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Outdoor Research NightHaven

rated 4.0 of 5 stars

The NightHaven has been discontinued. If you're looking for something new, check out the best tarps and shelters for 2024.

photo: Outdoor Research NightHaven tarp/shelter

I absolutely LOVE my Nighthaven. Lightweight -- 2 pounds 5 ounces -- and spacious -- 56.4 square feet --, sets up using trekking poles, packs down super-small, can be tight for 2 with gear, especially with the poles in the middle of the tent.

I have the 2008 version with a mesh door in addition to the fabric door, which helps with ventilation and minimizing condensation. With the mesh door exposed, side vents guyed out, and end vent guyed out the flow through is great. In nastier weather and the tent buttoned up, the zippered eyelid vent above the door is adequate as well.

The floor brings the total weight up to 3lb. 4oz., closing in on the weight of some of the newer double-wall tents, or Tarptents, etc, but the Nighthaven is a full-on, bug-proof shelter, with more space than some of the solo ultralight tents.

I have used this tent in the snow as well, and it is great for that application as well -- you can pitch the tent, dig out the inside and make MUCH more room, especially headroom. And you can flip the interior 'bug flaps' out to use as 'snow flaps'. Awesome.

Downsides? The walls slope quite a bit, making headroom and usable space less than ideal. But as a solo shelter, laying diagonally across the tent, between the poles, you have the weight of a bivy and the space of a tent. No more gear stashed outside getting wet. The eyelid vent over the door only opens from the outside. So if you are inside and it starts to rain and get steamy, and you don't have the vent already open, you have to go outside to open it.

And the negative of the double fabric/mesh door is the conglomeration of zippers that congregate there. 2 double zippers for each door equals 8 zippers that can be a pain to operate in the dark. I ended up using some of the glow-in-the-dark zipper pulls from REI on the interior mesh door, which helps...some.

All in all, this tent/tarp/shelter is worth every penny I paid for it.

Design: 3+ season tent/tarp
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: Easy, once you get the hang of it. Fine tuning can get a little tedious.
Weight: 2lb 5oz, 3lb 4oz with floor
Price Paid: $90 with footprint

I agree with other reviews about the sloping walls and condensation problem.

I have used this backpacking around Europe for 4 months (including Iceland in May) and for two people, with gear, any movement will see you with a wet sleeping bag and condensation running down the walls.
This is obviously a common problem in single wall shelters, but because of the extreme slope in the walls and poles in the centre there is little room for moving around. for one person sleeping diagonal this isn't so much of an issue.

Pitching can be frustrating to get it just right, especially in a rocky area where pegs won't easily go in.

The window to make cross ventilation has the zips on the outside...a pain but not that bad you can just reach out with a hand through the door.

The pegs were crap and easily bent, i replaced these straight away.

Given those problems, I do still love this tent for how light it is, and for the bugless thing. I live in Australia and bugs tend to be of the poisonous variety so a tarp was a little too open for me. but with this and the added floor you can carefully pitch it for a mostly spider free sleep.

I also like the poles as a multipurpose use, ie/ walking poles, and the floor is perfect for sitting on at lunch for 4 people.

I like the bright orange, safety orange could come in handy one day.

Overall 3.5, as a wet sleeping bag is just no good.
I'd give it 4.5 as a one person tent.

Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: a little tricky with rocky anti-peg ground. takes practice to get it right

I was a tent guy, but no longer. I considered the NightHaven and the MSR TwinPeaks, then found a great deal at www.ccoutdoorstore.com for $130 and am so glad I pulled the trigger. I've used tarps in the past, but they are a nightmare when the bugs are out. The NightHaven provides full protection (360-degrees) with 5 inches of tarp flaps that lie inside the shelter to shield out all bugs and creepy crawlies.

Super easy to pitch with two hiking poles, included web tie outs with buckles to adjust tension and more tie-outs that you could ever need (inside tie-out loops too for Storm of the Century pitching). In fair weather, you can stake and pitch with the walls elevated off the ground for full ventilation and increased head-room. Paired with a cut-to-size piece of Tyvek and you have yourself a fully protected shelter for just a tick over 2-pounds and it provides 56.5 sq.ft of shelter! Yes, you read that right...56.5 sq.ft....plenty of room for two plus all your gear.

