Cycling UK Forum

Tigerbiten wrote:If you only expect to sleep in it then a 2 man tent may work.
But if you can see yourself sitting out rainy days in it then the extra room in a 3 man tent may well make it a better bet.

Luck ........

Wot about Social Distancing.......Just saying like

You've had good service from your Quechua tents so it makes good sense to stick with Decathlon products. I've one of these, usually use it solo but my son and I used on a 5 night double C2C without any noticeable problems. Both over 6 feet tall and and broad shouldered. It has a door each side which makes it a lot more convenient than a single doored tent. You can each leave and enter without disturbing the other.



https://www.decathlon.co.uk/quickhiker- ... 45650.html

We all have different requirements and preferences - My list would look like this;
Sleep across the door
Two doors
Two porches

Then
Cost
Weight

However fantastically well a tent meets someone else's requirements if it doesn't meet yours it would be a mistake.

PH wrote:We all have different requirements and preferences - My list would look like this;
Sleep across the door
Two doors

Can you expand on this?
Your reasons?
not arguing.

Sweep wrote:

PH wrote:We all have different requirements and preferences - My list would look like this;
Sleep across the door
Two doors

Can you expand on this?
Your reasons?
not arguing.

Sleep across the door Easier to get in and out of, wider door to sit in, less area where the inner can touch the fly,
Two doors Options if the wind changes, or one doorway becomes muddy. For two, a door each to get in/out without clambering over the other, great airflow.
Two porches For two it's a porch each, on your own you can keep a doorway clear of kit.

My tent, 12 years old and I was lucky enough to get a new fly for it a couple of years ago so hopefully it'll outlast me. Suits me perfectly, though might not suit someone else at all.
Fugeres campsite by Paul, on Flickr

Sweep wrote:

PH wrote:We all have different requirements and preferences - My list would look like this;
Sleep across the door
Two doors

Can you expand on this?
Your reasons?
not arguing.

I very much prefer two doors and porches, even solo. It just makes life that bit more comfortable and user friendly with more places to park stuff, cook safely and keep the inner clean. Another benefit (which you can see in PH's pic) is you can get excellent through-venting on hot days with a bit of a breeze.

I'm less fussed about whether I sleep along or across (I have examples of each), but having said that the sleep-along ones we have are wide enough that two people can sit at each door anyway. A disadvantage of transverse setups is if you've got 3 on board then someone doesn't have immediate access to a door and has to climb over people, but for one or two that's a non-issue. For taller campers, end-to-end sleeping in a two-porch tent is aided by the ends being more or less vertical so there is more face and foot space, but again that's only an issue for some and not exactly a general deal-breaker in transverse designs.

I'm currently deciding whether or not I should resist the temptation to buy a Rogen as Bergzeit have sand-coloured ones for "only" £700 atm... (I probably should resist but that's quite a saving!)

Pete.

PH wrote:

Sweep wrote:

PH wrote:We all have different requirements and preferences - My list would look like this;
Sleep across the door
Two doors

Can you expand on this?
Your reasons?
not arguing.

Sleep across the door Easier to get in and out of, wider door to sit in, less area where the inner can touch the fly,
Two doors Options if the wind changes, or one doorway becomes muddy. For two, a door each to get in/out without clambering over the other, great airflow.
Two porches For two it's a porch each, on your own you can keep a doorway clear of kit.

My tent, 12 years old and I was lucky enough to get a new fly for it a couple of years ago so hopefully it'll outlast me. Suits me perfectly, though might not suit someone else at all.

agree - my question was partly rehetorical to be honest/looking for unprompted backing for my fondness for my lodge2.
I use it solo - 2 entrances, 2 porches.
One never clear (I have too much junk) but the porch i use for getting in and out has less stuff (the "living" stuff I need close to hand) while the back porch has the deeper storage, panniers etc.

Ive also been looking for a 2 man tent. My friend and I are planning on metal detecting in area with some historical background but its in the middle of nowhere. Im glad I found this thread. The recommendation have been quite helpful. If youre looking to get into the metal detecting hobby, you should visit this website.

