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Sierra Designs Divine Lightning

rated 4.5 of 5 stars

The Divine Lightning has been discontinued. If you're looking for something new, check out the best four-season tents for 2024.

I recently purchased a Sierra Designs Divine Lightning tent that is on sale for $180. Its original price was $350. I would like to pass on my impressions of this tent after a thorough examination of it. I have not used it in the field as of yet and would be interested to hear any comments from those who have, particularly in severe weather.

Much has been made of the apparent difficulty of installing the larger of the two poles inside the tent. If the pole is inserted through the already wrapped velcro fasteners, rather than inserting the pole followed by wrapping the velcro fasteners around the pole, then the process of assembly is really quite trivial and no difficult than any other tent.

The weight of the tent and the two poles for the one that I have is 2# 6oz and 2# 8oz with the stuff sack, weighed on a kitchen scale that was checked for accuracy with a number of digital scales. The tent floor has five sides (pentagram?) and has an actual area of about 17.5 square feet. I am 6' 1" and weigh 180 and use a long sleeping bag. I can sit up in the tent but the tent ceiling forces my chin down. This is tolerable for a short time but I wouldn't want to try to sit up in this position for an extended period. There is adequate room to perform other inside-tent functions such as changing clothes. A long, 0-degree, down bag pretty much fills up the floor space leaving almost no room for extra gear. Furthermore, the bag is a little too long so that the foot vent is at least partially blocked. Although there is adequate room for me to lie down in the tent (there is approximately 84 inches of length that can accomodate a person), a "long" bag is longer than the floor by several inches. Despite this, I am perfectly comfortable lying in the above bag in the tent.

Whether all of this is a problem or not is probably an individual thing. One could, for example, put his pack under his feet and lower legs and stuff everything else in the tent without compromising comfort too much. Whether covering the foot vent is a problem or not depends on the weather. Regardless, the DL tent is a heck of a lot more comfortable for me than a bivy sack.

The DL tent is single-wall which has the great advantage of not having to attach a fly on a double-wall tent under windy conditions (and also lighter weight than an equivalent double-wall tent). The water-proof tent wall material is nearly as breathable as 3L GTX and has a fuzzy layer on the inside which acts to disperse condensed water. Whether condensation in this tent is a problem or not depends on the ambient weather conditions and each person's own expectations. A little moisture or dampness could be tolerated without compromising comfort very much. There seems to be a perception that even a drop or two of water in a tent is going to be a disaster. The tent is not designed for hot weather or humid conditions.

I have one concern about the tent, and I would have the same concern about any tent, and that is how well it handles wind. The DL was designed to be a four-season tent. The DL is a hoop tent (of sorts) and hoop tents are supposed to handle wind well. Another concern is how it handles snow. Hoop tents are not known for accomodating heavy snow loads. The tent does not have a vestibule so that rain will get inside when the door is opened. A tarp could be used to obviate this and for all tents without vestibules in rain, a tarp probably should be used.

In summary, the DL tent appears to be an outstanding solo tent for use in all but humid and hot conditions where lots of mesh in the tent is an advantage. Where weight is a concern this tent is unbeatable. It is a very interesting and unusual tent and the manufacturer should be congratulated for having the courage to come out with it.

Design: 4 season
Sleeps: 1
Ease of Setup: easy if you do it right
Weight: 2# 6 oz
Price Paid: $180

Version reviewed: 1998

This tent is no longer available from Sierra Designs, but I'm adding this review since you can get old stock from Northern Mountain Supply on sale for $179, which is a bargain for this tent.

The prior reviews of this tent made much of the difficulty of setup. I would agree that it is difficult to set up out of the bag, but if you practice a couple of times, it's not too bad.

I would disagree with one aspect of complaints about setup. The problem is not with the long pole itself, but with the velcro loops on the inside of the tent. The velcro loops that secure the pole to the inside of the tent are small, double wrapping closures, that are stitched very close to the tent fabric. You must undo them with bare hands and it is kind of a hassle. There are 8 loops in total. The other design flaw with the velcro is the way the end threads through a small slit in the loop. If you have a little patience and practice, it a minor inconvenience.

