What I bought
 

Having started this thread I suppose I should reveal what I bough in the end. I chose an Exped Orion which is a two man tent with two porches. It comes highly recommended by many on the HUBB and I hope it will serve me well over the years. It's expensive but I'm going to be asking a lot of it when I start my travels. I bought it from Travel-Dri, who must be one of the most customer focused UK companies you will ver find. Its first use will be at Ripley - maybe I'll see some of you there.
Thanks for all the helpful opinions ad comments
Geoff

anybody else wants a tent consider all year rounder husky fighter 3 , around 200 euros , guys on himlayas use it a lot and swear on it

got the orginal Bibler I tent .. very_stable tent .. have camped out in 95+ mph winds with no problems. properly guided out of course.

minimal condensation, under extreme cold condition like 10f degree. your breath will condensate on inside of any tent.

main drawback to my Bibler four season tent is lack of ventilation for hot weather camping. that and weight .. it's too heavy for a two man tents. weight has been solved in the Black Diamond version which is one of the lightest two man tents available anywhere. much lighter fabric than the original Bibler design. but add vestibule for outside storage and weight goes back up to two layer tent range.

tent technology has really advanced since days of Bibler's first tents. thank goodness trickle down technology has made requirement of spending BIG $$$ to get a world class tent .. no longer valid.

my suggestion is focus on getting a light 3 season free standing tent that will easily survive 95+ mph winds. a two layer tent with LOTS of mesh to allow comfortable camping during 90f+ degree camping. while allowing cold weather camping down to 10F degrees.

choice available for USA are completely different for Europe.
here in America ... first stop would be a close out specialist, online store.

fact is most any high end, state of the art tent will meet or exceed your requirements. main problem is cost for these type tents.

state of the art for tents occurred years ago... sure minor improvement goes on every year. but tents that are a few years old are not that different from current models.... except for price $$$.

one can save 50%+ by knowing where and what models to shop for.
let's start with Sierra outfitters... since only what models are available counts. it's next to useless recommending models... only brands.

Tents up to 56% off at Sierra Trading Post

for instance this Marmot two person/3 season tent is available for $171 USD. very stable free standing light weight design. using the well known tactic of only buying a two man tent for one. 3 man tent for two...etc.


http://i.stpost.com/marmot-ajax-2-te...v_01%7E340.jpg
here's a pic of a true 4 season Bibler tent. if you remove vestibules, notice outline is nearly identical to Marmot tent above. properly guided out, both will easily survive 95+ mph winds. both use two long aluminum poles crossed forming a free standing dome.

naturally a true 4 season tent will have a huge advantage in truly nasty conditions like howling snow at say -10f degree below zero. that same advantage turns into a liability camping out in say 90f degree HOT conditions. where one needs as much venting as possible.

most any state of the art two layer, 3 season, free standing tent will easily survive high winds, 90f+ temps and allow camping down to 10f degree. which should cover just about any bike trip.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...mpest_side.jpg

A mountain tent is overkill for bike camping and unnecessarily expensive.

On the face of it I'd agree. Not only are they more expensive but they're bulkier and heavier as well. Here's a picture comparison between two of mine, an "old skool" mountaineering tent and a recently bought (2010) cheap and cheerful festival type tent. Both are two man capacity with similar amounts of porch storage.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r.../_DSC5040s.jpg


The top one weighs in at around seven kilos. That's well over twice the weight of the bottom one and it feels like it when you pick them up.

So why do I bother with the heavy, bulky one? Partly it's because when the weather takes a turn for the worst I know it's going to survive. I've spent many days inside it sheltering from thunderstorms and nights where I'm not worried about non stop rain and / or high winds because I know it's not going to leak or blow down. It's over 20yrs old now without any real sign of decay so I'm still happy to use it regularly. Having that confidence in the tent does make for relaxing nights - it does for me anyway.

It also makes the cost per year a lot more acceptable. I'm not a gear junky and I'm not really bothered whether I have this years model or not. When I buy something it tends to get used until it falls apart and then replaced. The high initial purchase price can be painful but spread over 20+yrs (or in the case of my Vango Force 10 nearly 40yrs) it represents a lower cost per year than the smaller one above. That's only a couple of years old but already it's showing signs of wear despite only being used for dry(ish) summer nights. I'd guess another couple of years and that'll be it for that tent. I've no problems with it though, it was cheap and on hot nights it's better ventilated than the heavyweight ones. It's when the weather turns nasty that the overspecced tents earn their keep. I've been flooded out of enough campsites over the years to value the extra weather resistance that mountaineering tents incorporate.

I must say, Back, that I can't see past the Khyam tents. For bike travel I think they are fantastic. Now on sale at 30£ reduced from 70£. But till you said you weren't a gear junkie, I didnt mention this tent because I know that there are some (not on this thread) who think that dearer means better. And the Khyam is suitable for purpose, unlike a mountain tent for biketravel needs. But people want sophisticated tents so .........

