Tents - so many to choose from
 

Hi

I'm looking for a tent, but there just seem to be so many possibilities out there, it's one of the most daunting prospects of my upcoming trip. Can anyone point me in the right direction in terms of good manufacturers? I've been thinking Terra Nova, The North Face, Bibler, Mountain Hardwear etc...

I'm going trans-Africa, so I'm not looking for a mountain tent which will withstand -40ºC temperatres, but my main priority is resistance to rain i.e. good seals, not too many seams.

It would be nice to have one of those tents which can be pitched just as the frame and mesh (i.e. not the flysheet / raincover) in still, dry conditions.

Size-wise, I'm quite particular, the tent needs to be no bigger than the back of my pickup, on an area measuring 2200mm x 1570mm, although I realise I will need to attach guy ropes down onto the ground from outside this relatively small area.

Any advice would be most welcome,

Cheers

Dan

Hi,
For your uses I would steer towards a low to mid range tent, for several reasons. Firstly, it sounds like all you need, second you won't mind too much if it gets holed/ripped/stolen (!) etc. Also, all tents suffer from degradation from UV rays. An expensive tent won't last a whole lot longer than a cheaper one in this respect (although some have better UV protection than others) so why waste money on an expensive tent?
Whatever you get, get it with alloy poles, fibre glass poles are the worst kind of sh*t and the biggest reason by far tents were returned to the shop I worked in. Get one, if possible that is free standing without pegs so you can pitch it on sand, and can be pitched inner alone for hot, dry weather when two skins make a bloody awful sweaty hell of your tent.
From what I remember from that outdoor shop ( only a few years ago) all the brands you mentioned were good but brands like Mountain Hardwear are probably too much for your needs.
In the hills I use a oojah cum spiff Macpac tent costing the best part of £300 where lightness, weather resistence and general high performance are nessecary but for my bike travels I use a roomier, slightly heavier and much cheaper (£100) Wild Country Ilanos which is totally fine for low level camping and won't hurt too much when the UV kills it or I accidentally set it on fire etc.
I would totally recommend Wild Country by the way (Terra Novas cheaper cousin) as ideal for this type of thing. Vango ain't bad either.
Matt

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www.scotlandnepal.blogspot.com

[This message has been edited by Matt Cartney (edited 16 March 2006).]

Sounds like soound advice.

Personally I like VAUDE tents. I used mine (Mark II) quite a bit in Africa and never found ventilation to be a problem. Won't pitch and your footprint, though.

Why do you want to pitch it in the car???

Have you looked at the "choosing a tent" page in: Trip planning, equipment. (Menu on the left, not the HUBB)

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

"choosing a tent" does detail exactly what type of tent I am looking for and the various examples suite the exact requirement except for one thing: They are all rectangular and therefore too narrow for two of us. For two people lying side by side in sleeping back perfect....but where do you put your helmet boots, cloths etc. Not a chance I am leaving them outside where they can get soaked or grow feet and vanish.

I presently have a cheap tent from B&Q (£30 job) which has served us absolutely perfectly in the wet cold UK climate but if you rig the tent with only the flyscreen you can't just fit the rain coat over the top of the poles (dome tent)when it starts raining. You will have to dismantle the tent and re-rig it with the poles slid into the sleevs in the raincoat (if you see what I'm saying). This one is square so with me on the one side and the missus in the middle there is enough room to lay all our gear down the other side...barely.

I have just gone thru a fairly rigorus search for a tent for our up-coming RTW and selected a tent from REI. The only requirement my wife had is that she could stand fully erect while changing clothes (we will both be 64 when we leave in June). However, my requirements were a bit different: must have aluminum poles (fiberglass poles are a big problem), must be well ventillated, must be able to stand without pegs, has to have two vestibules and it must have inside storage room (mine is almost big enough to park the bike with sidecar inside because of the height).

One consideration was since we were going to live in the tent for more than a year, it really had to meet requirements other than price and size. Develop a list of requirements of what you NEED then find the tent that best meets those needs.

Jack

Dan, you can narrow it a bit from what you say...

1- you need a tent that has one entrance at the end if you are going to use it in your pick up load bed

2- you know the width and length- which are the EXTERNAL measurements of the tent.
* 220cm is quite short for a tent including the flysheet - so you may end up with the door of the fly dangling over the end of the loadbed/tailgate.

3- has to be a dome so it free stands (easy to pitch anywhere) and with ali poles as we've all said fibreglass are useless cos they splinter.

4- has to pitch inner first with a simple method of attatching/clipping fly on

5- Doesnt have to be an expensive lightweight tent as you are carrying it in a vehicle

6- As you are using it in a box shape it doesnt have to taper towards the feet - as most lightweight tents do - which will make it feel more roomy and less cramped

7- I would say you want a roof height of at least 110cm - easy to sit up and again cool in the heat.