This is how I pitch it. Insert the small rear pole. Pull the fabric over the pole while giving it a slight bend. The stake the front and back loosely. Unzip the door and screen and roll it out of your way. Assemble the long pole. There are two pole pockets on the inside floor at opposite sides of the tent. Make sure the snaps are closed. From "outside" the tent, insert the pole end through the last velcro loop and into the opposite pole pocket. You'll have to reach in and find the pocket. After insertion, keep pressure on the pole so it does not pop out of the pocket. Still outside the tent, put a fair bend in the pole, push it inside the door, and insert the end into the door-side pole pocket. Pull the tent fabric until the seam meets with the pole. Now, stick your head in the tent and start assembling the velcro tabs. You'll find that not all of the tabs need securing. Finally, tighten your pitch with the adjustable strap at the foot.

If you can get over the velcro loop problem, this is a fabulous tent! It weighs next to nothing, is more roomy than a bivy, and pitches no wider than my sofa. If you are no taller than 6'0", the tent provides enough space to sleep with small gear on your sides, and clothes under your head. Any gear other than clothes and small ditty bags must stay outside.

I tested the tent it Yosemite at dry temps of the upper 20's and had no condensation problems. I did have a little frost on the side of my bag, but nothing of concern. I would not use this tent in anything other than dry cold conditions.

For solo snowshoe trips I think it's WELL worth the $180 to give it a try.

Keith

kdun@gte.net

P.S. Sierra Designs is carrying on solo tent idea for 3-seasons with Light Year and Ultra Light Year due out in the Spring '00.

Design: 1 person single wall tent/bivy
Sleeps: 1
Ease of Setup: Moderate if you practice.
Weight: 2 lb. 2 oz.
Price Paid: $179 on sale

Excellent single wall, side entry, no fly, material very breathable. Small, light, extremely efficient tent, weather worthy. Packs down to the size of loaf of bread in pack. If frosty night, just shake off ice in a.m. and sun dry before hit trail.

Easy setup despite what some reviewers say; used on countless trips, my 1st choice - lightest, smallest tent I could find. Very awesome tent. Definitely highly recommend if you need to keep pack weight down, small footprint. Best for Sierra trips or anywhere small and light is needed. Hard to beat this tent.

Pros

  • Small light extremely well engineered.
  • Sets up easy easy
  • Small footprint, can pitch almost anywhere
  • Lightest tent ever, takes little room in pack

Cons

  • Not as much ventilation as would like, but very doable
  • Really aren't any — if you want small and light, this fits the bill
  • Not free standing, not an issue, easy to stake out
  • Tinest of vestibules, just keep pack outside

I use a Sierra Designs Divine Light I think it is called, probably their first version. Got at SD Outlet years ago.  Single wall, side entry, 1 hoop pole + small hoop for foot. Tiny but doable (I'm small person 5.1), altho a 6 ft guy on a trip with me also had one for its lightness and said he had actually shared with girlfriend — I don't know how.

DL has served me extremely well for most trips in Sierras, Big Sur etc..  Packs down to size of loaf of bread in pack. It does not have best ventilation, so I always keep the little vestibule fly flaps tied back to get as much fresh air as possible.  If frosty night, then just shake off the ice in a.m. and let the sun dry before hit trail, you are going to air your tent anyhow. 

I never close the little fly unless bad weather. You want as much fresh air as possible to eliminate condensation. Have sometimes just used Divine Light as a bivy and didn't bother with the pole.

Easy setup despite what other reviewers say. Use this tent enough and you will love it. Used on countless trips, always my 1st choice — lightest, smallest tent I could find when started backpacking. I only use a different tent if I expect a lot of rain, such as Hawaii, or if I have to share a tent with another person. I have six tents total, but one is an REI tent for camping.

Very easy, fast setup; very stable, never any issues with it. May have to restake to get taut at times, but no issue to get taut; doesn't sag. Have even pitched on granite slab where couldn't use stakes, just tied it to caribiner on my pack and around rocks on foot end.

I never put my pack in tent, so lack of any real vestibule room not an issue; there is tiniest of vestibule, keep my boots there. Very awesome tent. Have used in wind and rain; not snow. I don't keep my gear inside; room for my sleep pad, down bag, ditty bag and me. Any pitching at night not a problem, once you have used this tent enough, it's as easy to set up at night as any other.