I have an Exped venus II tent. Quite expensive was it. Used it in my M/C trip to Europe in May-June.

For such expensive tent, it kept me cold inside though lightweight and easy to set up and down.

I don't agree with Caminando "A mountain tent is overkill for bike camping and unnecessarily expensive.". If you have harsh and strong weather, good equipment is must.

My Exped tent is for summer only.

Next time I will take a mountain tent even for spring rides.

If any one is still looking......You wont go far wrong with the vango spirit 200. 2.5kg's, sleeps 2 comfortably and shed loads of porch space. I've had the same one for about 4 years and stilll going strong. infact i had it up last week in torrential north wales rain and strong winds without any probs at all. half the price ( £240) of my previous terra nova and just as good, if not better!

Size matters!
 

I did the usual thing of getting a 2-man tent for solo travel. Mine was a cheap-as-chips Eurohike in a Milletts sale - under £20. It was a two-man tent if the two men were each 9 stone and very good friends. I am 15 stone and it fitted so closely that my Danish friends called it my 'condom'.

So the next tent I went for was a Vango Beta 350 (similar design to Touring Ted's Omega 350 but I would guess lower quality). Ebay, one season's use, £38. This is a three-man tent (after my experience with the Eurohike) and I could have parties in there! It's huge - possibly too big for solo trips. The porch is great though and takes all my bike gear, plus it is high enough for me to sit upright in a camping chair. The sleeping area can take a double airbed if necessary. It's a very nice tent, and well made. I carry it strapped across the seat, so I can't comment if the poles will fit into panniers or not. Never let me down, so I would say a big +1 for Vango.

Redverz tent
 

Hi
Good info about tents -Thanks!

I have read the advertising blurb about the Redverz II tent and it seems ideal for a long adv trip, if a little heavy perhaps. Not seen much feedback from actual users though. Has anyone used these tents in some hectic weather and how did it perform generally??c?

This is going to be a two sided reply:

a) I wonder if that tent gives extra peace of mind since your bike doesn't get wet when it rains outside, otherwise I can't see the point of parking your GS, sorry, motorcycle, inside the tent (lapsus, I said GS because their add shows a 1200 GS). Well, unless you are not willing at all to cannot change habits of parking everyday in an underground parking. However, I know nothing about the tent apart from the pictures, but just how I see it [in reply a)], but happy to learn why the concept is so good (and I'm just wrong).

b) If you are interested in the tent, I've got friends who have a brand new one, never used, for sale. I can give you their contact details (live in London). It's an excellent high quality and great value tent, great to protect yourself and your bike from weather and theft, especially 2nd hand never used ones at a great price [reply b) helping friends approach].

Esteban

Hi Esteban
 

Thanks for your thoughts.

Actually I have a KLR:innocent:

I can see the benefit of having place/space to work on the motorcycle during poor weather. I lived in a two man tent for 9 months while hitch-hiking through Europe many years ago and can still remember the space problems for kit especially if the weather turned bad.:thumbdown:

Thanks for the second hand offer, I plan to spend about 18 months on the road starting mid 2014 so am not in any hurry to purchase but am getting good quality gear together to make this a memorable trip.

I am concerned particularly with the possibility of problems during high winds with the Redverz tent being so "tall".

That's a nice bike... and a good reason for the tent in your case, so no more objections (and prejudices... :innocent:) from my side.

Just a thought if I have to forecast the situation: it's imperative to work on the bike no matter the weather (visa deadline, ferry, tight schedule, etc), it's probably late (night?), so have to use a torch, it rains outside and the porche is probably a little damp, and there is no better place to stay and/to work on the bike... how many times will you have those factors to justify such a big thing ? Just a thought, maybe it's just better to work inside due to the wind and dust in the steppe, so I cannot say. If it's right for you, just go ahead, it's a personal thing (and it's not only to polish the chromes :D) . No idea about the wind...

Have a great trip and enjoy the preparation stage,

Esteban

small tents?
 

I'm surprised to see most of the recommendations are for rather bulky 2 and 3 man tents. what happened to 'less is more' !

I'm with Camiando on this one - '4 season' capability seems absolutely unnecessary and adds weight, bulk, and expense. I've been through torrents in this thing and stayed dry!:
http://www.zpacks.com/images/shelter...ue_front_m.jpg


Cheaper seems better as there are plenty of opportunities for damage or loss - I once had thieves slice thru a tent wall with a razor blade in Morocco while I was asleep.

For bike travel I got one of these for $100 on Ebay:
REI Quarter Dome T1 Tent - Free Shipping at REI.com

meets these criteria: relatively cheap, light, freestanding (as Ta-Rider recommended), simple to set up (two poles), gear fits in the vestibule, packs super small, and keeps me dry..

Small is better :)

Courtesy of Aerostich, curiously out of stock ;)