what's your tent?
- Thread starter vrus
- Start date
I suggest checking out Tent City. Get your self at least a two man tent. I have a one man and a three man tent and the one man fits me and barely any gear, have to leave my gear out side of the tent by under the rain fly. The three man is what I've been using all this year cause it's just so convinient to throw everything in there and easier to change clothing in there too.
NealT
Well-known member
I suggest a one man tent or even better a hammock tent or bivy sack and a rain fly. Most importantly make sure the floor seams of any ground tent is taped and the floor has at least a 5000 mm water column pressure rating 10000 mm is best.
A wet tent makes for a miserable experience. As well avoid tents with half coverage fly's as the wall of the tent has to be waterproof to make up the difference which means it cannot breathe (unless you spring for the really spendy single wall tents, bivy sacks are essentially single wall tents). A vestibule is really nice to keep stuff out of the tent and provide a dry place to take shoes off or cook in if you are stuck due to lots of rain.
A ground sheet is also a good idea as it takes the beating, the floor would otherwise be subject to.
If you camp in only warm weather then a mainly mesh tent covered by a fly will be cooler than tents that cover 3 seasons.
If you go with a rain fly and a bivy sack or similar, look at silnylon materials as they are super thin and light and very water resistant when rigged where the water just flows off.
When there's lots of trees I like a hammock as they pack ultra small which really suits bikes well.
A wet tent makes for a miserable experience. As well avoid tents with half coverage fly's as the wall of the tent has to be waterproof to make up the difference which means it cannot breathe (unless you spring for the really spendy single wall tents, bivy sacks are essentially single wall tents). A vestibule is really nice to keep stuff out of the tent and provide a dry place to take shoes off or cook in if you are stuck due to lots of rain.
A ground sheet is also a good idea as it takes the beating, the floor would otherwise be subject to.
If you camp in only warm weather then a mainly mesh tent covered by a fly will be cooler than tents that cover 3 seasons.
If you go with a rain fly and a bivy sack or similar, look at silnylon materials as they are super thin and light and very water resistant when rigged where the water just flows off.
When there's lots of trees I like a hammock as they pack ultra small which really suits bikes well.
wonderings
Well-known member
I have 2 tents, one is for longer camping trips, the other for short weekend type trips as it packs smaller and is easier to setup, but has much less space.
I would start with a cheap one, then figure out what you want out of a tent as you do it more. You may find you want larger, or something super simple and small, everyone has different needs and wants.
Small 2 person tent:
Large 2 person tent with garage/vestibule
I would start with a cheap one, then figure out what you want out of a tent as you do it more. You may find you want larger, or something super simple and small, everyone has different needs and wants.
Small 2 person tent:
Large 2 person tent with garage/vestibule
homme de fer
Well-known member
Tents, my opinion is that you shouldn't skimp by buying a cheap tent. Nothing is worse than spending a miserable night in a cheap wet tent.
If I plan on having other people ride with me, I'll bring my 3 man Eureka Apex tent. It doesn't pack down too well but it's plenty big for 2 people with room to spare for a third, if necessary. The room saved on the other bike can be used for beer and other useful things. I can vouch for the waterproofness of the tent as I've camped through some aweful storms in it where I've felt the water flowing underneath it yet not one drop gets in.
My other tent is an MSR Hubba tent with a vestibule. This little thing is pretty expensive but packs down to a ridiculously small size, perfect for my solo travels. There isn't much room in the tent for more than a matress but the extra vestibule allows me to store my gear safely. This tent too is proven to be waterproof although, in very heavy downpours, you get a little "spritzed" by rain bouncing up from the ground and under the fly. Still, I don't get wet in it.
Rather than recommend a manufacturer though, I suggest looking for a proven waterproof tent that is freestanding; one that doesn't need to be staked. Why? Chances are you'll find yourself having to put up your tent on harder ground where you can't pound in a stake. With free standing tents, you just need to use your gear to weigh it down and a couple of rocks for the fly.
I personally have a couple of Canadian Tire tents and wouldn't trust either of them in anything other than dry calm weather.
If I plan on having other people ride with me, I'll bring my 3 man Eureka Apex tent. It doesn't pack down too well but it's plenty big for 2 people with room to spare for a third, if necessary. The room saved on the other bike can be used for beer and other useful things. I can vouch for the waterproofness of the tent as I've camped through some aweful storms in it where I've felt the water flowing underneath it yet not one drop gets in.
My other tent is an MSR Hubba tent with a vestibule. This little thing is pretty expensive but packs down to a ridiculously small size, perfect for my solo travels. There isn't much room in the tent for more than a matress but the extra vestibule allows me to store my gear safely. This tent too is proven to be waterproof although, in very heavy downpours, you get a little "spritzed" by rain bouncing up from the ground and under the fly. Still, I don't get wet in it.
