coleman aravis 2?

[yostumpy]

Looking at getting one of these, only £65 on special atm. 2.4 kg, not too bad on a bike is it. How does it stack up as a first cycle camp tent. Anyone with experience of these. I'm 6'2" and I know I cant sit bolt up right in it prob. But its not a hotel is it. Value for money ?

[bikepacker]

To have a larger tent if Pauline decided to camp with me, I got a Coleman Caucasus 3 last year in Yeoman's sale for £75. I believe it is made from similar materials to the Aravis. To try it out I used it a couple of times, one of them in a wet tour of Wales, and was surprised by how good it was for the price. Yes if you are comparing it to an £800 Hilleberg it is not going to be in the same class. However it is a lot better than some of the more expensive tents I have tried out over the last few years.

[PH]

I started camping about 15 years ago with a Coleman tent and other budget kit on the basis that it wouldn't take many uses for it to have paid for itself. It all worked fine. When I came to upgrade a couple of years later I paid a lot more money, sometimes for not really much improvement. My Coleman had a mesh inner which is a mistake in UK conditions, the aravis seems to have a solid one, though I can't find a clear picture, I'd check that out before buying. Paying more will save you some weight, possibly stronger poles, some improvements in design and quite likely better at standing against a storm. But for most camping something like the Coleman will do fine, also worth a look at Decathlon tents, I’ve liked the ones I’ve seen, or read the long running thread on here about Robens tents which are sometimes on offer in the same price range.

[foxyrider]

Welcome to the world of cyclocamping - some of us are nuts but don't let that put you off!

Weight isn't the only thing to think about although it's certainly an important part of the picture. Check the packed size out and think how you will carry that on your bike - particularly poles.

How will that weight / size affect your packing?

I've spent a bit of money on kit I'll admit, my tent (with poles), sleep mat and sleeping bag all fit in one pannier with room to spare, total weight under 1.9kg. There's about £700 invested to get to that spread over several years and I have been camping for over 50 years man and baby so have some specific ideas on what's right for me.

At that price it's worth a punt to see how you get on and what you need before spending out on different stuff. Just remember that weight and bulk can seriously affect the ride of your bike in terms of handling and required gearing.

[yostumpy]

What's your budget tent reccommdation then Foxyrider, and what is an acceptable weight. Reading between the lines you think its a bit lardy. Also thought about Robens Starlight 2, twice the price, but a better tent I wouldn't wonder.but its a similar weight. 6'2" btw.

[pjclinch]

What's your budget tent reccommdation then Foxyrider, and what is an acceptable weight. Reading between the lines you think its a bit lardy. Also thought about Robens Starlight 2, twice the price, but a better tent I wouldn't wonder.but its a similar weight. 6'2" btw.

Only you can really define "budget" and "acceptable weight"...

Looking at a tent in the flesh if you can is worth doing IMHO. Crawling around a pitched example tells you more about whether you'll be happy in a tent than any amount of pictures and floor plans. If you don't have a local shop willing to pitch one for you then there's always the option of betting return postage, pitching it on a plastic sheet on a dry day using different pegs and have a crawl-test then. Shops that will pitch examples are a really good thing though.

I use expensive tents, but I'm a snob and a gear junkie. Pals have gone around the Western Isles with a Eurohike dome with no problems, we had another pitched next to us at Thurso at the top end of a LEJoG where its owner declared himself delighted with it. You certainly don't need to spend a fortune, and if you're not in a tearing hurry you can probably find space for whatever you find.

Pete.

[foxyrider]

I concur with Pete - i'm not saying don't buy it but be aware that other features like size/weight are important. Any chance to crawl in a few tents is good - Decathlon are good for this as are CCC/Go Outdoors

As to budget - you don't have to spend a fortune to have something that works - whether it'll do more will then depend on what more is. The odd overnight will be more forgiving than a fortnight in the Alps, a fixed centre less damaging than daily up/down.

My two cyclocamping tents are from Vaude - the 2kg Taurus UL and the 1kg Power Lizard SUL - both cost me @ £300. As I say I don't think you have to spend that much to get under 2kg which I guess is my top weight. I'm 5'10" and both would allow someone your height to sleep straight and they have a 90cm max height.

[PH]

Although I pointed to the Robens, I’m not sure I would spend twice as much on it as a first tent. I saw it recently advertised at a lot less than that, though that offer has gone.
It might be a good idea to treat the first tent as a learning experience, OK you’ll still have some requirements, stuff like it keeping you dry, being a weight you’re prepared to carry, being able to fit in it… but there’s a whole load of variables beyond that. From my first tent I learnt that I wasn’t too bothered about sitting up inside but really liked sitting in the doorway, I didn’t like the fabric too near my face, I liked sleeping across the door, I didn’t mind a small sleeping compartment but liked room in the porch to keep things tidy. I’d have learnt the same lessons from a tent costing several hundred pounds as I did from the £40 Coleman that I was happy to give away for festival use after about 30 nights camping.

