Author Topic: What tents are you guys using?  (Read 23800 times)

ZeroBike

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #30 on: January 21, 2013, 10:45:35 pm »
Andromeda 2 extreme is 630 euros at this German shop http://www.unterwegs.biz/en/andromedar-ii-extreme-491532.html so about 100 quid cheaper than a Nallo 2gt but also 1kg heavier than the nallo 2gt.

I looked at the weight. Its 5Kg, thats a bit of a beast.

Tartalo

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #31 on: January 22, 2013, 08:37:47 am »
Last year I cycled in an "unscheduled" snowy tour and woke up with 10 cm snow .
As far as snow is concerned, there is no snow build up as it immediately slides down ( that's my own experience)
With wind, under gusting conditions, it has also behaved very well .

On the door, you can pull it up all the way with the string, or start with the string and continue by hand.
The "unusual door" provides you with a nice dry canopy for cooking .

An additional note to what Padrone says, it packs very neatly : in an Ortlieb Back Roller I fit the Vela, a feather sleeping bag, an Exped synmat 8 matress and an inflatable pillow without problem: still room for more stuff.

Disclaimer: I am totally biased towards the Vela 1.
I have toured with a Tatonka Greenland 2 ( a great tent: extra comfortable, etc.) but went "minimialist" and lighter with the Vela 1.


Thanks

Also how does the Vela rate as a 4 season tent?  I see some sites describing it as a 4 season tent and others describing it as a 3 season tent.

How does it fair in strong winds? 

Can it cope with light snow (probably overkill for bike touring but something to consider).

How do you get on with the unusual door?  Is it fiddly to open and close?


Thanks



rualexander

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #32 on: January 22, 2013, 09:32:03 am »
I looked at the weight. Its 5Kg, thats a bit of a beast.
Andromeda 2 Extreme is 3.7kg in the specs on that website I linked to.

NZPeterG

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #33 on: January 22, 2013, 09:51:13 am »
http://www.hilleberg.com/home/products/staika/staika.php

How long does it take you to put up the Stalka?

Andre Jute

Hi Andre'
I had it down to an easy 4 min's, No need to peg it down most of the time.
Cost is high, But very well made.

Pete....
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bikepacker

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #34 on: January 22, 2013, 10:44:23 am »
As I thought Lyon do not currently stock Exped tents as a matter of course. It is a possibility for the future and they can get them to order but there would be a time delay.
If you want to be happy learn to be alone without being lonely.
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ZeroBike

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #35 on: January 22, 2013, 11:30:15 am »
Andromeda 2 Extreme is 3.7kg in the specs on that website I linked to.

I was looking at the at the Andromida 2 Plus, which weighs in at 5Kg.  I didnt realise there were other versions.  The Andromida 2 Comes in at 4.05 Kg and the Andromida 2 Extreme comes in at 3.8Kg.

These figures are all from http://www.exped.com

I cant put a direct link to the page itself, but its on the "tents at a glance" section.
« Last Edit: January 22, 2013, 11:34:13 am by ZeroBike »

il padrone

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #36 on: January 22, 2013, 12:34:03 pm »
Also how does the Vela rate as a 4 season tent?  I see some sites describing it as a 4 season tent and others describing it as a 3 season tent.

How does it fair in strong winds? 

Can it cope with light snow (probably overkill for bike touring but something to consider).

How do you get on with the unusual door?  Is it fiddly to open and close?

I would avoid using it in snow (never used it in any so far). Way too much unsupported fly length for my liking. It is quite good in wind as long as you set it well - and I go contrary to the Exped advice and always put the head end into the wind. The fly is further clear of the inner at that end.

The door is something I really love. I don't find it fiddly at all and it avoids any problems with leaking zip/seams and no zip failures. When it is raised up you still get a good overhang for shelter from rain.

Andre Jute

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #37 on: January 23, 2013, 01:10:29 am »
Hi Andre'
I had it down to an easy 4 min's, No need to peg it down most of the time.
Cost is high, But very well made.

Pete....
 ;)


Thanks. I watched the video you referred me to and was horrified by the number of discrete parts that can be lost, and the warnings about not breaking the fragile struts.

DISCLAIMER: I know nothing about self-supporting tours. the last time I went camping it was in Africa with servants including a laundryman and a drinks steward, and a proper tent carried on a truck of its own. You can get something of the flavour of it in my encomium to Mbopo Oscilloscopo at http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/541710-the-robust-commonplace-book#comment_34665377 -- search down for his name and start reading. FAIR WARNING: it's not a tale for the politically correct or the squeamish.

