Hey everyone! I've yet to invest in a good solid tent but plan on doing a lot of camping with my little Savage 650. I'm hoping for something small (1 to 2 persons), easy to put up at night and also packs away real tiny. There are a ton of options out there but if you guys could let me know your favorites from experience I'd be real happy for the recommendation! Thanks!
Be prepared for an onslaught of "this is what I use and I love it" answers. Sierra designs make a good product, worth checking out. It's a hard compromise to get room, comfort and small packing in one item. You will have to sacrifice something. Good luck.
I'm ready for the slaughter! Tell me what you love peoples! But please tell me at least a little bit about why.. I'm counting on your experience to help me make a good investment. Growing up my family had Eureka tents but I have only owned cheapo creepo $30 walmart tents myself and I'm ready to spend some decent money for my first big girls tent! I just don't want to get it and realize its not what I needed at all
http://www.rei.com/product/754769 This is what i use and love it... My back-up is an eureka two person tent that i've had for about ten years. It has been on fire once and still waterproof!!
I've been using this tent from Eureka for over 10 years My main reason for buying it is that the rain fly actually covers the entire tent. It can get a little warm at times, but I've yet to get wet inside. I think this model was only sold in sporting goods stores, as I've never found it online I saw a similar tent the other day at a store. It looks very much like my Eureka. The rain fly fabric did not look as good but the rest of the tent looked ok. It was about $110 cheaper than what I paid for my tent. It was a Pacific Crest Rainier II
I think this question couls have various answers depending on part of the country, and time of the year. You didn't give us much to go on.
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/SubCategory___40000000226_200368487 You set the criteria and the site shows the selections available. Choices/categories down the leftside of the page. This is the lead page for backpacking tents, which is what you want.
Well pardon me Mr Grumpy pants! I'm just looking for the bestest most well rounded tent. I would love something that could work in the early spring through the late fall and something that would work up in Northern Michigan or the Southwest. I know such different conditions could be better met with different tents but I would love to have something that would "work" decently for either situation AND something that travels well. My bike is small and I plan to travel as light as possible so something that packs up easily and small is ideal please. Are there any other specifications that would help with a good reco?
Thanks for the tip - I've been through a number of these sites and looked at about 1000 tents and I'm just hoping for some personal recommendations at this point. I've seen a few that look really good but what do I know? I've only had cheapo tents til now! What do I know of rain covers and what materials tears and break easily and what's hard to put up in the dark? I want your experience please!
You probably want a free-standing dome tent. You probably want a tent with aluminum poles. You probably want a 2-3 person size tent. All of these tents listed will be high quality. It's now simply person preferences.
I really enjoy my Eureka El Capitan AC 2. It's a good all around tent, durable and fairly inexpensive. I posted some info and pics in another thread: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9635118&postcount=45 Entire thread thread: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=446106 Longer
Lightweight, packable tent. Solid and easy to put up. For solo motorcycle trips or two person backpacking, this is the tent I use- http://mountainhardwear.com/Product.aspx?top=2037&cat=2059&prod=3958 Currently cheap here: http://www.o2gearshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=57&products_id=10853&cPath=1
This one packs small for the room it offers. The weight isn't too bad either. The interior height is better than most in the price range.
+1 on the Sierra Designs tent. I've been using my SD dome for a long time and it is great. Only two poles so its easy to set up. My issue with tents is the heat, not the cold and my SD has really good ventalation--great for summer camping. Oh yeah and of course I pack it on a bike. I wouldn't sweat about getting the smallest tent for motorcycle camping. After all, YOU don't have to carry it!!
I fancy one of these - about £150 & big......... anyone tried this style Sleeps 8 ! - room for a pool table and bar for those wet or stranded moments ! http://www.getgeared.co.uk/NORDKAP_Tipi_Motorcycle_Touring_Tent
Tents, tents, tents... In fair weather, light rain, and light wind, most anything will do. And you're a happy camper. Moto campers don't need to shave grams/ounces, or their eyebrows, or drink liquid helium in an effort to reach negative weight. You don't normally ride into the meat of a storm, but it sometimes comes to you. IMO, if you're a traveler, you buy a tent that will allow you to remain sane while hunkered down inside of it for a couple of days straight. How and where the tent is pitched is the most important thing, as most tents do not float. Maybe you want to cook a few simple meals while waiting out this two or three day frog-strangler. Maybe you want a place to keep your gear under cover, too. If so, a vestibule is a good thing. Vestibules are covered extensions of your tent and aren't free-standing, needing to be staked or tied off. Some designs offer venting at the top of the vestibule for this, and for increased airflow. Some even offer vinyl windows so you can see the lightning, bears, rainbows, etc. Most vestibules are designed so that they can be opened w/o rain (coming straight down) and drips from the rest of the fly doesn't fall inside the tent itself. Some tents have large door openings, some medium size, and some small. Some have rear doors, and even rear vestibules. Some tents have inside heights that allow you to get up on your knees, which some people value when getting dressed and undressed. Most tents have mesh side pockets sewn in along the inside wall, and most come with or offer a roof/ceiling net as an option, as a place to stow light stuff. Even with loops above for hanging a light. There's no good reason a moto camper needs to live inside a negative weight one-person tent for multiple days at a time. You can also buy Gucci single-wall tents. High performance, hi-tech, and very light weight. