Swag 1-Person Canvas Camping Tent

My history with Kodiak started with a fun-filled six-person family tent. Now, with my boys scattered and my wife (wisely) opting out of sleeping on the ground, I'm heading out on my own. I needed something simple that beat cramming into my 4Runner—and the Kodiak Canvas Swag Tent was the answer to my new, slightly lonely, solo adventures.

A Quick Note: because my trip was cut short, I only got one night in this tent before this review , so please take that under consideration.

I went all-out on comfort, pairing the swag with a Cabela's XL cot, based on Kodiak's advice.

The first-time setup was a pleasant, dry evening experience. The cot might have been a little tougher to figure out than the swag itself, but the swag fit nearly perfectly on top.

The tension poles went in easily, and I secured the swag to the cot with parachute cord and set the guy wires on the ends. It was nice and tidy. (The top tension pole was out of stock when I ordered this tent, but I think it would work well with my setup.)

Comfort and The "Cozy-Not-Claustrophobic"

I use a large Teton 0° sleeping bag that’s tough to fully zip even on its own. Inside the swag, it felt cozy, not claustrophobic. With everything zipped down and the end vents open, sleeping was perfect in the mid-40s weather.

I did run into one minor ergonomic challenge based on my size and flexibility: Entry/Exit: Getting in was easy enough, but I'm not super flexible, and I wish the middle pole was just a little closer to the foot end. This would make exiting the swag, especially from the height of the cot, a lot smoother.

Final Logistics and Repacking

I know there are a lot of things I need to figure out as I spend more time in this setup: how to best zip it up for rain or snow protection, where to change clothes when I'm not the only one around, and the best spot for my shoes and other gear.

Regarding takedown, the most difficult part was the repacking process. I wasn't quite able to zip everything up all the way (meaning the carry bag wouldn't fully close), but I'm sure that's more about lack of technique on my part with the canvas than a problem with the product.

A Note on Customer Service
I live in Utah, not far from the warehouse. I ordered this on Saturday, and when a beautiful, but wrong, four-person tent arrived on Tuesday, I was worried since I was leaving Thursday morning.

This is my second review. I love this tent! I've been using it since late winter until present and I couldn't be happier! If you're on the fence about this, buy it. It's great for solo primitive camping. I stay comfortably warm and cool in warmer months. I usually have a Ridgeline over it just to help keep the night out, but it's fine as a stand alone. I also set it up on a cot for easier in and out.
It will not disappoint!

Slept in 7 nights on first trip it rained first 2 nights, stayed nice and dry. Very comfortable, ground was rocky but the cushion did a great job. Is plenty big inside for me even rolling from back to sides, I’m 6’3” 220. Would be very warm for summer camping.

This swag was purchased for my 14 year old and he absolutely loves it. I purchased my first Kodiak Canvas Swag over six years ago and have wellover 100 nights in it. It's the most comfortable way to camp!! As soon as i asked my son what he wanted for his birthday this year there was only one answer..... a swag. The quality and durability are unmatched and I know this will last a very long time!!!

Amazing tent. We absolutely loved it. Great quality. You can open the cover and watch the stars during the night. We even tried sleeping together in it (2 persons), it worked, but it was a bit tight. To the review we enclosed last photos of our tent, as our car got stolen with a lot of our camping equipment. We Will miss our tent and kodiak sleeping bag. Great products

Love it! Comes in so handy for overnighting streamside on my weekend fishing trips!

It was exactly as described

I take a two week trip every year to somewhere far away from any other people to fish and hike I usually go in late fall to early spring there is usually snow around. I changed the foam pad for a inflatable pad to cut down the rolled up size and have used it for about 30 nights now in all manner of places. No complaints here it's built well and packs down tiny without the foam pad. Best tent I have ever had did well in nights that got to about 0 degrees f. Only thing I will say against it is that nights over 40 degrees even with almost no blanket are to warm so I use it when it's colder out.

36 YO about 511, 180 lbs. I purchased this rig to avoid having to hear snoring in the motor home on hunting trips. This rig is great and held up to the hot days and cold nights. I did have to dry the sleeping pad out after a hard nights rain, but stayed dry for the night. The bottom of the tent is mad of a tough rigid waterproof plastic like material. This helps prevent you from soaking up ground water into the tent. The canvas body of the tent is great. It appears to be breathable, yet hold heat when you need it. It is also durable enough to rip or tear under normal contact or collisions.

I work night shifts and sleep regularly during the day. I set this tent up in my basement and sleep during the day. It keeps me in a dark environment and allows me to get the sleep I need. I feel like that speaks to the comfort and quality of this tent. I have sleep about 200 days a year in this tent. Great Zippers. Great sleeping pad. I do have this tent set up on a Cabelas cot. I did buy the bar to allow me to keep the tent taunt without having the ends staked into the ground.

I would buy this tent again and recommend to a friend.

Bought a Swag 1-person tent for a backcountry mule deer hunt in southern New Mexico. Slept in it 5 days and love it! Zippers are heavy duty, tent floor is very durable, set up is fast and easy. I am a side sleeper and the included foam mattress is excellent. Only modification I made was I added bungee chords to tie down the vent flaps instead of the included adjustable line.

Awesome little tent, I use it with my XL cot. I'm 6'4" and I have plenty of room, rolling over at night is no problem.

