Tell me about… tents

No. 1 will be doing DofE and several other things next year, but we’ve never camped. I think she’ll need a tent, and it would be good to give her some experience under ‘canvas’ before then.

What sort of thing am I looking at? Want something a bit more robust than a ‘festival tent’; 2 or 3 person maybe?

I think there is a DofE list of approved tents.  Unless you think she’s likely to use it after DofE, I wouldn’t spend a fortune. Something like a Vango Banshee is a good balance IMO of VfM, quality and weight. The 200 is supposedly for 2 people, but really for 1 and the 300 is supposedly for 3 but really for 2.  Plenty of others in the Vango range that would suit too.  Their tents are well made and it’s a British (Scottish) company.

I would suggest you don’t buy anything just yet – wait until she knows what group she will be in. For example, my two girls have just done Bronze – one was sharing with two others, the other with one other. One of the party in the larger tent already had a suitable slightly larger tent, the other used my little tent.

Also, the school will ordinarily be able to supply tents for those that don’t have them – if you don’t camp, you could be wasting money on something that may never be used again.

Then you have the rest of the stuff she will need – the main things being a rucksack, self-inflating camping mat and sleeping bag. For the sleeping bag, if you are buying, I would strongly recommend a three-season. Anything lower will run the risk of being too cold – I just used one for Glastonbury (8deg overnight) and it was just right. My niece only had a two-season and she ended up having to layer up.

Will she have to carry it around? If not, Decathlon popup FTW (although practice taking it down and repacking it beforehand). We’ve found Decathlon tents generally well made, very reasonably priced with lots of well-thought-out detail.

Thanks, there does seem to be enthusiasm for garden camping at the very least so I don’t want something too flimsy.

Nevis 300 or equivalent?

@pondo I assume they will for DofE

Will she have to carry it around?

Yes they do – it’s point-to-point so everyone has to carry everything they need for the expedition (tent, cooking utensils, food, water etc).

GoOutdoors is pretty good BTW – they have DoE recommended kit. If you wait until she is registered with DoE, she’ll have a discount code she can use for discounts.

I think the other thing she’s doing has got her a load of discount codes, fortunately.

It also turns out that Vango have an outlet helpfully.

I assume they will for DofE

Ah – fair enoughski, never done it. 🙂

Also, although I’m normally a bit wary of the jungle that is Facebook marketplace, it is usually awash with very lightly used tents.  Mostly at bargain prices and I suspect being sold by the parents of kids who have recently completed DofE.  If you can physically examine one it could be a very budget friendly way to get a decent tent.

@blokeuptheroad That thought had occurred but I’m not sure what I’m looking at.

@blokeuptheroad That thought had occurred but I’m not sure what I’m looking at.

I would say have a lookout on marketplace for any of the tents listed on the DofE recommended tent list. I would only buy locally and go and have a good look first to make sure it’s in good nick.  What are you looking for? No rips or tears, no mould or stains, clean, zips all working, poles all present and intact, all pegs, guy lines and storage bags present.

I personally wouldn’t bother with Facebook unless you are really watching the pennies. Vango tents are good value anyway and there are a few options on the Outlet site.

There are basically three factors.

Weight, size and stability.  For bronze DoE she isn’t going to need an expensive 4 season mountain tent so pretty much anything made by Vango will be fine.

So it’s weight v size. For DoE she will need to carry it or most likely half of it. How big is she? If she and her friends are fairly tiny then get one of the little cairngorm 200s. It will be a squeeze but the weight reduction will be a benefit.  If she is a bigger girl then get a 250 or 300.  An extra kilo split with her mate won’t be an issue and they will be more comfortable.  It will also be more pleasant for garden/car camping.

https://www.campingrecycled.co.uk/hydra-200-refurbished

Looks alright 3kg split between 2. Porch to cook in.

She’s well over 5′ at 13½. I expect she’ll be taller than me soon enough.

(Also the small one will probably want to follow in her footsteps so we will get two kids out of this).

If you live near a Go Outdoors or a decathlon why not go and have a roll around in a few. Note the internal and pack size, head room etc and get a feel for what she would be comfortable in.  Also look out for a well designed porch that she can cook in if it is peeing it down.

