New tent!
Quechua Quick Hiker 3 Fresh & Black
Update:
BN: Oh noes! It's b0rked!
GN: Since it happened just within the 30 days distance selling limit, and they still had some in stock, arranging a no-quibble exchange was simply a matter of filling in web form, and a replacement is already on its way to the collection point thingy at a nearby Asda. I will partake in some comedy off-roading
[1] to swap it for the new one later in the week.
Consensus amongst the various ALC types who were present is that this is a stress fracture caused by the crimping of the ferrule, and therefore a manufacturing defect. Certainly it's not where I'd expect a pole to fail. The hole in the fly is unfortunate collateral damage.
Conclusion after a further three nights of scorchio is that it does start to get quite warm if the air is completely still (I measured 33C in the tent when the ambient air was 26ish), but much less so than with traditional fabrics. As soon as there's a bit of breeze the difference is greatly reduced. Opening the door on the side that isn't in direct sunlight helps, but opening the one that is can make it heat up rapidly.
Useful side benefit of a completely black inner: It's of negligible interest to flying beasties. Over three nights my invaders were limited to a couple of ants on Watlington's flying ant day, and a solitary earwig (which may soon be on its way to the decathlon depot, because it's surprisingly hard to find earwigs in a black tent at night).
Still not had any rain, but the dew evaporation rate is - as you'd expect - at the Hilleberg (ie. slow) end of the spectrum.
At 4kg and most of a back-roller full, it's a bit too much tent for solo cycle touring, but still practical to carry by bike if you're riding somewhere to camp. I expect I'll be using it to enhance my sleep at the York Rally in future.
[1] There's a cyclepath that would be a convenient direct route, if you didn't need a mountain bike and no luggage to ride it easily.
