I am committed to going camping in July and have to go and buy a tent before then. I am torn between the ultralight tents like the Alpkit Ordos and the Go Outdoors/Decathlon 2 man tents? has anybody got any constructive advice recommendations?

Are you carrying it? Then go light. If you’re not then go for heavier/roomier – you’ll appreciate the space…

If its a one off/very rare use buy cheap.

If your using it loads or have to lump it around the highlands for a week on your back them buy expensive.

Me thinks more info is needed.

I bought a £20 2 man tent from Decathlon when we went to Euro 2008.

I had planned to leave it there, but I still have it.

It’s fine for the odd bit of ad-hoc camping, but I wouldn’t trust it in anything but summer.

It’s for a sea kayaking trip but I also fancy the idea of a touring trip to Scotland on my bike. The Alpkit tents look nice but I am also worried about the durability.

What sort of camping? On your own of the top of a hill after a ten mile hike, or three feet from your car on a National Trust campsite?

Yeah, we need more info.. As Cougar says…

I bought this a few weeks ago to replace a Vango I handed to my nephews.. Obvz it’s ace, bit heavy (but I sure ain’t carrying it far) packs down well.

The sea kayaking will be on site in Anglesey but Scotland will be into the hills.

Personally Macpac or tera Nova for me. Macpac are great tents IMO but not ultra light.

Never buy a tent off a viking, those hats always leave holes.

The Vango Banshee is a pretty solid 2man tent. Good for any UK camping.

Macpac are great tents IMO but not ultra light.

They have bomb proof ground sheets, which means they last well, can be pitched in swamps, but will never win a weight weenie competition. I’d recommend them.

For UK hiking I’d want the following spec:

2 man tent under 2.5 kg
Pitch outer first with inner hanging off it (so you can pitch / un pitch in the rain and keep the inner dry).
Geodesic / semi-geodesic ie minimum number pegs required to stay up
Bomb proof ground sheet (camping on wet ground is no problem)

The Vango Banshee is a pretty solid 2man tent. Good for any UK camping

It’s a decent tent for the money but if it’s for 2 of you I’d say get the 300, the 200 is pretty cramped unless you’re tiny. It’s only about 300 grams heavier.

Buy one from Millets/Cotswolds in November to February, and their sales strap line is…….

As above, if you wont be carrying it on your back, go for a lightweight 2-person tent for some extra room and storage space. Im using a SMD Lunar Duo at the moment, which is very nice thank you but Ive still not got the hang of pitching the bastard just yet.

Always like the look of the Big Agnes Super Scout UL2 because of the big porch area, and if you;re made of money, the Hilleberg Nallo GT2 is said to be brilliant – not the lightest but very, very robust and again has a big porch for cooking when you;re trapped in the rain.

Have a look on here and here for inspiration.

Just sold a 3 man job I had (Coleman Phad X3) which had a nice bit of room, though I wouldn’t put 3 people in it… two with a small dog was cosy…. lovely semi-geodesic design bit weighty 3.5kg
After selling it I thought I should have kept it to do some bike packing…. I did managed to find my old Coleman tent from D of E but it’s over 10 year old now…. still at a 2 man tent its 3.25kg… might look around for something lighter….
The Go Outdoors OEX tents don’t look bad.

Cheers, Steve

Wait for the sales in november and then you can do Shakespeare Jokes.

“Now is the winter of our Discount Tents!”

These ones on Amazon get very good reviews from proper outdoorsy people. Naturehike Bargain Tent I’ve not tried one myself, but very tempted. Otherwise TerraNova all the way. I’ve had Mountain Hardwear, MacPac, Vango, and Terra Nova and of all of them the TerraNova was by far the best overall package.