Keeping your bike in your tent

[mickeg]

I have five 1-person tents already, a sixth would make my storage even more crowded.

Wow!  George, that's verging on the eccentric, and not the BB variant. 
...

My first solo tent, bought it in the 90s.  Might have only used it for three trips that I can remember.  Bought it new.  It was not a bad tent, but I was still about 15 years short of retirement, so did not use it much.  And by today standards, too heavy.

The second and third ones, REI (the USA equivalent to what you used to have in MEC) occasionally had Scratch and Dent sales of returned and damaged items.  And occasionally they had GREAT deals.  I picked up a tent there for between 10 and 20 percent of original price, and at that price decided that I could not go wrong.  It did not include the optional foot print, but the next time they had a Scratch and Dent sale, I looked in the tent bin to see if they had the foot print.  And they did, and it was bundled with another of the same tent for about the same price.  It was cheaper than a replacement pole set, so got it too.  I think I got these about 12 or 14 years ago.  Used one for maybe a total of five weeks.  Plus loaned one out for a few more weeks.  Used these for a few bike tours, but it really lacked interior space and the vestibule was too small for a bike trip.  Subsequent bike tours were with a two person (rated) tent.

Fourth, I think I bought it about six years ago, weird tent, used it for a two week backpacking trip, no specific flaws, but I just never really got used to it.  Too small for a bike trip.

The fifth one, that is the one I got from Amazon that I cited above.  A tiny ultra light trekking pole tent, but I cut a pole to use with it so that I did not have to adjust the length of a trekking pole for it every time.  It is too small to bring my backpack (on a backpacking trip) inside to pack up the pack, so one morning with a steady rain I had to pack up my backpack outside in the rain, everything got wet.  So, my current plan is to use this tent on backpacking trips where the forecast is for dry weather, something else that is more roomy for wet weather.

Starting about nine years ago, my bike tours are with a two person tent, or that is the rating.  Two people in the tent that I use would become enemies for life.  It is the one in the 3rd and 4th photos in my above post with four photos.  Single wall tent so the ceiling gets covered in condensation, but with a double A frame shape, I can sleep in the middle where the peak height is enough that I do not rub on the ceiling.  That is why I say it would be a problem for two people, they would be rubbing on the ceiling and getting wet with condensation.  It is a trekking pole style tent, I cut tent poles to use with it so I do not need to carry trekking poles on a bike trip, I cut them short enough when folded to fit in a front pannier.  Very light and a spacious vestibule.  Only down side is that it is not self supporting, so when I was camped on a platform, I had to jam twigs in between the planks to substitute for stakes.  First attached photo, the tan and orange tent on the left.  This photo was at a state park in Florida Keys in a mangrove forest where they had hike in campsites on platforms.  Vestibule is spacious enough that I feel safe in heating water inside the vestibule on a butane (but not on a liquid fuel) stove for coffee in the morning.  Second photo is the vestibule, I was in the tent body when i took the photo, this photo was when I was on PEI.  The gold pole in the center of the photo is the pole I cut for it to avoid having to carry trekking poles on a bike.  It had been raining for a full day when I got to the campsite, there was some newsprint in a recycle bin that I grabbed to put on the muddy ground in the vestibule to keep my gear out of the mud.  I had a pot on a butane stove in that photo and my coffee mug is full, so I must have just finished heating water.  This is a Big Agnes Scout Plus, which is now out of production.  They made three different tents in the Scout series, this is the middle sized one.  With the poles I cut for it and a piece of plastic for ground sheet, a few extra bigger stakes, weighs 1565 grams.  Has enough room inside for all four panniers, handlebar bag and me.  I have packed up all my gear inside on a rainy morning, so the last thing I needed to pack is my tent.  I expect to be sleeping in this tent for at least two weeks next month.

[Matt2matt2002]

Reminded of this quote:
“We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more in imagination than in reality.” — Seneca

We spend so much time worried about how bad things are going to be, that we actually torture ourselves more than the thing we’re worried about ever could (that is, if it happens at all).

While it’s too facile to say don’t worry, it is important to put your worries in perspective. Don’t let your worries grow out of proportion to what might actually happen. Don’t let imagination overtake reality. Don’t conflate worrying with prevention or preparation.

And my ol' friend Mohamed told me:

Have faith ................... but don't forget to tie up your camel.

Best

Matt

[John Saxby]

George, that's brilliant!

My history is kinda shabby and limited by comparison. When I bought my Tarptent in 2015, I figured it was a barely-justifiable Indulgence for Specialized Use. (For 50-some years of camping before that, I'd managed with 2-person tents of varying quality & effectiveness.)

Then, I realized that the Tarptent was a creation on a whole other level, an altogether excellent design: light, durable, spacious, reasonably priced, quick to erect, well-ventilated, etc., etc.

I had only one night when it didn't meet its established standards of excellence: in Oct '21, I did an overnight in the Ottawa Valley, and got drenched with humidity. But that was my error, a classic of false economy: I chose not to take the optional end-to-end crossing pole, all 12 ounces of it.  It was only one night, I figured, so I left it behind. Of course, without the tautness and extra clearance betw fly and mesh inner which the crossing pole provides, the 98% humidity--unexpected in October, but Sod's Law commanded its appearance--quickly sagged fly to mesh inner, with all the predictable consequences.

There was one other slight flaw in the design: The peak height of the tent (about 39-40") is at the beltline. Conversely, my Nemo Dragonfly has a slightly higher peak (41"); but critically, it's directly over my head.

Helluva good tent nevertheless, and I feel slightly disloyal for selling it.  But, these things are made to be used, right?