I’ve been using this swag for a few seasons now after moving on from rooftop tents. I probably have around 40 nights in it. The main reason I bought it is ease of setup and comfort. It excels in both of those categories. Most of my trips are overlanding so I am moving sites day to day. Setup and breakdown is under 5 minutes. The thick pad provides plenty of comfort and warmth on any terrain and since adding the tension pole, I no longer have to use guy lines if camping on rocky terrain. The built in heavy duty PVC floor means no ground tarp required.

Additionally, I have found the swag keeps me very warm when the temps drop at night and the canvas blocks almost all light when the sun comes up so I can sleep late if I want to. The heavy duty canvas material gives me a little more peace of mind with regards to curious critters at night too.

The small size may discourage some people, but I find the width is sufficient for any sleeping position and the height is just enough to put my knees up. I even have space to bring a little gear bag with me at night.

There are two downsides I would mention. First is difficulty of entry and exit. It’s a bit awkward and takes a little extra time. This is not ideal in the middle of the night but I deal with it. The other is the fact that, if it’s raining and you need to get in or out, your sleeping area will get wet. My solution to that is to bring a small tarp to drape over the swag as additional protection if rain is expected. The swag itself will keep the rain out, so i really only do this in extreme weather and for entry/exit. That solution has worked well for me.

The packed size is large so this is not for backpacking, but perfect for over landing and camping out of a vehicle. I personally love it and recommend to anyone looking for a good camping solution with minimal setup.

Review based upon first use on a cot (Teton Outfitter XXL Cot). Typical quality construction and easy set up (canvas a little taught for second set of aluminum end support poles). Middle aluminum support pole is a pain--makes it nearly impossible to get in and out of the tent without removing it. I removed it out several times before ultimately ditching it (since I purchased the external tension pole, the tent kept its shape sufficiently without need for the middle support pole--you need the external tension pole). I found the tent a little too small for me, 6'/250. I am certain it will sleep much better on the ground, but at the end of the day, this tent is just too small for me.

Wish it was made in the States, BUT in spite of that it's a really nicely made tent of really good quality! Haven't used it yet, got it for summer time sleeping outside the house when it's sweltering inside!

I've had this roll for just aa few weeks but it kept me in the camp this weekend.
I had another backpacing tent I was trying out. Just for comfort I had a decent air mattress in it and with thunderstorms forecast, I settled in for the night. It wasn't long before my butt started touching the ground, then my shoulders. I had an obvious leak in my mattress. It was storming and raining, so the first chance I had, I got the Kodiak Canvas Swag out, put it on a cot under a ridgeline with my gear and made it to regroup the next morning. I stayed in the swag the next night and slept like Rip Van Winkle.
I'm looking g forward to years of use and solitude for me.

Can't give it a honest review as I have not slept in it yet, bought it now as come summer it may not be available.
I set the tent up, everything was in the box and it was delivered promptly by Kodiak. I laid in it comfortably, it did seem to have more room then my KampRite cot tent. Will see how it works next fire season.

It's only been about five nights in it so far but I'll say it's been great. The feature that drew me to this bivy over a sit-up style single tent is being only inches from the mesh for stargazing as I fall asleep. The sit-up tents all have a steep angle looking up when laying down and that really makes it tough to see the sky. Not so with this bivy and I can say it's offered the best bug free stargazing so far, due to the net being perpendicular to your eyes. Additionally, I can zip up the canvas very quickly if it starts to rain. All sit-up tents would require me to physically step outside the tent and do a walk around to make it waterproof once the rain comes. I opted for the tensioning rod and highly recommend. It really isn't even visible when you're in the bivy because there's a canvas strip that runs the length of the bivy right beneath the tensioning rod, blocking it from sight. I'm a side sleeper so I'll be adding a bit more air/foam to the base but the 2" of foam pad that is included is perfect if you're a back sleeper. The head and foot vents are excellent. This is the last single tent I'll ever buy.

It's low profile plus it's made out of canvas it's tough and I like how the waterproof floor of the tent comes up a few inches on the sides and that's thick also. It was worth every penny I spent on it I love it. If you want a tent that's low profile and tough this is the tent to get you will not be disappointed and make sure you season it when you get it.

The swag tent is very comfortable, I have used it with and without a cot. Used it during the hunts this year in all types of weather, great in the heat to just use the mesh and it kept me poodry during rain and snowstorms. I would recommend this over other products.

I like the quality of the materials. Looking Forward to testing this out this summer and fall. Great kit!

Took me 6 minutes to setup cot, tent, and have sleeping bag in. I put a klymit luxe in, it was not needed. You will need a right handed sleeping bag if u want to use the little mat that's included. 30 mph winds didn't knock it off my cot and when all zipped couldn't even tell that the wind was blowing. Zippers are great, setup is easy, it is warm, you not need a big heavy bag with this setup. I also purchased the support pole, I don't know if it's needed but for 19 bucks I'm sure I won't regret having it.

Very good construction, robust zippers should last well.

Easy to set up, really good quality

Top quality materials used and craftsmanship appear to be above average. If you need a swag this offering is a great choice for the USA. Be aware this a niche product, rolls up into a large size. Best use is vehicle camping, such as overlanding.

I love how great this tent is built. Zipper's are great. Nice to put all sleeping gear in one bag. Already have a couple friends that have bought one to!