As above,

In need of a 2 or 3 man tent that can handle Scottish and Alpine rain.
Have tried a few over the years, all of which have succumbed to the elements during a night long downpour.

Anyone have any recommendations?

Weight not an issue.

Ta

Hilleberg Stiaka.

Expensive mind.

Terra nova Quasar, been out in some horrible conditions without any problems.

I have a vango mirage 200 thats remained bone dry in rain in thunderstorm level downpours.

Its a cosy 2man but they do. A 300 too..

Have a look at Lightwave tents
UK brand, great quality

Second vote for the Terra Nova Quasar. Had mine for over 10 years and still going strong. Has been used in some horrendous conditions, usually in winter, and never let me down. Has porches at both ends for kit storage and cooking.
Only a two man tent though, I think you would struggle to get three in.

Tera Nova or Macpac in my book altho you pay for the privilege. Both make mainly high mountain tents, so might be a bit overkill for your needs. You could just try using a seam sealer with cheaper more standard tent brand ie vango, vaude etc

My lightwave tent has worked well. The only issue with mine is that the inner needs to be pitched first, which can be an pain if the tent needs to go up when it is raining. I think the newer lightwave tents allow for the fly to be pitched first. The XT versions also have a large vestibule that is handy if you have bikes with you.

Can recommend Vango Halo 200. Use it as a low level basecamp. Have survived some mental Cornish wind and rain on successive nights and days. 3 pole dome system makes it very rigid compared to other tents I’ve tried. It’s also taut when pitched correctly (can be pitched in one with innrer already attached) Having zips and porches each side also means I can get in and out away from the prevailing squalls by choosing the downwind exit (same thing with cooking) . It’s suprisingly roomy, never felt claustrophobic even after being rainbound for successive days with a kindle and radio for company.

I know that no tent is perfect but it’s the nearest I’ve found for the purpose (if I spent double would look for the same features but lose a kilo, moon on a stick style) So only downside I can think of is it’s too heavy for solo backpacking…doable if two share the weight by splitting contents.

MacPac have been good for us in torrential rain over prolonged periods.

Halo 200 review – (compared to Staika)

If money was no object I’d probably be looking at a Staika or Jannu

I’ll be the STW cliche and offer my own as recommendations (but only because they have been subjected to some pretty grim weather!)

As above, the Terra Nova Quasar is the go to tent for shit weather. It’s expensive and heavy though. I’ve got the Super Quasar which is the same tent but with a bit more room, which is well worth it if you’re going to spend lots of time in it. It’s £600 and about 4.5kg…but have a look on ebay, you could find a bargain. These tents age well. I’ve had it in some silly places in some questionable weather and honestly haven’t once been concerned about it’s robustness.

Also, as Elshalimo suggested, Lightwave make excellent kit. I was looking for a lighter 4 season tent without spending bonkers money (easier said than done) to use when the Quasar just wasn’t practical (ie multi day stuff on mountains in winter). I settled on the T2 Ultra. Which is a 4 season tent weighing in at 2kg. I had been a bit anxious to use the Lightwave where failure would be really problematic (bad weather up high in winter) because it just feels so flimsy compared to the Quasar. But, last year we were pitched up at Reiff in some unbelievable winds and it coped far better than I expected, so now we use it for all but the worst predicted weather. I also spent 2 full days stuck in it during a trip when it didn’t stop pissing it down the entire time and we didn’t have any problem with leaking.

Given that you’ve said weight isn’t an issue, I don’t think you can go far wrong with a Quasar. If you think you’ll be spending much time in it, or will have a reasonable amount of gear…get the Super Quasar.

Pitching it really well is as important as spending a fortune.
Choosing where to pitch, even on ‘flat’ site is also key to avoid puddles.
I have sprayed the inners of my tents with Nikwax proof to help with stray drips.
Plastic bag inside the tent is better that footprint under in keeping gear dry in really wet conditions.
Ventilate, Ventilate, Ventilate. Lots of wet in tents is condensation. Buy a tent with good ventilation – one of the things that let’s some of the tents listed above down.

