Hi, been thinking about a new tent, as my existing khyam is getting a bit ropey I after many years service. It's great but it's a tad unwieldy on the back of a motorbike due to its length. I'm thinking a 2 person backpacking tent next time ......can anyone share their experiences please?
Important factors for me are ease of access and it would be nice to sit up inside of it. Note:I'm a 6 ft 17 stone bloke who likes a proper single air bed for a good nights sleep, so please factor this into your responses. Thanks all!
Just got myself a Vango Halo 300..Test pitched it the other day and seems suited to my needs...Priority Number 1...I can sit up in it (5' 7") Two entrance/exit doors...so no climbing over each other to get in /out and extra door/porch area can be used as storage for gear if camping alone....
Pack size/weight a bit on the biggish side for back packing...But I will compromise on other stuff to accommodate for it...If it means I can get my clothes on/off without putting my back out....
Jelboy.
------------- Campers of the storm,Into this world are born
Mattyg, I have the 200 version of the Halo and really like it. See my profile picture - there is a side porch but for some reason I had rolled it back in that picture. I'm 5ft 8 or 9 and you can see how much room I've got to sit in it. The two side entrances mean it doesn't feel long and narrow and 'crawly-in' like the tents with the entrance at the end. The inner is 110cm high and the dome shape makes it feel quite spacious.
I've never been backpacking but may head over to the Western Isles next week without a car, taking the Halo with me. It's a neat pack size (43 x 18, they say) and is already strapped to the bottom of the rucksack. I don't need to walk far with it, just on and off ferries and buses. 3.65kg would be heavy for backpacking but no problem on a bike.
Mattyg my sister &Bro-inlaw just picked up an urban escape (sukai?)semi geodesic from Halfords (for motorbike camping)3 berth - 57 x 22 packed size 2000hh and 150cm high so plenty sitting up room, we're meeting up for a bike camping weekend next weekend so I can give you a short review then if you like.
my Lichfield is 165 high and a 3 berth and I mostly use that for solo bike camping (sadly I can't recommend as it was a sample and not available) but it's a similar size to the one sis just got and I have no probs carrying it on Cagiva Raptor.
The way I carry it is a bit unusual, old pair of over-trousers slung over the pillion seat and the tent and my chair slid into the legs, foot end bungeed to pillion pegs and the rest of the gear sits on top
------------- Still trying to get the packing right.
I have a terra nova laser space 2, which I bought for cycle touring. Standing height and a large porch, it's great for camping on sites, but not inobtrusive enough for wild camping.
The 3 doesn't have a porch, which is a distinct disadvantage in a tent like this. but the 5 packs so small and light why not have the extra comfort
and room
Quote: Originally posted by Ewen c on 04/9/2013
Keeping to Bangle, what about a banshee. Really only a one man but great for a bike. Sitting up? Sort of
erk - that's not so much a stoop to get in, more of a roll-in , which is fine if your supper consists of many beer --- but emerging ???
IMO Thing is with m'bike is few packing spaces, so what's needed is smallest possible pack size (total weight not so much as issue) and enough room inside for gear and to change out of bike leathers/clothes and into wandering about clothes
------------- Still trying to get the packing right.
Have a look at the Wild Country 2.5. Able to sit up and steep sloping sides gives more usable space. Large front opening which can be used as a canopy and smaller rear door.
I bought one from Cotswold Camping reduced to £125, ideal for the bike and its just under 3kg. Haven't got round to using it yet... Check out youtube..
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
My DS is a six foot tall 18 stone rugby prop, he uses a Vango Tempest 200 as his backpacking tent. 2.6kg and small enough to stuff in a rucksack. If I was looking at something a bit roomier though I'd go for the Tempest 300, it's not much heavier or bigger in pack size but has 8" more headroom. The 2012 versions are still around, the porch design is better than the 2013 one imho.
If I was buying for me though I'd go for a Vango Omega or even Equinox, 200 or 300 size. The Beta is the budget version but will have longer pole sections I suspect, as they're fibreglass rather than alloy.
Yep agree with that Val a couple of years after copious searching we plumped on a tempest 300 for two of us and the dog(labrador sized) for backpacking and for the money it's unbeatable.
The 200 would be spacious for 1 person, we still get all our kit easily inside the 300.
For size and weight we would have been looking at over £300 for something like the mutha hubba and then some for anything after that. I might have been tempted by the MH if it had been around at the time as the geodesic is more stable in bad weather, that being said the Tempest really did live up to it's name and survide totally unscathed a serious storm that destroyed many other tents, even if the tunnel design did make it a bit noisy. The marketing pictures show it pitched drum tight, but in probably over 30 pitches I have yet to acheive that, despite trying several methods.
Overall though a great tent and unbeatable for the money.
Just realised I meant to say the 2011 Tempest rather than the 2012 version, it's the one with the front door rather than the offset front/side door I prefer. You may prefer differently of course, but the older version is still around and at a cheaper price, hopefully.