Tent Advice

dino said:

I've spotted this tent on the Terra Nova site:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/229ven

or direct link:

http://tinyurl.com/229ven

Is it any good? I'm looking for a cheap 1 person tent for use 2/3 times
a year in Ireland

A bit heavy for me (backpacking) but if it's made to a similar standard
to my laserlight (same company) it'll be good. I must admit that I
haven't actually seen one of those though.

--
Mick (Working in a M$-free zone!)
Web: http://www.nascom.info http://mixpix.batcave.net

dino said:

Is it any good? I'm looking for a cheap 1 person tent for use 2/3
times a year in Ireland

No idea, but at least it's got alloy poles. I even fancy getting one myself,
but I can't really justify it, since I've already got better ones. But I do
like the look of it, and it looks very good for the price. Headroom might be
a bit low though.

If you're prepared to spend more, you can get much lighter for a one man
tent, but like I say, it's a very good price.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/

Paul Saunders said:

dino said:

Is it any good? I'm looking for a cheap 1 person tent for use 2/3
times a year in Ireland

No idea, but at least it's got alloy poles. I even fancy getting one myself,
but I can't really justify it, since I've already got better ones. But I do
like the look of it, and it looks very good for the price. Headroom might be
a bit low though.

If you're prepared to spend more, you can get much lighter for a one man
tent, but like I say, it's a very good price.

Thanks for that. Both yourself and Mick mention weight as a bit of an
issue. What's a good weight to aim for when carrying a tent? I realise
low as possible is the ultimate aim but I'm looking for a ballpark.

Cost is an issue for me and I do most of my walking as day walks. I'd
like to start doing some longer stuff though which is why I'm looking at
a tent. Only 2/3 times a year though and not in winter. Are there any
other brands/models I should be looking at in the <£100 price range?

On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:10:29 +0100, dino wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Thanks for that. Both yourself and Mick mention weight as a bit of an
issue. What's a good weight to aim for when carrying a tent? I realise
low as possible is the ultimate aim but I'm looking for a ballpark.

Cost is an issue for me and I do most of my walking as day walks. I'd
like to start doing some longer stuff though which is why I'm looking at
a tent. Only 2/3 times a year though and not in winter. Are there any
other brands/models I should be looking at in the <£100 price range?

I, personally, like to see a one-man tent well on the light side of 2kg,
but light weight comes at a financial (and rigidity/strength) cost and
eventually its up to you. :-) Ultralight tents are probably about 2.5 to
4 times what you want to pay.

The weight is fairly important when you look at your overall pack weight.
I don't know your build, or what weight of pack you can handle, but I can
tell you that if you are trudging uphill through mud then every last bit
of weight that you save counts! For under 100.00 I don't think you'll do
much better.

Probably several others! My own choice was the Laserlite. It suits me
because firstly it's light and secondly I can sit up in the middle of it.
Having tried a couple of lower tents, that feature alone is worth
considering paying a bit more for IMHO.

If you can, go somewhere that has tents on display and have a proper look
at them. Even if you don't buy anything it will at least give you some
ideas. Look for space to put your rucksack out of the rain - and not in
the inner tent if you can help it. You may also need space to put your
boots at night and for giving some shelter for your stove (if you use
one). You need plenty of ventilation to reduce condensation on the inside
of the fly - a no-seeum mesh door on the inner tends to be a "good thing"
even if you initially think it may be cold (it isn't).

Remember, you're carrying your temporary house. :-)

--
Mick (Working in a M$-free zone!)
Web: http://www.nascom.info http://mixpix.batcave.net

In article <[email hidden]>, dino <[email hidden]>
writes

Quoted message said:

Paul Saunders said:

dino said:

Is it any good? I'm looking for a cheap 1 person tent for use 2/3
times a year in Ireland

No idea, but at least it's got alloy poles. I even fancy getting one
myself, but I can't really justify it, since I've already got better
ones. But I do like the look of it, and it looks very good for the
price. Headroom might be a bit low though.
If you're prepared to spend more, you can get much lighter for a one
man tent, but like I say, it's a very good price.

Thanks for that. Both yourself and Mick mention weight as a bit of an
issue. What's a good weight to aim for when carrying a tent? I realise
low as possible is the ultimate aim but I'm looking for a ballpark.

Cost is an issue for me and I do most of my walking as day walks. I'd
like to start doing some longer stuff though which is why I'm looking
at a tent. Only 2/3 times a year though and not in winter. Are there
any other brands/models I should be looking at in the <£100 price range?

I think you'd be hard pushed to get a better sub £100 tent than the
Crura. There is a review here that you may find useful.

http://www.buachaille.com/p2930-2-21/2-3-Season-Tents/Wild-Country-Crura.html

--

Dominic Sexton

mick said:

I, personally, like to see a one-man tent well on the light side of 2kg,
but light weight comes at a financial (and rigidity/strength) cost and
eventually its up to you. :-) Ultralight tents are probably about 2.5 to
4 times what you want to pay.

I prefer to use a Spacepacker, which at 1.9 Kg is heavier than Mick
likes, but OTOH it has enough space for two and easily double the porch
space of just about any other one-man tent (and those are the ones with
big porches...), plus access from 4 doors rather than the usual one.
You carry a bit more weight, and get a bit more comfort.

Quoted message said:

The weight is fairly important when you look at your overall pack weight.
I don't know your build, or what weight of pack you can handle, but I can
tell you that if you are trudging uphill through mud then every last bit
of weight that you save counts! For under 100.00 I don't think you'll do
much better.

Fair comment. Personally I find about 3.0 Kg is where I really start to
lose interest in carrying a tent, but of course lighter is better, and
this is quite a bit lighter than that.