Rather than recommend a manufacturer though, I suggest looking for a proven waterproof tent that is freestanding; one that doesn't need to be staked. Why? Chances are you'll find yourself having to put up your tent on harder ground where you can't pound in a stake. With free standing tents, you just need to use your gear to weigh it down and a couple of rocks for the fly.
I personally have a couple of Canadian Tire tents and wouldn't trust either of them in anything other than dry calm weather.
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I would also have to agree with buying a good quality tent once and always sleep dry and comfortable. And I would also have to agree that camping saves a bunch of money.. especially when you find free places to pitch your tent. Having slept in motels and pitched tents, I much prefer tenting...
I bought the Eureka El Capitan 3 and it's perfect for my uses. It has 2 large vestibules, excellent venting, can be free standing or staked in, is totally waterproof, uses aluminum poles with clips and sets up in about 5-10 minutes. I bought it at Lebaron in Miserysauga.
Without the fly on:
With the fly on:
I bought the Eureka El Capitan 3 and it's perfect for my uses. It has 2 large vestibules, excellent venting, can be free standing or staked in, is totally waterproof, uses aluminum poles with clips and sets up in about 5-10 minutes. I bought it at Lebaron in Miserysauga.
Without the fly on:
With the fly on:
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Houghtonator
Well-known member
Just make a Lean To. No need to carry anything but rope and a good knife.
I also use the Eureka El Capitan 3 and love the tent! It packs smaller and is lighter than my old CanadTire two man tent and has proven to be completely waterproof. It can fit in one of my GIVI 41 liter side cases if I bother to put it in there. ( I usually don't as I usually don't run side cases.)
I just want to point out that they have Aluminum poles. The last time I used mine I slept in it the first night and stayed in a cabin the second (hard to resist a free cabin.) There was a crazy windstorm with heavy rain the morning after the second night with trees down, etc. My tent was setup free-standing and when I went to it the wind was essentially flattening the tent but it was dry inside and the poles were fine. I'm sure fiberglass would have snapped.
..Tom
I have a MEC Hummingbird 3 (2 person) tent. I like it, big enough for me and my gear and that's it. Kind sucks to put some of my gear on in it though since it is low and long.
I think the next tent I will get will be a free standing tent, that way when I set it up I don't have to stake it down like mine does. Then I could pick it up to shake out the dirt too.
I think the next tent I will get will be a free standing tent, that way when I set it up I don't have to stake it down like mine does. Then I could pick it up to shake out the dirt too.
http://www.eurekatentscanada.com/products/view/526?s=section_4
Packs up tiny, loads of space once setup. Keep the hard bags outside the tent, inside the fly. Great for TENTING, not CAMPING.
Packs up tiny, loads of space once setup. Keep the hard bags outside the tent, inside the fly. Great for TENTING, not CAMPING.
I remember setting up my bass pro special then coming to help you set up yours, and after realizing that I was holding an aluminium tent pole while the storm of the century raged over us in Northern Quebec, tossing the pole in one direction and heading in the other.
To watch the hummingbird and the msr hubba hubba go up, I'm thinking of either dropping 275 on a North Face Rock 22 or ordering a Bass Pro Boulder Creek 2man tent. The latter uses fibreglass poles and the polystyrene? Bathtub floor, so no foot print necessary and weighs in at under 5lbs. All this for $67. Did I mention I was cheap? It must be my Scottish blood.
Mountain Hardwear Hammerhead 3.
- 3-man tent, which is great to store gear + the two of us.
- Has two entrances, so we don't have to climb over each other to get in and out.
- Has two vestibules to store boots and dry bags.
- Lots of pockets to store stuff inside the tent (flashlights, iPhones, etc)
- Is tall enough to almost stand up in so you can put your riding pants/raingear on inside if its cold and wet outside
- Has large zippable panels to allow as much/little airflow as possible, good for 40 degree weather all the way down to freezing temps.
- We bought the optional ground sheet as a sacrificial layer if the ground has sharp rocks so our tent floor doesn't rip, also stops the floor from getting too damp and dirty, make sure the ground sheet is exactly the same footprint or smaller than your tent otherwise it becomes a tray for rainwater if it sticks out too far from the tent.
- Upgrade your tent stakes to anything other than the stock ones. You will eventually bend the stock tent stakes guaranteed. We use MSR aluminum three-sided tent stakes, practically indestructible.
- Guy lines will get tangled up during packing/unpacking, we bought Exped cord stuffsacks that hang on the guylines and you can wrap up the lines and fold them inside the pouch when storing it.
- We also bought some tent repair tape and glue, haven't had to use them yet.
- We have used some odor eliminator spray that doesn't require full washing/rinsing called MiraZyme. If you store your tent wet or damp, you will need this eventually.
We also bought a large plastic tarp ($5 at CrappyTire) that we can string up on some trees if we need to set up our tent in the rain, so it doesn't get wet before we can put the fly on.
