Cycling UK Forum

Re the Blacktail hotel, the gap between inner and outer is big and when it’s rained there’s been no problem. There’s a few videos on YouTube, particularly relevant is one by Gary McGivern which gives a good idea what it’s like for cycle touring

https://youtu.be/JgiMiSkyv8k?si=JA-jH8YjNRFL_irY

If you look at how it’s pitched in the BA photos it’s clear that there’s not enough pegs! (..it seems to be a thing with American tents!) I think I needed 6 extra to pitch it nicely!

I have a Big Agnes Blacktail 2 hotel, which is a dome tent with a 1/2 tunnel to one side. I’ve used it for a couple of mini tours with my Brompton, aswell as several car-camping trips. It’s very comfortable. As well as the main porch there is a second, smaller porch. Quality is good and it has stood up to a few windy days on the coast with no problems. It’s around the 3kg mark so quite heavy by today’s standards. I really like it and use my helinox ground chair in the porch when the weather turns foul!

Don’t know if you’re sorted yet but you may wish to look at the Big Agnes Blackstone 2 hotel. I bought one initially for car camping but have also successfully taken it cycle camping.

It’s not one of the ultralight models, so is fairly sturdy, just under 3kg and reasonably priced around £225. They do a ‘bikepacking’ version but as far as I can see that has the main benefit of smaller (packed) pole lengths and a few other minor differences, but the same materials and weight…for £75 more!

If you pack the poles separately you can pack the tent inner and outer quite small. I’ve been really impressed with its quality and sturdiness. It’s sooo comfortable with a huge lobby for cooking and sitting out of the weather.

I have this advertised in the classified section of the forum under ‘bits of bikes etc’. It is a very spacious one person tent or can sleep more if you ditch the inner and use just a ground sheet in warmer weather. Any questions, just ask!

Have you considered a Luxe Peak tent.? I have the hexpeak V4A and it’s excellent. I did a mini review and a small tour recently:

viewtopic.php?p=1616020#p1616020

viewtopic.php?f=42&t=145619

My son has the mini peak and has done several tours with it. Both are very tough, spacious, relatively light and have masses of space!

The section from Chirk to Llangollen is surfaced and has now been adopted as a sustrans route. In places there are tree roots under the tarmac, which make the surface bumpy, but overall its ok, best with bigger tyres. From the A483 (Lion Quays) to Chirk has recently been resurfaced - Rhoswiel, Chirk bank etc, so is good. From Welsh Frankton to St Martins, a bit bumpy, dry at the moment but very nice and scenic...I cycle all of these sections regularly on rough stuff tourer/mountain bikes, but I cant help you with the other sections - maybe someone else can help? ...or link the ride in with quiet lanes using 'cycle-travel' journey planner?

This looks very tempting! To someone with an addiction this is so desirable. Please tell me it is rubbish .....

Ha ha, it’s actually really good. Once you’ve mastered it, it’s up very quickly and I had a couple of very comfortable nights sleep. I’ve seam sealed it since I wrote my mini review, though it hasn’t rained yet since!

A couple of days cycling from home to west Wales over the cambrians. My luxe hexpeak v4a.

I’d have thought that would be an easy repair for a skilled welder, just filling the cuts with braze?

...see main forum - posted a mini review there by accident!

Edit...copied and pasted here:

“I recently bought a luxe hexpeak v4a hiking shelter from backpackinglight.com. and this is a mini review, so far!

You can buy it as an outer only, or outer and solo inner, or with a double inner. Lots of options there then. It’s a single pole pyramid, utilising a hiking pole or a specific telescopic luxe pole.

I found bikepackinglight.com really helpful and they provided me with excellent service.

Quality seems very good for the price, not up there with the top brands but very tidily made and materials seem good.

Erecting the tent takes a few attempts to get a nice pitch, but once you get the hang of it, the outer goes up in minutes. Getting the 4 main corners square and the pole at the right height is key. The inner is a bit more fiddly and I found myself changing the tie outs to shock-cording and it sets up nicely now. I also changed the guy-cording from 2mm to 3mm, which grip the line locks much better. (All of these changes are well documented on the internet eg on trek-lite.com)

Weight wise the basic set up, outer, luxe solo inner and the pole, is about 1750g, cost about £220.00...but you can use a lanshan inner instead of the standard luxe inner and save 300g.

