two weights. The Standard material results in a tent weight of 15.8 ounces (447g). The Lite fabric, which is the fabric that I got, weighs 13.5 ounces (383g). These weights include the guylines and stuff sack, but not the poles or the stakes.
I got the poles, because I’m using it for paddling and bikepacking. If I was using it for backpacking, I’d use my trekking poles to set it up. The two poles plus stuff sack weigh 4 ounces. Stakes are sold separately. I use six MSR Ground Hogs and two Mini Ground Hogs. Those weigh 4 ounces with the stuff sack. You could go lighter with different stakes for sure.
The zippered doors, one on the fly and one on the sewn-in no-see-um bug netting, have magnet toggles for closure. The interior door is L-shaped with a continuous zipper. It drapes down before zipped to help keep out the bugs. Both zippers are field replaceable. There’s screen around the perimeter that should add ventilation.
There’s a bathtub floor, although I didn’t find it to stay up high in my first look. I’ll see if it’ll work in the field after I get better at setting it up. Speaking of the floor, the entire footprint of the shelter is small which should allow use in small areas.
There are LineLoc V adjusters, which adjust the guylines, and an internal mesh pocket (it doesn’t seem like it will be that useful). Spare zipper pulls and DCF repair tape are also included with your purchase.
You can get it at Garage Grown Gear, which is my favorite small Minnesota outdoor retailer.
Weight
The weight on this solo tent is light. When you pick it up, it’s hard to believe that it isn’t just a tarp without any bug netting. That’s because it’s made with DCF (Dyneema® Composite Fabric), which is an ultralight but durable fabric. Over the last five years or so, I’ve tried equipment made from DCF. I love stuff sacks made of it, but I also have a solo tarp made from it that I love.
The total weight is 1 pound 5.5 ounces or 21.5 ounces. 21.9 ounces with the plumbing pipe end cap if I bring it. I could save 1 ounce by changing my stakes, but this is what I own.
| Item | Weight in Ounces |
| Zpacks Pivot Solo Lite | 13.2 |
| Zpacks Carbon Tent Poles | 3.8 |
| MSR Ground Hogs x 6 & Ground Hog Mini x2 | 3.9 |
| Zpacks Medium Stuff Sack for tent | 0.3 |
| Zpacks Tent Pole Stuff Sack | 0.2 |
| YAMA Mountain 1.0oz DCF 8″ Stake Stuff Sack | 0.15 |
| Plumbing pipe end cap for pushing stakes into ground. This prevents damaged shoes. | 0.4 |
Initial Impressions of the Pivot Solo Lite
I was a little worried about this tent before it arrived. Had I gotten the right one, I wondered. I thought about getting the Plex Solo Lite since it came out, but I’m not a big fan of pyramid tents based on prior experience using them. But if I was going to go lightweight, then maybe I should have saved another 2 ounces with Plex Solo Lite if the experience was going to be close to the same.
After the Zpacks Pivot Solo Lite arrived my worries disappear, because the extra room in this shelter is amazing. With my head at the small pole side, the wall is almost vertical and I don’t get the feeling I do in pyramid tents. The steep angle on the long pole side creates a wall that also feels vertical, especially when guyed out.
Setting It Up
About two weeks before I got the shelter, I watched a video on YouTube on how to set it up. Here it is. I also read the instructions, but I didn’t rewatch the video after it arrived.
But, the setup process was easy. I got a good pitch with only a little confusion on which corners to stake first. Now that I know, it’ll be easy. Basically, you stake four of the five corners out. The one that doesn’t get staked is where the small pole goes.
Next, you insert the big pole and stake the guyline. Then you put in the small pole and stake the guyline. To get even tension, you can use the LineLoc Vs to adjust the corner lines or you can move the stakes. I found having the corner lines 45° from the tent worked best, so I moved a few stakes and then adjusted the lines and got a great pitch.
The second time I tried setting it up was easier. I’m sure that this will be more difficult for the first few pitches in the field, but I didn’t find it any more difficult than my freestanding tents.
Interior Room
Unlike some other solo tents or shelters that I’ve used (see this one), I felt like I had plenty of room to move around and get comfortable in the tent. Sitting up was easy and I really liked the room above my head on the short pole side. I was fine with the room above my head on the long pole side, too. I’ll likely put my head on the long pole side to help avoid having my sleeping bag foot box slide into the single wall.
Can You See Through the Lite Fabric
Yes, sort of. You can definitely make out the view outside, but it’s obscured. I suspect with a flashlight on inside the tent at night that anyone walking past will be able to see shadows on the inside. That doesn’t bother me, but if you want more privacy the regular weight may be better for you.
Ventilation
I’ve used single wall tents in the past, and none have been that great for ventilation and condensation on the walls. I suspect the same will be true for this tent. The nice thing is that there is plenty of room away from the side to sleep. There’s a lot of screen on this tent as well, and the fly overhangs the door. That should allow the outside door to remain open in light rain and most evenings.
This is one thing that I’ll be watching. A Swedish dish cloth works well for getting condensation off of DCF, so I switched my wash cloth from a part of an old Thermarest towel to a Swedish dish cloth.
Construction and Quality
I expected this to be high quality construction, and that’s what I found on my first look. I looked over all the seams. It all seems good. With tents this light, there are some compromises. One is that there’s no grosgrain webbing covering up the seams where the bug netting and DCF comes together. You see the raw edges of the cut. That doesn’t seem like a big deal to me, but I’ll be watching that for long term durability.
Wrap Up
I’m super excited about this shelter/tent. The Zpacks Pivot Solo Lite seems like it’s going to be a great ultralight solo tent that’s light and roomy. I’m excited to use this one on upcoming trips.
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