Cheers,  John

[mickeg]

...
Helluva good tent nevertheless, and I feel slightly disloyal for selling it.  But, these things are made to be used, right?

Cheers,  John

I am usually too slow to sell things that should have been sold long ago.  But that is my problem.  I have several other tents that I am sure I will never use again, but they no longer are desirable to a buyer, as they are too heavy or now are an outmoded design.  I suspect some day I will get frustrated with too much stuff and just haul it all off to a charity.

My Big Agnes tent that I now used for bike touring replaced an older and heavier one, but I did not elaborate there because the topic was 1 person tents. 

That older and heavier 2 person tent is still a good tent and I like it, so that continues to get used for canoe trips where weight is much less important.  Adding several more pounds to my canoe won't slow it down in any noticeable amount, I am not paddling up hills, etc.  That is also the tent I brought to Iceland, it is a great tent, but I decided while in Iceland that it is just too heavy and bulky for a bike trip, thus replaced it with the Big Agnes for biking after that trip.  Photo attached from my Boundary Waters Canoe Area trip this past October.

I am not sure if what we call a canoe in N America is called the same thing in UK, so added a photo of my canoe (second photo), but I should clarify that I use a kayak paddle in a solo canoe, there is only one seat in the center so it is a solo, not a tandem canoe.  My kayak was made by Valley Canoe in UK, thus I thought some clarification may be needed, third photo is my kayak.  (Valley might have gone out of business, not sure if they still exist.)  I am not sure if what we call a kayak in N America is called a kayak or a canoe in UK.

[in4]

My ME Dragonfly 2 XT. The extension is great for panniers and it’s a solid tent but the wrong side of 2kg and not the quickest to erect, even after lots of use.

[John Saxby]

Thanks for those comments, George and Ian.  A few observations from my end about 2-person tents:

1)   The line betw one- and two-person tents isn't nicely fixed, and what different people want varies too.  I've used a 2-p tent in various configurations, and found it to be very good indeed, not least 'cos of its versatility.  See comments & photos below on the MSR Hubba-Hubba, and on my current Nemo Dragonfly.

2)    The MSR Hubba-Hubba, then:  I bought an MSR H-H in 2009, and kept it until 2018.  I used it in all 3 seasons for canoeing in Canada, for motorcycle touring in the US & Canada, and for cycling-touring in both Canada and Europe.  I bought mine from MEC, cost about Cdn$300 in 2009.  This tent is still on the market, though it now costs, er, $700.

       Dimensionally, it is a full 2-P tent, unlike my Nemo Dragonfly, which is more like a 1.5-P. I used it on cycling tours and canoeing trips with our daughter, who's a strong sturdy lass, and it was big enough for us. The current H-H is advertised as weighing 3lb 4oz, a pound-plus lighter than my older generation model. Both vestibules are a good size.

       My only complaint about the H-H was that its ventilation was not good enough when both vestibules were closed.  I understand that MSR has added vents into the fly in recent years.

       Also, I often used the H-H with a tarp, and that pretty much fixed the ventilation problem, allowing me to keep at least one vestibule half-open.

       And, on my Amsterdam-to-Vienna Rhine/Danube tour in 2012, I took only the fly (no bugs!  ), and of course it was hugely spacious, light, and well-ventilated.

       See photos below of the H-H in various configurations & settings.  Photos 1 & 2 are taken on cycle tours. The first is in Ontario, showing full tent with tarp & my Eclipse ti-framed light tourer. The second shows the tent as fly only. This was taken a few days' ride west of Vienna on the Danube.

      For me, the Nemo Dragonfly is a very spacious one-person tent. For comments and photos, see "Rides of 2022" in the forum, Reply #42, here: http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=14555.30

       
2)    Canoeing:  In the early 1990s, when our kids were younger, I bought my first canoe for camping with them. It was a 17' fibreglass item from Ottawa Valley Canoe, and at 36" beam amidships, was hugely spacious and very stable.  It also weighed 56 lbs, so was a bit of load on portages. But, it carried 2 adults and two kids, plus gear & food. Tents in those days were "family" variants, spacious, bulky, and heavy.

      In the late 1990s, I sold that to friends as a boat for their cottage, and treated myself to a kevlar 16' "Trillium", also designed and made by OVC. It cost me $1800, quite a bit, but was a lovely boat: light, stable, responsive, and durable. It weighed 35lbs -- I could pick it up with one hand, and hoisting it onto my shoulders was dead simple. The bow seat can slide back and forth, so that the bow paddler could set it where s/he is most comfortable.

      Photos 3 & 4 below are taken from a canoeing trip in the Wildlife Reserve de la Vérendrye in West Qué, a 3-hour drive from our house in Ottawa. #3 shows the mesh inner of the H-H.  If memory serves, I didn't use the fly that night, as it was hot and muggy with little wind.  #4 is a typical mid-day break, my buddy stretched out in the shade, my Trillium bobbing beside the rocky shelf.

     la Vérendrye (named after the 17th-century coureur de bois/fur trader/route-mapper for the country west of Superior) is a paradise, with some 1400 kms of canoe routes. I spent a lot of time there between the late 1990s and about 2015. One day, I met a scoutmaster from Pennsylvania, towing a trailer with half-a-dozen canoes on it. I said to him, "You're a long way from home."  He said, "There's nowhere like this in the lower 48. I'm here with 12 scouts for a two-week trip."

     In 2018, I gave my Trillium to a Brazilian-Canadian friend who emigrated to Canada in 2008. He and his wife now have two youngsters, and they all looove camping and paddling. So, I gave them my boat, the only condition being that I can join them now and then when my repaired hips allow. And, last year I sold them my trusty H-H for $100.

Cheers, J.