Tent for Cycle Camping?

[eck]

Hi, I'm considering some cycle camping next summer and need a one-person tent, of which my knowledge is scant!

This is for sale "elsewhere", and I wondered if, at £80 posted including the footprint is a reasonable prospect. The seller says it has only been used for a couple of weeks
http://www.eurekaeurope.com/p/spitfire-solo

Any other suggestions for a suitable not-too expensive tent would be welcome.
Thanks.

[clarion]

Not a brand I know.  Personally, I prefer a two man tent for solo camping, so all the luggage can be safely and comfortably stowed.

I note that Blacks have the Octane 2 in their sale, as well as the Vango Mirage, Banshee & Tempest, Robens Lodge & Wild Country Zephyros all at, or just above, the £100 mark.

http://www.blacks.co.uk/equipment/tents-camping/tents/2-person-tents/

http://www.blacks.co.uk/equipment/tents-camping/tents/1-person-tents/

[Ruthie]

Hi, I'm considering some cycle camping next summer and need a one-person tent, of which my knowledge is scant!

This is for sale "elsewhere", and I wondered if, at £80 posted including the footprint is a reasonable prospect. The seller says it has only been used for a couple of weeks
http://www.eurekaeurope.com/p/spitfire-solo

Any other suggestions for a suitable not-too expensive tent would be welcome.
Thanks.

I'm replacing my cycle camping tent too eck!

I'd agree with the two-person tent for solo cycle camping, it doesn't have to add much weight or pack size and it's worth it to store your gear comfortably.  Actually, lots of people have offered to lend me their tents to try out, so I haven't spent any money yet - but now is a good time to buy, lots of end of season tent sales.

mcshroom and I both took Coleman tents on our Scottish tour recently, and were very pleased with how they performed.  Mine has died of old age now, but I had it for four years and it wasn't expensive, so I think I got good value from it, including camping in the snow in Northumberland in February.

Enjoy surfing all the tent porn!

[Wowbagger]

The Rolls Royce of tents for your purpose is, in my view the Hilleberg Nallo 2. it will cost you though. Having said that, I have seen some allegedly hardly used ones on Ebay for £450.

Terra Nova do some damned good tents and if you can find an old Terra Nova tent to send back to them, you can get a very significant discount. Can't remember the details but a few minutes exploring their website will be well rewarded.

[Chris N]

http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/tents-and-spares/all-tents/zephyros-1-tent-grade-a/

[Dave_C]

Hi eek,

I have the Wild Country Zephros 1. I slightly think I should have bought the Zephros 2, as it is the same footprint (outer) but has a slightly bigger (wider) inner. You are very welcome to borrow mine for a while if you want to try it out a few times. I think I have camped out in it 3 - 4 times and it stands up very well under high winds. Its big enough for me to lye out fully in, has space at head and foot for pannier storage outside the inner, and room (mine is the 1 person remember) for cooking stuff at the side of the inner. The inner has enouhg room for me to sit up, in the centre, in for dressing it she midge storm is looming outside. I bought after market tent pegs as those supplied are a bit rubbish.

Let me know if you want to take me up on the offer, and I can have it ready for you when you are passing - to visit your family in the Burgh, next.

Dave C

p.s. I watched a very interesting online video of the cheep tent Aldi sold in the summer for £19.00. It looked good though the guy said the sewing was rubbish and suggested a few ways of improving it with the use of a sewing machine etc...

[Kim]

I cycle-camp happily in a Hilleberg Akto (with the critical disclaimer that it's tall enough for me to sit up on a Downmat in).  It's a single-person tent with enough porch and inner space for all your stuff, though it helps to keep things organised in panniers/stuffsacks - if you're inclined to scatter all your stuff around you randomly and ferret through it, a larger tent is probably worthwhile.

One of the key advantages of the Akto is that it's fast to pitch and laughs in the face of Weather.

Terra Nova make some very competent Akto clones...

