Robens Starlight 1 Tent Review

A solid four-season shelter that can put it with practically everything the UK can throw at it.

Robens Starlight 1

Ideal for: Wet and windy backpacking trips, light snow, four-season adventuring in the UK

Not suitable or: Lightweight backpacking or bikepacking, fastpacking

Small, fairly lightweight and remarkably robust, the Robens Starlight 1 is an impressive shelter that delivers great all-round performance in all of the UK’s four seasons. Wind tested up to 160 km/h, this thing will keep you safe and reasonably comfortable in some truly appalling conditions — just don’t expect to fit too much inside.

Roebens Starlight 1 Review

The Robens Starlight 1 is a 1-person tunnel tent designed by one of Europe’s most renowned outdoor gear manufacturers. Part of Roben’s Trail range, the tent is designed to be ‘light, practical and full-featured’. And, we think Robens nailed it when they designed the Starlight 1.

Now, the first thing to understand is that this tent doesn’t excel at any one thing in particular. Weighing bang on 2 kgs (4.4 lb), it’s not particularly lightweight (for a one-person shelter). And it’s not particularly roomy either. In fact, the Starlight 1is so compact that you can only squeeze in one person and gear, which you’ll need to share between the inside of the tent and the small vestibule. For want of a better analogy, it’s a coffin with a vestibule — a true one-person shelter. That being said, the performance the Starlight 1 delivers in poor weather is unbeatable at this price point, being able to cope with winds of up to 160 km/h (95 mp/h) and coming with a flysheet and bathtub floor that boast hydrostatic head ratings of 5,000 mm and 10,000 mm respectively.

As of the time of writing, the Robens Starlight 1 costs £221.99 when bought directly from the manufacturer. And we think you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more robust shelter at this price point. The flysheet and the outer can be clipped together for simultaneous pitching, and the inner is comprised completely of nylon. On winter camps, then, the Robens Starlight 1 does an exceptional job of maintaining warmth inside the tent, whereas numerous ventilation options, including two giant ports at the head and foot end, allow for ample ventilation on warm summer evenings. In that sense, we consider the Robens Starlight 1 to be a true UK four-season shelter; one we’d be happy to use on any and all UK backpacking trips, whatever the season or weather forecast. Therefore, even though this tent shouldn’t be considered a budget shelter (for most people), it performs so well as an all-rounder that it’s the only shelter most backpackers will ever need, removing the necessity to spend more money on winter/summer-specific tents.

Our experience using the Robens Starlight 1

The Robens Starlight 1 has been one of the longest-standing tents in the Great British Adventure Club collection. We’ve been using this thing for years and, as such, we’ve been able to test it in every condition the UK can reasonably throw at it. We’ve had it pitched at the foot of Tryfan on a balmy summer’s evening, used it numerous times in the Brecon Beacons during wet and windy winter weather, pitted it against a deluge of snowfall deep in the Shropshire Hills, and had it up against some of the fiercest winds we’ve ever camped in atop of Dartmoor’s Yes Tor. And you know what? It’s never let us down. In fact, even after all that, the Robens Starlight 1 still looks and feels as good as new.

One of our favourite things about this shelter is the ease of pitching. In standard single-pole tunnel style, it’s simply a matter of sliding in the centre pole and pegging out the four corners. The strong and robust drawcords can then be pulled tight to get the Starlight 1 standing strong. The only downside here, in fact, is that you need to be able to drive the pegs quite deep into the ground in order to maintain the tent’s structural integrity. As has happened to us on a few occasions, if you can’t peg out each point properly (i.e. because of rocks, loose sand or boggy ground), you’ll never get a stable pitch. So keep that in mind when you select your camping spot. If the ground is good, erecting the Robens Starlight 1 takes little more than a couple of minutes. And dismantling it in the morning can be done just as quickly.

