Couldn't resist a bargain. Just got a one man tent reduced from £19.99 down to £9.99. It's green and packs small and looks good.

Ideal luxury compared to a bivvi bag.

I lived in a cheap tent for months and I'm only replacing it because the zip went at some point, my heavy hands fault.

But this looks to be an ideal replacement.I could fit two in a squeeze so hope the new one will too.

I've just done the monthly nikwax quiz and won some tent proof so once that comes I'll give it a once over.

I spent the money saved on hobgoblin

OK I just noticed that spell check changed Aldi to also!

Just unpacked the tent will keep 2 heavy steel pegs for hard ground but the rest will be replaced with my light ones.

Material is olive green wp fly then no seeum inner with thick material base(last one was this too it keeps water out better than the thin stuff and if it holes then gaffa tape fixes to it easy).

It pitches inner first which is a blessing when it's hot and a hindrance in a monsoon!

The tent bag is a flimsy affair and will be put aside as I keep my kit in dry bags

The best bit last it packs down small and weighs sub 1.5 kgs

You get what you pay for; well at ten quid with a 3 year no quibble warranty this may just prove to be a proper bargain.

Check local Aldi stores, save money buy

Some of these no name (that I've heard of) tents can be good value. I bought one three years ago for under £20 and after a couple of nights use here my son borrowed it for a week in the Netherlands. I checked it out yesterday prior to a two week trip to France and it looks perfect. If it survives this trip I'll regard it as having paid for itself. Ok, I'd probably not use it for a winter blizzard but for summer use with the occasional thunderstorm it's fine.

I'd guess it's aimed at the festival market where loads of tents are left behind afterwards (many because it's easier to buy another one than clean them out) but it works for me and I'm happy to piggyback on that world It packs down to not much bigger than a loaf of sliced bread which is great for bike use.




Decisions Clean it out or buy another one

The juxtaposition of reporting from, say, Glastonbury always raises a smile (let's pick on that festival if only because it occurred last weekend and it is reputed to be the largest such gathering in the whole wide world).

On the one hand there is the presence of Codpiece (aka Greenpeace), Wateraid and assorted other noble causes.
Then there are the after-the-party-is-over views of the JCB-type diggers lifting bucket loads of tents into trucks for delivery to the rubbish tip.
No sense of irony ever seems to overcome the participants, the organisers, the media reporters or whoever.

__________________
Dave

Is the photo from the elephant rally?

I don't know if this tent of mine is aimed at the festival marke(it would be a tad snug)t. I'd say they have looked at what compact one man tents are out there and mass produced a cheaper version.

They supply with heavy pegs but I've heard a lot of the sub kilo tents come with toothpicks as pegs that are useless.

I'd look at this as a cheap version of a wild country for a tenth of the price

Yes, it's from the 2013 Elephant.

I can understand why the manufacturers continually strive to shave off the odd gram here and there and shout it from the rooftops when next year's marketing push is in full swing but for the type of camping I do the drawbacks are more obvious than the benefits. If you're manhauling the tent and spending the night on a flat site with benign weather then chop away - every bit you don't have to carry is to the good. But it's been a while since I last did that. If the bike is taking the weight strain I'd rather have a bit more solidity in the tent. Many of the ultra lightweights also cut the dimensions to cut the weight but I've also given up on tents that feel claustrophobic inside. If I can't sit up without hitting the walls or the top it's not for me.

We were looking at tents yesterday trying to work out what dimensions our US purchase tent should be and the fragility of some of the materials used in some tents was quite surprising. And these were not Chinese no namers, but stuff from some of the mainstream players. Groundsheets so thin that unless you're camping on a bowls green you'll puncture it might shave a few grams off but having to add a "footprint" to protect it doesn't do much for the weight. It does however do quite a bit for the retailers bank balance as it's something else to sell you now that extended warranties are out of fashion.

The groundsheet of the tent I used on the 2013 Elephant rally was of the save a few grams type - and guess what, it leaked. I don't want this to turn into more of a (mini) rant than it is but having a groundsheet made of thinner material than the flysheet doesn't strike me as the best of design decisions.

Years ago I always intended to do some winter bike rallies using a kids Wendy house as a tent but the ones I could find were too small to stretch out inside. For years I kept an eye out for the aspirational middle class Wendy house with attached garage but without much success. At least the walls etc were made of pvc so with the addition of a Poundland tarp as a groundsheet it would probably be more weatherproof than some of the ones I saw yesterday.

Couldn't agree more ultra light is fine for 1 night mountain marathons but tents need to be durable.

Love the Wendy house idea, my lads got a canvas tunnel that would be different!

I took my five year old cycle camping at the back end of September, not far just a quick overnight off road where he could pedal his own steed and enjoy a night out under the stars.

The tent packs small and thus was easily transported, its green so blended in nicely with our chosen hedgerow camping spot.

It goes up quick and easy. I got my lad off to sleep and he slept soundly, after a whisky or 2 I turned in for the night, I had to shuffle a wee bit to get comfy and not squash my son but once zipped in it was fine my legs going down the tight end of the tent and us having just enough body room at the top for a good nights sleep.

in the morning there was a fair bit of condensation and but it soon dryed out and we were both dry.

It all packed up quick and proved its £9.99 worth.

Negatives would be; the noseeum netting is a bit airy I would prefer more solid sides to keep driving wind out(would be great on hot summer nights mind). It could do with a couple more pegging points to keep the fly sheet snug at the sides to prevent previous. The overal quality is fine but the longer pole snags the top envelope when pushing it through.

Positives; Its small light and cheap, nice and roomy for 1 but holds 2 at a squeeze (1&1/2 ). I can sew on a couple more peg loops to keep the wind out. Its really low profile and green so blends in well. Oh it cost £9.99 so if it lasts 10 years then I'm more than happy.

only time will tell how it fares but I'm happy thus far.

My dad was in his trusty catspaw which is a great little tent thats no longer available!