[phil653]

I'm also in the market for a new 2-person light bikepacking tent after my faithful old tent died a death on my last trip. I'd had it since I was 16, and today is my 51st birthday so I reckon we'd had our money's worth.  It was High Country by Ultimate Equipment (anybody else remember them?), a transverse ridge in the mould of a Robert Saunders design.   
Fabrics have moved on a lot since then and there are some tasty offerings out there. My current top candidate is the Luxe Minipeak, which had lots of thumbs up when this topic was last aired here.

See: http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/shelters-1/WF126.html

and: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyICxrkuaCI   for the previous siliconised model

Review comments from real live actual users very welcome.

[Pancho]

The Rolls Royce of tents for your purpose is, in my view the Hilleberg Nallo 2. it will cost you though. Having said that, I have seen some allegedly hardly used ones on Ebay for £450.

Terra Nova do some damned good tents and if you can find an old Terra Nova tent to send back to them, you can get a very significant discount. Can't remember the details but a few minutes exploring their website will be well rewarded.

At the other end of the spectrum, how cheap can you go before the VFM equation tends to zero?

I'm also in the market for a cycle-camping tent that will serve both me solo and me and Mrs P.

[Kim]

At the other end of the spectrum, how cheap can you go before the VFM equation tends to zero?

The now legendary ProAction 1-person tents that Argos were selling for a little over 20 quid a few years back.  Packs small and properly lightweight, admirably waterproof, fiddly to pitch, a bit small (porch is enough for your shoes), bright orange and freezing in the wind.

Hard to beat in VFM terms.

Any lower than that and you're into 'festival' tents, whose main feature is that you won't be too concerned when they're trampled into the mud by drunk people.

[Ruthie]

The Rolls Royce of tents for your purpose is, in my view the Hilleberg Nallo 2. it will cost you though. Having said that, I have seen some allegedly hardly used ones on Ebay for £450.

Terra Nova do some damned good tents and if you can find an old Terra Nova tent to send back to them, you can get a very significant discount. Can't remember the details but a few minutes exploring their website will be well rewarded.

At the other end of the spectrum, how cheap can you go before the VFM equation tends to zero?

I'm also in the market for a cycle-camping tent that will serve both me solo and me and Mrs P.

My Coleman tent cost me £80 and as I said above I got very good value out of it.  Their current equivalent is on sale at Milletts at the moment for £79.00

[mark]

Hi, I'm considering some cycle camping next summer and need a one-person tent, of which my knowledge is scant!

This is for sale "elsewhere", and I wondered if, at £80 posted including the footprint is a reasonable prospect. The seller says it has only been used for a couple of weeks
http://www.eurekaeurope.com/p/spitfire-solo

Any other suggestions for a suitable not-too expensive tent would be welcome.
Thanks.

I would ask the seller for a picture of the tent in its current condition, or inspect it yourself. If it was pitched in strong sunlight for a couple weeks (as on a vacation to southern Europe or the southwestern US), the UV light could well have caused substantial deterioration of the tent fabric. If it was pitched in a shadier environment, or taken down most mornings and pitched again at night, it should be in much better condition. That tent retails for ~ £130 new with the footprint, so £80 is definitely as much as I would spend for a used one.

Eureka is a US brand with a long history of providing good entry level, value for money tents. I wouldn't use one for extreme conditions or a round the world cycle tour, but for someone just trying camping/trekking/cycle camping for the first time Eureka tents are a good choice.

Joining the chorus at the upper end of the price spectrum, Hilleberg will be introducing a solo 3 season tent called the Niak 1.5 in early 2016. The main tent is free standing, which is nice for wild camping, and the vestibule is staked out. Hilleberg also makes a 3 season solo tent called the Enan, which is lighter but not freestanding.

[BobScarle]

Last year was my first attempt at cycle touring. I bought a small one man tent for the holiday.  Go Outdoors are still selling them.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/north-ridge-col-lite-backpacking-tent-p287260

Cannot fault the tent itself, but it was just far too small. The bedroom was just about sleeping bag size and the porch was not big enough for all of my luggage. I sold it after the holiday.

