Wild CampingFjernTent

Fjern Stormgrotta 1.5 review: a drum-tight, roomy solo tent that holds its own on Dartmoor

Taut, stable and easy to pitch, with generous room for one, smart storage details and a stuff sack that makes packing away painless. A lightweight four-season solo tent that’s easy to live with.

Some tents make their case in the first five minutes. We’ve spent several nights in the Fjern Stormgrotta 1.5 on exposed ground on northern Dartmoor, and what has stuck with us most is how low it sits and how tight it pulls. Think of it as a generously proportioned one-person shelter rather than a true two-person tent, and at its promotional price it is very hard to argue with. We haven’t had it in snow or below freezing yet, so we’ll be clear throughout about what we have and haven’t tested.

✓  RecommendedFjern Stormgrotta 1.5 Weight1.6kgFlysheet15D silnylonRRP£400 The good✓  Drum-tight, stable pitch in 20–30mph gusts
✓  No water ingress in our testing
✓  No significant condensation over several nights
✓  Generous room for one, with useful storage
✓  Wide-opening stuff sack, easy to pack away
✓  Removable inner for a lighter setup
The not-so-good✗  Outer door arrangement not yet convincing us
✗  Very little on seam sealing in the paperwork
✗  15 pegs supplied for 16 pegging points
Check out the Fjern Stormgrotta 1.5 →

At a glance

Overview

The Stormgrotta 1.5 is a lightweight, four-season tent built around solo use, with a little more internal space than a traditional one-person shelter. A three-pole external structure, a detachable inner and a low-profile shape define it, and the 2026 version brings refinements including changes to the pole clips, additional pegging points, revised guy lines and some useful additions to the interior.

We’ve been impressed so far, particularly by its stability, ventilation and ease of use. Fjern is SportPursuit’s own outdoor brand, which is worth knowing when you’re weighing up where the tent sits in the market. There are still conditions we want to see it in before making a definitive judgement on its four-season credentials, namely sub-zero temperatures and snow.

A note on price

The Stormgrotta 1.5 has an original retail price of approximately £400, which puts it towards the more expensive end of the market. Considering the specification, construction and overall design, we don’t think that’s unreasonable. We’ve also recently seen it advertised at around £199 through SportPursuit, which makes it a far more attractive proposition. Add the optional £50 footprint and you’re looking at roughly £249 for the complete setup, which we think is excellent value. Prices and promotional offers are subject to change.

How we tested

We’ve put the Stormgrotta through its paces on several overnight trips across northern Dartmoor, including exposed locations where wind and rain can make life interesting. During testing we’ve experienced gusts in the region of 20–30mph, along with plenty of rain.

We haven’t yet tested it in storm-force conditions, sub-zero temperatures or snow, so we won’t make claims beyond the conditions we’ve actually experienced. Those are the winter outings we intend to put it through next.

Features and performance

Pitching and stability

The first thing that stood out was how straightforward it is to pitch. Once you’re familiar with the pole arrangement, getting the tent up on your own is very easy and takes less than five minutes. There is a small quirk with the external pole clips: their orientation matters if you want the intended stability. Once you’ve understood how they should sit around the poles, it becomes second nature. Fjern also provides a YouTube pitching demonstration, which is worth watching before your first outing.

What has impressed us most is how taut you can get the flysheet. Pitched correctly, it feels almost like a drum, and the tent sits relatively close to the ground, giving it a real limpet-like look. In those 20–30mph gusts there was very little noticeable flysheet movement or flapping, and we had no concerns about the poles. The revised guy lines and additional pegging points on the 2026 version contribute to the overall arrangement.

“Once pitched correctly, it feels almost like a drum.”

Weather protection and seam sealing

We’ve had no issues with water ingress whatsoever. The flysheet is lightweight 15D silnylon with a published hydrostatic head of 3,000mm+, while the groundsheet is rated at 5,000mm+, and Fjern specifies that the seams are factory seam-sealed.

