Bikepacking tent recommendations please!

Thanks again for all the advice, I think I’m going to try to get that Bobcat (thanks for that youtube link, very useful) on Friday when it releases, failing that I’ll get a Vango f10

Meanwhile I’ll take some time to learn to seal seams for future use

Also going to treat myself to a Vango Cobra 200 sleeping bag, as I have a very light and a very heavy bag but not an intermediate, and a Topeak Tetrarack so I don’t have to deal with swingy handlebar bags anymore

All I need now is some decent weather!

That Bobcat vid, Messner is out of breath just putting the tents up 🙂

Like his other videos, where pretty much every one is him walking at most 5 miles before pitching up.

Bobcat itself:

• a lightweight, slab faced tent is probably better with less guys and rely on the wind blowing it over rather than breaking poles and/or tearing.
• needs seam-sealing – fine for the first time but how often does it need doing, and no doubt you get a rainstorm to remind you it needs doing…
• only 1500mm head
• like most tents, should use a footprint/groundsheet

And even though Messner isn’t a tall bloke, would still have been useful for him to have laid in them both to see the actually length/width.

Must admit I do quite fancy having a go on the lanshan 1. There are a few different types so you need to be careful which one you get, depending on what you want.

Mine is the plus model, same size internally as the single skin pro model. I got it with the 4 season inner, it’s lighter than the summer one and it comes seam sealed.

Yes the guy does not give the impression of an intrepid wild camper, but you get a good look at the tents and he pulls them about a bit which is good to see

1500mm head seems standard for alot of these mega lightweights, same on £600+ tents which have multiple user reviews and youtube vids showing them in downpours not leaking. I did miss the seam sealing bit though, I had read it as being seam-sealed but you’re right, it says “can be seam sealed” so I guess it needs doing

Vango it is then!

I’ve just bought an MSR Hubba bikepacking tent. Not a recommendation yet, but I’ll be using it this weekend, so I’ll report back. The 2p one as I’m planning on using it for general camping with my son.

needs seam-sealing – fine for the first time but how often does it need doing

I’ve never had to re-seal the seams on a tent after doing it once but the following video suggests a couple of years.

I have a Lunar Solo and last year I bought a Alpkit Tarpstar 2 which only got tested once before completing the WHW.

I was really nervous about using but it performed really well under some bad conditions, including heavy rain, strong winds etc. It stayed upright and most importantly it kept me and my kit dry throughout the trip.  Overall  I am very pleased with it, not a bad pack size and weight.

The 2p one as I’m planning on using it for general camping with my son.

Blimey, that’s cheap!  Unless you mean Hubba Bubba, but I’m not sure how you could camp in a piece of bubblegum.

A different approach: there’s the MLD Trailstar (copy for £50ish), huge interior, loved by hikers in Scotland, the Lakesand US due to it’s weather-shedding abilities, bombproof design, light…

You could set it up with one pole and your bike.

+1 For the Alpkit Soloist, it’s super reasonably priced and not that heavy. I’ve had mine since 2021 and it’s not let me down yet! It’s also easy to repair. Stupidly, I had to repair the outer layer as my bar bag ended up slipping meaning my tyre burned a nice hole through the bag & outer 🙃

That Bobcat vid, Messner is out of breath just putting the tents up

He does seem, on occasion, to actually make it up a mountain. But most of his videos seem all about the gear not the adventure.

At least he is not one of the multitude of numpties who head up the hills in a gale, pitch on an exposed ridge line, and then do pieces to camera while the tent is torn to shreds around them, trying to suggest the tent is not up to 60mph wind, leaving them with a cold walk out before breakfast but seemingly lots of youtube clicks….and repeat…

On a bike packing tangent, I thought this was a nice idea (set up by two Belgians who rode from Brussels to Tokyo): Welcome To My Garden

Just bought a Bobcat U/L and Feral tarp (15% off the tarp) from Go Outdoors

I’ve just been debating whether to get a hoop bivi to bridge the gap between my 500g tarp/bivi bag option and my 1.7kg Alpkit Ordos 2.

I’m about to do a week long trip and it looks like I’ll be staying on campsites most of the time, I suddenly realised an open sided tarp is not only going to leave me with little privacy especially if I’m given a pitch in the middle of other campers, but also will probably leave me unable to lock my bike whilst I’m showering/eating etc (as I use it to support the tarp)

So this evening I just pitched the Ordos using the footprint and outer with no inner. That saves nearly 500g and overall weight is now just under 1.2kg…i really want to keep the weight down but at the end of the day it’s 550g more than the tarp but gives me loads of space and I’ll be a lot more comfortable after 6 nights!

I’ve tried a couple of hooped bivis in damp conditions and I think after a few days my gear will become quite wet from accumulated condensation so I’m holding fire on those. Even the tarpster 1 isn’t much lighter once you add in a pole.

X-Mid 2 Solid

These get excellent reviews and price up with import etc at checkout.

Room for up to 6 foot 4. There is a lighter mesh inner version but to be honest, in the UK I would prefer a bit of extra warmth for the sake of a little more weight.

Trekkertents are indeed a great shout too.

Cheers

Sanny

Ps I love my Hilleberg Niak. Amazing quality and design but eye wateringly expensive these days.

I’m very happy with my X-Mid 2 Solid, very easy to pitch and it packs really small: I can put the whole tent plus footprint, quilt, trekology pillow and some underwear in a 12L dry bag.

It also fits 2 25″ wide mats.

At the risk of having a lot of eye rolling over cost, it’s worth taking a look a Zpacks tents which are made from Dynema and are pretty spacious.

Obviously, not cheap, but I bought mine in 2015 and use it for quite a few events and S24O and apart from one trip when I forgot the poles it’s been very good.

You may find that you get people coming up and asking about the tent then telling you all that’s wrong with it including it not being waterproof, but they’re wrong 🤣

Got out in my new Vango f10 tent and cobra 200 bag last weekend. Coming from a hammock the ground is a bit less comfy but that tent feels huge!

Somehow my local woods had more mozzies than the Amazon (not an exaggeration but my actual experience) so I had to hide in the tent all evening and it’s great, you can sit up and move around in there

Sleeping bag was super cozy considering how tiny it packs down as well. Just need dry bags for both and I’m sorted

Tetrarack is awesome, haven’t even taken it off

Nice. What Vango f10 did you go for? It looks like there are a few different models. The Radon looks interesting.

That sleeping bag looks like it might be good value for money – quite small at the foot end though?

I got the Helium UL1

Yeah the bag is pretty narrow but I’m not one for comfort when camping anyway so doesn’t bother me. I am 6’2” with size 12 feet though so if you’re smaller than that you should have loads of room. Packed down it is smaller than my mountain warehouse 18C summer bag though!

I’ve the Helium UL1 too, you can attach the inner to the outer plus the groundsheet/footprint – means it goes up in ‘one’ go.

Yep I left it all attached when I took it down so hopefully tonight I can pitch quickly. Not using a footprint though, seems like carrying one negates the benefit of an ultralight tent a bit

Slowly putting together a bikepacking kit.

Don’t want to spend a fortune, as it won’t get used that often. OEX seems to be the sensible option for everything.

Anyone any experience with the Flux sleeping mat (considerably cheaper than a sea to summit equivalent) and the Fathom 300 sleeping bag? Circa £46 each with available discounts

Have a look at the decathlon 1.man tent. I have it door is on the side decent room for storage, inner first pitching though is my only down side.

Decent price for about £150 stood up to some strong winds last year.