If you think that there’s any chance that either or both of your children will carry on camping (!) it may be worth buying a good quality one and take care of it. I have a MacPac tent that I bought in 1995 that was at the top and of my budget at the time, I used it every day for four months on a round the world trip and a few times each year ever since. It’s still waterproof and structurally sound. It’s always stored bone dry and loosely packed in a big lightproof bag in the loft.

it may be worth buying a good quality one and take care of it.

The problem is that she may well be sharing with others who really don’t care about her expensive tent. Mine came back grubbier than it went, but it’s ten years old, bought second-hand and used for festivals and stuff so I don’t care.

As an example of how doe folk treat there tents we once followed a young lass in the pouring rain drag her tent along the ground. It really was tipping it down

Her bag was a a LOT lighter  after walking up and down hope valley .?

She did get it all back as we picked up most of it and a leader doing doe found the rest.

Coleman are not what they used to be vango are basic but good for weekends.

Whatever you get, get her to put the tent up at least a couple of times in the garden. When it comes to setting it up in anger so to speak, it will give confidence, and the instructors like that sort of thing.

Im sure in DoE, some kids will be standing there thinking wtf do i do with this bit 😕

For those individuals it will sap their confidence, and might become negative when undertaking other tasks. Its a fun yet confidence building course, and nothing will sap that more than feeling unsure/left out

Plus i think knowing how to do something like setting up the tent will elevate her in the eyes of other attendees, which will also go a-ways to increasing confidence in self.

.

As to tent choice. Personally a bit of a Vango fan() but currently have a Snugpak, which is more the one man tent/bivvy crossover, but is pretty good. So maybe something like the Snugpak journey trio(also comes in a duo) which isnt in the really expensive line at about 220, but not a cheapie,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305569524545?itmmeta=01J24SRZHRNTQNRC9ZDKPK7N7F&hash=item47255ceb41:g:0n4AAOSwuelmRd0r

Yes, definitely planning a bit of garden camping (getting them to pitch it is a good shout) but also as she’s staying under canvas next summer having never done this. Plus we did garden camping as kids and it was quite good fun even in the wet and midgie infested west of Scotland.

Is she already enrolled in DofE. If so, she will get a discount at Blacks & Go Outdoors. And the discount is off the sale price too and a Go Outdoors their DofE discount card counts as their stupid membership card so you don’t need to buy one. If she is enrolled and doesn’t think she’s got a discount card when you log on to eDofE you can easily download a virtual one or a paper copy to print.

vango are basic but good for weekends

It depends what model you buy. Vango are actually very much a dependable middle-ground brand, with some decent ultra-lightweight options too – see the Vango Helium stuff. As an entry-level, but not shoddy tent brand, they’re a bit of a shoe-in.

The problem with cheap tents generally is that they tend to be heavy – what you pay for with tents is good quality lightweight fabrics, pole materials and design plus construction that you won’t necessarily appreciate until things go nuts. Unfortunately a lot of DOE kiddies seem to end up with heavy-ish tents, which given that they have to carry them, but tend to be smaller in stature than the typical adult, is a bit of shame and not really a recipe for a happy day out. If you can stretch to a lighter, good quality tent, it’ll make the experience a lot more pleasant imo.

The other brand I’d consider, would be Alpkit. Again reasonably priced, decent quality. Bear in mind too, that the tent market is a bit mad. Not many brands sell at RRP, so look around lots before buying. I know the guys who started Alpkit and when they first introduced tents, they didn’t realise this, so in effect their carefully calculated price-points calibrated against other brands’ RRPs were uncompetitive.

Beyond Vango and Alpkit, you get into the world of premium tent brands, which are often very good, but also correspondingly spendy. Think MSR, Hilleberg, Big Agnes, etc. Macpac are very good, but a little weighty by modern standards and harder to find in the UK.

My daughter did her Bronze this week too. School supplied the tents.

They broke them down and distributed them amongst the team. One got the Trangia, one got the poles and pegs, one got the tent and liner.

