Naturehike Cloud Up 1 vs 3F UL Gear Lanshan 1

These two tents account for a large share of every budget solo shortlist, and they are almost never compared honestly, because the honest comparison is not about quality. Both are competent. They solve different problems: the Lanshan 1 deletes the pole set from your pack, and the Cloud Up 1 lets you pitch where there is nothing to stake into.

Side by side

What 425 grams actually buys

The Lanshan 1 is 775 g (1 lb 11.3 oz) as 3F UL Gear lists it; the Cloud Up 1 is 1,200 g (2 lb 10.3 oz) in its 20D version. That gap, 425 g (15.0 oz), is most of a litre of water. Against our reference solo tent the Lanshan 1 saves 825 g (1 lb 13.1 oz) vs the Kelty Late Start 1P, at Value 8.6/10.

But the honest accounting is not tent against tent. If you do not already carry trekking poles, the Lanshan 1 requires you to start, and a budget pole pair adds back 400-500 g. At that point the two tents weigh roughly the same and the Cloud Up 1 is simpler. If you do carry poles, the Lanshan 1 is free weight savings, because the poles are already in your hands on the trail. Our trekking poles guide is the page to read first if that is still an open question.

Freestanding versus one pole

Naturehike lists the Cloud Up 1 as free-standing on 7001 aluminium alloy poles. That means you can clip it together on a wooden tent platform, a slab of granite or hard-packed sand and it holds its shape; you stake it afterwards for storm-worthiness rather than for structure. For anyone hiking in the Northeast, in alpine terrain, or on managed sites with platforms, that is not a nicety.

The Lanshan 1 pitches on one trekking pole at 120-125 cm, with nine stakes in the box. It needs the stakes to stand at all. On soft ground it goes up in about three minutes once you have done it twice; on rock it needs rocks, guylines and patience. There is also a real first-pitch learning curve, which the freestanding tent does not have.

Inside: width, length, doors

Both are one-door, one-vestibule shelters, so neither wins on access. On floor:

• Cloud Up 1: 210 x 110 x 100 cm (83 x 43 x 40 in). The 110 cm width is unusually generous for a solo tent and is the figure that makes it feel bigger than its weight suggests.
• Lanshan 1: 230 x 100 cm inner at the centre, in an overall 270 x 110 x 125 cm footprint, with 125 cm of peak height. Longer and taller, 10 cm narrower at the floor, plus a triangular side gear space the Cloud Up 1 does not have.

If you are over six feet, the Lanshan 1 is the one with room: 230 cm of inner length against 210 cm, and 25 cm more peak height to sit up in. If you sleep on a wide pad and want elbow room, the Cloud Up 1 is the wider floor.

Fabric and waterproofing

Naturehike lists the 20D version of the Cloud Up 1 with a nylon fly rated PU 4000 mm, which is the highest fly rating of its solo range. 3F UL Gear lists the Lanshan 1 with a 15D PU-coated nylon fly and a 20D PU nylon floor at 6,000 mm, with an 11 cm bathtub wall and all seams factory taped.

The number worth attention is not the millimetres, it is the tear strength. 3F lists 15 N for the Lanshan 1's 15D fly, against 40-45 N for the 20D silnylon on the Lanshan 1 Pro. That is a thin fly, and it asks you to be careful about branches and grit. The Cloud Up 1's 20D fly is the sturdier fabric of the two.

On seams, the Lanshan 1 wins outright: factory-taped, nothing to do. See silnylon vs silpoly vs Dyneema for what these fabric numbers mean over a season.

The Cloud Up 1 is a clearance model

The third option: Lanshan 1 Pro

If the Lanshan 1 appeals and you want the lightest version of the idea, the Lanshan 1 Pro is 690 g (1 lb 8.3 oz) — 85 g (3.0 oz) under the standard Lanshan 1 — in 20D double-sided silnylon that 3F rates at 40-45 N, four times the tear strength of the standard model's fly.

Two things you give up. It is a single-wall pyramid, so condensation lands on the fabric beside you rather than on a separate fly. And 3F states that it is not factory seam-sealed: you must seal the seams with silicone sealant before use. If an evening with a tube of sealant sounds fine, the Pro is the better tent. If it sounds like a chore you will skip and then regret in rain, buy the standard Lanshan 1.

Who should buy which

Both of these sit in our solo tent ranking, and the two-person version of this same argument is on Cloud Up 2 vs Lanshan 2.

What we cannot tell you

Neither maker publishes a wind rating, a season rating anyone audits, or a mean time to failure. We rank on published specifications and the arithmetic they support, which means we can tell you the Lanshan 1 is 425 g lighter and that its fly is rated a third of the tear strength of the Pro's — and we cannot tell you which one survives five years of grit in the zipper. Nobody can, from a spec sheet.