For this year's I bought a Coleman Caucasus 2, two man tent. It is quite a bit heavier than I would have ideally liked but not much more than others I considered. The big benefits are that there is a lot more room in the bedroom and it has a big porch area for cooking and storage. Very pleased with it, quick and easy to pitch, waterproof.

http://www.coleman.eu/uk/p-26291-caucasus-2.aspx

[mcshroom]

That North Ridge (I think that's Gelert's current trade name) is very like my old Coleman Viper, which was a great little tent, but let down by a leaky groundsheet after a few years. Blacks have a similar design to that in the Octane one for a similar price.

I've happened to end up with two colement tents in a row for cycle touring. My current tent is a Coleman Cobra 2, which is very similar in design to the Vango Banshee 200. It, like Ruthie's X2 survived some pretty rough winds and a heavy overnight storm while riding round Scotland. It's a little flappy in the wind but stable enough.

I'll add another voice to the '2 person tent for single rider' brigade. It's useful to have the extra space. I'd also recommend scaling up at least a person if you share a tent, as neither my, nor Ruthie's tent would have fitted two downmats in at the foot end.

[sojournermike]

I've got a TerraNova Laser Competition 2, which I really like. I think the Zephyros 2 is the same, but a bit heavier and more robust and seems to be available at really low prices currently. With a footprint you can leave the inner behind and use it like an enclosed tarp. All good stuff.

I was a bit disappointed when I realised that they don't make them (these anyway) in Alfreton anymore.

[Vince]

I have a Eureka Moonshaddow. I'm very happy with the quality of it, less so the minimalist design - its known as The Coffin for a very good reason.
Looking at the Spitfire, I'm impressed that there appears to be sitting height, and @ 110 cm its not that narrow for a solo tent. I like small tents that have the side opening.
Less good, its pitched inner first without the possibility of leaving inner and outer connected. It means that the inner will get wet if pitching in the rain.
Have you looked at the Vango Banshee 200 or 300? We have these for the Explorers and they are reasonable price and have survived 3 years so far.

[mrcharly-YHT]

At the other end of the spectrum, how cheap can you go before the VFM equation tends to zero?

The now legendary ProAction 1-person tents that Argos were selling for a little over 20 quid a few years back.  Packs small and properly lightweight, admirably waterproof, fiddly to pitch, a bit small (porch is enough for your shoes), bright orange and freezing in the wind.

I have 2. Green, not orange and only cost me £15 each. Main flaw is the fly zip is weak and prone to damage if you zip up when the fly is tight.
They have the best-quality poles I've ever seen on any tent, pitch very easily and quickly once you know how and will stand up to a raging hurricane.  The porch is big enough for several pairs of shoes and the tent is really quite long so lots of storage space inside.

Not sure why you say they are freezing in the wind, cause mine are as well sealed as any tent I've ever seen. I'd think we were talking about different tents except mine are definitely Pro-action-1 from Argos.
Did they have two different designs? I think I'm going to have to erect mine and take pictures.

[Pickled Onion]

At the other end of the spectrum, how cheap can you go before the VFM equation tends to zero?

The now legendary ProAction 1-person tents that Argos were selling for a little over 20 quid a few years back.  Packs small and properly lightweight, admirably waterproof, fiddly to pitch, a bit small (porch is enough for your shoes), bright orange and freezing in the wind.

Hard to beat in VFM terms.

I bought one of those for about £15 (new) for my first cycle camping trip. It is incredibly light, partly because it's single skin, which means it suffers from condensation. When I got back I stuck it on ebay and got £20 for it, so I guess the VFM ratio tends to infinity.

[bikepacker]

There are some great tent offers on the web at the moment. Yeoman's are doing the Coleman Caucasus 3 for £99 less £25 if you type in their code. http://www.yeomansoutdoors.co.uk/camping.aspx/tents/2-4-man-tents/green/coleman/caucasus-300-tent/53017205015#.Vjsr15BFDcs

That is half the normal price for a tent that is pretty good.

[mrcharly-YHT]

At the other end of the spectrum, how cheap can you go before the VFM equation tends to zero?

