For those of you who love military and tactical grade gear, Litefighter is a brand to check out. Litefighter is a family owned US business that make very well respected tactical gear for military and civilian use. Today we are going to give the specs and a little information about their lightweight, one person tent – the Litefighter 1.
The Litefighter 1 is one of the most versatile one person tents we have come across. It is suitable for year round use if you integrate the LiteFighter 1 – Cold Weather Kit (sold seperately) and can be used on the ground in military situations and for more general wild-camping and backpacking if you want a robust, military grade shelter. The LiteFighter 1 can even be used in conjunction with a cot to raise the shelter off the ground. Let’s take a look at the spec.
LiteFighter 1 spec
Size:
1 person. There is a Litefighter 2, for two people (or one person with a lot of kit), but the Litefighter 2 does not have a Cold Weather Kit available for it and we are not featuring that tent in this article.
Freestanding?
Yes (and can be used with or without the fly)
Dimensions:
Length 84” (213cm) x Width 32” (81cm) x Height 38” (96cm) with two 36” (91cm) wide vestibules.
It’s not clear from LiteFighter’s information whether these dimensions are for the fly or the inner tent but we believe the dimensions refer to the inner. However, it’s worth checking with LiteFighter if this is important to you, perhaps if you’re tall, for example.
Weight:
Litefighter 1: 4.6lb (2.1kg)
Litefighter 1 Cold Weather Kit: 2.4lb (about 1kg)
Groundsheet: 1lb (0.45kg)
TuffSack: 1lb (0.45kg)
Fabrics:
Outer: 40D Ripstop nylon PU
Inner: 40D Poly knit mesh (Treated with Permethrin (insecticide))
Floor: 70D Nylon Ripstop PU
Litefighter 1 Cold Weather Kit: 30D nylon
Groundsheet (sold seperately): 70D Ripstop nylon
TuffSack: 500D waterproof cordura
Waterproof:
Outer: 5000mm HH
Floor: 5000mm HH
Groundsheet: 5000mm HH
Poles:
Aluminum
Seasons:
3 seasons. However, this tent should be suitable for 4 seasons if you use the Cold Weather Kit (sold separately)
Pack size:
16” x 6” (41cm x 15cm)
Inner or outer pitch first?
Inner
Colours:
Coyote Tan 499, OCP Camouflage
Accessories:
- LiteFighter 1 – Cold Weather Kit. This Cold Weather Kit attaches to the inner to convert the LiteFighter 1 into a 4 season tent by creating a windbreaker layer which covers the mesh, along with snow and sand anchors.
- Waterproof groundsheet/footprint.
- Tuff Sack, which utilises the standard MOLLE system, is a really nice alternative to the more standard stuff sack.
Price guide (at the time of writing):
This tent can be purchased directly from LiteFighter in the US. The prices are currently:
LiteFighter 1 Coyote Tan 499: $334.41
LiteFighter 1 OCP Camouflage: $345.98
LiteFighter 1 – Cold Weather Kit: $120.18
Waterproof groundsheet/footprint: $32.83
Tuff Sack: $55.48
LiteFighter 1 X Series kit which includes goodies such as the groundsheet and their Tuff Sack for a discount bundle rate of $376.64.
You can often purchase the tent on Ebay for a good price. For example, the LiteFighter 1 is currently available on Ebay from Germany and the UK for about £270, so if you’re in Europe it is certainly worth checking Ebay too, before you look to order from the US as it may be cheaper (don’t forget to check out any applicable import duties).
Litefighter 1 – Summary:
Is the LiteFighter 1 the best military/tactical one person tent on the market? In terms of spec and versatility for the price, quite possibly. It has an incredible spec and the huge range of options for how you use this shelter should suit most people, most of the time. There are other modular style tents around, but they are far more expensive or simply don’t have the spec of the Litefighter. The fact that you can add the winter kit for an extra $120, to make this a 4 season tent, is a really nice feature – it’s something we wish more tent manufacturers would incorporate into their designs for the general camping, backpacking and wild-camping market.
One potential downside, in terms of this tent being suitable for general camping use, is that the inner is treated with Permethrin. This insecticide divides opinion in the outdoor world – some people think it’s really useful, whereas others would never touch it due to reported problems with Permethrin being highly toxic to wildlife… particularly to beneficial insects such as bees and aquatic organisms. You have to remember though that this is a military grade shelter, suitable for use in harsh conditions where the potential for disease from insects needs to be minimised. We are not getting into debating that in this article – it’s just something to be aware of.
The Litefighter 1 has a weight that is just about ok for backpacking trips, however if you add the Cold Weather Kit and groundsheet some people may feel it is getting a bit heavy for all but short overnight trips. Bear in mind though that most 4 season tents are quite heavy, so to some, the Litefighter 1 plus the Cold Weather Kit still comes in at an acceptable weight. It obviously depends on who you are, how far you’re trekking, how many nights you’re going for, what season you’re going out in and what the weather will be like.
If you like military grade gear and are in the market for a sleeping bag, check out our Carinthia Defence 4 vs 6 article.
