So Saturday afternoon it was raining pretty steadily and I said to myself, “self, let’s go camping!”

I asked the Boy if he wanted he to and he said yes and then I asked the dog if she wanted to go and she said yes and off we went.

It was about 4:45 p.m. before I got things packed up and we even left the house.

The idea was not so much a pleasure trip, as you might imagine, but a quick jaunt into the local woods to test out a new tent.

The tent is a Tarpent Arcdome 1. It’s supposed to be rather large one person tent, but they also provide an interior option that makes it into a two-person tent, but shrinks the vestibule down to about 8 inches or so (which is still enough space to cram your soaking wet pack into, provided you sit it upright, which I did.)

As you might imagine, our campsite was only about a mile from the trailhead, but with clouds hanging low and the rain falling steady, it was getting dark in a hurry.

I set up the Tarpent and then set up the boy’s Hilleberg Niak tent (which has proven to be all but bombproof over the years, even though it’s supposed to be a three-season tent).

I would have just gone out and bought another Niak, but with tariffs and inflation, that tent is now just under $1,000 ($995).

The Tarpent is a little less than half that ($479 for my configuration) and basically the same design, though with less robust door zippers.

Both tents are free standing and set up quickly by inserting two poles into the sleeves and then staking them down. They weigh within three ounces of each other. The Hilleberg weights 3 pounds 13 ounces and the Tarpent weighs 3 pounds, 10 ounces, as weighed on my home scale, straight out the box, including the stuff sack.

You can lower the weight of the ArcDome 1 a few ounces by going with the one-person interior and by using carbon fiber poles. I’m not a fan of carbon fiber poles. Aluminum bends, while carbon fiber breaks, in my experience.

Tarpent lists the ArcDome 1 as a four season tent, while I suspect the Niak would perform well in snow, too, but Hilleberg still lists it as a three-season tent, as the fabric is a bit lighter than the company’s line of true four season tents.

But on to the testing: The Tarpent did just fine in the rain, though this was the pup’s first camping trip and she couldn’t figure out that the boy was in the other tent and she kept getting out and growling at him.

She also shook off a couple of times inside, which soaking wet dogs are want to do, so the interior had dog spray all over it.

Still, as near as I could tell no rain, which was heavy at times, got in. The rain ended about 9 p.m. and then the wind picked up. The dog kept going in and out so I just kept the doors open through the night (It was very easy to fold the doors back, even by feel in the pitch black night). My main worry was the dog would just go back to the car, but she didn’t.

About 2 a.m. she finally settled down for good and we both got 4 1/2 hours of sleep until first light. There was plenty of room for both of us (the dog, at 10 months,  is now 80 pounds and nearly as tall stretched out as I am, which is to say 6 feet).

Once the rain stopped the wind started howling and the tent had no issues with the breeze and to my surprise, it was almost completely dry by daybreak, both inside and out, even though the relative humidity was still way up there.

Overall it was a good test, not just for the tent, but for the pup as well. She seemed pretty happy at first light. She just might get into this camping thing after all.

The ArcDome 1 isn’t for everyone, of course. It’s on the heavy side for a summer tent, but pretty darn light for a winter tent. I’d rather carry a heavier tent and sleep in peace and comfort. It’s easier to cut a pound or two in your pack somewhere else.

You can learn more about the ArcDome 1 at Tarpent’s website. Tarpent.com and the Niak at Hilleberg.com

There’s a real good chance of significant snow at Marias Pass this Thursday, so maybe I can get out and test the tent in a good old fashioned snowstorm. But I think I’ll leave the dog at home for this one.