I've just splashed the cash for a Hubba Hubba NX2.
Did a lot of research and took the plunge last month.
No regrets.
I guess it's all down to preference and ££'s available.
I had some extra ££ so when a new one on eBay came up at £100 less than Cotswold, it was mine.

Love the space, 2 doors/ porches. Easy to put up and down.
No negatives so far.

pjclinch wrote:Everyone has different priorities and what works for us may not float your boat, but looking for a "keeper" generous-for-2 cycle touring tent back in 2006 we bought a Hilleberg Kaitum 3 and have had no regrets. They were rather cheaper then as the pound hadn't fallen through the floor in those days, but I'd replace like for like (though barring disasters I frankly expect it to last a very long time).

Easy to put up and take down, tough, space, space and more space, dismountable inner so you can fix bikes under cover if need be, and Hille's attention to detail which goes in to things being where and how they should be. The Kaitum 2 is genuinely big enough for 2 but we decided to be greedy about space. The Nallo GT has similar overall volume but less in the inner, plus the kaitum has a door and a porch each, which I like a lot.

Pete.

A thought strikes me about large tents like that though, is that finding a decent flat, secluded site ideally near a water source when wild camping could be an issue. Guess it depends on what sort of camping you do, if you're primarily staying on campsites it's not an issue but for me at least it would preclude too large a tent. Fwiw I like the Force Ten Xenon UL 2 for solo cycle touring, think it is a good mix of weight, price, size, porch size and stability for my needs at least (though i'm unsure on long term durability.)

Agree about two doors and two porches.

(Still using a Robert Saunders Base-Packer 2.)

Jonathan

I've just forked out for Nordisk Telemark 2.2 UL.

Before taking the plunge I took a very long & hard look at the MSR Hubba Hubba NX and the competition from Big Agnes, Nemo and others. Don't get me wrong, they produce some very nice tents and I was sorely tempted but in the end I rejected them all for one simple reason. They all pitch inner first. Now that might be grand in the USA where in the summer the nearest rain cloud is in the next state and you can sleep in just the inner, tucked up in a bug free enviroment gazing up at the stars, but in North Wales or Ullapool, maybe not.

The Telemark ticked all my boxes, enough for two people as long as you know them well, luxury for solo. It's Lightweight, 2x entrances, pitches either outer first or all in one and is very fast & easy to put up. Reviews on the internet are generally all positive. Not cheap I'll admit, but during this lockdown there are some bargains to be had.

2 people 2 doors. More cost more tent less faff.

NickWi wrote:I've just forked out for Nordisk Telemark 2.2 UL. [img]https://nordisk.eu/media/19167/telemark-2-2-lw-tent-green-nordisk-on-

Just googles that - it's a lot of tent and a good weight. I like a bit more space, but not everyone would carry the extra kg, I often resent it!

I rejected them all for one simple reason. They all pitch inner first.

I thought that would be an issue on my TN, but accepted the compromise as it was the only tent I found that ticked all the other boxes (Plus I got a good deal) In reality, it's never been a problem, I've only once put it up in a downpour and maybe five times in light rain, that's out of well over a hundred. And I like camping in Scotland and Wales!

PH wrote:

NickWi wrote:I rejected them all for one simple reason. They all pitch inner first.

I thought that would be an issue on my TN, but accepted the compromise as it was the only tent I found that ticked all the other boxes (Plus I got a good deal) In reality, it's never been a problem, I've only once put it up in a downpour and maybe five times in light rain, that's out of well over a hundred. And I like camping in Scotland and Wales!

While that is the usual reason given for avoiding an inner-first pitch, the thing I think that's a bigger issue is you can't dismount the inner for extra space. Generally I've used a dismountable inner for extra party space when having "friends over" when the weather's pish, but it's also potentially handy for stuff like potentially dirty repairs while keeping the inner pristine.

The sort of feature, I suspect, that you wouldn't miss if you've never had it, but I have had it and I find it annoying when it isn't there.

Pete.