New Tent Advice

[nmnm]

the amount of time it takes to properly pack away... ...stuffing a sleeping bag back into its stuff sack, and I've found that it takes me about an hour to rouse myself, eat, pack everything onto the bike and get on the move

I had a small breakthrough this year - I have spare pannier space and so got a bigger stuff sack for the (down) sleeping bag. It packs much quicker now, I just jam it in, no rolling or anything, and supposedly it will be warmer at night (being less squashed by day). The sack is the usual roll-top type so I can still go for big compression when short of space. It's not much faster, 3 mins maybe, but it eliminates the most irksome bit of the pack-up (especially welcome when the sun is on the tent).

[pjclinch]

General advice with down bags is don't roll them. It doesn't help at all, tends to end up with the down in ridges rather than more randomly distributed, and takes much longer than stuffing it. Shouldn't need a bigger stuff sack to do either. (There is, AFAICT, no particular reason to roll synthetics rather than stuff either).

Pete.

[nmnm]

Shouldn't need a bigger stuff sack to do either.

Not a question of need, pj. With my sleeping bag, a bigger sack gives a faster, easier pack-up, if there's pannier space to spare.

Agreed re stuffing down - I imagine rolling it can damage the baffles too.

[foxyrider]

i don't even roll my tent canvas - maybe a minute to stuff into its bag or ten to fold/roll, its not the time as much as the faff!

[pjclinch]

i don't even roll my tent canvas - maybe a minute to stuff into its bag or ten to fold/roll, its not the time as much as the faff!

If you have a muddy (or worse) groundsheet it can be worth folding the inner (or whole lot if you have connected inner/outer) to keep muddy bits to muddy bits rather than ending up with cack over everything, but that aside there's not much to gain by folding/rolling.

Pete.

[naff_monk]

We use the Duolite Tourer and are always amased how big it is when we get it out considering it's weight. Don't believe the marketing that leads you to believe that you can fit bikes in the vestibule though, it might be possible but in the real world, it's too small.

We looked at the hilleberg at the time and I'm sure it's great but is it really worth that much more money?

http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/tents-and-s ... urer-tent/

PS. both the Hilleberg and Terra Nova are lighter than your vango.

[i-cycle]

I was always a Terra Nova fan....but we've recently bought a Hilleberg Nallo 2.

As others have said its a brilliant, light weight and bomb proof tent with plenty of room (too much room only means you carry too much kit anyway?) and although more expensive if it means you're more likely to use it rather than B&B and hostels for even an extra couple of more nights each year, then it will effectively pay you to invest in one of the best tents money can buy.

Couple this with the fact that you can use your CTC membership to get 15% off at Cotswold and the cost comes down to a more affordable £550. Use it for a two week tour rather than spending £35 a night on B&Bs and its paid for itself, if you follow my logic.

[crazyferret]

Hi
Thanks again for all of advice. I've been having a proper look around and it looks like the Hileberg is the best. How useful would you say the porch on the GT version is, would it be worth the weight and bulk, is the smaller one big enough for 4 panniers or 2 rucksacks. What is it like for cooking in when its raining, would you say that you could get away with the smaller one. It looks like I might have to save up though, the porch does look very appealing.
thanks again
Tokopah

[Alex L]

i don't even roll my tent canvas - maybe a minute to stuff into its bag or ten to fold/roll, its not the time as much as the faff!

I have a single skin tent, 2 man that weighs 960g. It doesn't have a bag, it rolls into a mesh pouch on on side. I have to roll not stuff or it won't work!

[mercurykev]

If you're going to use it for two people in all weathers then I'd get the Nallo 3 GT. The non-GT porch will accommodate panniers or rucksacks but the GT version has so much more usable space when filled with luggage and the 3 person tent has more living space with very little weight penalty.

This website has some very good photos showing the various features of Hilleberg tents - http://www.moontrail.com/tents/hilleberg_nallo3gt.php

[pjclinch]

Here's one of the porches of a Kaitum 3 in action: as you can see there's plenty of room for cooking and quite a bit for clutter and baggage too (and the vent toggle acts as an excellent rice-draining aid!)



That's pretty much the same size as a standard Nallo porch, though the door arrangement is a little different. What you have with the Kaitum that you don't in a Nallo is another one of those at the other end, and that's where most of the rest of our gear is to be found (kitchen at one end, general crappage at the other, exit/entry either one).

Obviously our lot is thrown in with the Kaitum (mainly I just much prefer a choice of doors), but any of a Kaitum, Nallo or Nallo GT is a proven workhorse I don't think you'd regret.

