Shelter from the elements is a crucial component of a backpacker’s equipment list and having adequate and reliable shelter is of paramount importance in winter. When I primarily backpacked in the Southeast, I was able to get away with using a three-season tent or a tarp for backpacking trips in the winter months without any issues. However, when I moved to Montana and knew I would be backpacking year-round in the Northern Rockies, a dedicated winter tent quickly rose to the top of my “to buy” list of gear. After diligent research, I ended up with a Black Diamond Firstlight 2P tent ($450) on my doorstep thanks to the miracle of online shopping.

The Black Diamond Firstlight 2P is 1-2 person 4-season tent that weighs in around 3 lbs.

Impressions & Specifications

The first thing that struck me about this tent was its compact size and its weight. With a packed weight of 3 lbs. 5 oz. and a minimum weight of 2 lbs. 13 oz. (as measured without stakes), this tent is nearly as light as my three-season solo tent. The body of the tent is packed into its own stuff sack, with poles and stakes in a separate stuff sack. There is a handy pouch in the stuff sack that allows you to store the stakes in with the poles and minimize the assortment of gear. Perhaps the only downside to this arrangement is that for absent-minded backpackers, the separate pole/tent sacks mean that forgetting the poles is a bit easier to do than if they’re part of the “whole package” and you’re used to putting one bag with both the tent and poles into your pack.

With a mix of eagerness to play with a new piece of gear and an earnest desire to become familiar with setting it up (more of the former than the latter, I must admit) I pitched the tent in my apartment living room a few days before taking it on an overnight trip in the Bitterroot Mountains. Aside from gaining an appreciation of the ease of setting up that this tent offers, I also recognized just how limited the interior space was (82x48x48x42 inches), despite near vertical walls that maximize usable floor space. While two average-sized humans certainly could fit inside this tent, common-sense dictates that they should do so only under the most extreme circumstances. For mountaineering, sure. For “casual” winter backpacking – if there is such a thing – it’s probably best to use a larger tent for two people (see the Black Diamond Firstlight 3P) and allow this to shine as a sturdy palace for one.

The single-wall construction (made of a proprietary NanoShield single-wall fabric that is highly water-resistant and breathable, combined with a waterproof floor) not only allows this tent to be pitched with ease, but also means that it packs up into a remarkably small package that can be crammed into a pack almost as an afterthought. The poles collapse into small segments and when stuffed the tent is scarcely larger than a two-liter bottle. With winter backpacking already being a gear-intensive operation, it comes as a relief to know that packing the tent doesn’t mean the mandatory arrangement of the entire pack around a single bulky, heavy item. The compactness of the tent means creating a balanced load inside the pack takes little effort and can be done in multiple ways. The poles can be easily stowed inside the main compartment of the pack or, depending on the pack, securely attached on the outside via insertion in pockets and the cinching of straps. Note that the seams are not sealed, for additional weather-resistance you will need to seal these yourself with Gear Aid Seam Grip SIL.

Field Performance

Now, we come to the fun part: how does this tent actually function outside, in winter, in a variety of conditions? The short is answer is “completely satisfactorily”. This tent is of high quality, performs as advertised, and doesn’t have any shortcomings that aren’t readily apparent after even the most cursory glance at the materials used and the design of the shelter. That said, other than the way it sheds snow like a champ, nothing about this tent really blew me away after using it over two winters. The other tents that I’ve had the most experience with (MSR Hubba lineup, etc.) exceeded my lofty expectations, whereas this tent simply met them.

While I haven’t used this tent in what might be considered “severe” winter weather, I have used it in conditions that gave me a reasonable idea of its performance in adverse conditions. It’s seen overnight snowfall of just shy of a foot overnight, sustained 25 mph winds, single digit temperatures, and a mix of conditions in between. I have not used it above freezing or in rain, which is where most other reviews note its limitations due to the single-wall design and the fact that the material used for the tent body is breathable but not waterproof. This choice of fabric was obviously a calculated technical decision and I do not consider it to be a significant drawback when the tent is used for its intended purposes in the intended conditions.

