MC Tents, why so much $$

[achtung3]

When I was shopping for a tent I gave in and paid more than I wanted, after using it thru pouring rain I was glad with the money spent on the tent
Woke up one morning 3AM with rain beating on the tent roof and water running under the tent, no leaks whatsoever, it rained like a river and I was in my tent dry, it was worth every penny. REI camp dome 2.

I learned thru the years that (you get for what you pay for) IS TRUE.

[mario33]

Well, been searchin for perfect tent for years but No luck so far.

Here are my requirements:
- 3 seasons tent;
- 3 persons ~ 2+gear;
- dome for good windprofeness;
- minimum 48 inches inside height, ideally 50, dont like cramped spaces, i need to at least sit straight inside;
- aluminium poles with ~15inches segment length to fit most panniers;
- max 9 lbs with footprint, ideally 7.

Any matches ?

[jeepinbanditrider]

REI and Campmor have pretty good search engines to find that kind of stuff.

Edited to add pics. You can look those up to see if they meet your height requirement. They seem to meet your other ones but the drop down search thing doesn have an option to sort by height.




Sent from my iPhone

[Casejeep]

In short, you do get for what you pay for. It is no fun waking up in a puddle of water. I have seen even moderatly priced tents tear apart in a gnarly wind storm.

3 season tent= summer fall spring ( winter too but no snow) it will have lots of mesh and somewhat good venting.
4 season tent= winter snow and fall. Can withstand many feet of snow on top of it. Winds up to 70mph ( think Mt Everest) and will cost at least 2X that of a high quality 3 season tent

1person tent= just you, nothing else.
2person tent= you want gear, or 2 people who don't mind cuddling
3 person tent= 2 people plus gear


If you will be camping in the desert, try and find a tent with minimal mesh that won't zip up, blowing sand comes right on it though the mesh. I woke up in Death Valley with sand in my mouth and eyes.

I myself don't like to use stakes because you can only use them effectivly in a few kinds of places. The sand can't be to soft or to hard, ground has to be almost perfect in order for stakes to work right. I tie about 24" of cord on each tie down of the tent, this lets me tie the tent to anything. The bike, rocks, trees, bushes, logs, small animals. But with that being said I carry 4 stakes that came with the tent with me, just in case I run into the perfect ground.

The only thing I use the vestibule for is boots, anything else left out there will get muddy if it rains or filled with sand if its windy.

Another thing that I don't understand is the "motorcycle" tent with the little covered parking spot. These bikes are built to drive down the freeway in all kinds of weather going 65mph, why are people scared to leave them out over night?


Now DISCUSS

[some call me...tim]

I can throw in my anecdote for opting for a better-than-average tent. I went on a trip years ago where several of us were camped out at a campground. I had a "good" tent, a Sierra Designs one that would be considered low end by gear snobs, but would be considered high end from Walmart shoppers, so I guess it was middle of the road in the scheme of things. Another guy had some sort of Walmart special like a Coleman or a Wenzel. As luck would have it, a huge storm came in during the night, lots of wind and rain. It was causing all sorts of commotion with my rain fly, but everything stayed in place and dry. At one point during the night, I heard what sounded like a car accident, if cars were made out of nylon, accompanied by some colorful language. I shouted out to see if the guy was OK, and he said he was, so I went back to sleep.

The next morning, the storm had passed and I did a check around my tent, and everything looked in place and dry. I went outside to see what the noise was last night, and the first thing I noticed was the guy's rain fly hanging about 10 feet up in a tree 75 yards away. His tent was some jumble of nylon and aluminum on the ground, that looked more like a pile of laundry than a shelter. We surmised that the rain fly, which was "arched" like one of these, had actually worked as a scoop, which caught a blast of wind, flipped his tent completely upside down, and ripped the fly off. The guy, along with his cooler full of ice, beer and food, were all inside and he just said "fuck it" and dealt with spending the rest of the night soaked by rain and ice water.

I had that Sierra Designs tent for 15 years or so, and it always kept me dry, even when I pitched it in a bad spot where water pooled underneath it. I only recently replaced it because it was aging in places, like one of the zippers stopped working. That's not to say that an inexpensive tent won't work well, as I've seen some cheaper Eurekas and Keltys that are perfectly adequate for under $100, you just need to pay attention to the design of the tent and make sure it'll hold up in all conditions.

In addition to the places listed for good deals, keep an eye on steepandcheap.com as good deals can be had on there. I picked up a nice Mountain Hardware 3 person tent for ~$130 last year, and its been superb so far.

[Stan_R80/7]

As a personal opinion (I don't own one), the Eureka Timerline tents have impressed me as a reasonably priced good quality tent that can withstand a lot of use. http://store.eurekatent.com/timberline-series I have seen the Timberline model used by Plenty of BSA troops and youth groups and they hold up to that abuse very well. The tent is a compromise between cost, weight, features, and durability and comes with a limited lifetime warranty. You can't put a motorcycle inside the tent, but an optional vestibule is available for most other gear.

[lbever]

Originally Posted by mario33

Well, been searchin for perfect tent for years but No luck so far.

Here are my requirements:
- 3 seasons tent;
- 3 persons ~ 2+gear;
- dome for good windprofeness;
- minimum 48 inches inside height, ideally 50, dont like cramped spaces, i need to at least sit straight inside;
- aluminium poles with ~15inches segment length to fit most panniers;
- max 9 lbs with footprint, ideally 7.

Any matches ?

A Big Agnes Wyoming Trail SL2 looks like it has all the features you are looking for except the pole length which is 24". I lucked out and found a sample unit on their website for $299.00. the only thing I could find wrong was the color coded tent pole webbing was sewn in the wrong place. I had been looking at the Redverz Series II Expedition tent but did not like the fact it was not free standing. After setting up the Wyoming trail SL2, I think it is going to be just what I wanted. The vestibule is huge. and it is a free standing tent.
Here is the link on the Big Agnes site

[Snarky]

As a rule I pretty much automatically assume that non-clothing gear that is labeled "motorcycle" or "motorcycling" is at best: overpriced, and at worst: a rubbish ripoff.

There are of course exceptions, but it works pretty well. The prime example is "motorcycle air compressors" which are the same cheap rubbish they sell at wal-mart, in different packaging, and more expensive. Silly stuff like that.

Oh, this trend generally holds up for other activities too. Look at 'backpacking' or 'lightweight' things. Somethings are truely useful AND lightweight, but generally things labeled as such are worthless baubles that you didn't need and marketed towards sheeple, and the only thing that is lightened are their wallets.

[augerdin]

I have camped using some pretty cheap crap. Riding thru the west with my old K75 I used a poly tarp folded length-wise and duct taped the edges to make a weather proof shelter bag. No tent, no sleeping bag, no blanket, no ground pad. I used it sleeping out in a storm on the navajo res watching the lightening over shiprock. Was it comfortable? No. But I was younger (in my 40's) and just glad to be out. I did a 5 day hike down the Buckskin canyon to the Pariah and down to the Colorado with a group of friends. I bought a cheap walmart tent for 15 bucks and used that. It was lighter and easier to set up than the more expensive tents that others brought. The difference was that at the end of the 5 day hike my tent was about shot and theirs were still like new. My tent probably would have lasted another 4 or 5 set-ups. Maybe. I couldnt afford anything good and made do and I was glad I did. That hike was so worth it. Would I have been more comfortable and better prepared with higher quality gear? Yes. In my opinion ( and that aint worth much) buy the best gear your budget will allow for and still be able to make the trip. But dont let not having the "proper" gear stop you. Take the trip. Dont live a life of regrets. However, quality is worth it. Its better to have less and it be quality than a load of crap.

[PeterW]

Originally Posted by Snarky

As a rule I pretty much automatically assume that non-clothing gear that is labeled "motorcycle" or "motorcycling" is at best: overpriced, and at worst: a rubbish ripoff.

There are of course exceptions, but it works pretty well. The prime example is "motorcycle air compressors" which are the same cheap rubbish they sell at wal-mart, in different packaging, and more expensive. Silly stuff like that.

Oh, this trend generally holds up for other activities too. Look at 'backpacking' or 'lightweight' things. Somethings are truely useful AND lightweight, but generally things labeled as such are worthless baubles that you didn't need and marketed towards sheeple, and the only thing that is lightened are their wallets.

:)

And since I only go camping a few days a year, and can always bail a stay in a motel if it gets too rough - "me too"

I'd have to say though, budget tents have never actually failed on me, so I've never got to actually test plan-B. Thrown one away because it had a big spray of vomit on it yes, but actually failed no.

