View Full Version : Tents.
Great Pebble
06-08-2004, 20:10
Need a new tent, will be purchasing sometime over the winter to replace a JW Tundra 2, which I've never got on with.
Requirements:-
Large enough for two in comfort
Light and small enough for 1 to carry
"subtle" colours - green if poss.
Capable of British winters at least.
Can be pitched on poor ground
Won't require a mortgage.
Suggestions...
Just bought a Vaude Hogan MKII Light; that might be worth having a look at.
Especially seeing as Field and Trek have them reduced to £220 in their latest 'sales' mailer.
I don't have a great deal of experience with tents though spent hours researching this choice in advance.
Everything people say about ease of pitching is bang on - less than five minutes for one person. Sleeps three, though really it's two comfortably, and still weighs less than 3kg.
Double entrance/porches and pitches inner/outer together, so no soaking if the weather is bad.
I can't claim to have any experiece with it in bad weather as yet, though it seems to have a good rep.
Oh, and it's a nice subtle shade of green as well!
Both of these Vaude tents are ideal for the taller/larger person. I'm 6'2" and have used the taurus 1. I wouldnt recommend using them for extreme conditions, but for 3 (possibly 4) season use they are great value for money.
not the lightest, or most bomb-proof of tents, but incredibly good value at these prices.
http://www.outdoorgarage.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Vaude_Taurus_ I_348.html
http://www.outdoorgarage.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Vaude_Taurus_ II_349.html
I have a Saunders Jetpacker stashed away somewhere , excellent tent , nowadays its me and the kids in a 9 man argos special tent but never mind eh
Off up to Windermere end of August in fact to show the kids there is life beyond tv and playstation
You cant beat a Quaser for bombproof biuld quality. its now a classic but doesnt come cheap £299 from Outside had mine up in the worst weather the UK can throw, never let me down. Although i tend to use my Moskoselkatan now. The wife likes the headroom.
I've just got a stormshield Xeon reduced to clear from blacks for £56 from £100 3kg and sleeps two.
tenbears10
07-08-2004, 10:52
You cant beat a Quaser for bombproof biuld quality. its now a classic but doesnt come cheap £299 from Outside had mine up in the worst weather the UK can throw, never let me down. Although i tend to use my Moskoselkatan now. The wife likes the headroom.
I with Wayne I've got a terra nova voyager which if you don't need loads of room is great and light. even though they call it 3 season that's only because it won't support heavy snow. Wind and rain are no problem and I can pitch it dead quick on my own. My brother has a super quasar but now your talking a lot of cash. They come on ebay now and then but you are still looking at 200 for secondhand.
Bill
Millets have a sale on at the moment and they are doing Stormshield and Coleman tents. Admittedly, this isn't your 'North Face'-standard stuff but I recently got a Coleman Cobra 2 man tent at 2.8kg, 2 entrances and it's designed for windy/bad weather. Only 63 quid. Not bad, methinks. Alternatively, Blacks also have a sale on at the moment (someone mentioned this above already) and I have it from rumourville that the Cotswold sale should start at end of August.
has to be http://www.moskoselkatan.se/ Arran Tents, i will never go back to regulat tents... can be made lighter by leaving the pole at home and finding a sutable stick!!
Caution: may require small mortgage.
rapidboy
08-08-2004, 21:22
tomtom ,what are they like to pitch?
I really fancied one but have heard mixed opinions about them including they are difficult and slow to pitch.
I thought having a fire inside would be great for cooking and drying clothes in bad weather but also heard the door has to be kept open and they are very smokey.
It seem's like a great setup but it's a lot of money to part with if it's more trouble than a regular tent.
I have an Arran on my short list but also the Hilleberg tents seem a good choice as a more conventional choice.
RB
there are two ways of putting it up... one is very quick but you really need two or more people (one person to hold the pole.. the other put the pegs in) the other is for one person where you put the pegs in first.. it takes a little longer but it not really a problem..
on the smokey subject... it can be an issue, but if you split your wood down well.. take the bark off.. dig a small tranch so thet it draws air from to bottom.. it does not take much wind to make it draw nicly... but if you do get one of those nights when there is no wind whats so ever it can fill up a little.. however the smoke hangs higher then you if you are lieing down then it doesnt really effect you!
i have experienced it.. and as i said i will never go back to regular tents!
I have the Arrab 5 lite. Great tent. I have yet to have a fire in it. It takes longer to pitch than my quazer but is more versitile. i would recommend then.
that is the one i have (the one you are least likly to need a mortgage for)
pitching gets easier with time... when there are two people i wold say i am just as fast at doing it as i am at pitching my old dome tent
Wayne, is that the Bell tent you had at Dartmoor?
masongary44
09-08-2004, 12:53
I have a terra nova gortex bivi / tent (1 man thing) iI used it for the first time last month, spending a week living out of it. It is a little cramped as you would expect, but comfortable and more importantly, up in 2 minutes with 2 poles and 3 pegs, no leaks, and thanks to good ventilation, not much condensation. It weight very little and fit sin one side pocked of my Vulcan with space to spare....
I am looking forward to a bad winter so i can get out in the snow with it... should be brilliant...
Anyway my point as i am a little off thread (not exactly suitable for 3 people...); If you are considering a terra nova tent i would go direct to their website and see what slight second gear they have in. Mine is a second, but i cannot for the life of me see why (often it is just kit that has been put up at a show somewhere... afterwards, they cannot sell it as new and apparently they were ending up with large amounts of stock sat in a back room somewhere so they decided to mark them as a second then sell them on direct form their website). Be sure to read the warranty info though, as tthe seconds are not subject to the same bulletproof guarantee as the full price, "Firsts".
All the same, I got my tent for almost half price... so well worth a look.
G:
Wayne, is that the Bell tent you had at Dartmoor?
Yes thats the one. After all i need the headroom.