[Closed] need a new touring tent

See what Turnaround on here can get?

I bought a Mountain Hardware tent from him, and gotta say, I'm more than chuffed... 8)

Only one option - Hilleberg Nallo GT.

Oh-just read your last sentence.

Still only only one option Hilleberg! Mines 10 years old and still going strong with over 50 + nights a year in it.

at about 480 quid in the sales rrp of about 650 its about double what id be looking to spend.

but i dont disagree its good kit and id have one in a flash ....

strong light cheap - pick two 🙂

Anything n the wild country / terra nova range? I have a trisar which is nigh on 20 years old and is still good and waterproof. I think they still make a version of this.

Whats your budget?

http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/Brand/Wild_Country/Backpacking_Tents/Trisar_Green.html

thats more like it TJ

im aware of bontrager 😉 hence why weight isnt a huge consideration - pack size is though.

my vaude was 5 years old and did 6 months of daily up and down use in its final years - went out in a blaze of glory - even broken it did an enviable job ! - remember sitting in it shitting my self as several other tents around me were being blown to bits. in a camp site near invercargill on a particularly stormy night. - knowing that i had a spiral crack all the way round the main pole being held together with duct tape

Its not really the same tent as mine - but its very similar - mine was a lot more expensive and was more akin to the terranova ones now.

worth a look - I think tisos stock them

Mcmoonter asked something similar recently; [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-tent-4 ]http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-tent-4[/url]

I'll make you the same offer as I won't be using my tent for a bit. It doesn't really fit all your criteria but I was very happy with my purchase - which was lucky as it took long enough to make a decision and i was very nervous buying it unseen. I think they may have changed the fabric recently so there may be some in the bargain bin on their site.

what about the Bikamper?

Seems cheap and as it uses the bike as a frame, it's only 1.65 kg.. Even comes with a bar-bag.

Anyone tried one?

bikamper is crap beyond crap it really is

i should have mentioned we need it to be at least 2 berth !

mustard - thanks for the offer but i really cant see mrs T-R going for that !

i really cant see mrs T-R going for that

unless im imagining it all wrong from those photos it looks alot like a tarp propped up with poles but with an attached ground sheet ?

we are looking for a little more comfort - if i knew what i know now id not have taken the vaude to nz

I can highly reccomend the Terra-nova Voyager XL. it's very light and HUGE!

[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Terra-Voyager-XL-Tent-GREEN/dp/B004Z941HA/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1330011659&sr=8-5 ]On Amazon...[/url]

TR, mustard and I slept in the tent on and off for a month touring last October. I hadn't camped since i was about 14 and i like my comforts when i'm riding day after day. I didn't have any issues with mustard's tent; only issues were spanish camping grounds which was like sleeping on rock, a few cold showers and i missed having a chair to sit on during meals. 🙂

Fair enough; it is essentally a tarp with a heavier weight groundsheet and mossie net inner walls. V.light, spacious (inc two big porches) and quick to pitch. DGOAB survived in it even a night in Trevelth (sp?), Sierra Nevada in October.

Druidh has one that is/was made by a British bloke I think would tick your boxes but I can't remember the name of it.

ah-ha! [url= http://www.robertsaunders.co.uk/pages/spacepacker.html ]spacepacker[/url] I almost borrowed it when it looked like mine wasn't going to turn up in time.

We used a Saunders Galaxy for touring. It's not the lightest at around 3kg, but can fit a bike and panniers (at a squeeze) in each porch, and definitely has enough room for four panniers+ each end. Easy to pitch and survived some pretty hard abuse. Needs new zips now, but we've slept in it over 300 nights with a lot of very sandy desert use.

it seams to have dropped weight and price since we bought ours too. [url= http://www.robertsaunders.co.uk/pages/galaxy.html ]Galaxy[/url]

[url= http://www.spikeoutdoors.co.uk/mountain-equipment-dragonfly-2xt.html ]Mountain equipment dragonfly 2 xt[/url] or the [url= http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/showPart.asp?part=PN30653 ]dragonfly 3 xt[/url]

I have the non xt version and an testify its bulletproof.

Aye - if they are still available, then a Spacepacker would be a good option. Very flexible storage/porch options and plenty room for two inside. I'm sure they could be made lighter with some more up-to-date materials but I've had mine for 20+ years.....

http://www.tarptent.com/scarp2.html

I like my North Face Tadpole. Its a reasonable size, and not too heavy. It does pitch inner first, but that's rarely a problem.

I've also used a Terra Nova Laser Large, and I liked it. Though I think it has now been discontinued.

If you can't afford a Hilleberg then I'd def go with what Baldy says.

Terra Nove Quaser is an expedition climbing tent - I alway have a s**** to myself when ever I see one in a campsite. The weight to space ratio is awful compared to a decent tunnel tent and you just don't need the extra supposed strength in 98% of situations. And that's from someone who's spent the last decade camping in Scotland and Wales every Christmas and New Year in every weather imaginable, let alone the rest if the year.

Rik - Member
Terra Nove Quaser is an expedition climbing tent - I alway have a s**** to myself when ever I see one in a campsite.

