Cheap Tents

emergency_pants · Post by **emergency_pants** » 13 Sep 2008, 10:46pm

Actually, I think I'm going to buy one. It's ideal for a night or two away cycling. It's got enough space and looks moderately rain-proof. That's all I need, really. Thanks for the heads-up on it.

If I wanted to do something a bit less predictable, for a longer period, I'll certainly bear all the opinions here in mind though. I can't imagine a cheap tent like this would really do for anything more than what I suggested above. In that case, it sounds like a better quality tent would be more appropriate, so thanks for that heads-up too.

The dicussion is good reading, by the way..... carry on....... :wink:

Chuangt2u · Post by **Chuangt2u** » 14 Sep 2008, 5:24am

yorksgal wrote:Has anyone actually tried the warmshowers.org yet? I was told it was literally a shower that was offered and if the host didn't like the look of you, you were tossed out on the street, so to speak. Possibly a bit of a cold shower, I guess!

Me and Mrs R were hosts for around 2 years and have met some good people through it here. We moved out of the city about a year ago and are now not ideally situated for hosting, so have taken ourselves off the list, but new road networks are improving so we may rejoin...

3 of our visitors' sites

Ben and Gen, French Canadians, they house-sat for us for a week or 2 while we were away.
http://www.2rouespourvoirlemonde.com/

Gene and Jessica, Americans
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/biketour2007

Diane, Canadian
http://www.bikerdiane.blogspot.com/

Give it a try as a host first. If you're a tourer who's been overseas, you'll know what it's all about. You can offer whatever you like, it's an informal, non-binding agreement made in good faith. Obviously if a drunken ass arrives on your doorstep with an armful of unannounced mates, it's not going to work, but we never had anything like that happen.

Cheers
Rob.R

Post by Si » 14 Sep 2008, 1:14pm

People, people, people, this is just a chat about tents, there is no need for it to get heated or personal is there? Just because someone might dissagree with your views on tents or weather it does not mean that they are casting aspertions upon the whole meaning of your existence.
So, can we not all have a metaphorical handshake, a making up and an agreement to disagree in a respectfull and civil way?
cheers.

As for cheap tents, my cheap Vango has been pitched for the last two weeks on the edge of Salsbury Plain and the ferrals have gone rusty :cry:

bailout · Post by **bailout** » 14 Sep 2008, 5:44pm

Si wrote:As for cheap tents, my cheap Vango has been pitched for the last two weeks on the edge of Salsbury Plain and the ferrals have gone rusty

That is because it is a CHEAP TENT :evil:

You are lucky you survived tbh and I hope you learned your lesson and will never again be so stupid as to use a CHEAP TENT :evil:

I personally use one of these, http://www.snowsled.com/polar/tents.htm . Some people might say it is a bit heavy at 29kgs/64lbs but I like to know that if I get caught in a polar storm while on a lowland British campsite during the summer my tent will stay up.

ps Has anyone seen that down sleeping bag that Tesco sells for £35, do you think it is worth buying :wink:

I have seen several people on the backpacking forums who have bought and actually used it say that it is very good for the money and makes a good summer bag. However, I am a bit worried that it might not be warm enough for my eXtreme cycle tour round French vineyards next summer. Should I buy a 6 season bag instead to match my polar tent?

bikepacker · Post by **bikepacker** » 14 Sep 2008, 6:12pm

You don't need to go far to find conditions where a better quailty tent serves you well. This was camping in England in April this year.

Asdace · Post by **Asdace** » 14 Sep 2008, 6:38pm

bikepacker wrote:You don't need to go far to find conditions where a better quailty tent serves you well. This was camping in England in April this year.

Good Lord and I'm planning to walk the Coast to Coast in April, maybe May might be a better bet.

andrew_s · Post by **andrew_s** » 14 Sep 2008, 8:41pm

bikepacker wrote:You don't need to go far to find conditions where a better quailty tent serves you well. This was camping in England in April this year.

And I spent a day holed up in 40+ mph wind and driving rain in July (Devon)

kwackers · Post by **kwackers** » 14 Sep 2008, 9:42pm

bikepacker wrote:You don't need to go far to find conditions where a better quailty tent serves you well. This was camping in England in April this year.

I think I'd be more worried about the quality of my sleeping bag there than the tent. A piece of plastic will keep the snow off - what do I need to keep my tootsies warm?

bikepacker · Post by **bikepacker** » 14 Sep 2008, 10:00pm

kwackers wrote:
bikepacker wrote:You don't need to go far to find conditions where a better quailty tent serves you well. This was camping in England in April this year.

I think I'd be more worried about the quality of my sleeping bag there than the tent. A piece of plastic will keep the snow off - what do I need to keep my tootsies warm?

An Exped Downmat and a 3 season Down Bag seem to do the trick for me.

james01 · Post by **james01** » 15 Sep 2008, 2:38pm

bikepacker wrote:
kwackers wrote:
bikepacker wrote:You don't need to go far to find conditions where a better quailty tent serves you well. This was camping in England in April this year.

I think I'd be more worried about the quality of my sleeping bag there than the tent. A piece of plastic will keep the snow off - what do I need to keep my tootsies warm?

An Exped Downmat and a 3 season Down Bag seem to do the trick for me.

At the risk of restarting the cheap-kit-versus-expensive arguments

: I bought a cheap (under £20 IIRC) Argos 4 season mummy bag about 4 years ago . It's superbly warm, also the padding is so thick that I can dispense with a Karrimat & sleep directly on the groundsheet. It's bulky to pack, but probably less volume than a hi-tech winter bag plus sleeping mat.

kwackers · Post by **kwackers** » 15 Sep 2008, 3:46pm

james01 wrote:At the risk of restarting the cheap-kit-versus-expensive arguments : I bought a cheap (under £20 IIRC) Argos 4 season mummy bag about 4 years ago . It's superbly warm, also the padding is so thick that I can dispense with a Karrimat & sleep directly on the groundsheet. It's bulky to pack, but probably less volume than a hi-tech winter bag plus sleeping mat.

I'm on the lookout for a decent tandem then I can take my sleeping bag with me.

andrew_s · Post by **andrew_s** » 15 Sep 2008, 11:48pm

bailout wrote:I personally use one of these, http://www.snowsled.com/polar/tents.htm . Some people might say it is a bit heavy at 29kgs/64lbs but I like to know that if I get caught in a polar storm while on a lowland British campsite during the summer my tent will stay up.

I've used one of those too

.
Dead tough - I once knew someone who spent 4 days camped in winds of over 150mph, enough to blow his skidoo away . It's a bit of a bu88er digging the 18" holes to put the ends of the poles in though.