Pete

[Law Dawg (ret)]

Originally Posted by Snarky

As a rule I pretty much automatically assume that non-clothing gear that is labeled "motorcycle" or "motorcycling" is at best: overpriced, and at worst: a rubbish ripoff.

There is no such a thing as a "motorcycle tent" unless you include those tiny tent trailers designed to work only behind a bike. There are tents that have pole systems that fit your desired packing system and ones that weigh what you are willing to lug around on your bike. Even ridiculous (IMO) tents with built in garages that might work for the bike. Stuff that works for you and your bike and stuff that does not.

The older I get the more I find that a lighter bike is wanted and so backpacking gear is the direction. Then I find that, like lightweight backpackers, I must decide what is worth splurging on and what is not...my priorities tend to lean toward comfortable sleeping and good food. I will spend and do what it takes to make that work and still keep things as light as possible. Sleeping comfort means being warm and dry (off the ground for this rider...hammock camper). I say don't scrimp on your insulation and weather protection but shop well as the most expensive is not always the best choice. Snarky gots it right...the label means nothing caveat emptor.

[Krazyjohnny]

I have recently fallen in love with the whole tent/hammock setup. I have never slept better camping than I have in the hammock. There are several out there to choose from. I chose the Hennesy Hammock with the hex rainfly. When it is cold out (below 35 degrees F) you need have some sort of insulation between your sleeping bag and the air below you. These things pack down small and are really comfy.

I would also give a thumbs up to the Eureka Timberline stuff for bang for your buck. I have an assortment of tents from the years of camping.

[ohgood]

Originally Posted by Tsotsie

In 2004 I decided to retire my 2 person Andre Jamet center ridge pole tent originally bought in 1971 after 33 years. It was used all over Southern Africa, Europe and 28 US States. Light( 6 lbs), waterproof, wind proof, but a little small. Even back then it had a vestibule! Today it would be classed a a 4 season tent. It is still usable. Back in 1971 it cost me $70 - a lot for the time. I really got my monies worth out of it!

Not all tents are equal. Coleman make a range from the $39 Wally specials to better class $200+ ones. At one
point Coleman sold an 'Exponent' range of tents and bags - these were excellent value and quality.

Some tents one does pay for the name. How I now buy is by the technical specifications. Some sellers, such as Campmor, give the detailed specifcations of the tents they sell. An example is cheap tents tent to have coating thincknesses in the 800 range. Some of the 4 season tents in the 3000 - 5000 range. Poles from fiber-glass to aluminum.



And as others have commented, on several occasions, after a storm, the so-called cheaper tents were flattened, blown from their stakes or soaked through. Some also dont vent well and condensate badly inside.

My current tents are a Eureka Alpenlite XT for 4 season camping. Extra thick coating, extra strong and additional poles, well designed stakeout and support lines and one is able to close out the wind. For 3 season camping an REI Quarter Dome that is spacious and well ventilated. These can often be bought off-season for good discounts.

Go on-line. Read the technical specifications. Search for reviews on particular models you are interesrted in.

That tent deserves a thread all its own, and quite a few pictures. Please pm if/when you decide to do it. Coolness !

[mario33]

Originally Posted by jeepinbanditrider

REI and Campmor have pretty good search engines to find that kind of stuff.

Edited to add pics. You can look those up to see if they meet your height requirement. They seem to meet your other ones but the drop down search thing doesn have an option to sort by height.




Sent from my iPhone

Unfortunately, none of them is perfect to my requirements. Msr HB is closest, together with Salewa Denali iii and Vaude mark 3. I'm gonić to get custom alu poles and choose one of the 3.

[sleazy rider]

Originally Posted by mario33

Well, been searchin for perfect tent for years but No luck so far.

Here are my requirements:
- 3 seasons tent;
- 3 persons ~ 2+gear;
- dome for good windprofeness;
- minimum 48 inches inside height, ideally 50, dont like cramped spaces, i need to at least sit straight inside;
- aluminium poles with ~15inches segment length to fit most panniers;
- max 9 lbs with footprint, ideally 7.

Any matches ?

I have the precursor to the Alps Mountaneering Chaos 3 tent and it's all that. Picked up last spring off Amazon for $110, it's spent five weeks on the road this past summer and survived some serious weather. It fits quite well in one Givi E35 with the tent body, poles, Aline Butterfly chair and 60* sleeping bag. Room to spare too. It's been from Michigan to Louisiana to Spearfish to Cape Breton and back.