arata AX-79 lightweight tent

“Lightweight and wind-resistant”
The challenge of balancing conflicting demands at a new level

"Wind-resistant, suitable for use in mountainous areas in all seasons"
"As light as possible while providing enough space for single-person use without causing inconvenience"


Arata attempts to balance these conflicting requirements with each other on a new level that is different from the existing tent.

Early in development, we calculated the weight of the materials and quickly discovered that we needed to use tent poles that prioritized lightness over strength. I have a feeling that going to lighter tent poles while still maintaining the strength required for a mountain tent is going to be a difficult question to answer.

They used their experience as engineers and after careful consideration, the answer they arrived at was a unique sleeve hub structure and a guyed wire truss structure. The sleeve hinge is an innovative structure that combines the strength advantages of sleeve and hanging tents, which are two that traditional tents must choose. Furthermore, by combining it with a truss structure using guy wires, the strength of the tent can be increased depending on weather conditions.

With a width of 210 cm, the AX-79 is one of the longest single-person mountain tents from the Japanese brand. The maximum internal height is 98 cm. This height is comfortable even for people over 180cm tall. The depth was kept at 80 cm to reduce weight. When we decided to go with a depth of 80cm, one of our concerns was where to put the backpack. This problem was solved by providing a unique back room space. The rear compartment can also accommodate backpacks over 70L.

Despite its impressive performance and livability, the latest updates have made it even lighter at just 920g.
It is one of the lightest single-person mountain tents in its class*1

. The product includes the tent body, outer tent, tent poles and ground fabric.
We also offer options to make the AX Series even more rugged and comfortable.
The AX-79 is a new generation Japanese mountaineering tent that allows you to enjoy the fun of single-person camping while mountaineering.

In addition to adopting DAC Featherlite NFL 8.7, this update also includes the following improvements and changes:

- Improved convenience by changing the installation position of the door pockets
- Reduce the risk of accidental damage to the sleeve by changing the installation method of the tent pole - Improve the local wear resistance of the bottom of the inner tent - You can choose whether to use ground nails
-Added resin rings to the lower mounting points of the inner tent tension cables to improve tension adjustment -Improved storage of the top tent ventilation pole when not in use

Technical Description <br>Introducing the technology and attention to detail used in the AX-79

Uses high-performance tent poles "DAC Featherlite NFL 8.7"



In order to achieve this weight without neglecting any extreme functionality, for the tent poles of the AX-79 it was necessary to use the "DAC Featherlite NFL 8.7", which prioritizes lightness over strength.

However, DAC does not recommend using this pole high up in the mountains during strong winds. Therefore, a breakthrough had to be made so that these poles could continue to be used as alpine tents.

The horizontal axis of the above figure is the weight of each 40cm pole, and the vertical axis is the second moment of area, which shows the relationship between the weight and strength of the DAC tent pole. (It is lighter and stronger towards the upper left, heavier and weaker towards the lower right.)

The DAC NFL 8.7 (blue squares) used in the AX-79 is about 22% lighter than the DAC Featherlite NSL 8.5 (red squares) commonly used in mountain tents of this size, but is about 17% weaker.

In the AX series, the pole strength is enhanced by incorporating the following three innovative mechanisms into the tent structure:



1. Full set of inner tent x unique casing hub




The AX series uses sleeves to connect the inner tent and the poles. Compared to the hook type (hanging type) that has become common in tents in recent years, the sleeve type has a structure that distributes the load on the pole and prevents the pole from deforming.

On the other hand, the existing sleeve-type tents do not have two connected sleeves, and the structure of the two poles cannot effectively support each other. In contrast, the two rods of a hook-type pole are connected in the center via a swivel, so the two poles support each other.

Arata created their own unique socket hub that combines the best of both socket and hook types. As shown in the figure above, the two sleeves are connected through the hub, so that the two rods can support each other even though they are sleeve-type.



This structure may seem difficult to set up for entry-level users, but it can actually be set up quickly since there is no need to insert the hooks one by one. Although this may be difficult, if necessary, you can set up the flysheet, inner tent and groundsheet at once because they are already connected together, which is an advantage when setting up in rainy weather.





2. Casing hub pull point



The AX Series has cable tie points on the bushing hub. By tying the poles together and crossing them and securing them with nails (as shown in the photo above), two poles can be connected together as securely as if they were connected with a hook swivel.