As mentioned above, the inside of the tent is tight. In true one-person style, the inner is only 60 cm wide, which is only a tiny bit wider than a standard hard foam pad. In the middle, the tent splays out somewhat to give you an extra 15 cm of room, which allows you to keep bits and bobs you might need in the night in reaching distance. Despite being narrow, the inside of the Robens Starlight 1 is very long, however. At 215 cm long, not only is it suitable for tall people, but it allows for additional storage at the head or foot end should you need it. The vestibule is also ample for storing boots and empty packs, but larger packs do tend to lean against the inner, which can eat into the amount of usable inside space.

The pack size of the Robens Starlight 1 is also pretty good. Much like the tent’s other characteristics, the packability alone isn’t necessarily market-leading, but it’s still very good when you consider the robust materials the Starlight 1 is manufactured from. If you use the compression sack the tent comes with, you can pack it down to a small enough size for stowing in the bottom of any pack. We’ve even been able to squeeze the Starlight 1 into the bottom of a small 40-litre pack for a one-nighter. When we’ve used it on multiple nights, we found it more comfortable to carry in a 60-65 litre pack.

Finally, we think the aesthetics of the Robens Starlight 1 are certainly worth a mention. Though not necessarily important when you’re out camping in the middle of nowhere, this tent is beautiful. The colours blend in so well with British outdoor landscapes that not only does it look great in photographs, but it makes for an ideal stealth camping shelter if you’re planning on using it in places where you’d rather not be seen.

Robens Starlight 1 FAQs

Considering this tent is so robust, we were incredibly impressed by how well the Robens Starlight 1 performs in the summer. Though it might be overkill on a warm and calm summer’s evening, the Starlight 1’s numerous ventilation options, including large ports at the head and the foot end, make it a great tent for summer use.
The Robens Starlight performs very well in UK winter conditions, despite being listed as a three-season tent. The structure itself feels solid and stable in even very windy conditions, the flysheet comes down close to the ground, and — with both the fly and the bathtub floor having some of the highest hydrostatic head ratings you’ll find on a tent (5,000 and 10,000 mm respectively) — you can be confident its ability to keep you and your kit bonedry inside. Additionally, the inner is constructed from solid nylon panels, meaning it does a great job at blocking out any pesky drafts that make their way under the fly while maintaining warmth inside.
In our experience, the Robens Starlight 1 performs excellently in windy conditions. In fact, Robens wind tests the Starlight 1 in speeds of up to 170 km/h (105 mp/h), with the tent showing the first signs of failing at around 160 km/h (99 mp/h). We found this to be an accurate reflection of performance and wouldn’t think twice about pitching the Starlight 1 on a summit in all but the very worst conditions — the type you wouldn’t want to camp in anyway.
It’s very easy to pitch the Robens Starlight 1. Doing so is simply a matter of pegging out one corner, inserting the centre pole, and then pegging out the remaining three corners. The pull chords on each corner can then be pulled tight to keep the Starlight 1 up. You can then peg out the door and the backside of the tent, as well as the two guy lines, to give this tent maximum structural integrity. Unfortunately, however, due to the Starlight 1’s tunnel design, you need a fairly large amount of tension on each corner. To achieve this, it’s crucial to drive each peg deep into the ground. Because of this, we’ve run into the odd snag in places like Dartmoor where it can be tricky to find deep ground (unobstructed by plates of rock).
Yes, we think the Robens Starlight 1 is worth the money. In fact, at £221.99, we think you’d be hard-pressed to find a shelter that performs as well in the various conditions the Starlight 1 excels in without spending substantially more.

Conclusion

The Robens Starlight 1 is a very good all-round shelter. It excels in wet and windy conditions, and it looks absolutely stunning while doing so. And even though the Starlight 1 doesn’t excel at any one thing in particular, the compromises made on the design make this an excellent choice when you’re looking for a tent that can do it all. Overall, we love it and think it delivers price-point-leading performance in UK four-season weather — and all for £221.99.

Robens Starlight 1 Tent Review

A solid four-season shelter that can put it with practically everything the UK can throw at it.