Hey everyone

so loving the f800gs so far planning on doing Scotland and camping an trying to work out what tent to get seen a few of the put the bike in ones the lonerider an the Redverz.

Just wondering does anyone have any real world experience

other option I was thinking off is a tent that would go into a set of vario panniers

say something like one of the MSR tents.

has anyone used one of these an have any comments a few people have said the taller tents can really suffer in the wind

could do with something that'l fit dad in as he might come on some trips on his gsx-r

thanks in advance

For me the big upside of the sleep with your bike tents like the Redverz Atacama is that if you put the bike outside you have a whole load of storage or living space. If you're camping in the rain that means you can put everything except the bike under cover.

The downside (apart from the cost!) for me would be that they are both tall and of tunnel design. That shouts out 'wobbly' in high winds. Every largish (3 person size and up) tunnel tent I've owned has flexed and distorted in windy conditions to an extent that I found unsettling despite guy lines tied to everything I can find.

I've never had one actually collapse but worrying that the next gust driven flex might be the one that does it has kept me awake. The smaller ones - 1 or 2 man size - are ok (I still have a small Robens tunnel) but it seems to be a design that doesn't scale well.

Just remember big tents are cold as there is a bigger space to warm up. We compromise with a tent that is just tall enough to sit in on our chairs. I think the advantage of a tall tent is being able to get trousers on without having to bend down.

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https://fernsforays.wordpress.com/

I want a tent that I know will be dry and stable under the worst conditions- that is my number one requirement.


When your tent gets thrashed to the ground in a howling storm some dark, cold night and you have to crawl out in your underwear to salvage your gear and keep it from blowing away - then you will understand what I am saying.

For me, I go with a light and small backpacker's tent. Something that has proven itself under terrible conditions and is strong, reliable, and hugs the ground in the wind.



No amount of convenience and comfort under good weather conditions is worth tent failure when it gets bad. And it can get very bad sometimes.

Go to a mountaineering/backpacking shop for advice.

............shu

I am also in the market for a new tent. Have worn out a backpacking dome tent, and am considering the Reverz for reasons stated in earlier post, but have concerns about it in wind as stated in another post. Anyone have real world experience with the Atacama in windy (think Patagonia) conditions?


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if traveling solo, I would go with small and light, lighweight 1 or 2 man tents for backpacking are ideal and sit low so that they are less obvious if you are trying to blend into your surroundings espicially when rough camping.

If you are traveling with someone else then a 2 - 3 man tent provides more room and comfort and you can always split the load if traveling with 2 or more bikes.

Kyham biker is an easy to use comfortable tent but again as others have said they are not the best in very windy conbditions and definatly not small pack size or lightweight.

Like most things unless you want to buy 2 tenst your going to have to comprimise somewhere comfort versus lightweight and low bulk.

I'd always go with subtle greens for the flysheet as if you park the bike behind the tent in front of a hedge you become almost invisible.

Necroposting seems to be rising from the dead again recently. It's about time we had another discusion on tents though. Anyone found one with a virus filter built in?

Give them time someone will come up with a new design that claims to filter out 99.9% of all viruses - sadly they won’t say what type of virus the 0.1% that they let through are.

I am looking for a new tent at some point but in the meantime I will be lugging my daughter’s Duke of Edinburgh tent around - it works, it is complete and it is big enough. It isn’t very light but it will be fine as I won’t have a pillion when I use it so freeing up space and weight.

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You will have to do without pocket handkerchiefs, and a great many other things, before we reach our journey's end, Bilbo Baggins. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you. The world is ahead.

Part of the tent discussion, for me, is also about how much it will be used. Are you a weekend warrior or going for months. In my case I'll virtually be living in the tent, thus having enough room to be comfortable and being able to work is important.

The weak part of a tent, most prone to failure seems to me to be zippers. I REALLY like the idea of parking my bike in the tent and having a place to work on it and keep it out of sight.

I am also concerned about this height and the wind. Maybe extra strong tie downs? I've been in major storms in a tent and don't want to be out there in underwear chasing flying gear...

So the lonerider an the Redverz are at the top of my list, but I can't see one before purchase to check out the zippers. Their weight is also an issue. Cost, maybe save a lot in hotel fees if the tent really works out.

No matter what - there will be a compromise. Weight, vs space vs height vs cost. I wish an actual user of these motorcycle tents would post about their real world experiences.