Setup

After using this tent a few times, set-up can be accomplished in only two or three minutes – it really is that intuitive and easy. The internal pole design really speeds things up and doesn’t seem to have any major drawbacks from my experience. There are small grommets in the interior corners in which to clip the poles and Velcro loops on the walls to further stabilize the poles. This tent is freestanding, which aids in its quick set-up. Like any tent, staking this out in snow requires some improvisation, use of specialized snow anchors / stakes, or both. I’ve been able to use small sticks to make deadman anchors on my trips and they’ve held the tent in place in gusty conditions without any issue. However, I did have to add about 18 inches of thin cordage to each stake loop to make this an option. Not a big deal, but worth noting especially if you are gram-counting type of backpacker.

In snow, the freestanding design of the Black Diamond Firstlight simplifies setup.

Snow Performance

On an overnight cross-country ski trip where heavy, wet snow fell overnight this tent shed snowflakes like Teflon. The A-frame inspired design delivers results in the snow shedding department that are as close to perfect as you can get. The drawback is that this design also provides a broadside that catches the wind, although by pitching the head of the tent into the wind this can be mitigated to a large degree. I was still able to get a good night’s sleep in gusty conditions with the tent pitched this way, but I also experienced the “wind in your sails” effect on another trip when the wind shifted and the tent wall was blown against my sleeping bag for most of the night. Fortunately, the structural integrity of the tent seemed completely un-phased and while the air permeability of the tents fabric was noticed during the strongest gusts it didn’t exactly seem drafty, although if I were in a sleeping bag with a thin shell material I might have noticed this more.

Condensation

The biggest downside to this tent is that significant condensation builds up in the tent in all but the most perfect conditions, even with the door left halfway unzipped and the rear vent fully opened to maximize airflow. This is the only means of venting the tent and in inclement weather leaving the front door unzipped would not be advisable. As the sole occupant of the tent, I was able to mostly keep my sleeping bag (a regular length, 15 degree Marmot Pinnacle) from rubbing against the tent walls and transferring moisture from the tent to my sleeping bag. If you are using a long sleeping bag, there will likely be issues with the head or foot of the sleeping bag touching the walls. If you plan on using this tent for two people, you should be aware of this issue and plan accordingly. On the plus side, the same forces which contribute to the condensation issues with this tent also seem to add a handful of degrees of warmth from my unscientific observations using a keyring thermometer.

Black Diamond Firstlight with 2 standard width sleeping pads

Entry & Exit

Coming and going from this tent is through the front door, which also has a no-see-um mesh door in addition to the one made of the tent body fabric. The mesh door seems a bit out of place on a winter tent, and I usually leave it rolled up at the bottom so as to make entry/exit as simple as possible. Even during heavy snow, I’ve found it easy to get into this tent without allowing a lot of snow in, which is certainly a relief. There is also a minimal but well-designed “porch roof” that sticks out a bit over the front door that aids in keeping out the snow. Taking along a small brush can really help with getting out any snow that does make its way in before it melts.

Optional Items

There is an optional ground cloth available for this tent, which I purchased and have used on trips during winter at low elevations where snow might not be completely covering the ground. On trips where I’m skiing or snowshoeing, I leave the ground cloth at home since there isn’t really a legitimate concern about punctures when camping on three feet of snow – the ground cloth just seems superfluous. So, keep that in mind if you purchase this tent and intend to only use it on snow. There is also an optional vestibule for this tent, which I have not purchased. It adds a significant amount of weight (1 lb. 6 oz.), but the extra space would almost be a necessity if using this as a two-person tent. If the weather was forecasted to rough, I simply brought along a separate superlight tarp to rig up as a cooking shelter and stored my pack inside the tent.

Overall, the Black Diamond Firstlight offers 4-season simplicity.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a simple tent – and simplicity is a meaningful but often overlooked compliment regarding gear – that performs as advertised. In an era of over-engineered and over-hyped gear, I found it refreshing to be able to purchase a product at a fair price that met reasonable and advertised expectations without any bells and whistles or gimmicks. This is a solid tent that performs functionally and has the attention to detail where it truly matters (double-sewn seams; reinforced stress points), and the choice of high-quality fabrics means that this tent has plenty of life despite its “lightweight” status. If you’re a solo backpacker looking to get into winter camping in a snowy climate, I would recommend this tent without any reservations.

The Black Diamond Firstlight retails for $450. Check out the tent here at Black Diamond as well as here at Backcountry.com. For more space, you can find the 3-person variant here. For a similar tent with added features (and a weight increase) see the Black Diamond Hilite 2P and the Hilite 3P tents.

Editor's Note: This review originally appeared in Issue 27 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original review here for additional photos, pros and cons, and our star rating of the Black Diamond Firstlight 2P tent.