That’s worth mentioning because anyone familiar with lightweight silnylon tents will know seam sealing can be left to the owner. Tents such as the Lanshan are familiar examples, while manufacturers such as Nortent provide silicone sealant for you to apply yourself. There’s very little about seam sealing in the Stormgrotta’s supplied documentation, which initially surprised us, but Fjern’s published specification confirms the seams are factory sealed. We’ve had no reason to do any additional sealing and waterproofing has been excellent so far. As with any tent, silicone-compatible products such as Gear Aid seam sealant are available should maintenance ever be needed.

Space, storage and the vestibule

Fjern calls this a 1.5-person tent, but we think it’s best understood as a generously proportioned solo shelter. At 5ft 9in, our tester has plenty of room and can sit upright comfortably, with space for a regular-length sleeping mat, sleeping bag and extra kit without feeling restricted. A particularly wide, rectangular mat would make things tighter, but with a regular-width mat the space feels well judged. We can also see it accommodating a small-to-medium-sized dog alongside a solo occupant, depending on the dog and how you arrange your kit. Two internal storage pockets towards the head end give you somewhere for smaller essentials.

The vestibule is a useful part of the design. There’s sufficient room for kit, and we particularly like the attachment points that let you fit a small triangular, bathtub-style storage nook. We’ve used it to keep a backpack and stove organised and contained rather than spread across the floor, and it lifts everything off the ground and into a more accessible position. The 2026 version also adds a small hanging line in the vestibule, handy for damp clothing, gloves and other small items. We know there has been some discussion about the entrance door opening at the wrong end. We haven’t found it to be an issue: getting in and out is straightforward and the arrangement hasn’t hindered us.

Ventilation and condensation

Condensation is always worth considering when you’re spending a night in colder, wetter conditions. The Stormgrotta has two vents towards the head end, positioned above the sleeping area and held open by small fabric struts secured with Velcro. They need to be set from outside the tent. The inner also uses substantial mesh panels alongside its fabric sections, letting air circulate while keeping a degree of separation from the flysheet.

We’ve been impressed. Across several overnight stays we haven’t had any significant condensation problems, and we haven’t met the familiar issue of moisture collecting around the foot end and transferring onto a sleeping bag where it touches the inner fabric.

Doors and zips: where we’re still making up our minds

The zips have worked well throughout, with no catching or snagging. The main inner door zip does feel a little on the small side and we’d prefer something slightly chunkier, though that’s a minor observation rather than a functional problem.

The one design feature we’re still undecided about is the lower section of the outer door. The fabric is connected to the zip arrangement so that, as you close the door, the material folds into position. We’re not entirely convinced yet. We wonder whether it could let some rain or wind in when you open the door, or whether water could collect in the folded material. We cover it in more detail in our accompanying video, so it’s worth watching that rather than us drawing a firm conclusion at this stage.

Materials and build quality

The 15D silnylon has a noticeably thin, lightweight feel and reminds us of lightweight fabrics we’ve encountered in other premium tent designs. Despite that, we haven’t had any concerns about it. There have been no signs of damage or premature wear, and the stitching and general finishing are good, with no loose threads or obvious manufacturing defects.

The supplied Y-profile aluminium pegs are relatively small. We’ve had no problems with them, but if you prefer larger stakes such as MSR Groundhogs you may want to swap some in, depending on the ground and conditions. One detail worth checking is the peg count: the tent has 16 pegging points but the package includes 15 pegs. We’d check the contents and carry a spare or two, especially if you plan to use it in more demanding conditions.

Packing, carrying and the optional footprint

We particularly like the stuff sack. Fjern has gone for a wide-opening, drawcord-style bag rather than a restrictive sack that turns packing away into a wrestling match. Release the tension cord and the opening expands considerably, making it really easy to get the tent back in, and it cinches down neatly afterwards, so you’re not fighting to recreate the original packed size after a night out. The published packed weight is 1.6kg, at 39 × 16 × 15cm. We’d happily take it on a multi-day backpacking trip, and we can see it working well for bikepacking, especially if you’re keeping overall kit weight down. The inner tent is removable too, so you can pitch the outer alone for a lighter, more stripped-back setup.