Quoted message said:

If you can, go somewhere that has tents on display and have a proper look
at them.

And a sit in them to check for comfort. The sit up height in the Crura
might make it a bit of a tedious place to spend much time if you're
tall, but try it and see.

Quoted message said:

Look for space to put your rucksack out of the rain - and not in
the inner tent if you can help it.

You can always leave a pack outside in a bivvi-bag, though of course
that will add the weight and bulk of a bivvi-bag to your pack.

Quoted message said:

- a no-seeum mesh door on the inner tends to be a "good thing"
even if you initially think it may be cold (it isn't).

Whether it's cold kinda depends on how cold it is! I prefer mesh doors
with zip-over material panels. Very slight weight penalty but it is
better in cold weather.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Dominic Sexton said:

In article <[email hidden]>, dino <[email hidden]>
writes

Quoted message said:

Paul Saunders said:

dino wrote:

> Is it any good? I'm looking for a cheap 1 person tent for use 2/3
> times a year in Ireland
No idea, but at least it's got alloy poles. I even fancy getting one
myself, but I can't really justify it, since I've already got better
ones. But I do like the look of it, and it looks very good for the
price. Headroom might be a bit low though.
If you're prepared to spend more, you can get much lighter for a one
man tent, but like I say, it's a very good price.

Thanks for that. Both yourself and Mick mention weight as a bit of an
issue. What's a good weight to aim for when carrying a tent? I realise
low as possible is the ultimate aim but I'm looking for a ballpark.

Cost is an issue for me and I do most of my walking as day walks. I'd
like to start doing some longer stuff though which is why I'm looking
at a tent. Only 2/3 times a year though and not in winter. Are there
any other brands/models I should be looking at in the <£100 price range?

I think you'd be hard pushed to get a better sub £100 tent than the
Crura. There is a review here that you may find useful.

http://www.buachaille.com/p2930-2-21/2-3-Season-Tents/Wild-Country-Crura.html

Thanks for that review and all the advice. It's good to see that review
as I bit the bullet and ordered it yesterday evening before seeing this 🙂

I'll report back when it arrives and I get a chance to set it up.

Thanks to everyone again 🙂

dino said:

I've spotted this tent on the Terra Nova site:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/229ven

or direct link:

http://tinyurl.com/229ven

Is it any good? I'm looking for a cheap 1 person tent for use 2/3 times
a year in Ireland

I bought this tent and it arrived last week. I've only got the chance to
put it up today and try it out.

First impressions: light, small (but expected that!), high quality
materials, no instructions!

Putting it up was a bit of a faff as my tent experience is limited to
inner first dome tents, A-Frame Vangos and the big massive canvas patrol
tents from Scouts about 20 years ago!

Its going to take a bit of getting used to due to my inexperience but a
few practice runs and a bit of help from someone more experienced should
do the trick.

Overall I'm very pleased with what I got but the lack of instructions is
a bit of a pain as I'm not 100% sure what the correct shape and tension
should be like or how to achieve that. I'll get there 🙂

dino said:

I've spotted this tent on the Terra Nova site:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/229ven

or direct link:

http://tinyurl.com/229ven

Is it any good? I'm looking for a cheap 1 person tent for use 2/3 times
a year in Ireland

I bought this tent and it arrived last week. I've only got the chance to
put it up today and try it out.

First impressions: light, small (but expected that!), high quality
materials, no instructions!

Putting it up was a bit of a faff as my tent experience is limited to
inner first dome tents, A-Frame Vangos and the big massive canvas patrol
tents from Scouts about 20 years ago!

Its going to take a bit of getting used to due to my inexperience but a
few practice runs and a bit of help from someone more experienced should
do the trick.

Overall I'm very pleased with what I got but the lack of instructions is
a bit of a pain as I'm not 100% sure what the correct shape and tension
should be like or how to achieve that. I'll get there 🙂

dino said:

I've spotted this tent on the Terra Nova site:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/229ven

or direct link:

http://tinyurl.com/229ven

Is it any good? I'm looking for a cheap 1 person tent for use 2/3 times
a year in Ireland

I bought this tent and it arrived last week. I've only got the chance to
put it up today and try it out.

First impressions: light, small (but expected that!), high quality
materials, no instructions!

Putting it up was a bit of a faff as my tent experience is limited to
inner first dome tents, A-Frame Vangos and the big massive canvas patrol
tents from Scouts about 20 years ago!

Its going to take a bit of getting used to due to my inexperience but a
few practice runs and a bit of help from someone more experienced should
do the trick.

Overall I'm very pleased with what I got but the lack of instructions is
a bit of a pain as I'm not 100% sure what the correct shape and tension
should be like or how to achieve that. I'll get there 🙂

dino said:

Overall I'm very pleased with what I got but the lack of instructions is
a bit of a pain as I'm not 100% sure what the correct shape and tension
should be like or how to achieve that. I'll get there 🙂

Get in touch with TN/WC and ask them for a set or destructions.
It's possible they're available as a download from the web site in
any case.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

dino said:

Overall I'm very pleased with what I got but the lack of instructions is
a bit of a pain as I'm not 100% sure what the correct shape and tension
should be like or how to achieve that. I'll get there 🙂

Get in touch with TN/WC and ask them for a set or destructions.
It's possible they're available as a download from the web site in
any case.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

dino said:

Overall I'm very pleased with what I got but the lack of instructions is
a bit of a pain as I'm not 100% sure what the correct shape and tension
should be like or how to achieve that. I'll get there 🙂

Get in touch with TN/WC and ask them for a set or destructions.
It's possible they're available as a download from the web site in
any case.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/