Are zips really a weak spot? I must have had over 20 tents (still have 8 or 9) of all sorts over the last 50yrs and I can't remember a single one suffering zip failure. Plenty of rips and delaminations, one I binned when the groundsheet went porous and another I (deliberately) set fire to when I got totally and utterly p*ssed off with it, but no zip failures. Maybe I've been lucky or just gentle with the zips but they wouldn't be top of my concern list.

I'm not a great fan of park your bike in the vestibule tents. It's probably just me but I've always parked the bike far enough from the tent that if it goes over (or anything else happens) it doesn't take me with it. The occasional advantage of being able to work on it under shelter doesn't outweigh that. If I have to have a tent like that I'd use the space for storage / eating etc but tbh the designs I've seen don't look like they'd be that stable in cross winds. A big, empty (now that I've thrown the bike out) area of 'canvas' flapping and bending at 2.00am would have me lying awake worrying rather than sleeping peacefully. I have a family tent like that and no matter how many extra guy lines you add it still flexes alarmingly.

Buy a tent one or two sizes up from the number of people using it, and with an internal height of at least 125cm for long term usage (so you can sit in it). Leave the bike parked at least one bike height away - upwind if it's stormy, downwind if it's still.

Having had a bike fall over while sleeping, and seen one land ON a tent, and know many that have fallen over in soft ground or been blown over, I totally agree with backofbeyond - no way do I want a bike near me.

What drives me crazy is the ads all show the bike nicely parked on the center stand in the "vestibule" - seems like there could be a liability issue there if one falls over - and lands on your head.

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Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Hello

Zips wear out, all of them at one point.
On high quality tents it's the first thing that fails, depending on how often it's opend per day, after the one year mark (365 nights of use), zips become a problem.
Some sooner some later.

sushi

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I've had zippers fail a couple of times on tents, more often on jackets. To predict that "it's the first thing that fails" seems a bit glib, since other stuff also commonly fails--less often on high quality tents or other gear, but often enough to take note.

To some extent, points of failure will depend on use. Pitch a tent in high-altitude or polar sun for a season and most fabrics will weaken considerably due to UV. I've had a perfectly good tent turn to shredded mess during it's first storm after a summer in the arctic. Urethane coatings start to flake and smell after a while, and this seems a function of time, not usage. There are brand differences, too: my personal experience has been that anything made by The North Face will suffer zipper failure long before it ought to--jackets, pants, tents, backpacks, you name it. Of course, I swore not to buy anything they make after a long string of failures, so maybe that's no longer true.

Tent manufacturers (and makers of zippers) say that we should all be routinely cleaning and lubricating zippers, and that this will prolong their lives. Rubbing on candle wax was the old fashioned method--silicone spray is sometimes suggested, too. I sure don't do this, but it seems reasonable. But even without tender loving care, I've got several tents with more than 365 days of use (spread out over 15 years and longer) with flawless zippers.

I'm sure zips fail (the one on my down jacket has just gone, much to my annoyance at the start of winter) but it's not been my experience that tent zips are a particular weak point, even after really long term usage. The tent in the picture below is a Vango Force10. The picture was taken in a windstorm (that pulled the pegs out) on the coast of Greece in 1971 so the tent is now just under 50yrs old. It's been used a lot right up to the present day, and almost certainly has considerably more than 365 days on the clock. I have another one dating from 1975 that's also still in regular use. Neither of them have had zip problems - UV damage to the fabric, yes, delamination of the (1975 version) nylon flysheet, yes, bent and broken poles, holes in the groundsheet, stitching issues - all of those and probably some other things I can't remember but not zips. I'm not saying that zips never fail but as part of a tent they've been no better, no worse than the rest.




I don't doubt that other people's experiences might be different but there are worse things that can happen to a tent than a zip failing. With a bit of ingenuity you can usually fasten the sides together somehow - string, clothespegs, velcro or whatever.

Having said that I'll probably now be hit by a spate of zip failures next time I dig any of the tents out.

Thanks everyone really apreciate the replies and sorry for the crazily slow response had to let the f800 go an life got in the way but finally starting to plan some bike trips on a 2010 bonnie. That's a good point about the bike in the tent ones never thought of that to be honest! I'm hoping to do Scotland soon an heard the wind can really whip up at points.

Has anyone used any of the MSR Hubba hubba tents or something like a Terra Nova?