Now I have had a coffee I might be more coherent.

My mirage is the older model which has a smaller porch than the currdnt one.

Three poles mean the tent is freestanding with the exception of the porch which does required a guy line. The outer is taught with no wrinkes or anything and can be adjusted with various straps. The porch has an entrance on both sides and i discovered last weekend has a nice pocket to role it completely away.

It is small though it comfy enough for me af 5’8 and a 5’4 lady friend to sleep and situp just! To be fair the gap between the inner Nd outer is pretty big so the odd brush against the inner is not a bother. The porch0 is small and the nature of the doorwayz mean you have to be careful opeing it or you get a wet neck.

Its lightish though 2.9 all is fine between 2 and it really is weather proof straight out the bag with all seams sealed contraries the snobbery above!

Halo looks good too for something slightly bigger.

Edit to add on Matts comments, its a front loader and low at the back any slight incline eeds to be considered although its possible to sleep with feet at the door its a pain to tranistion. Ventilation is pretty good with ve ts that prop open or hang open and doors that can be opened from the top a bit to provide airflow which brings me to the one thing I would change immediately, the door to the inner had a small section that unzipps to reveal a bugnet its small I wohld like the whole door to have a bug net especially as the porch can be totally packed away it would be a lovely view.

I bought an ex-display Terra Nova Trisar about 15 years ago.

It has been solid and completely waterproof, even in heavy Scottish rain.

They don’t make it anymore but the sister company Wild Country do an updated version.

It’s described as a 3 season which pretty much covers the temperatures that the vast majority of people would camp in.

If you want something for camping higher up or for winter time get a Terra Nova Quasar.

forgot to say – There are still a (very) few Vango Chinooks knocking about for sale.

I never got wet in my TNF tadpole despite monsoon like Lake District wild camping weeks. Might be a touch small if you’re after 2/3 man. Tadpole is comfy for 1 and ok for short trips with 2.

Just to reiterate what matt says. Ventilation is absolutely essential, you should have the doors as open as is practical and not block any draft under the tent fly. What you’ve succumbed to with previous tents might just as likely be condensation rather than rain getting in (unless you bought some real cheap tat).

Mountain Hardwear Trango – End of Thread.

MacPac +1

I’ll make two recommendations here. One down the route of ‘suggest what you have’ and the other down the ‘i wish I had’.

Firstly, Terra Nova Voyager XL. Got one, fantastic bit of kit. Rock solid, stacks of space. Love it to bits.

The seconds is the only tent I would currently replace it with… Mountain Hardwear Trango. My dad has one and I’ve never seen such a solid tent. It’ll handle absolutely anything that can be thrown at it, and still have plenty to give. If you have the budget, and truly aren’t bothered by weight, don’t even think twice about it. Just go and buy one.

Lots of very useful input!

Not necessarily what I was expecting on STW 🙂

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, much appreciated.

Do like the look of the MH Trango…

The only thing that I would warn about geodistic tents that pitch like MH Trango and similar, is that in my experience, if you have to pitch it in the rain, which you often do in this country, you can end up with the inside of your tent soaking wet before you even finish pitching it. Just a thought and the reason why I’ve never bought this type, there are lots of positives with them tho and some manufacturers might have found a solution now. The macpac olympus tents pitch everything at once so your inner never gets wet and it takes only a couple of minutes to pitch the macpac, the geodistic ones take a fair bit longer. The macpac is also dead easy for one person to put up.

Here’s the thing with the MH Trango – the inner is pretty bloody waterproof too. I’ve pitched it in many rainstorms and never has it been wet in the inside. Mine is around 15 years old now.

If the inner of the Trango is waterproof then you’d be soaked from condensation.