For garden camping I would recommend something like this. I have been using one for the last 5 or 6 years on Scout camps (for me) and it hasn’t shown any signs of wear. If it is abused or put away wet it will fall apart, but that goes for any tent.

https://www.millets.co.uk/16231964/eurohike-avon-3-dlx-nightfall-tent-16231964/3658332/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-ai0BhDPARIsAB6hmP7lVfw81Ze8SrZR6ukPLqJ59FfuVbHQNUDzt8tBA9_g1Gutatp4lT4aAoJLEALw_wcB

OEX do a number of decent back-packing tents. Go for a 2 man, especially if you want to store bags inside. Just gives that bit more space. I’d get one you could use bike-packing, so watch the weight.

I recently got a lightweight tent from a fellow cyclist for a bargain (used).  Decathlon pop ups are great, but not if you’ve not got a car.

We’ve now got the back packing tent, two Decathlon 3xl pop ups and a big traitional ‘bell tent’.

My daughter did her Bronze this week too. School supplied the tents.

They broke them down and distributed them amongst the team. One got the Trangia, one got the poles and pegs, one got the tent and liner.

Just to clarify, this is standard the nation over. Only in specific pastoral cases do we allow kids to carry a tent for just themselves. From a practical perspective with DofE level gear it’s just too hard work. At bronze they are physically too small and at gold with 5 days rations to carry it can get overwhelming. Similarly I’d never give ultralight kit to a kid with that level of experience as they just don’t understand how to care for it and work around it’s limitations. There are also other factors to work around. Camping solo it’s relatively easy to find a bit of ground that’ll work for your fragile one man tent – but as a group of 7 where being ‘together’ is the main draw for doing the whole thing finding good ground can be a real challenge even for experienced eyes. Imo especially at bronze level tents that are tight but just about manageable for 3 are perfect. This is for practical reasons and they seem to work best for group social harmony too. For some the only way you can get them out there is if they are in a one man tent with their mates sharing bigger multi person tent(s), but as an assessor even when you meet the group away from camp you can see the ‘campsite divide’ oozing through.

Vango is imo the sweet spot for kids on expedition. Personally if the tent you buy is for garden sleepovers and for contributing a tent come the exped I’d go for a small Vango 3 man.

Got my son a Vango Scafell 300 3-man for DofE bronze couple of years ago, cost 179.99
He split it with a mate for carrying.
Me and him used it to camp out one night when we were down in Dorset so its already paid for itself in saved B&B costs. Very good tent, perfect for two people

Sorry when I put vango are basic I was referring to ease of use more than bargain basement. It doesn’t read right on my earlier post.

Ive abused one of the 3 man ones with only snapping a pole in bad weather and an even worse mood

As badlywireddog and others have said, weight for DofE is a problem. If she’s practical, and has to carry the whole thing, and can practice putting it up I’d get the lightest she can, and that usually means small and fiddly.  I’ve got a Vango 200 and a WC zepheros. I know which I’d rather carry.

But again – balance weight against price against repeat usage. It would be criminal to spend £££££s on an ultra-light tent for one weekend that’s not used again. IIRC, we spent about £140 in total – two 3season sleeping bags and two self inflating mats, my old tent and some sensible sorting of bits n bobs. Spending silly money on fancy tents at this stage feels wasteful. There’s plenty of time to update in the future if they want to do silver / gold.

Vango force 10 mk4.

That will learn them the value of weight saving.

johndohFree Member
But again – balance weight against price against repeat usage. It would be criminal to spend £££££s on an ultra-light tent for one weekend that’s not used again. IIRC, we spent about £140 in total – two 3season sleeping bags and two self inflating mats, my old tent and some sensible sorting of bits n bobs. Spending silly money on fancy tents at this stage feels wasteful. There’s plenty of time to update in the future if they want to do silver / gold.

Yep. A reasonable sleeping bag (we’ve got Vango 3 season jobs which are warm, durable and light), set of mess tins, and a mat. Let school worry about the expedition tent, assuming that they are providing, and if you want to have a go in the garden get something cheap if it doesn’t need to be carried about.

Or, enrol the kid in Scouts and practise with their kit!

Guides round here!

Brand-wise, another vote for Vango. They make great quality, decently priced tents.

The Alpkit Aeronaut 2 is a good deal at £169.00 and is 1Kg lighter than the Vango Banshee 200 all be it £20.00 more expensive.

Aeronaut 2