Akto camping - in the snow!

[andrewc]

I'm failing to see how 6ft me is comfortable in that tent (albeit with head brushing the roof) and 4ft 10" Ariadne isn't!   What sort of gymnastics were you up to young lady 

I could always carry out my threat and come up to Edinburgh to show you how to get it up nice & taut, you need to have the cords tied just right....

[nobby]

The one in that pic isn't terribly well pitched (apologies and no rudeness intended, Ariadne)

It was my first time!! 

I know that, which is why I wasn't being rude  
I had to get up in the middle of the night last saturday and reset a guy  

[Oscar's dad]

I could always carry out my threat and come up to Edinburgh to show you how to get it up nice & taut, you need to have the cords tied just right....

Please Lord, tell me he's talking about the tent and it's guy ropes!!!   

[toekneep]

The one in that pic isn't terribly well pitched (apologies and no rudeness intended, Ariadne)

It was my first time!! 

I know that, which is why I wasn't being rude  
I had to get up in the middle of the night last saturday and reset a guy  

Good for you, these troublesome campers need putting in their place. 

[nobby]

There's too many humourists on yacf!
 

[andrew_s]

At the risk of offending Andrew and his lovely tent, I am wondering if it's a bit too wee... I'm going to go and look at a North Face Tadpole this weekend.

I need something that's light and, importantly easy to put up on my own - hence the Akto. But I do want to be able to sit in the tent and read and stuff and... I dunno, it's a bit wee for that.

The Akto is plenty long enough to sit up in, provided you sit under the pole and shove stuff to the end you aren't using for your feet. It's also handy having the porch area to one side rather than in front. I usually use a thermarest chair kit to make sitting & reading (or cooking or whatever) more comfortable.
A Tadpole has a larger inner, but the porch is less convenient so your panniers end up competing for the space you might want to use for getting in & out the tent or for cooking in. You also have to cook cross-legged and in front of you, or propped up on one elbow.
Consider packed bulk as well as weight. When I had a Tadpole, it had to go along the top of the rack, and had a tendency to flop over the back light. The Akto goes in one of the Ortliebs.

[epa611]

Ariadne,

We've got a Nallo 3GT (with footprint)

Want to try it? Pic:



Paul

[andrewc]

I could always carry out my threat and come up to Edinburgh to show you how to get it up nice & taut, you need to have the cords tied just right....

Please Lord, tell me he's talking about the tent and it's guy ropes!!!   

Of Course! What sort of chap do you think I am ?

Get the tension wrong and instead of it being all taut, smooth & shiny you start to get wrinkles, then it sags and goes lopsided before collapsing completely.....

It's also important to keep the hoop nice & tight.....

[andrewc]

At the risk of offending Andrew and his lovely tent, I am wondering if it's a bit too wee... I'm going to go and look at a North Face Tadpole this weekend.

I need something that's light and, importantly easy to put up on my own - hence the Akto. But I do want to be able to sit in the tent and read and stuff and... I dunno, it's a bit wee for that.

The Akto is plenty long enough to sit up in, provided you sit under the pole and shove stuff to the end you aren't using for your feet. It's also handy having the porch area to one side rather than in front. I usually use a thermarest chair kit to make sitting & reading (or cooking or whatever) more comfortable.
A Tadpole has a larger inner, but the porch is less convenient so your panniers end up competing for the space you might want to use for getting in & out the tent or for cooking in. You also have to cook cross-legged and in front of you, or propped up on one elbow.
Consider packed bulk as well as weight. When I had a Tadpole, it had to go along the top of the rack, and had a tendency to flop over the back light. The Akto goes in one of the Ortliebs.

Whilst Ariadne was frolicking in my Akto, I was slumming it in an old Ultimate Peapod , this is a twin hoop design similar to the Nallo but with a smaller porch. I had 4 panniers, cooking gear & muddy shoes in the porch and it made getting in & out a pain. With the Akto you can just push everything to one side and still have loads of room. 

I think the design with the porch/door to the side is best for a solo tent.

A friend was very happy with his Terra Nova Solar 1, lots of headroom, went up quickly and pretty good in foul weather. Sadly they discontinued it

Before I got the Akto I took a look at a Macpac Microlight.  Excellent materials, well put together but the porch was a bit small. It might be worthwhile looking at one of those as well.  Supposed to be pretty stormproof & pitch quickly (inner & outer linked).

