Author Topic: Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS  (Read 12202 times)

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Offline Dracula

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« on: February 26, 2012, 10:01:14 »
I bought a Vango Tempest 3 last year, can't fault it.
Light, easy to pitch, and fits in my top box!
Perfect for 2 plus gear.
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Offline snowy

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2012, 19:02:39 »
Hi Roggo

I've used a Trangia for a years with the supplied meths burner and they work really well, you would'nt think that such a weak looking flame would produce enough heat to boil anything but the secret I think is the built in wind-shield. The only drawback for me is you need a large amount = heavy liquid for a long trip, so I got a gas conversion for it which is a lot more efficient,the gas canister  last for ages and is a lot, lot  lighter then the equivalent meths.

http://www.alloutdoor.co.uk/stoves-cook ... -gb74-.htm

So I would recommend the gas burner for motorcycling, expensive but they fetch a very good price secondhand on ebay. :thumb:

Offline Juvecu

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2012, 22:09:49 »
I have a Vango Milano 3, it's 3 man tent with a porch and is the one I use for going away for more than just a weekend. The extra space on longer stays is great, the porch is lovely to put all your gear and panniers and stuff in. It's one of those you can put up the outer first if it's raining. The groundsheet is attached to the inner sleeping dome thing and that then attaches to the outer. One nice feature is that you can leave it all attached to make putting it up and taking it down quicker. It uses 3 poles and packs up small enough to go on the be bike. It's also the one I would use if my wife goes along as she wouldn't sleep in my smaller tent.

The smaller tent is an Easy Camp Shadow 200, superb cheap 2 man tent. I wouldn't sleep 2 people in it though, I like my space, it's perfect for one person + bike kit and has a little porch too. Also one that goes up outer first in the rain and the inner dome and groundsheet is also together. I leave them all assembled, goes up and down in a jiffy. Uses 2 poles of the same lenght and doesn't even need ropes unless the wind is terrible (very stable with just the pegs.) Packs up nice and small and weighs 3.7kg (I think?) If he's looking for another brand to stock then Easy Camp might be worth a look.

If he's stocking Vango, they make a little stove that is ace, it's called the Vango Folding Gas Stove. Here's a link to a page with a pic and details. Can't do much better for £20 than that :thumb:

If I was going to start a business like that I would read some bike mags that often do reviews on kit like the things he is planning to sell. It should give him a good idea of what people would be looking for. Adventure Bike Rider and Motorcycle Monthly comes to mind. ABR digital subscription is £20 or so and you can read all the back issues. MCM is free to read online and you can read a lot of back issues too. Another mag that do reviews that I might trust a bit is Ride.
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Offline Locky

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2012, 22:29:19 »
+1 on the little Vango stove , I'm on my second one . Somehow I lost the first when I went fishing ! It packs up very small into its own box and for £20 you can't go wrong ..

Offline chrishassell59

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2012, 20:29:27 »
Quote from: "Locksmith"
+1 on the little Vango stove , I'm on my second one . Somehow I lost the first when I went fishing ! It packs up very small into its own box and for £20 you can't go wrong ..
What size of gas cannister will this take?
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Offline Juvecu

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #5 on: February 27, 2012, 20:39:27 »
It uses any butane/propane gas canister that is the screw type. See the links below.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calor-colem ... ll-p118470
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calor-colem ... ll-p118472
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Offline Locky

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #6 on: February 27, 2012, 20:46:09 »
It uses these , they come in a couple different sizes http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/COLEMAN-C250- ... 0777400391

Offline Gassoon

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2012, 09:06:56 »
Roggo, I use a Vango omega 250 - very light, alloy poles good hydrostatic head etc, big porch, outer pitch first or all-in-one. Good kit. room for two at a pinch. But there's a range of needs for bikers eg, with the wife as pillion we use a much bigger tent with a sealed-in porch, one you can sit up in on  a campchair...weight matters only up to a point on many trips.

If you go on this forum to 'Oily Rag'  and  'Clothing/accessories'  and type Tent into the search box, you'll find loads of stuff... :thumb:
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Offline Juvecu

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2012, 10:58:58 »
Seems a common theme is having a bit of extra space in the tent and a porch for storing things :)
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Offline haughek

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2012, 11:39:51 »
I bought a Vango Zetes 300, its gor loads of room and only £55.00 :auto-dirtbike:

Offline Fatbelly

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2012, 12:54:15 »
It's a reasonable idea, hope your friend gets up and running. I have lost count of the times I have said to camping shop people "I ride a motorcycle, I don't need light, I need small".

