i'm very happy with my Marmot Limelight 2p

Alloy poles, quick to pitch, good quality pegs, roomy enough for man and gear and one of the only small tents I found that I can actually sit up in.

I always have a tarp/basha with me as well though; gives me somewhere out of the weather to get my sh1t together, cook, chill.

A lot of websites default to no shipping to far off places, or even to Germany from the UK.

I usually give them a phone call or eMail and ask them specifically, but of course it will not be cheap to post UK to Oz and I suppose you may have Oz Customs/Import Duty. Probably could get the UK VAT deducted at source if exporting to Oz though.

Grey Beard

Well, I did some research and thought it could interest some people:

first here they make some comparaison and tests:
Backpacking Tent Reviews - OutdoorGearLab

and then here:

[url=http://www.litekamper.com/tent_2man.htm]2 Man

I have 2 of these tents so if you want to buy one of mine let me know. & I am here in OZ ?

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....rather Die Living.....than Live Dying !
www.globetrekkers.net.au

I'm also looking at buying a new tent to replace my existing one, so it is interesting to read this thread.

The one I have is also one of those cheap 30 Euro three man tents.
It has served me well over the past years while travelling through France and other parts, but I have a few problems with it.
Firstly, the poles are fibreglass and like someone already mentioned, when they split, they are hell to use for getting splinters in your hands. Luckily I carried tweezers with me. When they split, the tent doesn't hold its shape and if you get caught in a fair storm, well, you'd probably be wishing you maybe had a better tent. Also, the fibreglass poles are heavier then alloy poles.



I was able to buy new generic fibreglass poles in one of the large sport stores and size it for my tent, so that has been ok. But just waiting and knowing that they will eventually split again at a most inconvenient time.

The Coleman Phad X3 looks to be a right sized tent for my needs. It seems that us folks down here in Australia no longer can get the Phad range. I found some references to it on other bush-walking forums from some years back now.

I checked on the Coleman website and, well, not in Australia and not in France, but ride over the border into Switzerland or Germany or UK not a problem, makes no sense.

On my travels I noticed a lot of tents from all parts of Europe, and I tried to take notice of what I saw as being good points of what I saw.

For me, what I am thinking as being important for my next tent are;

• Must have quality alloy poles,
• Able to put up outer first, so poles on outside, in case of foul weather. Nothing worse than having to put tent up in rain or to pack it wet and then ride.
• An air vent at the top, for those stinky hot days.
• Good sized vestibule for putting all your gear and or to be able to prepare food in less than lack-luster weather. I've had a few.
• Being able to sit up straight, without having your head touch the roof. I'm 196cm, so I need headspace.

(The above is bullet pointed, but, alas, it does not show once posted?)
Basically, a bush-walking tent is too small for any sort of adventure longer than a few days with good weather. And the family tent, well, it just isn't the sort of thing to lug about on your bike. Then the cheap tents, yes, they can do if you know the type of climate and conditions your expecting. You don't need to be too precious about a cheap tent.

Maybe there's an opportunity for someone to make a range ideally suited for motorcycle adventurer tourers like us?

Zimi, are you looking for a tent to use here in Australia or to take overseas?

PaulD, sounds like an offer for Zimi then.

I was initially thinking of downsizing from the three man I have, though I am having second thoughts about that and seeing the value in having the extra room rather than saving on a kilo or two.

Maybe I will order such a tent from Germany and have it freighted to France where the bike is in storage until I go there agian next year (2013).

Paul

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Hi Paul, I think it was not an offer to me, because I live in Switzerland!

Thanks for your advices!

