Tents

[Juvecu]

Let's get this new section started then

Which tent do you use when you go camping alone on your bike and why?

I have a EasyCamp Shadow 200. It's 2 man tunnel type tent with a little porch. Only uses 2 same length poles and has an outer that you can put up first and then an inner sleeping compartment that ties to the outer. Being able to put up the outer first when it's raining is good because the inner then doesn't get wet. That said, I put up the outer first only the first time I pitched it, after that I took it down together and I've always just put it up again like that. It's a lot less faff doing it that way, it saves pitching time and taking down time. The sleeping compartment has a good sized door that zips open and has a 2nd flap that can zip down so the whole door is mesh. Presumably this is for use in really hot weather, but we are in the UK and we don't really know what that's like. Still, I might use it in Morocco some day and then I'll be glad it has this feature. The little porch at the front of the tent is great. It's not big enough that you can sit in it and cook when it's raining, but it's big enough to put your boots and/or helmet in so they don't get wet during the night. Because of the porch I never have my shoes inside the tent either and I also leave cooking equipment and other things like my flask in the porch. Other than the porch another good thing about this tent is that you can pitch it with only tent pegs in all by the strongest winds. I've only ever used the guy ropes twice in all the time I've had it, the rest of the time it's been pitched without ropes. This is another time saver when you're pitching/taking it down. It's also good in the sense that you/other people don't trip over the ropes, particularly when you're a bit cold in the middle of the night looking for a hedge/bush to let water into. It's also a very easy tent to put up and take down by yourself. It's a cheap tent to buy, I think I paid £50 or so for it and I've had it for a few years now. With all those pros I think it only has one con, it doesn't pack up as small as some 2 man tents can and isn't as light as some can be, but you'd have to pay a whole lot more to find something this good that's smaller and lighter. Even so, it still fits in my Givi 55 litre top box without a squeeze.

Here's a vid that shows you what it looks like:



In addition to the tent I now also have a tarp and a pole that I can erect to have a 'roofed' area where I can cook if it rains. I put the tarp up so it's over the tent's porch.

[Retraite]

I now use a Kyham Freerider



First erection and not fully pegged down for this trial run.


Ticks all my boxes.

I can walk into it
I can stand up in it (just) to get dressed etc, I'm too old to get dressed lying down.
Good-sized bedroom
Nice area to sit if its raining
Packs down to a reasonable size given the dimensions of it
Very well made

I could probably get most of my bike in there at a pinch  

[Frenchie]

After a day's riding, especially if it's cold or wet I didn't want to spend time putting up a tent so I bought one of these.  It's not the biggest but there's enough room for me and my clean dry clothes.  The only downside is the lack of a porch area but I have a tarp I put over the bike and peg out under which wet gear can hang.

[PHIL FAT]

can not post a picture but I use a hotel tent nice hot bath tv  tea and coffee nice soft bed and beer in the bar  ah bliss

[Brockett]

Hello Phil,
That sounds great but do you have to move the bed to make room for the tent and do they mind it when you bang tent pegs through the carpet into the floor?

[Jacko]

I use a Coleman Cobra 2, small, light and easy to use. Two poles of very different lengths, pitches in one, or outer first, I always leave them together. Well made and has never let me down, even in Scotland. I have bought an adventure tarp to compliment it, it has no usable porch area so this is a welcome addition, also, I don't have to pitch it if rain isn't forecast, saving time. It packs down so small I could push it down the front of my jacket. Top tent.

[Locky]

Did you have it down the front of your jacket last week ?

[Jacko]

I carry it everywhere, you just never know... ;)

[Fat Rat]

It would be useful to see some of these tents packed up. I know some fit in Panniers and others need a Scaffold Board  

[PHIL FAT]

brockett the only problem I have is when toastin marshmallows the fire alarm goes off other than that I am dry warm and cosy

[Brockett]

Tut tut.

You tough northerners.

I don't know.

[trailguru]

Vango Omega 250 4Kg two-man tent (£190 RRP, can be had for <£150)

I'd used a diminutive 2Kg 2-man tent in the past but it's a bit bijou with me an the panniers so I bought this Vango and used it on a two-week tour in France.  This model was shortlisted from about a dozen I checked out and has proven ideal for the job; in fact luxuriously roomy compared to what I had been using.

Take a look at the specs and 'pics in use' (apols for the quality, they're phone snaps).






I bought it from Taunton Leisure who run a special tent display over the summer near the Weston-Super-Mare M5 junction.  You can see the tents erected and they'll put up any tent not on display providing they're not too busy.

[PHIL FAT]

sorry just can't see the fun in riding somewhere pitching a tent in a field in the rain getting wet and cold and having to cook meals on a little gas stove oh the joy   still can't beat a nice hotel or b&b warm dry and not sleeping on the floor  ah bliss and getting up the next morning to a nice hot cooked breakfast now that's camping

[Firestorm]

+1 for the Vango Omega 250. Its what I used for the Elefant and dragon earlier in the year. Cracking tent

[Brockett]

I bought a Vango Omega 350 for this year.

The groundsheet material is no bloody good whatsoever and it sucks up water like a sponge
 Everything that touched to floor got wet.

Easy to put up and being a three person tent it is just about big enough for me with my biking gear and boxes etc.

I will use it again but I'll need to fit it out with a proper waterproof ground sheet  first.

Go outdoors is selling them for about £136 at present, but I don't recommend it.

Best buy for this year was an inflatable chair but don't sit on it to cook.

[John]

Get a 'footprint', or make your own.

[Rusty Nuts]

Vango  Omega 350 for me too. Groundsheet surprisingly thin. But have their footprint sps  also. Bone dry after a week in the lakes in June. Khyam  for one night or weekend stops. Either it's getting smaller or I'm getting older!

[Chris D'Pirate]

I used my Vango Blade 100 on my europe trip.

Fits in a standard pannier, fits me tank back and my all weather gear should I need to, boots and camping stove in the wee porch area and that's was good enough. Fine for a few days, or if your in between places, but as I was in Europe hostels were cheap, secure, hot showers and you could park the bike somewhere near the city centre without too much attention.

[ziggy]

sorry just can't see the fun in riding somewhere pitching a tent in a field in the rain getting wet and cold and having to cook meals on a little gas stove oh the joy   still can't beat a nice hotel or B&B warm dry and not sleeping on the floor  ah bliss and getting up the next morning to a nice hot cooked breakfast now that's camping

I'm with Phil.

 

[Jacko]

Camping gives you something you can't get with hotels and B&Bs, freedom. Self sufficiency is worth more to some folk than sleeping 18" off the ground, and as long as you're warm and dry what does it matter where your body lies when you're asleep? You don't remember it...

Carrying everything you need and stopping where and when you like while touring the highlands is worth more to me than the £40+ a night saved on B&B fees. Some folk just don't get it, and that's fine, but I feel sorry for them.