The only downside is the bright blaze orange color, it would be more aesthetic if they had a loden green color option. Also the included stakes need upgrading, I repacked with a set of MSR Needle Stakes.

All-in-all, if can't go 100% tarp due to bugs, weather or psyche or are considering a tarptent (from SixMoons or Henry Shires), look at the NightHaven...at 34'ish ounces it's one of the very lightest and most versatile shelters on the market.

Design: 4-season/full-coverage tarp, tarp-tent
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: Easy pitch with logical staking, yet all sorts of options exist
Weight: 34 ounces
Price Paid: $130

This is the worst tent I have ever used.

I have an old REI Gimme Shelter I love but thought I'd "upgrade" by getting this one because it has screened sides, and has more floor space.

WRONG.

First while this tent has great floor space the walls are so low on the side it was nearly impossible for me or my wife to get out of it without condensation on the back.

Also if you roll over in your sleep you'll get a wet sleeping bag.

Also the roof vent must be zipped closed from the outside so if it pours in the night prepare to get wet getting out of the tent to close it, closing it, and getting back into the tent.

Another annoying feature is that the door is on one side of the tent. So if you need to go out at night to answer natures call and you are on the non door side of the tent you of course get your back wet getting up, then get your side wet crawling around the front trail pole. Now you could come around the back of the trail pole and just crawl over your sleeping companion but that's harder than it sounds.

This would be a great tent if the sides came up six or 7 inches more, but sans that mod it would really only be good for 1 person.

Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: not bad
Price Paid: $160

I've used the nighthaven on multiple weekend outings and one of the wettest traildays I've been to now and really enjoy the amount of space and protection it provides one person. Like others have said this shelter won't support 2 people who don't enjoy spooning getting in and out.

And yes the walls do slope with only 6 stakes but I've found that if you attach a guyline to the extra guyout point you sleep on and bump up the stake count to 7 this alleviates much of the problem.

The venting ability of this tent still astounds me. I've had it in temps ranging from 0 to 90 degrees farenheit and have yet to have any condensation issues. I attribute this mostly to the giant rear vent and perimeter vents running along the underside of the tent. Just make sure you set your trekking poles high enough so the underside vents have plenty of flow and you shouldn't have any problems.

And what the others have said about getting out to zip up the top vent..... have any of you thought that this shelter has dual zippers on the vertical side for a reason? You simply unzip the top zipper enough to reach your arm around and zip up the vent.

My only complaint is the zippers have a tendency to snag when I'm not paying attention to what I'm doing.

Design: 3+ season tarptent
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: Takes a bit of time to learn to set up properly but after you've set it up a few times can be done up in 3-5 minutes.
Weight: 37.5oz with 7 aluminum Y stakes.
Price Paid: 70

I love this shelter! I used it for the first time May of 09 in the Ouachita National Forest in Southern Arkansas. It rained buckets the first night and my girlfriend and I stayed completely dry. I've also used it several times here and there around Texas State Parks and I've never had any problems from wind or rain with it.

As with all single wall shelters, condensation is a problem. I also have the 08 version with mesh and it is considerably better with the vents open. Otherwise, carry a tent sponge. Condensation is the price we pay for ultralight.

Also, as mentioned above, you need to be very comfortable with your tent buddy as you'll be spooning frequently to enter and exit.

Overall, this is a great shelter. It is very light, packs very small, and is still spacious when set up. I highly recommend it to anyone. I'll be using it May 2010 at Rocky Mountain National Park, we'll see how it handles some colder weather.

Design: 3.5 season teepee style
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: easy after a little practice
Weight: 2lbs 5oz
Price Paid: $179

I have been looking for a ultra light, highly visible tent, with excellent ventilation for summer and suited for snow. Si-Nilon fabric is UV durable and it packs up very compact. For snow use I have replaced the optional floor with a zip-on/off AL reflective tarp for increased warmth. A snow pit can be dug to attract the cold air by partially opening the floor above the pit. Awesome shelter, just wish for another window-zipped inside, zipped vent covers and longer peg loops.

Design: 3-season, mild snow conditions, emergency use
Sleeps: 2
Ease of Setup: very simple - follow instruction 'peg out' steps
Weight: 1.1kg
Price Paid: A $250

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Price Historic Range: $125.27-$179.00
Reviewers Paid: $90.00-$179.00

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