The sleeve pivot cable can be passed through the hole in the top of the flysheet. The AX-79 has a larger long side projection area and is therefore more susceptible to long side winds. The Sleeve Hub Guy Point *2 is an original Arata feature that increases the wind resistance of the tent by fixing the long side that is most subject to displacement from the top of the tent.
(It is more convenient to use the optional emergency pull wire kit)



3. Inner pull wire

The inner draw cord is installed on the inside of the short edge of the AX series inner tent. This serves the same purpose as the reinforcement brackets commonly found in prefabricated buildings, helping to prevent the tent from buckling due to wind blowing off its long sides.



In addition, the AX series is also available with an optional emergency guy wire kit, which increases the strength of the tent at the expense of internal space. We recommend bringing it especially on long hikes with unpredictable weather or when setting up a tent in places where the weather is prone to change.



The AX series has expanded luggage space and improved wind resistance.


It is equipped not only with front space on the entrance side but also with rear space. This space forms a luggage compartment and also improves wind resistance at the rear.

X-shaped dome tents that can accommodate 1-2 people are susceptible to wind from the longer side because the projected area on that side is larger. Single-entry tents usually have a rear section that fits tightly against the inner tent to save weight, but this makes the tent less able to deflect wind, meaning it is more susceptible to winds from certain directions.

The construction of the AX series focuses on sturdiness and practicality without excessive pursuit of lightweight design.



Distance from ground to tarpaulin


Raising the bottom of the tarp is a common way to save weight, but the AX series is designed not only for stormy weather with heavy winds and rain, but also for snowfall, so it is set as low as possible.

If there is strong wind and rain, lift the tarpaulin to reduce the risk of wind blowing rain into the tent. The AX series is also designed for use in snowy seasons and still requires a rain cover. The AX series can fill the gap between the ground and the tarpaulin with snow, thus preventing snow from entering the tarpaulin.



The color of the tent is not easy to see through



In popular mountain tent camps, it is often easy to reach out and touch the tent next to you. Modern tents are made of thin cloth, and if the color is light, the people inside can be vaguely seen even in the daytime.

The inner and outer tents of the AX series are both dark gray, which prevents you from seeing what's inside from the outside during the day, and can also enhance the clarity of people's outlines when the lights are turned on at night.

The downside of using dark grey is that the temperature inside the tent will rise during the day, but in hot weather, it will be difficult to stay inside the tent during the day no matter what the colour is. To this end, the AX series has color settings that prioritize privacy protection.

Technical specifications

arata AX-79
Version : 2.0
Seasons: 4-season
Sleeping Capacity: 1-person
Packed Size: 24 × 17 × 11cm (L x W x H)
Minimum Trail Weight: 920g
Packed Weight: 1105g (Including Optinal Stake 12pcs, Excluding GroundSheet 79g)
Floor Dimensions: 80 x 210cm (L x W)
Peak Height : 98cm
Number of Doors: 1 door（There is one other door for luggage.）
Pole Material: Aluminum DAC Featherlite NFL 8.7
Inner Fabric: 10D breathable nylon
Floor Fabric: 15D ripstop nylon silicone coated (PU1500)
Stake: DAC J-STAKE x 12 (Optinal)
Rainfly Fabric: 15D ripstop nylon with silicone coating (PU1200)
Contents: Tent body, Flysheet, Groundsheet, Tent poles, and Special storage bag

Can be purchased

1) Ground Sheet for Back Room
Fabric: 15D ripstop nylon silicone coated (PU1500)
Weight: 43g (Ground Sheet: 39g/Bag: 4g)

2) Emergency Guyline Kit

Inner Diagonal Guylines × 4pcs
Sleeve Hub Guylines × 2pcs
DAC J-Stake DAC J-Stake × 2pcs

This is an optional item that increases the strength of the AX series.
By installing an emergency guy wire kit like the one pictured above, you can significantly increase the strength of your tent, but at the expense of interior space.
We recommend bringing it especially on long hikes with unpredictable weather or when setting up a tent in places where the weather is prone to change.

Note that the number of included DAC J stubs varies from version to version.
There is no difference in draw cord length between the different versions.

3) DAC J-STAKE Set (12 pieces)

About 11g/part
DAC J-STAKE is a ground spike that Arata trusts and believes is suitable for Japan's mountain environment.
The construction involves cutting the sides of extruded TH72M aluminium alloy, a simple method with excellent cost performance.
The top is designed to ensure that the force is applied in a straight line and that no force that would cause the cable to break is applied to the component to which the cable is attached.
The V-shape with a slight notch in the middle provides an excellent balance of penetration and support, allowing it to penetrate firmly and grip the ground without breaking, from soft ground to hard ground piled with large rocks.
DAC’s anodizing and heat treatment maximizes the material’s potential, making it stronger, harder, more scratch-resistant, and less prone to breaking than typical aluminum spikes from other companies.