Tents

Just my ha’pence worth


Whatever you buy, don’t discount something on account that the pack size might be a little too long for your panniers/ top box. It’s easy enough to fit a “long” packed tent if you take the poles out and strap them on separately, often on the top of the pannier.

That opens up a much larger choice of tents for you.

Vango Omega 3 for me. Sleeps two easily, or one capaciously, and the pack size is just a smidgeon more that the omega 2/ with the benefit of two compartments, somewhere to keep your sopping wet bike gear without getting your sleeping gear wet.
 
I use a Robens Green Cone. It is advertised as 4 man tent, three people might be a bit tight. For me alone it's perfect, easy to put up, light enough across the pillion of my little bike and tall enough (nearly).

Various sellers out there priced around the £250 to £300 mark.

https://www.wowcamping.co.uk/produc...MI_b-R-4OV6gIVj7t3Ch3qywUEEAQYAiABEgKwD_D_BwE

edit: Found this video that mirrors my views.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRo5vNdlpDs

tom

The GC has quite a large footprint but that gives you plenty of room inside for your gear. I do wish Robins offered different inner cells for their tents. A smaller inner would be a real boost for the tent which can be a bit chilly if only one person is inside. However the quality and waterproofing is excellent and the design makes it very wind resistant. Exactly a year ago, I was wild camping on Harris on the Machair. A storm came in and I woke up at 3am to a real hooley battering the tent. For about 30 mins I thought it might let go and me with it! Held fine though.


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yes they will , nailed down, 4 extra guylines my Mckinley stood up in 100mph winds.

and there in lays the point, almost any tent on the market now will stand up to high winds if the guy ropes are put out properly and staked in the ground correctly. Its normaly tent pegs pulling out that cause issue with tents
 
That's bullshit & you know it!

100mph winds recorded at heli staion just down the road in Anglesey.

cheap well erected tents stayed up, expensive poorly erected tents flew away , along with the huge marquee.

ps. i don't bullshit , and i don't lie .
 
100mph winds recorded at heli staion just down the road in Anglesey.

cheap well erected tents stayed up, expensive poorly erected tents flew away , along with the huge marquee.

ps. i don't bullshit , and i don't lie .

You have been misguided.

A very quick google of the Anglesey weather station suggests ...
The highest gust of 97 mph was recorded on 17 January 1965.

A 100mph gale would have flattened most of Anglesey ... your awesome shelter included.
 
And a cheap well erected tent will still rip, snap poles, leak, etc. :)
 
I have one and it's hardly a 3 man tent! :D

I have an Akto, a Staika and a Saitoris and the only one I would entertain the idea of 3 people in is the Saitoris (and even that would not be my idea of pleasant camping!)

I think the number of people the tent is designed for is based on mountaineering people, but they are a different breed of hardy folk who don't mind sharing limited personal space.
 
And a cheap well erected tent will still rip, snap poles, leak, etc. :)

New years eve in Snowdonia, maybe 10 years back saw mine and a mates tent flattened.
I was in a 3 man Vango, and he in a smaller/lower Lightwave geo.
About 1am the wind really got up to about 50mph. It was well setup arse into the wind, and my only concern was the soft ground or the wind swinging round to the side.
What actually happened was the wind came straight down off the mountain, flattening my tent and pinning me down for minutes at a time.
To be fair the old Equinox (proper early Scottish built Vango) did put up a fair fight for an hour or so, until the poles started to let go ripping through the pole sleeves.
It's a bad feeling when your tent fails on a stormy night, and all you can do really is drag everything in from the porch, lie on your back with feet against the roof & ride it out.
I only really use Hilleberg black label now, and the (yet to be used Staika) should shrug off just about every scenario.

But a 100mph wind? ...... Mmmmm, not too sure about it's chances there!
 
The Staika will have an option of doubling the poles up......jus in case you camp on Ynys Mon :D
 
The Staika will have an option of doubling the poles up......jus in case you camp on Ynys Mon :D

Plan to be on Holy Island next month and will heed this sage advice!

I double poled the Nammatj on Islay last autumn on the foreshore.
That Hebridean wind seems to come in powerful waves. None of the buffetty shit you get on the mainland, just the full power from the ocean.
the big gusts were about 65mph at a guess. The tent was fine, but the pegs into the dunes were a constant worry.
Which is why I got the Staika ... totally self supporting including the porches.
And you were right on another thread (albeit about the soulo) about these clip on tents being easier to setup in the wind.