Use this tent enough and you will love it for its light weight, small footprint, and great design for a single wall tent.

Source: bought it new
Price Paid: Don't recall, got at Gilroy Sierra Designs outlet store, less than $200

I've owned my Divine Lightning for about a year and have used it from one end of the Appalachians to the other. I consider it to be an ingeniously designed one-man tent that achieves what I want most: the lightest one-man tent on the market, packs tight, sleeps comfortable, and has no condensation problems. It's also easy to get in and out of and is quite solid once it's set up. The drawback is the difficulty you'll have setting it up. There's another review on the DL at this site that describes the problem accurately, so there's no need for me to repeat what he said. I would add only this: don't plan to pitch this tent at night without a head-mounted light, or with gloves on. I don't believe it's possible. Period! Nevertheless, it's the best tent I've ever owned for all the other reasons I've given and if you have some light and about 10 minutes you can get it set up alright.

Update: December 18, 1998

This is an update on the Divine Lightning. My earlier review is on file here, also. Since using my DL in a wide variety of conditions on quite a few trips I need to change or reinforce a few things:

1. I can get a 4000 cu in internal frame pack in the tent with me, so it's a bit roomier than my first few experiences indicated.

2. Ventilation is okay, but not as good as I reported earlier. The only reason I'm downgrading the ventilation is that nowadays most tents have huge expanses of open netting. The DL can't compete with that; after all it's a mountain tent built to take wind and foul weather without a fly. Still, I've never found the ventilation to be insufficient or to cause significant condensation.

3. Next, one thing hasn't changed: it's damned hard to pitch. One fellow DL owner told me how he did it (easily, he said) but that required a few modifications of the tent. I continue to advise you pitch the tent in the store before you buy it.

4. Last, it's still a great tent; very durable and very light.

Design: Single Wall Mountain Tent
Sleeps: One
Ease of Setup: Quite difficult
Weight: 2 lb 10 oz
Price Paid: $350

This is really an outstanding tent from every point of view except ease of set-up. It is truly a one man tent which means that it will fit a 6' 2" man (or woman) quite nicely in both width and length, but your pack, even a daypack, will not fit. I like the fact that you can sit up in it quite nicely and entry/exit is very accomodating; essentially the door is to your left and opens from the floor to the ceiling all the way from your head down to your waist. It is not a stand-alone; 2 pegs are required. It is very well ventilated, having a low vent and awning at the foot and a high vent and awning at the head thus providing a foot to head movement of air.

The only difficulty with the Divine Lightning is set-up, as I've indicated. Here's the problem: it comes with 2 shock-corded, aluminum, 8.5 mm poles that bow when assembled; a short one that arcs over the feet and a long one that arcs up over the area above your upper body. The small one is no problem, but for the large pole the designers at Sierra Designs decided to install 8 velcro bands along the race the pole on the interior of the tent. The velcro must be wrapped around the pole and one end of the velcro inserted through a tiny slit in the other end of the velcro then pulled through until tight aroung the pole. As you are trying to feed (8 times for 8 of these velcro fasteners) the velcro into slits you have to (with your third and fourth hands, I guess) keep the pole in place. Okay, there is a knack to it and after you've pitched the tent 5 or 6 times you can get the knack of it, BUT I would never want to have to pitch this tent in the dark or with cold hands. In my judgement the tent may not be "pitchable" under these conditions and/or you will exhaust your entire vocabulary of profanity in the process. Bottom line: the otherwise outstanding design of this tent outweighs this shortcoming, but MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU ORDER ONE OF THESE YOU PITCH IT RIGHT THERE IN THE STORE BEFORE LAYING YOUR MONEY DOWN.

One last comment. When I used it last, a friend that was traveling with me liked the Divine Lightning so much he bought his own a week after the trip. I think you'll decide it has its ideosyncrasies, but it's THE lightest one-man tent on the market.

Design: Single wall mountain tent
Sleeps: 1
Ease of Setup: Very difficult
Weight: 2 lb 10 oz
Price Paid: $350

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