One tip with the Gelert Solo, ditch the stock pegs and buy some better lighter ones. The stock ones are real heavy. Also you don't need to peg out every point for a strong pitch. You can get away with fewer pegs. Get some new ones and you'll get the weight down from 1.7kg (weighed on my mates scales, seam sealed) to at a guess, nearer 1.4kg.
Also in it's bag, it fits perfectly under the handle bar area, even if you have STI shifters. It's narrow enough not to get in the way. My mate would bungee his there. If you look in the photo you can see it under the bar-bag. Just helps keeps the bike that little bit better balanced, less weight on the back.
If you dont mind spending about £220 and you are doing long distance touring where weight is really critical, I'd thoroughly recommend the Terra Nova Solar Competition Tent (below) .
Its strengths are: -------------------------------- Fraction over 1k in weight
Inner skin has large clear mesh panel which allows any condensation to vent away perfectly & allows you to look out (if outer skin not zipped closed)while protected from the mosquitos/midges !
Can regulate temperature by how much the outer skin is closed ( or even inner tent can be used on its own if really hot).
Can be erected easily in the dark !
Am just able to sit up to dress (am 6ft 2") and there is a small porch which will just about hold 2 full panniers ------------------------------------- I note that this model now comes in Competition 1 & 2. If buying now I'd go for the Competition 2 which adds to the weight by about 10% but you get greater comfort from the extra size.
I would agree with what has been said about not getting overly anxious about weight. The above tent does not feel claustrophobic but there is no spare room and if wet for any long period of time and you were confined inside you would start to feel hemmed in I'm sure. Even when camping solo I'd now go for a 2 man tent for the luxury of the bigger internal dimension as my 1k tent is no weight at all !
Herb
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Terra Nova Solar Competition Tent
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This is a set up of 2.3kilos but I can wild camp (using the small tent) or use a camp site using the shangri la as an outer and the inner from the solar competition to be used as my inner for the Shangri La. This is also big enough to keep the bike in, cook, dry kit off.
The Shangri La is supposedly 4 season (not sure about high winds).
It is lightweight combination, flexible, plenty of storage, wild camping ready, campsite ready, free standing capable (from the solar competition), good for stealth, roomy. no real downsides apart from price.
I bought an MSR skinny one. Used it every night for two months across the states and failed to have one good sleep! I could have benefited more from something out of Argos. The tent doesn't breath when warm and does not retain any heat when cold. the single skin is rubbish! In addition, I couldn't really fit any bags in the tent which was stressful when staying in some areas. Stay clear of this tent!
hey mmmhh.... i think abou to use the sky as my cover. does anyone has some experience with it? i dont want to buy a tent just for my london munich trip especially because i dont know how often i will use a b/b or the tent. hope you have some interesting news for me
oh by the way if someone wants to join me... i will go around the 4rd april lizz
When I was at uni, I spent every nearly weekend camping in the Dales with no tent. I had a big orange survival bag, but I used it as a groundsheet unless it was actually raining, as if you get inside your sleeping bag gets pretty wet from condensation. You can also get pretty wet from dew on a clear, calm night. It's also very difficult to get into a sleeping bag in a poly or bivvy bag without getting your sleeping bag and clothing wet if it's raining much at bed time. Without a bivvy bag, you'd generally need to find some sort of shelter (under a bridge, derelict building etc). A lot of options would mean getting up at dawn so you were away before people started moving about.
I am all in favour of lightweight camping. However the discomfort of small solo tents is not for me. After all a spacious Hilleberg Anjan only weighs 1700 grams. Willem
Like Willem, I don't think any 1 man tent that I have seen is really comfortable. My usual touring buddy has a horrid little tent which he constantly complains about. It's very light but cramped dark and it sags at the slightest sign of moisture. My wallet won't stretch to the likes of Hilleberg. The trade off is weight and expense. Personally an extra kilo on the tent doesn't bother me, comfort is really important. I really like Colemans Avior tents. I started with an X2 and graduated to an X3 for that extra 1/2 kilo. This gives me oodles of space to change, relax, spread out and enjoy, at the price of 1.3 kilos over a light tent and at a saving of several hundred pounds. Colemans tents are extremely well made, its hard to see how they do it for the price. Both can be found for less than £70 at the moment.
Where the Avior scores over designs like the Anjan and other tunnel type tents is having a huge side entrance which means you don't have to crawl over or through your gear to get in and out. Your gear stays dry and within easy reach. If it rains and you need to use only the front entrance, bring it inside the sleeping compartment, there is oodles of room.
Reuse, recycle, to save the planet.... Auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Boots. Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can...... Every little helps!
The tent I currently take on solo trips is my thirteen year old son's secondhand Helsport Rondane 3. It is a great tent, apart from one thing: it is too low. At 2.6 kg it is also a bit on the heavy side for a solo tent. But I take what I have. I mentioned the Hilleberg Anjan because I saw it the other day at a show, and I was really impressed. At 1700 grams the Anjan 2 is great for solo use, and at 1900 grams the Anjan3 is excellent for two people. And easy to get into for an older guy like myself. The Anjan 2 is only a bit more expensive and only 100 grams heavier than the Akto (the Anjan's are thus both cheaper and lighter than the Nallo's), but it is so much more comfortable, including much better ventilation. Hilleberg say it is only three season, but unlike for mountaineering, for cycling touring anything more is almost always overkill. Thus I think the Anjan's more or less define the current state of the art in lightweight bicycling tents. However, my policy in life is always not to replace something until it is worn out. When, and only when, that happens, I look around what is best/lightest at that moment. Thus camping still remains a quite economical way to have an outdoor holiday. Willem
Another to add to the mix - Vango Banshee 200 under £100 (just), under 2kg, compact when packed. It's a little snug for 2 but plenty of room for 1 plus stuff. I see the 2011 version has the poles on the outside & can now be pitched outer first which overcomes the only real potential disadvantage of the version I have - having to pitch the inner first in bad weather (you just have to be quick ).
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
I have a Gelert solo tent which I use for Cycling and Kayaking. It was cheap, it is small, light and easy to carry and very easy to pitch and take down. I am always the first to get my tent up. It is also fine for sleeping it if you are not too tall. I am 5'7" so there is plently of room for me. It also has a small footprint so finding a pitch is relatively easy and its colour means that it is inconspicuous. Mine has always been waterproof and never been a problem is quite high winds, although I have only used it from April to September.
In terms of downsides:- Condensation can be a bit of a problem in cold weather because it's so small. That was also a problem in my previous one man tent and is probbaly a problem in most very small nylon tents. Also, the inner needs to be put up first and taken down last. Not a problem when its dry but requires careful management in the pouring rain. For me, the two biggest downsides are that there isn't really any space to store much in the tent and there is very little space to cook when the weather is really bad.
In summary, if you use it for short tours in summer then it should be fine - an absolute bargain for about £30. If you camp a lot when the weather is likely to be bad then space to keep items inside the tent and space to cook would be useful.
As posted here viewtopic.php?f=42&t=63323 Field & Trek have a sale on at the moment and the Laser Comp (1 person) is an amaziing £132. There are a number of other 1/2 berth tents going at extremely good prices too.
Without my stoker, every trip would only be half a journey
I cycled to Spain using this tent and it held up against the rain ok but was VERY claustrophobic and the stitching was coming apart at the foot end towards the end if the trip, I then bought a 1-2p vaude powerlizard - very expensive but 1 kg and luxurious and very well made worth the money!