- 3-man tent, which is great to store gear + the two of us.
- Has two entrances, so we don't have to climb over each other to get in and out.
- Has two vestibules to store boots and dry bags.
- Lots of pockets to store stuff inside the tent (flashlights, iPhones, etc)
- Is tall enough to almost stand up in so you can put your riding pants/raingear on inside if its cold and wet outside
- Has large zippable panels to allow as much/little airflow as possible, good for 40 degree weather all the way down to freezing temps.
- We bought the optional ground sheet as a sacrificial layer if the ground has sharp rocks so our tent floor doesn't rip, also stops the floor from getting too damp and dirty, make sure the ground sheet is exactly the same footprint or smaller than your tent otherwise it becomes a tray for rainwater if it sticks out too far from the tent.
- Upgrade your tent stakes to anything other than the stock ones. You will eventually bend the stock tent stakes guaranteed. We use MSR aluminum three-sided tent stakes, practically indestructible.
- Guy lines will get tangled up during packing/unpacking, we bought Exped cord stuffsacks that hang on the guylines and you can wrap up the lines and fold them inside the pouch when storing it.
- We also bought some tent repair tape and glue, haven't had to use them yet.
- We have used some odor eliminator spray that doesn't require full washing/rinsing called MiraZyme. If you store your tent wet or damp, you will need this eventually.
We also bought a large plastic tarp ($5 at CrappyTire) that we can string up on some trees if we need to set up our tent in the rain, so it doesn't get wet before we can put the fly on.
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BeastieGirl
Well-known member
I used to have one of those handy tents that you just pop up and down like an umbrella until I popped it up in 40 mph winds in Arizona and it acted just like an umbrella and essentially turned into a twisted mess. As it was 9:30 at night and I had been on the road fightingthose winds since 7:30 a.m. (prepaid reservation) I did want any self respecting, resilient intrepid biker chick would do - I sat in the middle of my campsite and cried.
Then I dug out my duct tape and bungee cords - moved my picnic table close to a fence, duct taped the hinges on the tent poles into something resembling tent shaped, then bungee corded the structure to whatever I could reach.
Don't get one of those tents.
Then I dug out my duct tape and bungee cords - moved my picnic table close to a fence, duct taped the hinges on the tent poles into something resembling tent shaped, then bungee corded the structure to whatever I could reach.
Don't get one of those tents.
daught
Well-known member
Might want to check out Stoic from backcountry.com Stoic has some decent stuff. Spec wise it seems similar to hubba hubba, limelight... etc. Good thing about backcountry.com is that you can return any product at any time even if it's used and abused if you don't like how it performs.
Considering picking this up myself. 4LB is not bad but I want something even lighter
http://www.backcountry.com/stoic-arx-sl2-tent-3-season
Or even cheaper if weight is not a concern
http://www.backcountry.com/stoic-arx-3-tent-3-season
Whatever you chose make sure that it's at least a double wall(mesh and rain fly) bathtub floor tent.
This is what really tempts me. 1 lb 13 oz
http://www.backcountry.com/big-agnes-fly-creek-platinum-tent-2-person-3-season
Considering picking this up myself. 4LB is not bad but I want something even lighter
http://www.backcountry.com/stoic-arx-sl2-tent-3-season
Or even cheaper if weight is not a concern
http://www.backcountry.com/stoic-arx-3-tent-3-season
Whatever you chose make sure that it's at least a double wall(mesh and rain fly) bathtub floor tent.
This is what really tempts me. 1 lb 13 oz
http://www.backcountry.com/big-agnes-fly-creek-platinum-tent-2-person-3-season
l84toff
Well-known member
The most comfortable sleep I've ever had outdoors:
These are Worbonnet Blackbird hammocks which run about $160, although hammocks in general can be bought/made quite cheap. I know some who make their own at home for $20-30. Prior to that this was leading the short list. Of course I'm now looking at getting one of these for any outdoor trips that take me above the tree line (but I might have to mortgage the house for that).
These are Worbonnet Blackbird hammocks which run about $160, although hammocks in general can be bought/made quite cheap. I know some who make their own at home for $20-30. Prior to that this was leading the short list. Of course I'm now looking at getting one of these for any outdoor trips that take me above the tree line (but I might have to mortgage the house for that).
zeniceguy
Well-known member
I got this
http://blogs.basspro.com/blog/bass-pro-shops-hampton-va/lets-talk-tentsthe-prairie-breeze-by-coleman
the colman cabin, walls are straight up and down, hinged door, I set up 2 queen beds plus all our stuff in it
http://blogs.basspro.com/blog/bass-pro-shops-hampton-va/lets-talk-tentsthe-prairie-breeze-by-coleman
the colman cabin, walls are straight up and down, hinged door, I set up 2 queen beds plus all our stuff in it