The optional footprint costs £50 and, in our opinion, it’s well worth it. It adds another layer of protection beneath the tent, particularly useful on wet, soggy UK ground. It also gives you a cleaner, drier surface to kneel on while taking everything down. Another possible advantage is placing a foam roll mat between the tent’s bathtub groundsheet and the footprint, creating an extra layer between you and the ground, which could be useful when configuring the tent for colder conditions. There are alternative footprints available, but we’d recommend the one Fjern provides, and we’d budget for the extra £50 when buying the tent, especially if you want to use it all year round.

Four-season credentials: what we haven’t tested yet

Based on our experience so far, the Stormgrotta has the potential to be a very capable UK four-season tent. It has handled the wind and rain we’ve met on Dartmoor, and its low profile, taut pitch and ventilation have all impressed us. But we haven’t yet tested it in sub-zero temperatures or snow, and we intend to put it through both over the winter. For now, we’d call it a very promising all-season shelter with genuine four-season potential, rather than claim we’ve tested it in every condition.

How it compares

We haven’t tested the Stormgrotta side by side with rivals, so we won’t pretend to rank it against them. What we can say is where it sits. At its original £400 RRP it’s towards the expensive end of lightweight solo tents, and the factory seam sealing is a real point in its favour when some silnylon designs, such as the Lanshan, leave the job to you and others, such as Nortent, supply the sealant for you to apply. At around £199 on promotion, or roughly £249 with the footprint, it’s a lightweight, well-designed tent with useful space, impressive stability and some thoughtful details. At that price it’s a very easy tent to recommend for solo use.

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Our verdictA promising, lightweight and thoughtfully designed shelter that’s excellent value at £199.If you want a roomy solo tent that pitches quickly, sits tight to the ground and has stood up to wind and rain on Dartmoor, the Fjern Stormgrotta 1.5 is a very compelling option. It’s easy to pitch, packs away exceptionally easily and has some particularly thoughtful details, including the vestibule storage arrangement, the internal hanging line, the wide-opening stuff sack and the removable inner. We particularly like how stable it feels when pitched correctly.It isn’t flawless, and we haven’t finished testing it. We’d like the lower outer door arrangement explained or improved, and we’d like clearer information on seam sealing in the supplied documentation. We also want some proper winter testing before making a definitive judgement on its four-season performance. But at around £199, we’d be very happy to take it on further backpacking and bikepacking trips.Check out the Fjern Stormgrotta 1.5 →

FAQs

Is the Fjern Stormgrotta 1.5 easy to pitch?Yes. Once you’re familiar with the pole arrangement it takes less than five minutes on your own. Get the orientation of the external pole clips right and the rest follows.

How does the Stormgrotta 1.5 cope in the wind?Very well in what we’ve seen. In gusts of around 20–30mph there was very little flysheet movement and no concerns about the poles. We haven’t tested it in storm-force conditions.

Is the Stormgrotta 1.5 waterproof?We’ve had no water ingress at all in our testing. The flysheet has a published hydrostatic head of 3,000mm+, the groundsheet 5,000mm+, and Fjern states the seams are factory sealed.

Is the Stormgrotta 1.5 big enough for two people?We’d treat it as a generously proportioned solo tent. Our tester can sit upright comfortably at 5ft 9in with a mat, bag and extra kit, and it could suit a solo camper with a small-to-medium-sized dog.

Is the Fjern Stormgrotta 1.5 worth the money?At around £199 on promotion, we think it’s excellent value, even with the £50 footprint. At the £400 RRP it’s pricier, though we don’t think it’s unreasonable for the specification.