Robens
Robens Starlight EXP 1
Best use
- Made for
- Backpacking and wild camping
- Not for
- Winter mountain
Why these labels
- Backpacking and wild camping: The maker states this use, and the published specs do not rule it out.
- Winter mountain: 3-season rating, not built for winter storms
From the maker's stated use and the published specs.
- Summer wild camp: 7/10 UK, roughly May to September, nights above about 8 °C, sheltered pitches.
- Three-season hills: 7/10 UK hills in spring and autumn. Wind, rain, and nights near freezing.
- Winter camp: 4/10 UK winter or high ground. Below freezing, strong wind, possibly snow. Capped at 4: needs the maker's 4-season rating and wind 7+.
- Weight: 6/10 How much it adds to your pack, compared with the whole market.
Solo three-season backpacking and long walks where you want a very waterproof tent on a small budget and can carry about 2 kg
- Pitches
- Outer first
- Sleeps
- 1
- Seasons
- 3-season
- Min. weight
- 1.7 kg
- Flysheet
- 5,000 mm
- Inner length
- 215 cm
Packed size 6.9 L, 39 cm long and 15 cm across Compare with a 2-litre bottle
A bit longer than a 2-litre bottle and about one and a half times as wide. Drawn to scale.
Where to buy
liGo £134.95 In stock. Free delivery.
View at shop: liGoOutdoor World Direct Price not checked. Check the shop for price, stock and delivery.
View at shop: Outdoor World DirectPrices checked 8 Nov 2026 on each shop's own page; shops can change them. We earn no commission on these links; shops are listed by price. More
Our ratings (out of 10)
1 to 10, compared with the whole market. Each says what it's based on. How we score
Weight
From maker's figures 6/10How much it adds to your pack. This is the whole tent: two people sharing can split it. 6: A bit better than average.
Robens' minimum weight of 1,700 g sits in the 1.5–1.99 kg band, but TGO and Andrew Park Outdoors both weighed it at about 2.3 kg (2,302 g with stuffsack, poles and pegs), which would be the 2.0–2.69 kg band.
Rain protection
From maker's figures 8/10How well it keeps out heavy, long rain. 8: Clearly better than most.
Flysheet 5,000 mm is in the 3,000 mm+ band and the 10,000 mm floor means no point is taken off. The printed figure alone gives 8 at most: a 9 or 10 needs 3 reviews that say it stays dry in real storms.
Wind
Estimate: only 1 review about wind (fewer than the 3 we need, so never above 8) 6/10How steady it stays in strong wind on open ground. 6: A bit better than average.
Lara Dunn found the pitch solid and describes the pole-wrapping guylines as improving wind resistance. Testing was at lower-level sites in largely favourable weather, so this does not establish strong-wind performance.
Space
From maker's figures 7/10Room to lie, sit up and keep kit inside. 7: Better than most.
Outdoor World Direct's spec table gives the bedroom as 215 cm long and 60/75 cm wide (head and foot); average width 67.5 cm: 215 x 67.5 = 14,513 cm², or 1.45 m², in the 1.35–1.59 m² band. Robens' own page shows only the 75 cm width.
Packed size
From maker's figures 7/10How much room it takes in your rucksack. 7: Better than most.
Robens packs it to 39 x 15 cm (a stuff-sack cylinder): 3.1416 x 7.5 x 7.5 x 39 = 6,892 cm³, so 6.9 L, in the 4–6.9 L band (only just). Outdoor World Direct lists 56 x 17 cm and liGo 35 x 12 cm, but we use the maker's figure.
What reviewers say (out of 10)
Ratings marked * are from reviews and are not part of the trip score. They are reviewers' scores, not our own measurements. How we score
Pitching*
Estimate: only 2 reviews about pitching (fewer than the 3 we need, so never above 8) 8/10How quickly and easily one person can pitch it, including in wind and rain.
2 reviews on pitching, e.g. "It’s incredibly easy to pitch, thanks to a single insertable pole".
Durability*
Estimate: only 1 review about durability (fewer than the 3 we need, so never above 8) 8/10How well the fabric, poles, zips and seams hold up over seasons of use.
1 review on durability, e.g. "It's very hardwearing, but it's pretty strong.".
In short
Good for
- Solo three-season backpacking and long walks where you want a very waterproof tent on a small budget and can carry about 2 kg
- Wet UK three-season trips and cycle touring, where a very waterproof, tough-fabric tent and a decent porch matter more than saving grams
Strengths
- Quick to pitch: one main pole and eight pegs, and it stayed steady in a breezy test
- A long inner with room for kit above the head or below the feet, and a porch big enough for a rucksack or cooking
- Several vents (both ends and the head), including a mesh panel in the door
Weaknesses
- Heavier than the maker says: two reviewers weighed it at about 2.3 kg against Robens' 2.0 kg packed (1.7 kg minimum)
- Narrow and low inside, like a coffin; the 1.65 m magazine tester found headroom just enough, and the video reviewer calls it coffin-like
- Small design niggles one reviewer noted: no two-way zip on the door, no mesh on the end vents, and little pocket storage
- Needs pegs and guylines to stand up (it is not freestanding), and it is sold as a three-season tent with no snow flaps, so it is not a winter tent
- Only two independent reviews of this 2025 version, so wind and long-term wear are not yet well tested
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.
ShowHide sources (4)
- Robens: Starlight 1 Exp specifications (archived copy from 9 June 2026; the live page has since been removed)
- Outdoor World Direct: Robens Starlight 1 Exp Tent (2025) technical table (foot-end width)
- The Great Outdoors: Robens Starlight EXP 1 review (Lara Dunn)
- Andrew Park Outdoors: #391 Robens Starlight 1 EXP, first look (video)