Need a tent for the AR08?

I've been looking into tents recently. Funnily enough. Most of the tents I've seen that look half-way decent are ?80+, except the "festival tents" - i.e. dome tents that have no porch space (for boots etc) and will most likely be thrown away after a weekends use so build quality is not likely to be great.

I was in Black's yesterday & was going to buy their ?75 2-man tent. It's lightweight & rugged, but then I spied the following in Millets for ?40. It's not likely to be as water proof as the Black's one, but at half price I can live with that & buy some sealent! It's compact & lightweight, ideal for slinging on the back of the bike. And for £40 I won't wince so much if it falls off the back of the bike and I don't notice!

For those going to the AR08 it might be ideal!

http://www.walkmag.co.uk/gear/tents/..._two_man_tent/

Edit: Just put some silicon-based sealent on the outer-skin, which cost me the princely sum of ?6.50.

[phil24_7]

I bought a tesco's one for the Invasion of the valleys and it's going to AR08 with me.

Seems decent emough and only cost me £12 IIRC!

[Girth]

I got the exact same one a few years ago and has always done the job, altho i wouldnt want 2 people in it.

As above. I've got one. Has served me well for nearly 3 years now!
Also wouldn't want to put 2 people in it. I can have a comfortable nights sleep, with my gear in there, but 2 people would be a bit too cosy...

A couple of years ago I bought a Vango Gamma 250 (remember the terrible Suzuki version) tent for 45 quid. It's light enough to stash on the back of the bike in its own bag, but I chose it because its poles are short enough to make it possible to stash it unbagged in a pair of Oxford Sports panniers, with room to spare for some clothes. It has loads of space for two people inside and a massive porch with groundsheet for stashing luggage and boots.

http://www.gear-zone.co.uk/eshop/Van...50---SS06.html

Unless you're a midget (or it's an exceedingly large 2 man tent), you won't fit 2 people and their bike kit/bags in a 2 man tent. You can work around this, by keeping your kit in the luggage on your bike (ideally under a bike cover for security/a bit of protection from the elements). One thing I'd point out is that when hiking your main considerations are weight and the size of it packed away (and it is with this in mind that most small tents are designed). When you're on a bike, the weight (obviously within reason) doesn't enter into it so much and it is the size it packs down to that becomes the most imortant factor. It's for this reason I take a metal framed camp bed (marginally smaller packed away than a foam roll mat) on the back of the bike, but would never do so when hiking. I would be interested to see if anyone had recommendations for a 3 man tent that focused on small size packed away over weight, as I've yet to come across one. I imagine they would have fewer (but heavier/more strong) poles, pegs, etc.

EDIT: Lozzo's tent looks really good. With a nice big porch like that there should be plenty of space for lid/leathers. I may well have to consider one of those to replace my own tent (which is a bit too small even for me on my own).

[northwind]

That might be the same one I bought for my mate Graham, which snapped a pole the first time I pitched it... It wasn't cackhandedness before anyone says it, the pole wasn't capable of dealing with the required bend. My brother's Eurohike's survived a dozen festivals and at least 5 people falling on top of it, this one didn't even make it to its first. It didn't really inspire apart from that, the drapey inner tent made it effectively very small inside, fine for sleeping in but not much more.

So then I got him one of these:

http://www.blacks.co.uk/Tents-and-Ca...ct/094484.aspx

It's a bit more expensive obviously, but it makes the Eurohike look like a binbag on a stick. Bigger, too. Graham's a huuuuuuge geezer and he fits in it nicely along with 3 bags of logs and 2 crates of beer.

2 people in a 2-man tent only works if you've got bunk sleeping bags

Originally Posted by northwind

2 people in a 2-man tent only works if you've got bunk sleeping bags

I've slept quite comfortably alongside someone else in my tent, which is only a 2 man. We even had luggage and bike kit in there one very stormy night, but that was a bit of a squeeze and it was just as well she was my girlfriend.

Just subscribing to this. Is there a way to subscribe without me having to post for future reference?

Originally Posted by teriyakimonkey

Just subscribing to this. Is there a way to subscribe without me having to post for future reference?

In the 'thread tools' at the top of the thread.