It's not about only being able to buy one tent, it's buying one tent that's totally inappropriate for the needs of the vast majority of it's users. They have heard it's the best, because it's okay on an 8000m peak so a weekend in the lakes in summer it must be the best tent.

rik - having camped in inclement weather in the highlands I am quite happy to have a proper mountaineering tent. (mines a trisar)

TJ-Having camed in full on Scottish winter weather I'm glad I have a hilleberg nallo gt. As in a 36 hour storm I didn't go quite mad couped up in a tiny geodesic tent.

quasar is not tiny. Its bigger than my trisar and we have had 4 people in that playing cards,

Being a tentaholic, I have a few of the tents mentioned here...

Quasar. Fantastic solo base camping tent or shared for 'real' mountaineering trips to the wilderness. I used mine for ~70 nights a couple of years ago when knocking the Munros off. Bit heavy and bulky for bikepacking.

Spacepacker. My two person backacking tent. Bit pokey for extended use and cos of the shape, you get a faceful of cloth and your feet poke the other end. This means when it's a bit muggy or there's condensation, your bag can pick up a bit of damp (not good for down...). Very compact and only 1 3/4kg

Tadpole. My default bikepacking tent. Spacious and comfy. Nothing pokes anything so no damp/condensation problems. Inner pitching first so not brilliant for UK and mine has a mesh inner so a bit brrrrrrr in UK winter (think they've changed this now). 2 and a bit kilos, very compact but a nice place to spend a lot of time in. We used this during our 4000 mile Euro end to end trip and Manche to Med a couple of years ago so it's had some hammer. I'd buy another.

TJ- Quasar is tiny , the hyperspace or cosmos are the bigger ones.

I'll take my huge and strong and lighter hilleberg any day of the week.

It's a losing agruement you are trying to win, you are not a climber camping out in the extremes on the Ben or about to approach a north face in winter.

Mr Trail_rat - if it was my money i'd buy this [url= http://www.robertsaunders.co.uk/pages/galaxy.html ]tent[/url]a veritable bargain for the cash

And ignore our ramblings about what is better than another.

Golite shangrila 3. Is my choice, so light, but no porch, but it's very adaptable... Love it to bits

I have also been touring with a tentipi but you have to be right hard to haul 13kg on a one man trip.... Loads of room.

I guess I like pointy tents.

Rik its simply not tiny. Its bigger than my trisar and that is a big two person tent/ It may be heavy for its size but thts a differnt arguemtn

[img] [/img]

Rik - Member
It's not about only being able to buy one tent, it's buying one tent that's totally inappropriate for the needs of the vast majority of it's users. They have heard it's the best, because it's okay on an 8000m peak so a weekend in the lakes in summer it must be the best tent.

Get a Tadpole, ~£150 on line at LD Mountain Centre...

Trail Rat I have a Vaude Hogan that was my Dads, I think he only used it a couple of times so its VGC. Let me know if you're interested.

Macpac Macrolight.
Should be a good tent.
http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/showPart.asp?part=PN70310
Macpac Minaret. Proven Mountain tent
http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/showPart.asp?part=PN70308

Crux X2 Bomb - Roomy porch. (I have the small porch version, storm, its very very good)
http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/showPart.asp?part=PN91140

I generally use a macpack microlight (the 1 man version) though. I can get my panniers in the porch but its tight in there.

Minaret works, we have 2 thanks to macpac sponsorship. When msr sponsored us we used a minaret with msr stickers on it ! Macro light very fragile in my experience. Only other would be al Hubbard bubba up but small. Minaret has seen lots of action, light drable and shows no wear. SAR use tem here.

I have a Microlight and it's survived storms that have flattened other tents.

My biggest bugbear with it is that opening the door fully allows rainwater to fall into the inner tent. I'd also prefer a slightly larger "porch" area for sheltered cooking - although the ability to unhook one corner of the inner does improves things a little.

+1 for Turneround. Mountain Hardwear Lightwedge. Sorted.

TJ - that is a small tent.

If I was as pedantic as you I'd be googling and posting a floor plan of a nallo gt 2 to show you how small that tent is. But I'm not.

Nzcol - Minaret is an ace tent! Def be my second choice after a nallo if you dint need the extra space of the GT vestibule.

I always chuck the GoLite Shangrila 3 tent into these kind of threads too.
There's a half nest available to make an absolutely vast porch too.

Or you can just use the full nest and have loads of inside space.

[img] [/img]

That's the oookworks half nest - I'm not sure if it's *quite* big enough for 2 comfortable in this configuration, but it's a nice topic to go researching.

I've got a Lightwave G20. I really like it. I think it comes out at 2.4kg, and it is quite spacious. I've just been touring around spain and it was solid, even in snow and heavy wind. It fitted in my rear pannier along with a dry bag of clothes, some maps and a pair of sandals. I like that it is free standing for when I camp in FC carparks, 😀 and it is simple to put up and take down. I like the vents on it too. The door opening is a bit awkward in a way, but other than that I really like it.

I'm not a tent geek particularly, but I think it's a good un.

I seriously considered the Shangrila but decided against it because of teh pole in the middle and that, being quite tall, I thought I'd be waking up with a face full of fabric every morning.

I hear you mustard. Although next to the pole is longer than just about any other tent out there (I can't find the exact inner nest dimension though).

They also rely 100% on pegging too. Some of these free-standing tents can be better for craggy hillsides, where pegging isn't quite so critical.