One person tent - advice please

[pixieannie]

I have now been cycle camping, well twice in fact, I loved it but for one thing... my tent.  I am claustrophobic and don't cope well in tiny spaces, not well at all, so badly that I'd rather be out in the rain than in a tiny space inside a little tent.  I am about to embark on my first proper cycle camping holiday and will require something that will not leave me trembling and wanting to return home on the first train available.  Any advice most gratefully received.

What about this

[Pancho]

Just get a tarp - google it.

Rigged up properly, you don't actually need sides to a tent for casual good weather camping. Winter in Scottish mountains, though and I'd recommend something else.

[Ivo]

Decathlon usually has 1 or 2 good 1 1/2 person tents. I've bought one in 2004 and it's still going strong.

[clarion]

Basic rule of buying a tent (esp if a bit claustrophobic) is take one off the number of people the manufacturer recommends.  Butterfly used a Nallo 2 for herself rather well (the porch wasn't enough for two).  But yes, I'd go for a two person lightweight tent. A bit heavier, but still very easily packed & carried.

[oncemore]

Simply from reading/viewing, I doubt you could get more "spacious" in the style/weight. And leaving the inner "open" would add the space within the fly?

[Pedaldog.]

Might be worth taking the extra weight and going for a good quality 2 person tent?  The Hilleberg Nallo is available as the 2 or the 2GT. GT is huge with a porch you could sit in comfortably and, probably, not feel the Claustrophobia. The Plin Nallo 2 is a fantastic tent and has a decent size front area, i used one and was comfortable with it. They are not cheap but definitely worth the spends.

[andrewc]

I've not used MSR tents but their stuff is usually good quality. A quick google shows it's well regarded.

Cheaper here http://www.outdoorgear.co.uk/eshop.asp?wci=product&wce=51145501&CameFrom=froogle at £209.

[hellymedic]

Annie, if you're claustrophobic, you really won't know how you'd feel in a tent until you've tried it.
Go into a few shops and lie down inside their tents, zipped up.
Determine a minmum size and try, beg or borrow something suitable.
You have a compact build (but a BIG personality). A tent large enough for your body may not be big enough for your BRANE.
I'd hate you to make an expensive mistake. You must try before you buy.  Claustrophobia is a very personal an individual condition.
I'm sure there'll be a yacfer along soon offering a tent.

[gordon taylor]

Your choice in the OP, IMHO, is too small and too expensive.

The Vango 200+ Spirit is my own choice, because it has a proper porch. Wowbagger has one too.

The Decathlon/Millets tents are an absolute bargain at the moment. I nearly bought one for £25 at the weekend.

Millets - Eurohike Tents, Sleeping Bags & Camping Essentials - Buy Cheap Pop-Up Tents, Family Tents, 2 Man Tents, 3 Man Tents, Rucksacks, Camping & Walking Essentials by Eurohike

Get a tent with a porch.   (borrow Wow's!)

[Charlotte]

+1 to the "at least 2 man" advice.

I'm happy in my Terra Nova Laser, but I think Julian and I will be buying a Vango soon.  Probably the 300 model, it's a serious bargain.

Don't buy a tarp or a tarp tent unless you're 100% happy about the concept of bugs getting inside where you sleep.

[Butterfly]

I had a Hilleberg Nallo 2 when it was just me, but we now have a Blacks Octane 3 which has a better porch. We are very happy with it.

When we can afford it we will upgrade to a Nallo 3 or 4 GT as they have the extended porch. One of the best things about the Nallo tents for cycle camping is that they have an interior washing line, so you can dry your shorts and jersey, even if it's raining.

At the weekend there was a man from the Camping and Caravanning Club Magasine testing a Hilleberg Allak, which is a freestanding Mountain tent. It has fairly good headroom and 2 porches and was increadibly stable in the wind.

[Regulator]

I'm a fat bugger so I always go for a two man tent - and there's not a huge amount of room.

I think they use Pixieannies as the measure for tents sometimes.  "This is a two man Pixiannie tent"....

[tatanab]

I've been cycle camping about 15 years but am far from an expert since it is only a few weeks a year.

I would never buy a dedicated one person tent.  Think of days when you cannot or do not want to move because of weather.  You need some space inside the tent.  I also like to have the majority of my kit inside with me.  If you put bags in the entrance to your proposed tent then they will just be in the way of getting in and out.  My first tent was  a 2 person tunnel tent which worked fine.  Then I thinned down a bit by buying a one and a half person tent - the ones that usually say "one person, two at a pinch for mountain marathon".  I've had two tents like that now.  The other thing I would look for is height to be able to sit upright.  I've had a single pole tent and a two pole that do that nicely.  I do not get worried about weight, both my current tents are 2kg plus or minus  a bit, but both pack very compactly which is more important in my book.  Also, I would not buy a tent with a fully mesh inner for use in this country or most of Europe.  This is because it can get pretty draughty and condensation on a solid inner does not (is not supposed to) penetrate whereas with a fully mesh inner it can do.  Oddly a mesh inner can be heavier than a normal inner.

