Heaviest tent?

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Sweep
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by Sweep »

s9abrutat wrote:I tour solo with a Vango Halo 300, which weighs in at around 4 kg. With the additional footprint it's around (I imagine) 4.5 kg. Weight doesn't bother me much, a lack of space, especially if I stay put for a few days, certainly does.


Interesting reply, thanks. Seems like a nice tent. Self supporting i believe? Got to ask why the Halo2 wasn't big enough for you. I gather that this year's version is inexplicably grey with orange cross bits for the poles. Hope 5they go back to green soon? How strong do you think this tent is? It's on my list if my robens lodge 2 disastrously fails and I can't easily get another one.
;
Edit, ah i see from your blog that you use a trailer.
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pjclinch
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by pjclinch »

Sweep wrote:Self supporting i believe?


I have both self-supporting and self-falling-over tents, and while all else being equal the former is a smidge nicer TBH I'd say it's one of the most over-rated features people go out of their way to look for, unless you're camping on slabs of rock (and I've done that in a single-hoop design and managed to get away with it).
I think the main advanatge is it's easier to move them while pitched and to shake them while upside down to get minor debris out of the inner, but we're not really in the realm of deal-breaking if you can't do that. There's usually an overhead in weight and bulk and sometimes pitching time from having more poles.

Sweep wrote:I gather that this year's version is inexplicably grey with orange cross bits for the poles. Hope 5they go back to green soon? How strong do you think this tent is?


Grey isn't so bad as you might think, as they tend to be quite light inside. Something like the pale grey Tarptent use would be better in this regard, but our big Primus family tent is that darker colour and on the inside it's much brighter than I'd expected. In terms of fitting in to a landscape unobtrusively, grey also works quite well, especially when you move in to Autumn and winter.

Tent strength, outside of strong gales and snow, is mainly down to how and where you pitch and whether you've got good alloy poles. As long as it's been pitched with a bit of thought I'd trust anything at this level to do anything much needed of it in a UK cycling context.

Pete.
Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...
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Sweep
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by Sweep »

Good points about the colour pj. Agree to differ on self supporting I think. I personally don't like long guy lines, particularly if free camping in a restricted space like a patch in a wood.

And i have camped on a cinder football pitch :)
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sabrutat
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by sabrutat »

Sweep wrote:
Interesting reply, thanks. Seems like a nice tent. Self supporting i believe? Got to ask why the Halo2 wasn't big enough for you. I gather that this year's version is inexplicably grey with orange cross bits for the poles. Hope 5they go back to green soon? How strong do you think this tent is? It's on my list if my robens lodge 2 disastrously fails and I can't easily get another one.
;
Edit, ah i see from your blog that you use a trailer.


I can cope with a two person on short trips of no more than a couple of weeks, but for real comfort on long tours I swear by the three person. I like to have all my gear in the tent with me, arrayed around my folding chair (Alite Mayfly) so that everything is within arm's reach. I quite often (very carefully!) cook in there (I use the midsized Kelly kettle with a Trangia alcohol stove), and one of my favourite things to do is make a queso or fondue, kept warm over tea candles, while drinking wine or beer, munching on dippables and watching movies. I find it a little too cramped to do this safely in a two person.

I've camped at the top of Honister Pass in the Lake District when a storm blew through, and the Halo 300 stood up to it. Winds were gusting to about 50 mph. I did know it was coming, though, so I pitched on the leeward side of a small rise and probably wasn't getting it full force.
nsew
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by nsew »

sabrutat wrote: . . . .

I had to laugh when I read this. So I visited your blogspot and laughed some more. You’re a disgrace. Thanks.
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sabrutat
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by sabrutat »

nsew wrote:
sabrutat wrote: . . . .

I had to laugh when I read this. So I visited your blogspot and laughed some more. You’re a disgrace. Thanks.


That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by nsew »

In all seriousness, you are able to articulate the free roaming touring life very well. With real laughs thrown in for free. I am now a visitor to your blog for snippets of inspiration. Cheers.
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sabrutat
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by sabrutat »

Thanks, man. Glad you're enjoying it!
KTHSullivan
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by KTHSullivan »

How about one of these over Hardknot pass????????
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Just remember, when you’re over the hill, you begin to pick up speed. :lol:
mercalia
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by mercalia »

KTHSullivan wrote:How about one of these over Hardknot pass????????


until the wind catches it :lol:
KTHSullivan
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by KTHSullivan »

Must be like cycling towing a parachute!