Offline neltek

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #11 on: March 04, 2012, 20:53:52 »
Think I'm a bit behind here - I've used a Eurohike Avon on my European trips.
Fits across back seat between panniers.  Mainly due to being £25 from Milletts.
Has large sleeping pod with attached groundsheet that hooks onto porch.
Porch is large to accommodate panniers and 2 large blokes and a stove!
Only issue was side door that lets lots of water fall on your head if it's raining.

new tent - euro hike avon by neltek, on Flickr

I have a Khyam Igloo but haven't used this as no porch.
Khyam stuff seems good quality - my Igloo is 24 years old now and still going.

As far as the online shop - I guess he is all sorted but if he has problems I run my own web design business and am happy for him to come chat.

cheers
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Offline matchless

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #12 on: March 07, 2012, 08:09:31 »
I use a Vango foldaway type stove and very good it is too,but if you are going to the continent take enough gas for the trip, screw thread canisters are not in common use and can be very difficult to find.
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Offline Dracula

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #13 on: March 14, 2012, 20:52:26 »
Might go for a couple of silk inners.
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Offline Fatbelly

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #14 on: March 21, 2012, 18:44:37 »
Silk liners are easily washable and small and light - but they give no appreciable extra warmth. Fleece liners roll very small and are nice & cosy.

Offline Orinoco

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #15 on: March 26, 2012, 17:42:39 »
Love my silk liner, makes a 3 season bag very toasty and if hot will just sleep in the liner - especially as my Berghaus bag has some nasty fleecy type stuff at the footsie end which catches my pinkies  :shy:

Good luck with the venture, I've often thought about doing something similar, but that's as far as it's ever got!

Needs to get in on some of the bigger rallies - have a look at the MAG site and see what's coming up to demo stuff
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Offline Fatbelly

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #16 on: April 05, 2012, 11:27:23 »
Best of luck with it, I look forward to watching your website grow.

Might I suggest you put a pack size on the sleeping bags? It would be helpful.

Offline Juvecu

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #17 on: April 05, 2012, 11:41:35 »
Please understand that I mean absolutely no offense with the below. I'm just pointing out a few things I noticed with a quick look around it and that I think should be mentioned because you might not have thought of it this way. You can ignore me on take this on board and make improvements, it's your business after all.

I'd hate to criticise :liar: , but I have to comment on how 'home made' the website looks. I haven't designed pages in years and I'm sure I could knock up something more professional looking with in a day or two with pictures that can be enlarged/zoomed into, more info on each item, easier to navigate and with a more unified look. The product range is very sparse and the stuff that is on there seems to cover more of the top end of the price range rather than a spread of it to cater for the different budgets potential customers might have. It's all about how professional a web page looks, even if the prices are good a lot of people won't buy if it feels 'backyard run', if you know what I mean? If I found the site via Google I'd give it a quick look and probably see if I can find the items I liked from a more professional looking site. I understand that you might be super professional behind the scenes, but the only thing the customer has to go by is their feeling of the web page they see. Maybe I'm more 'sensitive' to this because I used to design pages, but I certainly don't think I am the only one here that has thought of the page that way (even if it was only sub consciously), I may just be the only one to mention it. I've looked at the web page more than once after each 'update' you posted and it's never caught my attention enough for me to even bookmark it.

If you want to do something about it, contact "neltek" on here, IIRC he designs pages and could help you out (there are probably a bunch of others on here that designs too.) That first impression is important, spending a few quid on getting it right from the start could be the difference between a successful online business and one that ends in a loss.
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Offline neltek

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #18 on: April 05, 2012, 13:49:14 »
Juv you sure do remember correctly  - I run a web design business.

Just trying to not promote my personal business too much here - but happy to be contacted and can provide details and prices if people are interested in my services.

Thanks for the mention.
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Offline Fatbelly

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Re: TENTS & SLEEPING BAGS
« Reply #19 on: April 05, 2012, 23:17:12 »
Please forgive our friend Juvecu, he has a bad habit of telling the truth.

PS this is a biking tent - note the pack size & price
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/t3-ultralight-pro-tent-id_6541067.html