[yostumpy]

' budget' and 'acceptable'weight ? Hmm. I once met a chap at a cycle show, who was on a stall, but I cannot remember his name , (prob 20 years ago), but he was well know at the time among lightweight cycle camping circles. I got chatting to him, and he explained that he had a ''fantasy cupboard'' in which he would store all the stuff he 'could' buy. In his head, was this cupboard I do think. Initaially I thought about gong to the York Rally, as I am FREE that weekend. Swambo doesn't cycle, but I've long since had a yearning for lightweight cyclecamping. So I thought I'll catch the train up, with the tent, and try it. So Yes I would use it for this occassion, and hopefully again. We have a '76 vw camper, so could take this to York, but I want to camp, and not use a car. I'll prob never cycle to katmandu, but I can dream, and lying in my tent in York, i can pretend.

Thing is , I don't want to buy a lemon. Someone recommended the Aravis 2, but on the budget end, whats the better tent, this or the Cobra 2 ( which is slightly dearer). I know its a real pain when folks are so vague, but knowledge is power.......so that mean I'm powerless

[PH]

'
Thing is , I don't want to buy a lemon. Someone recommended the Aravis 2, but on the budget end, whats the better tent, this or the Cobra 2 ( which is slightly dearer). I know its a real pain when folks are so vague, but knowledge is power.......so that mean I'm powerless

It might not be avocado and grapes, but it won't be a lemon either. 20 years ago the chap you met would have drooled over a tent like this, it's only because the standards have got so high that you'd even need to ask. You'll see tents from every part of the spectrum at York and this one will fit right in.

[yostumpy]

at the time I spoke to this chap, the Macpac Eclipse was in my fantasy cupboard, but my cupboard is still bare.

[yostumpy]

oh dear, the more I look. I now fancy a Vango xenon UL 2+.

https://www.google.co.uk/aclk?sa=l&ai=D ... IIA&adurl=

supposedly 2.0kg, for a tunnel with extended porch, so lots of room. Light enough to be the same as a cheap one, but so much more room, and the abilit to get into it, in the pouring rain, without letting water into the inner. How do you stop this on a tent like the aravis. But dearer But big enough swmbo might use it at other events, with its inner porch, ok for a brew up in torrential rain.?

[Sweep]

Yes it is nice yostumpy.

Though to tell the truth the UL bothers me.

It is esentially vango's own spirit 200 plus which i don't think needed any weight shaved for cyclists and just needed better poles.

The new tent has two entrances, supposedly to help entering vis a vis the wind. This could be a weakness though i suppose if one zipped entrance developed a fault, as long as you could get it closed, you could use the other.

[andrew_s]

I have been camping for over 50 years man and baby so have some specific ideas on what's right for me.

Having an idea of what's right for you, is important, and you've got to realise that what might turn out to be important to someone else may be less so to you.
That really involves actually trying different styles of tent out on real life trips (as with most other gear). This is generally best done at the cheap end of the range, preferably whilst you are young, when cheapness is enforced and things like weight and discomfort are less important than they might be to an older person. If you start later in life when you've more disposable income, you've got to be quite careful not to buy expensive gear on recommendation, only to end up selling it at a considerable loss after the first trip because you don't get on with it. There's a chap on here who seems to have been doing this continually for several years (bikepacker knows who, and probably Pete and Foxy too).

I prefer to have sufficient porch space to store all my luggage in and still get in & out, or cook, prefer to do that cooking sitting, at my side, rather than kneeling or propped up on an elbow and in front of me, like to fit the packed tent inside a pannier, want to be able to put the tent up on my own in strong winds without undue difficulty, and don't want it to blow down. On the other hand, I don't fidget about inside the tent much, and am happy without lots of room.
Consequently, I use a Hilleberg Akto (£230, on offer, a fair time back), and might indeed recommend the Aravis 2 or similar at the £60-£70 price point. At its normal price, I'd have suggested the Vango Banshee 2 or Wild Country Zephyros 2, and maybe a Laser Comp or Power Lizard after those.

As far as the Aravis 2 is concerned, what I don't like about it is the very low foot end. If you use a thicker sleeping mat, it's low enough to compress the down of your sleeping bag.

[jags]

Andrew you mean theres another gobshite besides me on this forum