Weight of tents.

This morning I ventured into the depths of our roof space and came down with two more tents to have a look at.

The first to go up was a Vango Banshee 300 which has plenty of space inside but next to nothing in the way of a porch on one side and absolutely zero on the other. Great if it’s guaranteed not to rain and your bike kit can be brought into the tent but that’s a big risk to take and I wouldn’t want water running from my bike kit onto the floor where it would eventually get onto my down sleeping bag.

The second was a Vango Chinook 200 which is a lot smaller inside with just about enough room to spread a few things out next to the sleeping bag but two decent sized porches where wet kit, boots and luggage could be kept. Probably much better in damp conditions but you wouldn’t want to sleep two in there even though it’s supposed to be a two man tent.

Both are what I’d describe as slightly above the ‘budget’ market and I’m confident both would take a hammering from wind and rain without leaking. Both pitch with the inner and outer joined so less chance of getting the living space wet while pitching in heavy rain.

I’m now left with a decision to make regarding my imminent holiday where I can take either of these tents or go back to the trusted Terra Nova Quasar which has plenty of external storage because I’ve got the extended flysheet but it pitches inner first which I can deal with when pitching it but packing up has a high chance of getting the inner wet.

There’s also the left field option of the Gore Tex bivvy tent with a tarp and mainly use it for wild camping where I can pitch it under trees and erect the tarp in a useful position. It’s not that stupid an idea because of the small pack size, quick pitch time, small footprint and it’s less than half the weight of anything else I own. Using any of the others excludes a tarp because tent and sleeping kit have to fit into a 40l bag.

I don’t help myself :blast
 
Total disaster - I was idly looking at the Go Outdoors website and they do an add on gear store for the Banshee 300 so I couldn’t resist ordering one. I might have to scale down on the sleeping bag rating so everything still fits in the one bag but I can always wear my merino wool kit when I go to bed if it’s a bit chilly :D
 
Well it arrived this morning and it gives a decent increase on the amount of available storage space under a covered area so that’s good. A tarp is much more universal but the one I have is just that little bit too bulky so unless I go away from my basic requirement of being able to get everything including a decent sleeping bag into a 40l bag this is what I’ll be taking on my next trip.
 
I've recently bought a Vango Omega 350 for my motorcycling camping after getting annoyed having to get into a tent on my hands and knees in bike gear.

The tent packs down really well and is reasonably light. You can walk into it, bent slightly, but you have room to take off any wet clothes and get changed without having to get into the sleeping area of the tent.

So far I'm really impressed with it. May be worth a look.

https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/tents/2013-omega-350.html

Worth shopping around, there are good deals to be had.
 
we went with a Wild Country Etesian 4

packs down to the same size as my old khyam Biker and weighs 6kg but has loads more room and I can just about stand up in it (I'm 6'3")

for camping trips on the bike it's been great
 
we went with a Wild Country Etesian 4

packs down to the same size as my old khyam Biker and weighs 6kg but has loads more room and I can just about stand up in it (I'm 6'3")

for camping trips on the bike it's been great

The eureka Sphinx 3+BTC I just bought is around 9.5kgs. It is all cotton so that is where the weight is. It is bloody big though but, it is more suited to rally / UK short trips than a continental tour were lightness is a major factor for one person plus all other essentials.
Got it for£200 and looks fairly new.


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The eureka Sphinx 3+BTC I just bought is around 9.5kgs. It is all cotton so that is where the weight is. It is bloody big though but, it is more suited to rally / UK short trips than a continental tour were lightness is a major factor for one person plus all other essentials.
Got it for£200 and looks fairly new.


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I like the look of that and for £200 it’s a bargain. The pack size would put me off a bit but I’d make sacrifices in the case of this tent.
 
We've just used this
I've recently bought a Vango Omega 350 for my motorcycling camping after getting annoyed having to get into a tent on my hands and knees in bike gear.

The tent packs down really well and is reasonably light. You can walk into it, bent slightly, but you have room to take off any wet clothes and get changed without having to get into the sleeping area of the tent.

So far I'm really impressed with it. May be worth a look.

https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/tents/2013-omega-350.html

Worth shopping around, there are good deals to be had.
We had the Vango, it's my third just keep getting bigger. The front is really useful for falling in backwards and pulling clothes off. Especially if wet. Also enough room to store all panniers and roll bags. Tents super quick to be put up.

However we tended to just use a self made tarp and hook it to the bike if it was going to drizzle. 2 months in Portugal Spain and Gibraltar! Just got to be gone before the police do the rounds...

Hammocks would be what to go for next.
48fa651ea92b2a27ce25b4b998e35c0f.jpg
9f121f3715206221311f68b0bbe022aa.jpg


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Mr. T,
That tent is big for the price but, would not rely on it for long term use or for camping in the middle of winter.
Tents go from £100 to £1,000 depending on what you want to spend. Need it for and life expectancy.

I still remember well in my teens the time I went to the St NIck rally in Oostende, December with my tent and sleeping bag from Woolies. Ice and cold winds ensured I did not sleep well at all.


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I did the st nick many times myself. It was indeed bloody freezing. Sometimes so much so we couldn't even get the pegs in the ground. At least the bars stayed open late. And tuckshop I'd love to see you fit 5 people in that tent with all their gear. My biker plus is 1 meter narrower than that and it's be a tight fit with 2 in it. It's just about right on my own.
 
I've got a redverz solo used it a few times expesive but nice to be able to stand up easy to put up on your own
id recommend it
 
I did the st nick many times myself. It was indeed bloody freezing. Sometimes so much so we couldn't even get the pegs in the ground. At least the bars stayed open late. And tuckshop I'd love to see you fit 5 people in that tent with all their gear. My biker plus is 1 meter narrower than that and it's be a tight fit with 2 in it. It's just about right on my own.

Wotcha Gaz, :lol I have no intention of having any more than me and possibly one other and at a push 3 persons for a night or 2 at max. Mostly it will be just me.
Off to Wales on Thursday 30th with MrMover and Acid Bob, each have their own tents.
 
Wotcha Gaz, :lol I have no intention of having any more than me and possibly one other and at a push 3 persons for a night or 2 at max. Mostly it will be just me.
Off to Wales on Thursday 30th with MrMover and Acid Bob, each have their own tents.

Yeah I'd guessed that Ted, it was more a comment on them calling it a 5 man tent :laugh
Say hello to the guys for me,
 


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