The now legendary ProAction 1-person tents that Argos were selling for a little over 20 quid a few years back.  Packs small and properly lightweight, admirably waterproof, fiddly to pitch, a bit small (porch is enough for your shoes), bright orange and freezing in the wind.

Hard to beat in VFM terms.

I bought one of those for about £15 (new) for my first cycle camping trip. It is incredibly light, partly because it's single skin, which means it suffers from condensation. When I got back I stuck it on ebay and got £20 for it, so I guess the VFM ratio tends to infinity.

OK, that is definitely nothing like my pro-action-1 tent! (which is double-skin, inner-pitch first)

[Kim]

At the other end of the spectrum, how cheap can you go before the VFM equation tends to zero?

The now legendary ProAction 1-person tents that Argos were selling for a little over 20 quid a few years back.  Packs small and properly lightweight, admirably waterproof, fiddly to pitch, a bit small (porch is enough for your shoes), bright orange and freezing in the wind.

Hard to beat in VFM terms.

I bought one of those for about £15 (new) for my first cycle camping trip. It is incredibly light, partly because it's single skin, which means it suffers from condensation. When I got back I stuck it on ebay and got £20 for it, so I guess the VFM ratio tends to infinity.

OK, that is definitely nothing like my pro-action-1 tent! (which is double-skin, inner-pitch first)

Mine is also double-skin and pitches inner first...  Ah, found a photo^[1]:



Perhaps I'm unfairly comparing it to the Akto wrt space and warmth (the warmth issue is mostly about the fly not reaching the ground).

The porch is indeed big enough for several pairs of shoes, but you only generally have the one.  What it isn't really big enough for is panniers of stuff.

Agreed about the quality of the poles.  It is in general admirably sturdy.


_{[1] The 2009 Andover weekend.  Properly vintage, as I have a silly bike and crap panniers.}

[mrcharly-YHT]

similar but not identical to mine. The fly pitches to the ground in mine. I'll dig it out and put it up someday.

[CAMRAMan]

It's bigger than a one-man tent, but someone on another forum I use is selling a Vaude Taurus 2 with footprint for £50. That is a stonking bargain. I've toured with mine and although it's advertised as a 3-man tent, you'd be very close buddies. It has loads of space, especially under the awning and I love the way mine can be pitched so quickly. I have no relationship to the seller.

http://www.c90club.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=26820

[Polar Bear]

At the other end of the spectrum, how cheap can you go before the VFM equation tends to zero?

The now legendary ProAction 1-person tents that Argos were selling for a little over 20 quid a few years back.  Packs small and properly lightweight, admirably waterproof, fiddly to pitch, a bit small (porch is enough for your shoes), bright orange and freezing in the wind.

Hard to beat in VFM terms.

I bought one of those for about £15 (new) for my first cycle camping trip. It is incredibly light, partly because it's single skin, which means it suffers from condensation. When I got back I stuck it on ebay and got £20 for it, so I guess the VFM ratio tends to infinity.

OK, that is definitely nothing like my pro-action-1 tent! (which is double-skin, inner-pitch first)

Mine is also double-skin and pitches inner first...  Ah, found a photo^[1]:



Perhaps I'm unfairly comparing it to the Akto wrt space and warmth (the warmth issue is mostly about the fly not reaching the ground).

The porch is indeed big enough for several pairs of shoes, but you only generally have the one.  What it isn't really big enough for is panniers of stuff.

Agreed about the quality of the poles.  It is in general admirably sturdy.


_{[1] The 2009 Andover weekend.  Properly vintage, as I have a silly bike and crap panniers.}

And just look at that stool - pre Helinox era!   

[Kim]

And just look at that stool - pre Helinox era!   

It's a Coleman Exponent, and I used it as recently as Dufton, because I'd crammed my panniers with spare clothes (in anticipation of Weather) and didn't have room for the Helinox.

It's half the weight and a fraction of the packed volume of a Helinox, easier to get out of, more practical for cooking, but nowhere near as comfy for long-term lounging around.  I prefer it if I'm going to be doing more cycling than hanging around on campsites, on the right tool for the job principle.