Put the Staika up a couple of times now on windy days and most of the setup is done at ground level out of the wind.
 
Not sure July is hurricane season on Holy Island :)
 
New years eve in Snowdonia, maybe 10 years back saw mine and a mates tent flattened.
I was in a 3 man Vango, and he in a smaller/lower Lightwave geo.
About 1am the wind really got up to about 50mph. It was well setup arse into the wind, and my only concern was the soft ground or the wind swinging round to the side.
What actually happened was the wind came straight down off the mountain, flattening my tent and pinning me down for minutes at a time.
To be fair the old Equinox (proper early Scottish built Vango) did put up a fair fight for an hour or so, until the poles started to let go ripping through the pole sleeves.
It's a bad feeling when your tent fails on a stormy night, and all you can do really is drag everything in from the porch, lie on your back with feet against the roof & ride it out.
I only really use Hilleberg black label now, and the (yet to be used Staika) should shrug off just about every scenario.

But a 100mph wind? ...... Mmmmm, not too sure about it's chances there!

These days If I’m going somewhere and expect it to get a bit rough I use a Terra Nova Quasar with a second set of poles threaded through the sleeves because you’ve got 3 holes in each loop the poles fit in and they’re good quality aluminium poles that are light enough not to notice the extra weight. You just don’t get that luxury with lower spec tents.
 
These days If I’m going somewhere and expect it to get a bit rough I use a Terra Nova Quasar with a second set of poles threaded through the sleeves because you’ve got 3 holes in each loop the poles fit in and they’re good quality aluminium poles that are light enough not to notice the extra weight. You just don’t get that luxury with lower spec tents.

That's a good idea with the extra poles; a bit like routing an extra clutch cable ready for a quick swap if need be.:beerjug:
 
That's a good idea with the extra poles; a bit like routing an extra clutch cable ready for a quick swap if need be.:beerjug:

I have a Superlite Voyager by Terra Nova that I noticed had extra pole eyelets in the straps.
Hillebergs have double pole cups baked in to the design as standard. Once you make the jump, there is no going back really!

I am supremely confident I could sell my Akto for what I paid for it new in 2014 - £350.
 
I think the extra holes are so you can fight the good fight and get extra tension on the poles but I had my eyes opened to the second set of poles option by a friend who put a second set in when we were camping by the CIC hut on Ben Nevis where if it turns nasty it can be a proper tent wrecker.

I’ve actually got 3 sets because I split a pole where they push together so bought a new set then a couple of years ago I bought a new Quasar with the extended porch option but I’ve never been tempted to try and force a 3rd set in :D
 
I think the extra holes are so you can fight the good fight and get extra tension on the poles but I had my eyes opened to the second set of poles option by a friend who put a second set in when we were camping by the CIC hut on Ben Nevis where if it turns nasty it can be a proper tent wrecker.

I’ve actually got 3 sets because I split a pole where they push together so bought a new set then a couple of years ago I bought a new Quasar with the extended porch option but I’ve never been tempted to try and force a 3rd set in :D

When the alloy poles break at the Ferrell it's always at the female side; they split. I have cut off the split section with the leatherman saw; cleaned the hole up ; and the jobs been a good un;; although the pole has been a little bit shorter it's hardley noticeable. That's when the extra holes on the floor webbing come in handy.
 
Vango Nova 300
Outer first and up in 3 minutes.
I use a Nova 200
All my camping gear
Table
Chair
Sleeping bag
Bed
Pillow
Stove
Tent
Fits into one GSA pannier


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The 'Best' would be a Hilleberg Kaitum 3GT. Awesome tent but check out the lengthy tent thread on here.

An excellent tent.

That being said, there is not a huge difference between that and the Nalo 2GT, other than a little bit of height and a bit of width. Where though there is a reasonably big difference is in the packed size, the Nalo being appreciably smaller and a bit lighter.

I was able to see the two tents in action, side by side, for a month. Of the two, I preferred the Nalo, for the reasons given above. There again, both were being used as ‘one man’ tents. A Nalo 2GT with three decent sized blokes in it would be, shall we say, ‘compact’.
 


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