I've recently returned from a month with my tent including some pretty foul weather so I reckon I have the space/weight/bulk balance about right for me.

[Butterfly]

I have a 5 man ridge tent that I felt should be labelled 5 very friendly men or 3 fat nannies. 

[hellymedic]

I'm a fat bugger so I always go for a two man tent - and there's not a huge amount of room.

I think they use Pixieannies as the measure for tents sometimes.  "This is a two man Pixiannie tent"....

Agreed.
I never countenanced sharing my '2-man' Saunders Jetpacker Plus (now rehomed) with anyone and I'm not really enormous.
David was not happy sharing my Nallo GT (also rehomed) which seemed enormous.

[andrewc]

There are more pictures of the Hubba HP here  it does look quite narrow.

[pixieannie]

Some really great advice, thank you so much.  I am now busy browsing websites, comparing one tent to another.  I will go in to the local Outdoor Shop and have a look and a little lie down in some of their tents.  I have a Coleman Exponent two Pixie tent but it weighs almost 8lbs and isn't exactly compact.  If I could lose the 8lb in weight that I put on over the last few months then it shouldn't be a problem.

[Hello, I am Bruce]

I like one-person tents and wouldn't choose to tour with a heavier tent by myself.

The tent has to be tall enough to sit up in though, and the door has to be big and in the right place.  A small door at the end of the tent makes it feel like you are crawling into a tunnel to get in and out, but if the door is on the side wall then it can be big and makes the tent feel spacious.  That's what my tent is like and it's great.

I can sit at the door to look out and there is plenty space to both sides (and no wasted space behind me where I can't reach things).  When lying down, the door is easily accessible because it is beside me rather than over my head so it's easy to open to look out of the mesh panel, or open it to see out properly.

I don't think it matters that a tent is narrow if it is built this way (as long as you don't touch the walls).

This configuration also means that bags left in the porch are beside the door rather than blocking it.  (In the photo, there are two rear panniers in the porch, and two front panniers in the tent.)

What about this

This one has the door in the right place for me.  It's expensive, but there seems to be a cheaper version the same size (if you expect to go touring sometimes by yourself and sometimes with a friend, a lightweight 2-person might be a better investment though).

(In contrast, I wouldn't like this).

[mike]

I tried a couple and couldnt stand the ones which came down low over my face, so things like the 'power lizard' were completely out.  We got a nallo 2 GT in the end, thinking we'd appreciate the extra porch space.  It's not especially light or small but trying it out in the garden yesterday afternoon it was lovely!  

[Wowbagger]

Come and have a good look at my tent next weekend, assuming you are still around when we pitch them. You'll also get the chance at the weekend WARTY PARTY on 31st July. There will be plenty of time to buy a similar tent in the meantime. Jan and I can get in it OK but it's a bit on the snug side. But we're both a lot bigger than you are! You also have the opportunity if you feel a bit claustro to open the door and look out into the porch, which is at least half the size of the sleeping accommodation. You can't do that with your little Coleman.

The RRP for these tents is between £250 and £300 I think but every so often someone seems to be knocking them out around the £170 mark.

[andrewc]

If you want to borrow my Hilleberg Akto to try let me know. I can stick it in the post.


Hilleberg Akto tent (free ground shipping)  :: Tunnel-design tents (4S & Mountaineering) :: 4-Season & Mountaineering tents :: Shelters :: Moontrail


(This is a US site but has the best pictures of any site I know. Follow the links)

[Wowbagger]

Discounted Lightweight Camping Tents | CheapTents.com | Online Shop     have one for £200 atm.

[pixieannie]

Cheers my dear.  I'm not sure you have seen my Coleman.  I think Ara and I slept in it at Mildenhall, a couple of years ago.  The tent that Mike got for me is too low and I feel like I am in a coffin, probably another reason why I didn't sleep well.  I am a fidget bottom at the best of times, probably why I sleep in a King sized bed, normally with one leg and arm over the side.  By the morning it looks like war has been declared, battle fought and lost, in my bed.  If strawberries have been stolen whilst sleepwalking then it looks like a 'bloody mess'.  Anyway...
 

[RJ]

I have a Terra Nova Voyager - billed as 2-person, comfy for 1, and OK for honeymooning provided you've got somewhere else to stow your kit!!  Nie tent, though.  There's a lightweight version (1 kilos):


   Buy Online - A new shape for 2009 allows us to save 30% of the weight compared to the standard Voyager tent!

[clarion]

Here's a pic of the delightful Butterfly sat outside the Hilleberg Allak that was being tested at the weekend, and to which she refers:


Not quite so pretty - here's me outside our Blacks Octane 3 (similar to Vango Spirit 300+ or the much higher quality Hilleberg Nallo 3GT.  Both have 2 person equivs):


Here you can see Butterfly's Hilleberg Nallo 2 (currently used by TGL).  I think this is just about he perfect tent for one person: