Cycling UK Forum

See Khyam Rigidome above. Quick pitch with exterior poles. Bombproof!

You can get similar ones to the photo above with a bedroom tacked on either side. Similarly bombproof.

Al

Norman H wrote: ↑25 Apr 2023, 8:48am
I think you've identified the problem here. Tunnel tents generally don't perform as well as domes and other geodesic designs in windy conditions, they rely heavily on guy line security under such circumstances.

+1 I agree. I think it is generally accepted that tunnel tents can be more vulnerable in strong winds - smaller is better if you go tunnel. To be fair to the OP, he was probably unlucky: a couple of not so well placed pegs, a strong gust in his direction etc. But what I see of large tunnel tents on campsites is that they are a forest of guy lines and there must be a reason for this. I'm not sure that the large tunnel tent is fundamentally a good idea.

Did you also deploy the internal tension bands (TBS) that Vango supply with their tunnel tents?

I wondered about this too.

horizon wrote: ↑24 Apr 2023, 11:44pm

Vantage wrote: ↑24 Apr 2023, 11:12pm but ours was one of few tents left standing after what felt like a hurricane swept through a hillside campsite in mid Wales a few years ago. It is bombproof.

So, Vantage, please can you explain why your tent was left standing and the others not and which features of the tent were so different from the Vango Beta that meant the latter was prey to a 40 mph gust and your Decathlon would not be.

No horizon I can't. My tent survived. Others did not.
Rotavator asked for recommendations. I gave one.

I don't have any recent experience of a larger camping* tent in the wind, I bought a Vango Galaxy 300 as a base camp tent last year, but so far it's only been used in benign conditions. It's a tunnel design with a steep taper, standing room in the porch, but only sitting room in the sleeping compartment. In theory at least, that ought to make it more aerodynamic, as long as it's pitched tail to the wind.
Many years ago, family camping on the Lizard in Cornwall when a storm hit, about 30 tents on a costal site and about a third of them down in the morning, I'm not sure how many damaged, or if any were taken down as a precaution. Our older polycotton frame tent was fine, but then it was built like a shed, more likely to have blown away than blown down. It would have been hard to figure out why some had withstood it and others not, it seemed pretty random.
There's plenty of pyramid/tepee designs around, I tried a Golite but didn't get on with it. One of the selling points is how well they withstand bad weather including the wind, though I think they rely more on good pegging than other more structured designs.

* I have extensive, though not recent, experience with marquees, they get troublesome if the wind gets inside.

The theory goes that wind speeds diminish as the height from the ground decreases, thus a conical design means that the bulk of the tent is where the wind speed is least. Plus the cone presents a curve regardless of the wind direction, although the door section in the Asgard in partic. means its not perfectly conical. The multiple guys pulling the tent shape down into the ground probably has some positive effect too but my math isn't up to figuring out what...
There's another plus for some of the single skin bell tent designs, too, which is the ability to roll up the bottom section completely (see piccie) which is probably a massive boon if you favour hotter climes.

Vantage wrote: ↑25 Apr 2023, 10:28am

horizon wrote: ↑24 Apr 2023, 11:44pm

Vantage wrote: ↑24 Apr 2023, 11:12pm but ours was one of few tents left standing after what felt like a hurricane swept through a hillside campsite in mid Wales a few years ago. It is bombproof.

So, Vantage, please can you explain why your tent was left standing and the others not and which features of the tent were so different from the Vango Beta that meant the latter was prey to a 40 mph gust and your Decathlon would not be.

No horizon I can't. My tent survived. Others did not.
Rotavator asked for recommendations. I gave one.

Thank you Vantage, a very fair reply.

My own thinking on this is that we have two tents having been compared in similar weather situations and it also being observed that there is no essential difference between them. This implies to my mind that the key factors are:

1. Luck (where the gusts actually fall which can vary a lot).
2. Pitching (pegging, guying, orientation)
3. Siting

I would suggest that Decathlon large tunnel tents really do rely on good pitching (which doesn't make them bad tents but the design does rely on this I would have thought). My daughter has one the same as yours so I'm particularly interested in this.