[GlasgowDave]

That Duolite Tourer looks interesting.
Do you know if there is an entrance on both sides, or not?

just back home.

it has an entrance on both sides or the central section can be opened.

GD

[nobby]

That Duolite Tourer looks interesting.
Do you know if there is an entrance on both sides, or not?

just back home.

it has an entrance on both sides or the central section can be opened.

GD

Thanks. 

[Ariadne]

Ariadne,

We've got a Nallo 3GT (with footprint)

Want to try it?

Paul

I just got home too - to find a huge thread. Wow, everyone's so generous with their uber-expensive tents. Thank you, but after getting all worried about damaging Andrew's, I think I'll say no. I really appreciate the offer, Paul! But I have a good idea of what the quality will be like, if I do go for a Hilleberg.

Whilst Ariadne was frolicking in my Akto, I was slumming it in an old Ultimate Peapod , this is a twin hoop design similar to the Nallo but with a smaller porch. I had 4 panniers, cooking gear & muddy shoes in the porch and it made getting in & out a pain. With the Akto you can just push everything to one side and still have loads of room. 

aha! I tried to find out what a Peapod was, but all I could find was these.



I was intrigued...

And as for how you fit, Andrew - I really don't know! I mean, obviously I did fit but I didn't feel very comfy. I lay and read quite happily but I prefer to be able to sit up, cross legged too - and I felt I might touch the roof, and it was bucketing down. Maybe the difference is simply that I'm more comfy cross legged than you are? I cooked and ate my dinner cross legged in the porch, for instance.

And the porch thing - when I'm in the Octane 2 on my own I just take everything bar my shoes in with me, so it's really not an issue.

I'm just going to rise above all the rude bits of this thread 

Oh, and Andrew - what was the quality of the Tadpole like - did it feel well made and sturdy? I do know what you mean about bulk - I do really  like the idea of putting it in a pannier.

I need to do some thinking. I don't need it for about 6 weeks, and even then I could take the trusty Octane...

[andrewc]

I just got home too - to find a huge thread. Wow, everyone's so generous with their uber-expensive tents. Thank you, but after getting all worried about damaging Andrew's, I think I'll say no. I really appreciate the offer, Paul! But I have a good idea of what the quality will be like, if I do go for a Hilleberg.

Whilst Ariadne was frolicking in my Akto, I was slumming it in an old Ultimate Peapod , this is a twin hoop design similar to the Nallo but with a smaller porch. I had 4 panniers, cooking gear & muddy shoes in the porch and it made getting in & out a pain. With the Akto you can just push everything to one side and still have loads of room. 

aha! I tried to find out what a Peapod was, but all I could find was these.



I was intrigued...

That ain't me!  I've not looked that cute for a long time!

Try http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=ultimate%20peapod&w=24764178%40N08 (not my pics)

[/quote]
And as for how you fit, Andrew - I really don't know! I mean, obviously I did fit but I didn't feel very comfy. I lay and read quite happily but I prefer to be able to sit up, cross legged too - and I felt I might touch the roof, and it was bucketing down. Maybe the difference is simply that I'm more comfy cross legged than you are? I cooked and ate my dinner cross legged in the porch, for instance.
[/quote]

I'm perfectly comfy cross legged, a legacy of school assemblies & 10 years Ju-Jitsu. I usually sit at the apex of the tent, I do have to crane my neck forward though. That's on an inch of Thermarest.

The elastic that connects the inner to the outer does stretch, this makes the inner sag. Solution is to tie knots in the elastic & shorten it.  I've not used the Akto since last September, possibly it's stretched ?  Did you feel the same when you looked at the one in Tiso's ?

[/quote]
I'm just going to rise above all the rude bits of this thread 
[/quote]
Damn, all that quality smut, wasted 

[/quote]

The "Outdoorsmagic" forum is a good source of info on tents. If you are not too keen on the Akto the Lightwave range may be worth looking at.

[bikepacker]

Ariadne.
Have a look at the Big Agnes range of tents, especially the Seedhouse SL1. http://www.isoactive.com/bigagnes/images/tentname-sh1sl-2.gif

I used one for some backpacking last year and liked it. I am though still a commited Hilleberg user for cycle camping.

[Ariadne]

I'm perfectly comfy cross legged, a legacy of school assemblies & 10 years Ju-Jitsu. I usually sit at the apex of the tent, I do have to crane my neck forward though. That's on an inch of Thermarest.

Ah! Mystery solved - after all this time in an Akto, you're a hunchback - as it's been gradual, you probably haven't noticed and your friends don't like to tell you.

The elastic that connects the inner to the outer does stretch, this makes the inner sag. Solution is to tie knots in the elastic & shorten it. 

Loose elastic - there's my problem...

I've not used the Akto since last September, possibly it's stretched ?  Did you feel the same when you looked at the one in Tiso's ?

No... not that I remember. But I was a bit self conscious and didn't exactly spend a long time sitting in it!

I'll have a think, and a look at other options. Who wants to bet I end up with a four-roomed palace and a trailer to carry it?

Ariadne.
Have a look at the Big Agnes range of tents, especially the Seedhouse SL1.

I used one for some backpacking last year and liked it. I am though still a commited Hilleberg user for cycle camping.

Snigger - Have to get a tent called Big Agnes, that's great! Off to have a look at them now.

[andrew_s]

This is an Ultimate "Peapod".

I had a "No-hitch Pitch" version of the Tadpole. This had no pole sleeves, just a load of rings threaded on the poles. One end of the pole was a semi=permanent fit in the grommet at one end, and the idea was that you slid all the rings to that end, folded the poles, and rolled the tent up in one. To pitch you'd just straighten out the poles and push them in, with the rings spreading out as you did so. It didn't work as easily as it was meant to, there was a fair bit of mesh in the inner, and there wasn't much porch space (it's not as big as it looks on the plans because of the low height of the end). Build quality seemed fine, in the time I had it.
I turned it in for an original model Solar (Terra Nova or Wild Country, whichever they were at the time). That got the sack for being insufficiently wind resistant, and I ended up with the Akto.

Cross-legged or not is down to practice - I've never got on with it, or at least not since junior school.

Generally touching the roof isn't a problem, so long as you don't touch hard enough to push the inner against the outer. Even then it only matters if there's condensation on the outer.

[andrewc]

Snigger - Have to get a tent called Big Agnes, that's great! Off to have a look at them now.

Can't be as bad as the Bi-Kamper http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/transportation/THE-BIKAMPER/

[Ariadne]

Can't be as bad as the Bi-Kamper http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/transportation/THE-BIKAMPER/

That walks the fine line between genius and madness.

[andrew_s]

Can't be as bad as the Bi-Kamper http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/transportation/THE-BIKAMPER/

That walks the fine line between genius and madness.

Madness, definitely

A tent that uses the bike for support is one of those ideas that surfaces every 10 or 15 years, generally originated by some "designer" who doesn't actually go cycle camping.

They generally don't weight any less than a regular lightweight tent, have less space, and immobilise your bike so you've got to do your shopping before going to the campsite. This particular version doesn't even do a good job at keeping the weather out either (according to Singletrack, anyway).

[andygates]

It was the Bikamper and Tales of Olde Clubmen that got me trying the "tarp with bike as tent pole" approach last summer.

Won't be doing it again this summer.  The height, utility and frankly, freedom of bike are all worth the faff of finding a stick.

[toekneep]

They generally don't weight any less than a regular lightweight tent, have less space, and immobilise your bike so you've got to do your shopping before going to the campsite. This particular version doesn't even do a good job at keeping the weather out either (according to Singletrack, anyway).

Not to mention having to walk to the pub in the evening.

[Ariadne]

Decision made! I'm now the proud owner of a Lightwave T1 Trek.

I can't wait to get out and play in it now!

[andrew_s]

I took mine out for a try-out S24O this weekend.
Failed on the remembering to pack toothbrush front, and also on the 24H bit, unless you count pub to pub (holiday planning meeting Saturday lunchtime, return Sunday lunchtime)

Pitched:

Packed:

[clarion]

Decision made! I'm now the proud owner of a Lightwave T1 Trek.

I can't wait to get out and play in it now!

Nice!  Looks like a Hilleberg Nallo-a-like.  Hope to see you camping in yours some time

[Ariadne]

Just to to complete the thread, here it is, in action:



Just an overnight at North Berwick, but good fun, and good to try out the tent.

I did have one frustrating conversation on the way back, though: a guy on a Look road bike pulled up alongside me and asked where I was from, where I was going, and seemed disappointed when I was just from Edinburgh. I wanted to show him photos of last year, prove I do real tours! Honest!