I’ve tried it out in the garden in wind and rain and it’s very, very solid. You are advised to seam seal it, though I haven’t done this yet. Some people say it doesn’t need it, whilst others recommend just sealing the top, where the seams are at most strain.

I bought a standard lanshan 1 ground sheet from Ali express (£15), which I use in the front part of the tent. Internal space is good and I found the inner very spacious, but I’m only 5’8”! Loads of headroom and space to spread out, especially if you drop the inner, by unclipping the top hook. Good ventilation top and bottom (including 2-way door zips).

It packs down very small and will easily fit in panniers or bar rolls etc.

This probably isn’t for you if you want a no-fuss, conventional tent, but if you are a tent-tinkerer, up for a challenge, then I think this is very versatile and gives loads of pitching options, solo, outer only, double and it is very, very sturdy.

I can’t wait to test it in the wild in the coming months.”

I recently bought a luxe hexpeak v4a hiking shelter from backpackinglight.com. and this is a mini review, so far!

You can buy it as an outer only, or outer and solo inner, or with a double inner. Lots of options there then. It’s a single pole pyramid, utilising a hiking pole or a specific telescopic luxe pole.

I found bikepackinglight.com really helpful and they provided me with excellent service.

Quality seems very good for the price, not up there with the top brands but very tidily made and materials seem good.

Erecting the tent takes a few attempts to get a nice pitch, but once you get the hang of it, the outer goes up in minutes. Getting the 4 main corners square and the pole at the right height is key. The inner is a bit more fiddly and I found myself changing the tie outs to shock-cording and it sets up nicely now. I also changed the guy-cording from 2mm to 3mm, which grip the line locks much better. (All of these changes are well documented on the internet eg on trek-lite.com)

Weight wise the basic set up, outer, luxe solo inner and the pole, is about 1750g, cost about £220.00...but you can use a lanshan inner instead of the standard luxe inner and save 300g.

I’ve tried it out in the garden in wind and rain and it’s very, very solid. You are advised to seam seal it, though I haven’t done this yet. Some people say it doesn’t need it, whilst others recommend just sealing the top, where the seams are at most strain.

I bought a standard lanshan 1 ground sheet from Ali express (£15), which I use in the front part of the tent. Internal space is good and I found the inner very spacious, but I’m only 5’8”! Loads of headroom and space to spread out, especially if you drop the inner, by unclipping the top hook. Good ventilation top and bottom (including 2-way door zips).

It packs down very small and will easily fit in panniers or bar rolls etc.

This probably isn’t for you if you want a no-fuss, conventional tent, but if you are a tent-tinkerer, up for a challenge, then I think this is very versatile and gives loads of pitching options, solo, outer only, double and it is very, very sturdy.

I can’t wait to test it in the wild in the coming months.

Thanks all, for the replies...very reassuring. The Barley plus dry bag over will give a good amount of space (supplemented by a few other small bags elsewhere). I’ll keep it for lightweight stuff and strap/bungee it down.

Thanks, yes, it was just the extra weight over a rain jacket that I was concerned about..

Not sure where to post this, so have cut and pasted from ‘Does anyone know’ board !

I have a Carradice Barley attached to my bike with the leather straps (to a Brooks saddle) and also sitting on a bagman sport frame. I have been contemplating getting a bigger bag for touring, but don’t really want the expense.....so I just experimented with a dry bag strapped to the loops on top of the Barley to carry a lightweight tent, about 1.4 kg. It seems stable and the total weight is well within the 10 kg weight limit.

Does anyone have experience of doing this and does it work okay in practice?

I have a Carradice Barley attached to my bike with the leather straps (to a Brooks saddle) and also sitting on a bagman sport frame. I have been contemplating getting a bigger bag for touring, but don’t really want the expense.....so I just experimented with a dry bag strapped to the loops on top of the Barley to carry a lightweight tent, about 1.4 kg. It seems stable and the total weight is well within the 10 kg weight limit.

Does anyone have experience of doing this and does it work okay in practice?