One of the characteristics of a mountain tent, the solid walls on the inner, makes it more prone to condensation. By adding waterproofing to it, you’d get wet every time you used it unless it was breezy and you had the doors open

If the inner of the Trango is waterproof then you’d be soaked from condensation.

Condensation is not an issue. I did not say that it was waterproof, I said it was pretty bloody waterproof. The qualifier makes all the difference.

Waterproofness shouldn’t be an issue at all, unless you’re talking about real cheapies. Certainly all of the good brands should be properly waterproof.

But, and this is the same but as waterproof jackets, that doesn’t mean you won’t find some water in there anyway, for the same sort of reasons: condensation, bringing it in with you when you get in and out in your wet kit, and maybe rain being blown up under the fly if conditions are conspiring against you and where you’ve pitched it.

FWIW I’ve a Macpac and a Terra Nova and have had no problems with waterproofing in either (well, Macpac has some actual holes in the fly now after about 15 years). Wouldn’t really be a factor if I were shopping for a new one now, I’d just assume they’re all waterproof.

Have a look at the Vango F10 range, I have owned the Spindrift and it was utterly bombproof, also pitches outer tent first. I still have a Nitro 200+ and it is ace. I also had an MH Trango 3 for nearly ten years and it was also utterly solid, UV got it in the end.

Since you said weight isn’t important, best to find a big tent that has a very large gap between inner and outer.

Here’s the thing with the MH Trango – the inner is pretty bloody waterproof too. I’ve pitched it in many rainstorms and never has it been wet in the inside. Mine is around 15 years old now.

This is my experience of them too, they’ll hold out for plenty of time to get the tent pitched in the rain. Same goes for the TN Voyager XL that I recommended as another option to the Trango.

With a bit of practice you can get either of them up pretty quickly too, particularly if you don’t peg them down initially and just focus on getting the outer on. Once the outer is over you can take all night if you need to.

Here’s a statistic for you, in the last 2 years I’ve had 2 Vangos,one Wild Country and a Lightwave and every one has been returned under warranty. Prior to that I had the same Vango for 15 years. Quality aint what it used to be.

Indeed, the last tent to fail the alpine rains was a wild country too.

Nothing to do with condensation, just leaked like a sieve in heavy rain. Granted is wasn’t a £600 super tent, but expensive enough that I expected more.

Not pleasant being woken up by rain dripping on your head at 3am…

Think you need a Explorer geodesic tent

I have a Lightwave G20 that I cannot recommend enough. It’s totally bomber. I never have any condensation issues, even in deep soggy/snowy winter, it is solid in windy cliff top gales, and it doesn’t leak. I’ve had mine years now, used everywhere from Spanish mountaintops, Forestry Commission car parks, to UK beaches and fells.

Explorer Tents

The Lightwaves look amazing.

MH Trango here too. A 3.1 A superb tent with an extended porch allowing for indoors cooking (if you are careful of course). I have only one concern, which is that the side panels are quite large and in a side wind do make contact with the inner. But, it’s never actually caused a problem and I’ve sat sat out some horrible weather in it. The Quasar solution of great big foam blocks seems a bit Heath Robinson but I guess it works.

Oh I have a Lightwave Ion too. Beautifully made, light and strong. But if weight isn’t an issue go for space.

If I could justify another tent just for the hell of it, it would without doubt be a Hilleberg.

Anyone have any experience of the Marmot Grid Plus?

Have a look at Exped tents. We’ve got the Andromeda which is very spacious for 2 / cosy for 3. They are approaching Hilleberg prices / quality.

Macpac – on my second Minaret – designed for Kiwi conditions, work great in the UK, proper groundsheets, tough as… Or Hilleberg. I had some bad experiences with a mate’s leaking Quasar groundsheet, but of course that may have been a one-off.

Personally I prefer tents that pitch as a unit rather than fly or inner first, much easier to keep them dry when setting up in proper wet conditions.