Alpenstock are a very good dealer for Hilles IME, and aside from doing the whole range they (at least did) offer 15% off the standard RRP in any case. Worth giving them a call, anyway (0161 480 3660 or email shop@alpenstock.co.uk). If you're anywhere near Stockport probably worth calling by and crawling around in a few.

Pete.

[willem jongman]

For years we had a Hilleberg Keron 4 GT, used as a family tent with two kids. It was a great tent, because it was relatively light for a family tent, very convenient, and utterly reliable in even the worst weather (you want that with two little kids). When after 10 years it died from UV exposure (you get more of that with kids because you often stay two or more days on a site) we had to decide on a new tent in a hurry. We had a shortlist in the back of our minds with the Nallo 3GT and the Nammatj 3GT, and I had to choose in the absence of my wife. The Nammatj was not only heavier and sturdier than the Nallo, but also rather more spacious because of the higher roof. I am glad this is what I chose, because my wife still regrets that it is not as spacious as she would have liked. If she could choose again, it would be a Keron 3 GT for the two of us. Personally, I think that is a bit over the top, but the vertical rear wall and extra vestibule would have provided a lot more space. And for a tall person, the low rears of the Nammatj and the Nallo really are a bit too low: your bag will touch the inner tent. For a tall person, a Keron or Kaitum is preferable. Since they also have the rear vestibule, you do not need the GT version as much as you do with the Nallo or the Nammatj.
Willem
p.s. if your trips are mostly in warmer conditions, you should also consider the new Anjan models (now also in GT guise). But be careful with them, as they are less durable than a Nallo/Kaitum, and particularly than a Nammatj/ Keron.

[BeeKeeper]

Hi
How useful would you say the porch on the GT version is, would it be worth the weight and bulk, is the smaller one big enough for 4 panniers or 2 rucksacks. What is it like for cooking in when its raining, would you say that you could get away with the smaller one. It looks like I might have to save up though, the porch does look very appealing.

I have a Nallo 2 GT which I use for solo touring and for me the extra room in the porch is great. There is room for 4 panniers and still plenty of room for cooking when it is raining. If not already mentioned I would strongly recommend you buy the matching Footprint ground sheet even though it will look a lot of money for "just a ground sheet" - but it is more than a bit of plastic - toggles and things round the edge so it clips to the tent making it so much easier to stow and pitch, especially in the rain. Pitching is just just a matter flicking it out onto the ground so it unrolls, put a peg in at each corner and then insert the poles. In a matter of moments you have a tent ready erected.

The only drawback of the design I find is when it is raining and you open the door rain will collect on the ground sheet until you close the door. This is because the curve of the roof means the ground sheet is exposed to the sky. An overhanging porch would be nice but no doubt this would suffer in gales.

[willem jongman]

I would not cook in the porch. It was only the other day that two Dutch campers died from carbon monoxide because they had used their stove inside. Stoves can vary enormously in their CO output, but many are positively dangerous.
Willem

[pjclinch]

I would not cook in the porch. It was only the other day that two Dutch campers died from carbon monoxide because they had used their stove inside. Stoves can vary enormously in their CO output, but many are positively dangerous.

I wouldn't cook in the porch if there's a reasonable alternative, but I personally don't call being in a cloud of midges or a cloud of, well, cloud (with attendant rain/hail/sleet/gale etc.) "reasonable". It is important to keep everything reasonably vented, but that shouldn't be too difficult. All tents and stoves these days come with notices saying not to even think of cooking inside but it's just not realistic in a lot of cases and while all else being equal cooking outside is better, all else often isn't and the notices are in large part backside-covering. But if you do cook inside ensure you've got plenty of active ventilation close to the stove.

If not already mentioned I would strongly recommend you buy the matching Footprint ground sheet even though it will look a lot of money for "just a ground sheet"

I wouldn't. We have footprints for our Hilles (a Kaitum 2, a Kaitum 3 and a Tarra) that we use if we're camping out of the car or the boats where weight and bulk are essentially non-issues, but we don't generally bother when we're cycling or walking. The supplied groundsheets are pretty serious items and will take a lot of flak: if you're spending a small fortune on a Hille a lot of what you pay for is first class strong and light materials, and then to pay more to protect the strong materials from the things they're designed to cope with anyway while at the same time increasing the packing weight and bulk you've paid to minimise just strikes me as missing the point to some degree. If you find you're regularly camping on marginal sites with lots of rocks and stone then fair enough, but for a typical grass site the advantages of a footprint are, IMHO, outweighed by the weight and bulk (and cost) increase. Kinda like getting a premium light Audax bike and insisting on 48 spoke steel wheels and fat, heavy tyres, "just in case".

Pete.