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When weight is the enemy, few tents can offer the head height, durability, build quality, wet-weather protection, and weight (1,485 grams) of the Mont Moondance 1 (AUD$789.95).
| Pros | Cons |
| The Mont Moondance 1 excels with its impressive internal space, offering 25% more room than competitors. Taller hikers benefit from generous head height and steep walls. Its durable Waterbloc technology and sturdy DAC poles provide reliable weather protection. Setup is a breeze thanks to intuitive, colour-coded clips and a lightweight design. | However, the premium price tag may deter budget-conscious beginners or casual campers. While lightweight at 1,485 grams, it is not the absolute lightest option for extreme gram-counters. Precise pitching is essential; improper tensioning can cause the fly to touch the inner mesh, potentially allowing moisture to enter during storms. |
If you’re reading this tent review, there’s a good chance you’re an experienced hiker who’s looking to upgrade. But if this is your first time and you’re on the lookout for a great lightweight one-person tent, let this be a lesson. The tent is the single most important piece of camping gear you can purchase besides your shoes, but we often choose a value-for-money option that does 80 per cent of the task really well and 20 per cent poorly. That 20 per cent can add up, especially when it comes to size and weight.
You’ll pay a premium for a tent like this Mont that we’re testing, but if you can stretch your budget, that 20 per cent gets ironed out, and the result is a greater overall experience. We know, because we’ve been there. Wet, soaked, and cold. It’s not a lot of fun. On paper, the Mont Moondance should solve those issues, but does it? Let’s find out.
Design and Build Quality
The Mont Moondance 1 feels like it was designed by a group of enthusiasts who have tried all the other options and gone back to the drawing board to create their idea of a perfect one-person tent. They’ve experienced camping in bad weather, and lightweight, durable materials are used throughout the design and build to create a tent that you simply forget about when it’s buried in your pack.
Walls are made with 20-denier (20D) ripstop nylon on the lower sections and No-See-Um mesh on the upper sections, which, for those less technical, means better warmth and stronger resistance to high winds.
You don’t get weight down without lightweight poles, but they also have to be durable, because without them, you’re sleeping under a nylon blanket. Mont chose the trusted DAC Featherlite NSL Poles for this tent, and it feels sturdy in all three seasons we’ve tested it, without adding any unnecessary weight. Mont’s attention to detail in build quality is impressive, with the zippers running smoothly and lightweight but ultra-strong ‘V’ profiled pegs that drive through the ground with ease.
The most impressive aspect of this tent, and where it really excels against competitors, is its internal floor space. With 2.31 m² of internal floor space, the Mont Moondance 1-Person tent feels impressively roomy. Steep end walls and a wide ridge pole across the roof create a usable interior that’s 25% larger than the average 1-person tent. While I typically struggle to sit up straight inside a tent without brushing up against the walls, my 6ft5 height isn’t an issue.
Boasting a 100cm tall and 220cm long inner dimension, most hikers will never have an issue accidentally brushing up against the mesh and pushing it onto the fly. Meanwhile, the 25% increase in internal floor space does not affect the vestibule size. We encountered heavy rain on my most recent trip, and the vestibule was not only large enough but also kept everything dry.
Pitching and Ease of Use
Typically, when we get to the end of a long day of hiking, the thought of setting up camp weighs on our minds. However, this burden was drastically reduced by the tent’s intuitive setup. Having only set up this tent in the backyard before my first real-world test, I was confident I could have it up within minutes, giving me time to get off my feet and relax after a long day on the trail.
Built for solo hikers, the tent can be easily pitched by one person without help from others. The DAC Featherlite NSL two-pole system, available on all Moondance tents, is exceptionally simple and enables solo pitching. The brand’s attention to detail and focus on the user experience are evident in the Moondance 1-Person’s colour coding system. Simple to understand and very helpful, the fly attaches to the inner mesh through colour-coded clips, which speed up the pitching process.
Weather Performance
There is nothing worse than rain, and it’s usually the Achilles heel of a lightweight tent like this. Most recently, while hiking in NSW’s Southern Highlands, we experienced a heavy rainstorm, retreated to the tent, and hoped the Moondance 1-Person would do enough to protect me from the elements.
Unfortunately, due to a slight pitching error on our behalf, some rain did make its way inside as the outer fly was touching the inner mesh in some areas. It’s not entirely the tents’ fault, but it’s something to be conscious of if you’re in a tropical environment.
Tech-wise, the Mont Moondance 1-Person utilises the brand’s Waterbloc technology. That means you get a 25,000 mm waterhead nylon floor and a 2000 mm waterhead on the fly, of which we can confidently say works, as once we re-pegged the outer fly to adjust the fly tension, no water entered. It’s described as a “three-season tent,” and in our experience, this description seems apt. However, we haven’t been able to test its durability in arctic conditions.
Summer is a killer here in Australia, but the internally accessible ventilation makes temperature regulation easier, as do the larger window vents, which help promote the airflow needed to combat the heat.
Portability and Packing
The lighter your pack, the more you’ll enjoy your hike. Often, experienced hikers go to extreme lengths to limit the weight they carry, without forgoing quality or safety. It’s not the lightest tent you can buy, as there’s an option to forgo most of the poles and the entire floor, but at 1,485 kg, it’s still under the magical 1.5 kg we look for.
Size is also a plus as the tent sack (28 x 13cm when compressed) is small enough to fit in most lightweight backpacks and, when combined with the external pole bag, allows for greater weight distribution.
Man of Many’s Verdict
The Mont Moondance 1-Person Tent is best viewed as a dependable, well-balanced shelter for solo hikers who want confidence rather than compromises. It delivers excellent internal space, strong weather protection, and well-thought-out design details that add value without falling into unnecessary complexity.
While it doesn’t chase an ultralight weight, the trade-off is a tent that feels sturdy, livable, and reassuring when conditions turn.
This tent is best suited to solo hikers who value durability, comfort, and versatility across changing conditions, particularly those spending time in unpredictable weather. Taller users will also appreciate the generous dimensions and internal space. On the flip side, hikers focused purely on cutting grams or newcomers looking for a budget-friendly, entry-level option may find better value elsewhere.
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