Danneaux

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #38 on: January 23, 2013, 01:58:34 am »
Andre,

You're welcome to join me on my Spring 2013 Big Tour. I can't promise a laundryman, a drinks steward, or a proper tent carried on a truck of its own, but you're welcome to squeeze into one of my spare 1-person tents -- it allows one to sit up at the waist; a luxury in such a small abode. I think I can scare up a proper spare inflatable pad, perhaps the 3/4inch model my 95 year-old father used this last Fall.

Were it not for the impacted tooth that took him, Mbopo would have been welcome to join us and forget his duties for awhile.

All the best, Andre, all the best,

Dan. (...who greatly enjoyed Andre's encomium to Mbopo)

Andre Jute

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #39 on: January 23, 2013, 02:25:55 am »
Andre,
You're welcome to join me on my Spring 2013 Big Tour.

Ah Dan, if only I could. But I fear I would hold you up.

Andre Jute

Danneaux

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #40 on: January 23, 2013, 02:39:35 am »
No worries, Andre; consider the offer open...

All the best,

Dan. (...who thinks a good time would be had by all, regardless of pace)

John Saxby

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #41 on: January 23, 2013, 05:03:01 am »
Lots of things to chew on here, Zero, and there's more brands on the market than I knew about, for sure.

My tentative thoughts on the subject...

First choice, I guess, is whether you want a 3- or a 4-season tent; then secondly, if you'll use it only for cycling, or for other activity as well.  I don't do winter camping--not keen on -30 + wind--so my 20 - 30 years' experience has been only spring-summer-fall.  Also, I use my tents for cycling, hiking, canoeing, motorcycling, and (quelle horreur!) car-camping on occasion.  So, I take account of weight & compactness, as well as quality/durability & ease of assembly.  I've used Sierra Designs, Black Diamond, Eureka, North Face, and most recently MSR tents; and longtime back, Egyptian cotton, and in Africa, canvas.

Currently, I use an MSR Hubba Hubba.  it's a 2-person affair, well-made, light, easy to pitch, not too expensive at $300 Cdn.  I've used it with and without the inner (mesh) tent, the inner tent essential for summer camping in Ontario, on account of the bugs. Two vestibules, so there's space for gear. The inner tent is snug for two, very spacious for one.

Drawbacks:  I've found that it's prone to condensation in humid/cool weather, although with practice one can set up adequate cross-ventilation by playing with the flaps of the vestibules.  Also, unlike some brands, as (I think it was) Pete of NZ mentioned, if you pitch it in the rain, you can't set up the fly first and then assemble the inner tent from within.

However, I get around the rain problem by using a tarp as well -- have an Integral Designs Siltarp, which is crazy-light, and at 2.4 m x 2.9, lots big enough to cover all/most of the tent tent, bike(s) and gear, and have space left over for cooking. I first started using tarps on canoe trips, and I now find them so handy as to be essential: wind shelters, rain shelters, etc. So, when I pitch camp, that's usually what goes up first. (That can  either be a bother, or a keep-your-brain-young exercise in angles and tensions.)  Of course, it helps to have trees!--but I live in the Ottawa Valley, no no problems there...

Good luck with all this,

John


PS:  Here's a couple of examples of tent + tarp, on my recent ride from Amsterdam to Vienna [these look like very weird links to me, but I coped them from Dropbox, so they should work.]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/31qeeiannonb0wd/20%20-%20Tarp%20set%20zum%20Gretchen%2C%20no%20rain%20worries.JPG

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nv88o0177k0kitm/134%20-%20just%20%E2%82%AC5%20for%20space%20beside%20a%20river%20in%20the%20late%20afternoon%20sunshine.JPG


Danneaux

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #42 on: January 23, 2013, 05:06:50 am »
Very nicely arranged camp with the tarp setup to protect both bikes and tent, John. My compliments!

Best,

Dan.

John Saxby

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #43 on: January 23, 2013, 05:16:49 am »
Thanks, Dan.  A bit sloppy with the gear strewn about--stove + tea not visible--but I only realized that after taking the foto...  The value of a tarp, of course, is that by rigging it, one ensures that the rain keeps "up".  On my Rhine/Danube safari, the only time it rained at night, was when I followed locals' weather advice and didn't rig my tarp. - J.

il padrone

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Re: What tents are you guys using?
« Reply #44 on: January 23, 2013, 06:36:42 am »
Thanks. I watched the video you referred me to and was horrified by the number of discrete parts that can be lost, and the warnings about not breaking the fragile struts.


Vela 1 quick & easy set-up

And some of its special features.


Mine doesn't have the dual toggles to roll up both ends at once, sadly, but newer models do have these.

[edit] Just looking again at the video of the Vela 1 features and I realise how he has snigged up both ends of the tent. Two toggle-ties for one end, the middle one for the other end. Oh my, how silly I've been  :-X - now I CAN roll up both ends of the fly.
« Last Edit: January 23, 2013, 08:35:19 am by il padrone »