See recent thread on Chinese tents such as Lanshan 🙂

I met a lady with one of those – we were camping at a beach on Orkney.
She had to take the tent down and leave once the wind got up (prob 25mph). She said that wasn’t the first time this had happened.

My pal and I were fine
I have a Terra Nova Zephyros 2 and he has something cheap.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/trekking-tunnel-tent-trek-900-ultralight-2-person-grey/_/R-p-323505

I have the 1 man version, well made and very light

It’s worth trying to find one to try out in the shop – Go Outdoors have big enough space to have a few on show from the enormouse palaces down to tents like the MSR.

When we got ours (Big Agnes Copper Spur) we were also considering an MSR. A friend had the one person version so put it up in our living room(!). At which point I discovered that I couldn’t sit up in it without scraping my head against the inner. The two man version was the same height so it got discounted.

Then there’s things like how easy they are to put up/take down – some can be a real faff if you haven’t used them before. A lot of tents now have colour coded tabs and pole ends just for this reason. I don’t think any use red and green but if you were red-green colourblind that’s something to watch out for.

The Alpkit Jaran 2 is their version of the Copper Spur and the MSR Hubba Hubba, 500g heavier than the Ordos but quite a bit more room since the internal walls are near vertical rather than sloping in. Also two door so if one person wants to get out in the night there’s less chance of disturbing the other.

Here y’go, or look at some of the other Luxe tents on that site.

Vango. My three man cost less than £100, weighs 2.5kg, and fits on my bars. It’s roomy for two people plus bags, three is very tight.

Trekkertents. I have a custom one. £300 1.2 kg and huge for two people

I have a friend with a 2 man Zephryos and it’s defo smaller than my 2 man SR II. I don’t know about the XL UL one mentioned above, think it was just a regular one my friend has.

Two porches either side is good for various reasons imo. We normally stick bags one side and use the other for cooking gear/shoes etc.

Silly question but is it a 2 person tent for using with 2 people? If so I’d not get too stressed about the weight. If it’s a 2 person tent used for ‘luxury’ solo use some time then it is far more of a concern.

Tents are a world of compromise……headspace often comes at the expensive of poor aerodynamics and doing less well in a blow. A 4 season fly that goes right down to the ground can induce condensation problems. Pitch outer first for easy pitching in the rain often means a slightly baggy inner that is easier to touch to the fly with your feet. Bombproof often means heavy. Lightweight often means a groundsheet that needs careful handling.

In a ‘don’t recommend what you own’ I think I’d be tempted to go Vango – not the last word in anything but a great balance of weight and robustness, great VFM and normally pretty idiot proof. There is a reason half the countries DofE groups sleep out in Vangos.

A bit fuller answer. As above tents are always a compromise. I have had many backpacking tents over the years but the custom trekkertent drift I have now although compromised is the best for my needs. Its a two man inner in a 3 man outer which took a fair bit of tinkering to make it work well but now I have it sussed its great. the basic tent is 1.2 kilos as it uses walking poles for poles and we are carrying them anyway ( and I have superlight CF poles)

Outer is hexagonal 3m across. Inner is 2.4m x 1.2 m. Two of us can sit up in it easily. It has 4 doors so is very flexible in use and with the larger outer there is enough space to get under the outer and take your waterproofs off without getting into the inner. Extended porches are well worth it in my view and need not add much weight

Disadvantages are the groundsheet is very thin but I always use a footprint anyway and I suspect it will be flappy in high winds

greatest thing about it is I can have the outer pitched in a minute – literally so very good if it raining – you can then fit the inner and unpack in the dry

Its a small scottish business as well which I like to support

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2hga3jn]IMG_1135[/url] by TandemJeremy, on Flickr

They also do smaller / lighter tents

http://www.trekkertent.com/home/

We’ve got the decathlon one mentioned above and also an OEX phoxx 2. Both good but would go with the Decathlon out of the two. Pitches all in one with only one pole and prefer having the asymmetrical layout with the larger recess on one side as it’s more useable.

Was going to mention Decathlon although nothing can beat my old Vango Storm 200+

Approx 2kg per person if split to carry, but it’s a bombproof and cavernous windcheater with lots of venting options and two exits/entrances.

If you see one used VGC snap it up.

You asked for light, so Decathlon Quickhiker 3 (split to carry)? Only thing is availability, no idea if they are restocking soon?

I always find 3 person or 2.5 person (300 or 200+) spaces work better for two, so I’d be checking the Alpkit Ordos 3 if looking that way. ymmv

@nostrils, I’ve just spotted that – it looks great! I’ve got an Easton Kilo which is ultra-light (about 1.2Kg, plus footprint) and I’ve loved, but a) it’s bright yellow so definitely not stealth and b) although it’s survived quite a lot of nights with me (and sometimes also my son) and the bike(s), it feels a little bit _too_ light for me. I love the robustness of Alpkit’s stuff and we have a Vango Airbeam 4-man tent which was a revelation, so a lightweight airbeam bikepacking tent seems like a brilliant idea to me. May well pre-order, especially if I can get the Kilo up on eBay next time it’s £1 listing weekend. 🙂

Hmm, that Alpkit is light for an inflatable tent.
I guess we’re all carrying a pump anyway.

Hmm, that Alpkit is light for an inflatable tent.
I guess we’re all carrying a pump anyway.

I’ve just changed my order from an Ordos 2 to the Aeronaut so I’ll give a review when I get it!

I’ve just changed my order from an Ordos 2 to the Aeronaut so I’ll give a review when I get it!

Great stuff. I did take a peek so would be interested to know especially how it gets on with condensation/venting

I’ve just changed my order from an Ordos 2 to the Aeronaut so I’ll give a review when I get it!

Please do. I was looking for a review on you tube but there seems to be nothing on it.

I’d be interested to see if you ,instead of rolling back the outer door, maybe suspend it outwards, by using some cut sticks and a couple of guy ropes, just to provide a rain shelter for cooking at the front.