For sleeping you will have to either use 2 x 51cm thermarests (or equivilent) or a sleep matress no wider than about 130cm max

Like the guys say - stick to something a little bit cheaper, like Wild country, Vango, Vaude or if you find one that fits then maybe a festival special - depends on your budget, you could even buy 2 cheap tents and have a full set of spares.

have a look at:

http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/Outdoo...roduct=1800501

not a rectangular shape, but its a start - this place has some good deals and has good service.

- also if you are sleeping in the load bed a good idea is to put down some slightly raised marine ply not quite to the edges so its flat to sleep on you then put the edges of the fly below this so if it rains the water goes down the side of the board and drains so it doesnt form a paddling pool under the tent.

Cheers
Grif
ps let us know what you end up buying !

Just found this one which looks almost what I'm looking for. No vestibule and might try find alternative shorter poles.
http://www.wildday.co.uk/ProductDeta...?productID=651

Ah...found this too which is perfect now just to find shorter poles:
http://www.wildday.co.uk/ProductDeta...?productID=654

[This message has been edited by Bossies (edited 22 March 2006).]

Thanks, Gipper that's really useful.

I'll be making a platform of some sort to cover the entire load area (for security more than anything), which will make a nice flat area. I think I will have to have the vestibule dangling over the end of the truck, but with the tailgate down, and some bodge to hold it up well of the ground, this will make a good cooking area and a useful way to stow stuff in the back of the truck (i.e. shoes) whilst not getting out of the tent.

I'm thinking of having some kind of lashing points specific to the shape of the tent to hold the tent (without flysheet) if it's a little windy.

My only concern with a cheap tent is that it may leak - defeating the object of the tent altogether as I would have to seek dryness in the cab. Are most tents waterproof if the seams are taped and properly sealed?

Thanks again for your help, you've cleared things up a lot!

Dan

Gotcha Dan, yeah thats probably the best way to do it - then you can leave gear in the load bed and dont have to empty it out or put stuff in the cab for security.
That would work with some metal loops to tie or clip the tent inner peg loops onto - one on each corner of the board - and with the fly sheet on - maybe a few metal loops to tie the guy lines onto if its windy too - this will also keep the fly off the inner if its wet.
Or theres nothing to stop you extending the guy lines and putting some pegs in the ground too if you get a better angle -especially if its windy.

As for waterproofing - thats where going for a slightly more expensive tent will be worth it - though if you can get the fly sheet taught most tents should be ok.
Thats where I would recommend a Vaude or a Wid Country over a cheapie.
Seam sealing does help too. Any repairs use good quality patches and Seam Grip is great stuff for any material repairs.
Cheers
Grif

Msr
 

The MSR (Mountain Safety Research) Hubba, single man tent or the Hubba Hubba, two man tents are both excellent tents. They have a low packaged weight, pack small and provide exceptional weather protection in all but the extreme weather conditions. They both are a double wall design with bath tub floors and mesh uppers. The alternative pitching option is to use the ground cloth and the rain fly. Both hace adequate vestibules.

used a northface tadpole 23 in africa. free standing (no need for pegs), pitched inner only (mosquito proof), nice luminous zippers, with two people all gear can be stashed at your feet and in the porch. it's quick to put and and pull down too.

mine is somewhere in Burkina Faso, it fell off the bike...

Dan,
Regarding your concern that a cheap tent might leak: Only REALLY cheap crappy tents are not waterproof. Anything half decent will be waterproof. The 100 quid tent I mentioned earlier I recently slept in during outrageously heavy rain in Slovenia and it kept it out fine. The problem I had was water soaking up through the groundsheet when the water table rose. GRoundsheets ARE less good in cheaper tents but this can be solved by putting down a five quid groundsheet from Blacks.
Matt

Hi

Thanks for all your replies. I'm tossing up between two tents by The North Face - the Tadpole 23 and Tephra 22. The Tephra is rectangular, and has more mosquito mesh, plus it's cheaper. I've only managed to get one quote on it's length when pitched inner-only - 7' (2200mm) which is bang on my limit. The tadpole is by most estimates longer, but different sites give different lengths.

I'm a bit lost without a firm, definite measurement of the length of wither of these tents, so if anyone can give me some accurate (i.e. first hand) dimensions, I'd be most grateful.

Many thanks,

Dan

some tent info here....
 

Hi Dan, good couple of tents there, heres a link for Campmor - they have dimensions and they should be bang on as this is a good company.

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/st...uctId=39199029

Type in Tadpole in the search window and the details will come up for that too.

looking at the foot section dimensions - the Tephra looks wider -3 ft3 in as opposed to 2ft 8 in. (3ft 3in is still quite narrow -remember your sleeping pad dimensions ?)

The Tephra is very similar to The North Face Pebble I have - which is a great little tent and id go with that over the Tadpole which is slighty lighter - but more complicated with the extra pole- it makes a difference when you are putting it up and down every day for a few months !!!

Cheers
Grif