Air breaking on a bike.....now's there's a thought :roll: :roll:
Just remember, when you’re over the hill, you begin to pick up speed. :lol:
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Sweep
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by Sweep »

sabrutat wrote:
Sweep wrote:
Interesting reply, thanks. Seems like a nice tent. Self supporting i believe? Got to ask why the Halo2 wasn't big enough for you. I gather that this year's version is inexplicably grey with orange cross bits for the poles. Hope 5they go back to green soon? How strong do you think this tent is? It's on my list if my robens lodge 2 disastrously fails and I can't easily get another one.
;
Edit, ah i see from your blog that you use a trailer.


I can cope with a two person on short trips of no more than a couple of weeks, but for real comfort on long tours I swear by the three person. I like to have all my gear in the tent with me, arrayed around my folding chair (Alite Mayfly) so that everything is within arm's reach. I quite often (very carefully!) cook in there (I use the midsized Kelly kettle with a Trangia alcohol stove), and one of my favourite things to do is make a queso or fondue, kept warm over tea candles, while drinking wine or beer, munching on dippables and watching movies. I find it a little too cramped to do this safely in a two person.

I've camped at the top of Honister Pass in the Lake District when a storm blew through, and the Halo 300 stood up to it. Winds were gusting to about 50 mph. I did know it was coming, though, so I pitched on the leeward side of a small rise and probably wasn't getting it full force.


Just had another look at this tent, the Halo 300, as I got musing after someone on a thread somewhere suggested that a bigger tent was handy for winter camping since you are going to be spending long long hours in it (ie not just for sleeping) and don't want to go stir crazy. Seemed to make sense. And I did rather like the look of the Halo maybe to complement my Robens Lodge 2.

But on checking it out, and I had to check it again, it appears to be a staggering 390cm end to end.

Doesn't this make it hard to find a suitable free pitch, free of debris etc and level enough? I am thinking in particular of when you might quite naturally want to pitch it in a wood or somewhere. That's a lot of ground to check/clear.

It appears that the reason for its stupendous length is the porches, which are also more "pointed" than the Lodge porches. In comparison the porches on the Lodge 2 and 3 appear to be essentially the same depth.

So in short do you find it a problem?

Where/how do you tend to pitch it?

Would be interested in any pics/vids you may have of it encamped.

If anyone else has any views on the tent, that sort of footprint size/relationship between inner tent and porch size, I would also be interested.
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by Bonefishblues »

ossie wrote:The heaviest I had for single person was a Vango something at 3.2kg and lugging that around wasn't fun.

Current is a Vaude Taurus Ultralite -2 person, weight around 1.8kg. Loads of room and a small porch.

Mk 2 CN by any chance? That's what I started with.
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horizon
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by horizon »

Sweep wrote:
But on checking it out, and I had to check it again, it appears to be a staggering 390cm end to end.

Doesn't this make it hard to find a suitable free pitch, free of debris etc and level enough? I am thinking in particular of when you might quite naturally want to pitch it in a wood or somewhere. That's a lot of ground to check/clear.

If anyone else has any views on the tent, that sort of footprint size/relationship between inner tent and porch size, I would also be interested.


The Halo 300 is a three person dome. I think that's the wrong configuration for one or two people. Much better would be a Vango Omega 250 type tent with extended porch as the space is more flexible (e.g. keep all the wet gear and food in the porch).

But this thread is about heavy tents. It's one reason why I don't wild camp nowadays - for that you might be better off with a small tent as you suggest. I now have a Robens Voyager 2EX (review to follow) which is totally worth its weight (about 3.4 kg) for one person. But wild camping with it would be a bit ludicrous.
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Sweep
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Re: Heaviest tent?

Post by Sweep »

horizon wrote:
The Halo 300 is a three person dome. I think that's the wrong configuration for one or two people. .


You think a dome is a wrong configuration?
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