I'm looking for a tent to use while camping in Germany, Austria and Italy, in May and June.

I was considering the Vango Banshee but had my doubts as it pitches inner first. I've seen the the Vango Tempest on the internet which seems to be more spacious and pitches flysheet first. Does anyone have experience of either of these tents or suggest any other possibilities in the sub £100 price range.

Cheers,

Craig

Hi,
I am using a Eureka "timberline" "2 XT tent and it works great for me!
It·s not a fashionable - "in" tent, but cheap, tough, easy to pitch, wind/waterproof thingy and it has become a good friend.
Cheers,
Dan

[QUOTE=craig76;181403
I was considering the Vango Banshee but had my doubts as it pitches inner first. I've seen the the Vango Tempest on the internet which seems to be more spacious and pitches flysheet first.

Craig[/QUOTE]

What's the problem with a tent that pitches inner first? I know you'll say that the inner gets wet if you pitch it in the rain but its not very often that that happens and the rain has to be really heavy to make much of a difference. If it's a hot night you can just pitch the inner and keep cooler.
I've got seven or eight tents that I've collected over the years, some of which pitch inner first and some outer first. Two of them pitch both together. The smaller tents that pitch outer first are all a pain to clip the inner into involving crawling around on hands and knees trying to attach fiddly clips to things you can't quite reach. In the rain this keeps the inner dry but you end up wet from crawing around on the grass.
The "both together" tents are ok once you've figured out which bit goes where but and can remember the assembly sequence but if you're tired and trying to do it in the rain the whole thing is likely to end up soaked by the time you've got it up.

One thing I would recommend is that you pick a tent one size bigger than the sticker says, ie use a two man tent if you are solo and a three man tent if there's two of you. You'll welcome the extra space for luggage etc or if you have to stay in it for any length of time.

Similarly, look for tents with reasonable headroom. 100cm height (in the sleeping bit, not on the outside) I would regard as too small. You can't do anything other than lie horizontally so sitting up in the middle of the night to relieve aching arms etc becomes a problem. 110cm is just about the minimum I can cope with for this (and I'm only 5' 8") My old Vango Force 10 is 130cm and you can sit up to read a book inside it.

Nothing wrong with the vango if your a solo hill walker. Nice tent and reasonable price.

However for biking it is a VERY small tent.. you won't have space to put your luggage if you leave the campsite, only in the tent itself as the porch is tiny.
Getting dressed in one is a major struggle and thats into every day gear, donning your bike gear whilst trying to keep dry if it rains is well, is a contorsionists trick.. lol.

Nothing wrong with inner pitching first tents btw, you just have to know how to screen the tent properly whilst you inser the poles etc in the rain, not easy I admit, but do-able with most tent if practised. But then I use and sell Exped Orion tents and that pitches inner and fly togather.

If your planning a long bike trip where the weather might get changable, I would seriously advise looking at a larger tent, if your solo you shoud look at the 2 man, if your two up, then 2/3 man even some smaller 4 mans, if you have a big bike or on two bikes as a team.

If your trip is going to last a while, and your likley to do more trips in the futre, then I advise you spend out on a good tent and a fly sheet protector. You tend to get what you pay for, and cheap tents are great for occasional usage and a couple of years. If you want it to last longer and see you through more adverse weather, then spend the cash and get a quality tent.

Vango's arent bad as a whole and the tempest is a great fell walkers tent. I have known a few bikers with them and all have now upgraded to larger tents.

My new 2008 season tent stock should be arriving in next few days so do take a look at the site - Gearpac.com Expedition Equipment and Travel Gear say next week. I think you will find my prices are pretty competative on the Exped and Vaude tents I do.

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safe riding and hope to see you out on the road. .. John..

Thanks for the advice. I'm travelling alone but was going to buy a 2-man or possibly a smaller 3-man tent anyway. It just seems that most of the tents within my budget are either too heavy, too large pack size or have no storage area.

I haven't done any serious camping for at least 12 years so I'm after something thats quick and easy for 1 person to put up too.

Vaude Space III - SS06 - Massive Discounts at www.Gear-Zone.co.uk Not particularly cheap though. Also needs an undersheet.

John

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Nostradamus Ate My Hamster

Hi Craig, I've got a Vango Tempest 200 ( the two person one )and have used it regularly for the last 2 years in the UK and abroard. I think it's a great choice for a one person motorcycle touring tent. It's very waterproof, holds up well in strong winds, it's a doddle to put up ( 3-4 minutes max) it's light ( weighs 6lb dry), it's proved to be great in cold weather ( i've slept in mine down to -6 degrees C ) it's small ( fits in Touratech aluminium panniers / any soft luggage ) it's robust (we've used ours for countless short trips and there's no sign of wear etc) it's got really handy pockets running along the inside along the length of the tent to keep stuff organised. The front part of the tent is ideal for leaving wet gear in to save bringing it into the tent and is also big enough to use to cook in. Here's a picture of my wife ( doing a Ninja impression ) in the P***ng rain on Exmoor earlier this month.
Hope this is of some help - if you would like anymore pics PM me and I'll email them over, have fun on your trip.
Mike

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