Tarptent Aeon Li Tent - Bikepacking Review

[@southface06]

Your video is a piece of art: Excellent cinematography combined with a great review. Thanks!

[@BirmanGil]

Thank you!

[@Jotipalo]

Gil recently got the Aeon Li partly thanks to your video. Thanks! Love mine so far. It has a new zipper on the fly.

[@BirmanGil]

Sauntering into Silence - Ajahn Jotipālo wow your videos are beautiful. Great to hear about the zipper, the Velcro and hook system is very finicky.

[@Jotipalo]

Gil Birman Thanks Gil for watching my video! Appreciate the feedback too.

[@greifi7283]

What a great review, it is a little cinematographic masterpiece! Thank you very much. :)

[@BirmanGil]

Grei Fi thank you for the kind words!

[@ernesthemingway9094]

Entertaining video. Thanks for that.

[@BirmanGil]

🙏

[@TangoDelta70]

Great review! It was cool to hear your thoughts on the Tent as well as see you setting it up and using it! I've been looking at tents for a bit for hiking and this one is in the running with the Gossamer Gear The DCF One and the Zpacks Hexamid and Altaplex. I'm leaning away from the Altaplex because of the extra need for the trekking pole booster and the need for 6-10 stakes though. Thanks for the awesome video!

[@BirmanGil]

Thanks Tim! I hadn’t considered the Altaplex before, but that extra headroom would be real tempting 🤔.

[@TangoDelta70]

@@BirmanGil that's true!

[@speedbump68]

Thanks for the review. You may want to check on pronouncing the name, Aeon LI. LI stands for Lithium maybe. Aeon is pronounced like Eon maybe. I have this tent too. I quickly changed from 6" to 8" stakes to keep the stakes from bending over in soft ground. This helps get/keep that nice taught pitch.

[@BirmanGil]

Thanks for the advice, longer stakes sounds like a great idea.

[@ericb.4358]

Gil, to answer your question below no, I have not done this on a Dyneema tent (yet) but you can see a similar effect with other Dyneema 'mid solo tents like Z-Packs where they have used circular reinforcements for guy points to give more interior space. BTW, I HAVE used Tenacious Tape reinforcements on the fly hem of my silnylon Moment DW where I sewed stake loops. BUT, upon reflection you would be better served with Dyneema repair tape instead of nylon Tenacious Tape.

[@michaelbrohl1625]

With some experience it can be done in 2 minutes.

[@jesseb7919]

Good video. Made me laugh. I have had good luck with this tent so far. I think if you play around, you’ll find you can get a tighter pitch, and give yourself some more headroom. Cheers.

[@BirmanGil]

Jesse B thanks! Pretty soon I’ll be riding for 2 weeks in BC and will work on perfecting my pitch.

[@jesseb7919]

Gil Birman that will be a sick trip. I’ll keep an eye out for the video. Be good!

[@llo70422]

Great video! Well done You need to come up here to Vancouver/ Whistler and do some freaking over the top mountain biking. Good tent and Henry Shires is the king of tents Sheila Vancouver BC🇨🇦

[@ThisRightSideUp]

Hey, Gil, Great video. I noticed that your pitch of the tent seemed less taut than it could be. Perhaps that’s why you came so close to the head and foot ends? cheers, and thx again for the engaging video.

[@BirmanGil]

France Menk I’ve pitched the tent many times. One of the times in this video the ground was very soft and it was hard to get a taught pitch. Most of the times I get a good pitch. It offers more room when I do but I still will usually end up touching the walls inadvertently. It’s really only an issue when conditions cause condensation to build up. In dry conditions it hasn’t bothered me.

[@ThisRightSideUp]

Gil Birman Perhaps it’s the weight of water on the inside walls..interesting phenomenon...thx for responding...cheers

[@goinglightbackpacking]

Hey thanks for a great video and review, I really enjoyed watching it 😂 👍 may I asked if you continued using it and your thoughts? Did you got used to the walls touching your sleeping bag etc and causing it to get wet?

[@BirmanGil]

Hi Niclas, I did continue using it. The bag touching the tent didn’t bother me too much. However, I recently got a Zpacks Free Duo to replace it - reason being I moved to NW Arkansas and the ground is so rocky/hard I wanted a free standing tent. The Aeon Li is very reliant on the stakes, and it’s very difficult to drive a stake in the ground here when it’s dry. I camped one night in the Free Duo so far and even though it’s a larger/taller tent the end of my sleeping bag got wet because I had difficulty staying centered in the tent - it’s not very long.

[@goinglightbackpacking]

@@BirmanGil Great Gil, thanks, and interesting to hear. I recently got my Aeon Li and experienced the same drawbacks, I’m also 6ft and Tarptent stating the tent is good for people up to around 6ft5, I was surprised it felt small in length and the head/footbox touching the walls. Otherwise it’s a great tent. I have free-standing tent from Hilleberg, which can be put up anywhere and is super strong, but also quite heavy at 6lb, so a lighter option is preferable. The Free Duo seems like a good tent 👌

[@ericb.4358]

My solution to the single wall AEON Li condensation problem is a DOUBLE WALL Tarptent Notch Li. It weighs only 3 oz. more than the AEON Li. So I ordered one with the 2/3 ripstop, 1/3 netting inner tent. PROBLEM SOLVED.

[@BirmanGil]

Eric B. Glad it works for you. The notch li requires 2 poles instead of 1 for aeon li so that’s a bit more than 3 additional ounces in my case.

[@dazbass007]

nice review Gil been looking at this but not sure about the pack size I like to keep my tent horizontal rather than vertical are the little poles easy to take out or to much of a pain. atb daz

[@BirmanGil]

I took them out to send my tent in for repairs. It's doable, but I wouldn't want to fumble with them while setting up camp.

[@mischiefonthetrail8961]

Mld solo mid is weigh little more but solves the prob u have cuz it double walled

[@hanskirk-hiking9697]

great review

[@scottburleson7215]

Nice bream!

[@BirmanGil]

🎣 😊

[@ThePatriot4freedom]

Some may say the Zpacks Plexamid tent, which is similar to Aeon, may solve the issues of headroom a little, but I’ve heard that it is even more difficult to pitch. I can’t decide which to get!?

[@BirmanGil]

You'll have to try both! You still have 2 kidneys, right?

[@cookiekrisp3004]

@AJ B It is true...they told me themselves...that's why it is currently out of stock!

[@tfinsa5979]

Good video, thanks for posting! Did you noticed any drawbacks from the bathtub floor being only 4 inches tall?

[@BirmanGil]

t finsa glad you liked it :) I didn’t have any issues with the bathtub floor but the rain was pretty tame.

[@jessemunday3469]

Most impressive part was fish taco

[@cprey9661]

I love you too... Gil...'s mom.

[@ericb.4358]

To gain more head and foot room you need to buy some Tenacious Tape, cut 4 circles about 3" in diameter. At your head, about 1/3 up from the bottom hem and in the middle of the head end place a circle of TT on the outside and one EXACTLY behind on the inside. stitch the perimeter of the circle and seam seal. Then sew on a 1 1/2" strip of nylon webbing on the outside Tenacious Tape circle with a D ring under it. Again, SEAL the sewing inside and outside. This is your tie-out guy point to pull the head end out. Repeat for the foot end.

[@BirmanGil]

Eric B. thanks for the suggestion! Have you done this on the Aeon Li or another tent?

[@RogerMain]

What about sleeping on the diagonal and being a wee bit mindful Peace outside BYW,I love ya too 2

[@marcelloalvisi3689]

good review but the name is LI, not LEE