My Integral Designs Mk 1 is now around 13 years old. It's been my automatic choice for all of that time, except when family camping, which obviously calls for something bigger. As a result, the tent has a lot of days on it, although generally in pretty moderate conditions - plenty of rain, moderate cold, but no really heavy mountain weather.

I hadn't had it out in really heavy rain for some time, although it stood up fine to occasional showers on outings earlier this year. However, on a just-ended climbing trip to Australia, I was subjected to a week of heavy rain in the Grampians. There were breaks of course, but it came down heavily and pretty continuously. I had re-seam-sealed the four corners with Seamgrip on principle just prior to the trip; but the tent has been so solid for so long that I really didn't worry too much, and may have been a bit casual about it.

Well, I got substantial leakage at all four corners, as well as minor leakage through one of the horizontal wall seams (there are two of these that run across the two end walls of the tent at about 3/4 height). Seamgrip wasn't available in the local shops, but I found some silicon "marine sealant" and after allowing the tent to dry during a break in the weather, I slathered a bunch of this on all the outside corner seams, as well as the one leaking wall seam. It's a bit unsightly, but it did the job, and I stayed pretty dry until we found better weather (and dry rock) at Mt. Arapiles in our second week.

So, my beloved tent is at least temporarily trustworthy with its renewed sealant; but I'm thinking that if all of the seams are going at once on all four corners, this suggests that I'm probably running up against the useable lifespan of the tent.

My first impulse is to just go out and buy another ID tent - probably the MK 1 XL. However, I'm interested in what other folks might recommend. I'm principally intersted in single-wall, because I've loved my current tent so much, but I'm not absolutely wedded to the idea.

Criteria: I want it light - probably 3.5 kg (7.8 lbs) max., and preferrably lighter, to assist in meeting airline baggage weight limits when traveling with heavy climbing gear. I also want it weather proof, but I'm not a real mountaineer - just someone who spends a bunch of days each year outside - so it doesn't necessarily have to be a full-on mountaineering tent. A small footprint is good, but I wouldn't mind a bit more space that the Mk 1, which at 208x117 cm (82x46 in) is really pretty tiny - even smaller than an I-tent. And I want it durable - I got 13 years out of my current ID tent, and I would hope to get the same out of its replacement.

Anybody got a thought?

Leakage sucks! All my buds who have been through prostate surgery will agree.
I've been happy with my Black Diamond Lighthouse but haven't been in real bad weather for more than a day with it yet. There are a ton of good tents out there now and the weight keeps going down. I personally take a tent/fly system most of the time and go single wall when it is cold/snowy.
You might look at the Gossamer Gear Shelters One if thinking of just yourself.

Personally I'm a Bibler sort of guy with an Eldorado. In Peru, I've seen quite a few people with Hilldebrand tents which are quite nice and very light weight. Though I don't remember what you can readily get in Tokyo since its been 10 yrs)

Thanks for the responses!

Chip: I've been looking at BD's offerings in EPIC fabric, but am nervous about the fact that they're nominally water resistant, rather than water proof. Still in search of further input on how the fabric stands up to serious wet.

Chas: Are you referring to Hilleberg? If so, you're the second person who's mentioned them favorably. I've heard the name, but don't know the gear - time to do some research. The Eldo is also a strong candidate right at the momment. I take it you like yours? (I suspect that no matter what I pick, I'll end up ordering it and having it shipped in. As you suspected, availability of known brands in Japan is pretty limited; but there are actually some locally made single wall tents here, sold by the bigger gear shops under house brands, which will also merit a look...)

Let us know what you pick and how well it performs, please.

I have a friend who has a Hilleberg - they are mostly Euro, but completely bombproof, tents.

I really like my Eldorado. I've used it for a month in Nepal and in other areas and loved it (except for a little stonefall which the Todd-tex and the stone didn't like each other). I use it with and without the vestibule.

You didn't specify 1 person or 2 in the tent. The Mk1 is awfully tiny, are you sleeping alone in it?

You can get some very light non-single-wall tents these days, even lighter than the MK1 and bigger to boot.

I looked into an EPIC fabric tent and the feedback I got from asking around was that no, it wasn't waterproof. Given your description of you just need something lightweight and waterproof, I'd suggest you not go for EPIC and go for a double-walled but innovative lightweight design.

Companies based in the rainy Pacific Northwest with some lightweight tent designs for Appalachian Trail hikers and so forth include Cascade Designs = MSR, and Sierra Designs. I have a very durable SD tent, more durable than the Integral Designs tent I've patched or the 2 Bibler tents I've patched, and a longtime climbing partner has a nice new SD model. See which one suits you best from their lineup, though mine is old and so I can't speak to the durability of their new ultralight tent models. MSR's Hubba Hubba won awards when it came out for its innovative roomy yet lightweight engineering, and they extended the line across sizings (1 person, 2 person, etc). Now MSR has a carbon fiber pole tent that takes the Hubba's and shaves off a LOT of weight; I know zilch about these tents but check it out - 2.5 pounds for a full-on tent, not a 'shelter'!
FWIW, I also have a newish North Face standard backpacking tent (can't remember teh model) which is lightish and I have zero complaints about it.
I spent a couple nights in a Hilleberg tunnel tent, including one memorably stormy night. Stayed very dry.

Sorry not to be clear. I'm looking for a one man, or a two man for use in almost all cases by me alone.

After doing some research, I covet a Hilleberg freestanding model; and they actually have a distributer here in Tokyo. But I checked it out and man - the prices!!!

The Allak - the largest of the Hillebergs that I was looking at, shows on Hilleberg's US website for 765 bucks. Already pretty painful. The price here: 118,650 yen; that's 1,325 bucks! Even their Unna - the size equivalent to an ID Mk 1 XL and which also looks nice - is 78,750 yen, which is 875 bucks or so (as compared to a list price of 515 in the States). After fifteen years, I'm somewhat inured to Japanese prices, but that's nuts!

I'll take a look at Sierra Designs - thanks for the recommendation. I actually have an old SD 3-man dome tent (space dome, or something like that - no longer made, I think) that is still bomber after more than 10 years, but it's heavy. Didn't occur to me to check them for lightweight offerings.

I have two SD tents, Clip 3 and the Lightyear solo; they're three season ultralight tents, non-freestanding. I got them because I used to do most of the hauling so I wanted something ultralight. Well designed, good amount of floor space but not much room by the feet. I don't know about the single wall designs, but if I needed a new tent, I'd give them a shot, but that's just me.