BTW, I'm not claiming any expertise here but I would like to know what is what - your experience and that of the OP compared is IMV very useful real world evidence.

Norman H wrote: ↑25 Apr 2023, 8:48am
I think you've identified the problem here. Tunnel tents generally don't perform as well as domes and other geodesic designs in windy conditions, they rely heavily on guy line security under such circumstances.

It's not that simple, because the definition of "performance" here isn't as obvious as it seems.
It's the old "which is better in a wind, a reed or a tree" things. And while the reed is easy to blow down it'll pop back up, while a tree can stand up better until it goes... but then it's gone.

A tunnel moves around a lot more in the wind than a dome if all else is equal, but moving around isn't failure. This is why tunnel tents like the Hilleberg Keron are go-to designs for polar touring where there's no shelter and failure is not an option.

The devil tends to be in the detail on overall survivability, and while you can say that all else being equal a dome is better than a tunnel for static snow loading I don't think that's the case for staying up in the wind.

Pete.

With pyramid tents/tipis/lavvus, pals use a Helsport Lavvu out of canoes and kayaks and have found it to be pleasantly luxurious (notably standing height and the wood burning stove option!) and completely bombproof.

British Antarctic Survey tents certainly used to be Ventile pyramid tents, don't know if they still are but another pal was a BAS General Assistant in the 80s and said they were great (the weight wasn't an issue with a skidoo or dogs doing the pulling)

Pete.

One bit of advice I was given by my dear old dad was use very long guylines. Short lines only pull the tent down which doesn't help if wind is building up under the tent and leads to pegs being pulled out.
I can't say for sure, but I link to think that advice is one reason why I've never lost a tent and I've pitched in some seriously bad weather.
The big decathlon certainly moved around a heck of a lot on that site and all of us were expecting it to take off like Dorothy's house, but nothing broke or tore. Decathlons tent do seem to be a little heavier than others out there and it may be due to tougher fly sheets etc. Can't say for sure.

Short lines only pull the tent down which doesn't help if wind is building up under the tent and leads to pegs being pulled out.

Depends on what sort of tent you have. The guys on mine are designed to pull the material of the tent down onto the single vertical pole.

Video or a Hilleberg Rogen in strong winds. 1st part of video has guy lines out but later without any guylines.


Ian

Another Robens owner here, I bought this one back in 2017 and it has proved itself in all conditions. I like the simplicity (just one very stout central pole and an entrance V) and the shape which combines stability in a high wind together with plenty of standing room. It's heavyish at 16kg but straightforwards to put up and pack away - about 20-25 minutes if there's just one of you.


Bought in part because of a very good offer, at first I wondered if it was going to prove a good choice but after a lot of use I'd struggle to find fault. A second hand wood stove was found to go inside when needed, we've camped in snow and frost, driving rain and as searing heat when the sides and groundsheet were unzipped.

One night brought 60-odd mph wind gusts when in a very exposed place, other than a couple of lines which needed retensioning, all was well and remained drip free in a rain storm the next night.

https://www.trekitt.co.uk/sleep-shelter ... ute=130189

Yes, my Vango tent has the TBS Tension Band System

about 20-25 minutes if there's just one of you.

That matches my experience. Not tried it with a little stove but bet its proper cosy ! Almost makes me want to go out in winter again !!

Biospace wrote: ↑25 Apr 2023, 1:31pm Another Robens owner here, I bought this one back in 2017 and it has proved itself in all conditions. I like the simplicity (just one very stout central pole) and the shape which combines stability in a high wind together with plenty of standing room. It's heavyish at 16kg but straightforwards to put up and pack away - about 20-25 minutes if there's just one of you.

OK, I am starting to like the like the idea of these bell tents but how does yours cope with rain? Does it leak? Does the fabric get sodden and heavy so a right pain to strike on a wet day? I know conventional/synthetic tents also get wet but it is relatively easy to roll them up, put them in a bag and stuff it in the car then dry it out when one gets home.