I really like this Marmot Tent. Its a 2 person so I can fit all my gear inside if need be. I can set up the fly before the tent which is a nice feature in the rain. The door is hinged on the bottom which is annoying at times but a few months after I purchased they changed the design to hinge on the side

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K9DR650SE
Prairies To Penguins 2013

Hi mate
Lots of good advice here. I come from a mountaineering background and i can tell you you get what you pay for. My advice is to go to a reputable mountaineering retailer and buy a 3 or 4 season rated tent. If you can get one with Easton aluminium poles thats a bonus.. I have been using the same tent for almost 20 years and it is still serviceable and there is nowhere harsher in uv terms than down here. Anyway thats my opinion based on experience. Also mountaineers dont like to carry extra weight.
Regards
Mark

I've used a different model of Coleman tent for summer trips and I am happy with the quality of the materials; the "X tent" model has a lot of good features, like good ventilation and mosquito netting but it doesn't erect with the fly sheet first - I haven't had a problem with this because the whole thing goes up very quickly in any case.
But, the flysheet design is for summer use; it doesn't extend to ground level all the way round, and I wouldn't "trust it" in very high winds from the wrong direction (such would probably get under the fly sheet and try to lift the whole tent).
For a quick stopover I don't even use the guy lines and pegs; it is free standing and my own weight on the sewn-in ground sheet is enough stabilisation.

Anyway, is that Phad complete in the picture, or is there another fly to be fitted? (it looks a bit "bare" with the pole arrangement, but the guy lines arrangement says that the tent is fully erected).

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Dave

Thanks Dave, that's interesting what you say regards of the outer fly not coming all the way down to ground level.

If you have used a different Coleman model, can you let us know which one?
And when you say the outer doesn't go up first, are you meaning the Phad X3 or some other?

I would like to see some more photos of the Phad X3, maybe someone has a few photos showing more of the setup of it.

The other tent I had though about initially is the Zelt Ligero Al from Tom Cat from Sud-West.
Sued-West - Zelte & Camping > Trekkingzelte > Zelt Ligero AL

I went touring with a German fellow for a few weeks this year I have seen this tent and was quite impressed with its quality and ease of putting up and packing up. This guy was set up before me each day and was ready on his bike before me each day. It is very stable and has some height to it.
From the photo it looks smaller than you think, but its overall length is around 3 metres.

For me, the price is good, very good in fact.

What do others think of it?

Paul

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Paul,
My Coleman is quite old - I got it in the USA at least 12 years ago.
The model is called "X tent" probably because the main poles cross over each other which gives a good stable set up. I'd have to dig it out of it's bag to see if there are any other bits to the name, but I am 99% sure that is it for the naming.
After the tent goes up, the fly sheet uses a pole to make it into what looks a bit like a kite and it clips to the main tent at all 4 edges of the main poles, so it sheds water all round except at the tent entrance where it just overhangs a bit and doesn't extend all the way down to ground level. Does that make sense? It's this latter aspect which would make it susceptible to high wind strength blowing from the wrong direction.
With my tent, the inner goes up first, as described here, and the fly sheet goes on soon after (just one pole and 4 clips and it is on - in fact, in wet weather I can get the fly sheet prepared first with it's single pole fixed in place and then it goes onto the tent in just seconds, so long as it hasn't flown like a kite in the meantime!).
It doesn't have a vestibule and the phad is a better design for this aspect.

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Dave

No that's the whole thing, it's a pole on the outside, fly-first tent which it's why it looks like that. You'll need to add in a footprint as the built in groundsheet is very thin, to save weight I unzip the porch part of the groundsheet, why double up?

TBH though the tent I really wanted was the Coleman Libra X3 single pole tent. The single pole is attached to the the tent, all you do is unfold it, grab the pole in one hand and a handle on the tent and pull and the whole thing goes up in one go. Sadly it wasn't available in the UK, only from the Netherlands and I wanted a tent in a hurry.

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Just to confirm what Alexlebrit says about the X3.. it most definitely does erect fly first.. or all in one (Fly with inner attached).

Also, it's a free standing tent, so if the ground is too hard, there's no need to use pegs, though they do help it keep it's shape. I rarely use the guys.

I've been using the X2 (same as the X3, but narrower).. for a couple of years now, and it's an excellent tent.

hi
love my exped tent pricey but well worth it
TheSeries II Expedition Tent | Motorcycle Tent from Redverz Gear

happy biking

Zimi,
HiLight Tent - Black Diamond Mountain Gear

Seals tight for sand storms, desert use, extremely light weight, high quality, bomb proof. 4 season.
Perfect for one man and gear.

Packs very small.

You must seam seal it and practice set up carefully until you understand it , then it is fast and easy.

If you choose it PM me on Adv rider, bmwktmbill.
bill