Cycling UK Forum

Am looking for a small lightweight 1 person tent for bikepacking for a small lightweight person. Ideally weighing around the kilo mark, but small pack size is more important as my bike is very small. I camp mostly on sites (I feel safer) but have been known to do the odd wild camp very occasionally ie about once a year. I don't camp all year round so a three-season is very adequate.

I'm tending towards (but not set on) the "spine and Y" configuration like the Nemo Hornet and the Big Agnes Fly Creek. The Hornet I'm attracted by the tiny pack size, low weight, good interior space and OSMO fabric but put off by the high cut fly mostly because I think rain might get under. The BA Fly Creek looks very good and fulfills most if not all of my requirements, but main problem is the colour - the bikepacking short pole version seems to only come in yellow.
There is an argument to say that if you're wild camping it's "pitch after dusk and strike a dawn", so who's going to see it. Does the colour matter?

What else would you suggest? I've tried the Wild Country Zephyros and seem to be incapable of pitching this without it looking like a hammock, so am shying away from tunnel tents although others may be different. I'd like a tent that can pitch outer first or both together but this may be a compromise point.

Thanks for your suggestions.

There's loads of interesting comments and advice on Hilleberg's website - well worth a gander, in my view. Of course just 'cos you follow some of the advice or tips doesn't necessarily mean you have to splash for a Hilly!
https://hilleberg.com/eng/about-our-ten ... ight-tent/
https://campinghabits.com/tent-color/

The only consistent advice I've heard on tent colour does concern yellow but it's nothing to do with wild camping; it's that yellow should be avoided because it's attractive to insects. Green, red, grey, etc, are far better in that you get fewer insects buzzing around. That said, it's probably going to depend to some extent where and when you are camping.

For wild camping, logically you'd think greens, greys and browns would be more discreet. Yes, pitch at dusk, strike at dawn, but dawn in mid-summer is around 4:30 in southern England, even earlier in Scotland. And summer evenings do see people out till 10:30, 11... In practice you might well find farmers are up before you! Will they care even if they do see you? That depends on their personality and just where you are. Mostly, probably not.

If you only wild camp about once a year, I'd say make the tent's other qualities (which still might include its colour – not just insect-wise but aesthetically; it's your tent, you should like the look of it!) the ones you decide by.

After a walking group night out a couple of us bivvied in the hills above the pub. We were meeting up the next day for a walk and we didn't want to go home but wanted a drink with the meal. We both had bivvy bags and due to rain but no wind due to come in overnight I brought my tarp in a flying v pitch. The best morning while waiting for the other group to get up there for the walk we pottered around, went up a nearby hill and when walking down we were at most a couple of hundred metres from our pitch and could not see the green tarp nor the black and the blue bivvy bags. We could not even see my yellow and blue rucksack. We got close before we saw it and we saw the green tarp first.

If you pitch in dusk and strike early dawn then I doubt colour matters. Green is possibly best but I suspect shape of the shelter being out of place might be equally significant.

Excellent light orientated anecdote.
I remember learning about the sabbath (I'm not Jewish but my best friend growing up was). He told me that there's an old Jewish test for when the sabbath actually begins. It's supposed to start at sunset on the Friday, but the thing is, what with it being so important and wotnot, when exactly? He told me that folks really keen on knowing use three threads, one red, one white and the third, black. And when you can't tell one from the other, that's when the Sabbath begins, so you can put your feet up and have a rest, like God. And why not?
So, back to tents. Since the excellent Jewish tradition tells us that red is the colour that is last to be percieved by the cones as the available light diminishes and the rods take over, it might be handy to have a red tent.

The colour thing really only applies at a distance and light shows up first generally.You'll see anything at 100 yards.
As a person who feels that there is nothing in nature than is improved by man I go for the most subdued colour possible to do my best to avoid visual pollution at 3 feet
Some people like the bright colours.

I always go for olive to dark green, Im not a fan of visual pollution and I do enjoy being a little hard to spot by those wealthy land owners..

I like red, because the interior colour is subjectively "warm" on a dreich morning. That's also why Hamish Hamilton made the classic Force 10 bright orange, by the way, nothing to do with visibility.

Visual pollution does depend on where you are and who'd be likely to be there. Here's our quite large, bright red tent ruining a view in the Highlands...

(it is there if you zoom in, near the outflow from the loch)

We've just bought a new tent (Bach Guam 2) and it's green, not because we particularly wanted green but it was substantially discounted. Having liked green for years because I was worried about visual pollution, I took to red after I bought one that happened to be heavily discounted. Over 20 years later I'm not convinced it's ever been much of an eyesore, generally only registering if you know where to look for it and are trying.

In summary: don't worry too much about the colour, at least until you've got stuff like price, weight, layout etc. sorted.

Pete.

pjclinch wrote: ↑11 Jul 2023, 12:42pm I like red, because the interior colour is subjectively "warm" on a dreich morning. That's also why Hamish Hamilton made the classic Force 10 bright orange, by the way, nothing to do with visibility.

I thought it was because he'd taken an aversion to green after years of working for Harrod's? Oh, different Hamish Hamilton, sorry!

In summary: don't worry too much about the colour, at least until you've got stuff like price, weight, layout etc. sorted.

Pete.

I'd second this.

simonineaston wrote: ↑9 Jul 2023, 9:02pm Since the excellent Jewish tradition tells us that red is the colour that is last to be percieved by the cones as the available light diminishes and the rods take over, it might be handy to have a red tent.

So, red if you want to be able to find it in the dark? and not-red if you don't want to be spotted?

I dunno. I'm just minded that tents intended for use in snow are often red.

simonineaston wrote: ↑11 Jul 2023, 3:53pm I dunno. I'm just minded that tents intended for use in snow are often red.

Red is also the colour of hulls on polar research vessels: I think it's reckoned to be your best spot against a white background, but that's not typically a big issue cycle touring, at least in the UK.

Pete.

Q. what's white and fluffy and tastes of mint...? A polo bear, of course!

Years ago I bought a lightish blue tent - and sold it immediately, it was very attractive to insects.

Lots of interesting - and conflicting - opinions there!
Insect attractiveness seems to be a thing, although I read that mosquitoes are attached to dark colours, so you can't win. I don't mind being attractive to butterflies.

I like Pete's advice that colour shouldn't necessarily lead the decision of which tent, look other features first. The Fly Creek does unfortunately seem to hit the nail dead on the head with regards to design and functionality, and I can't find any other make doing something similar in a less "obvious" colour.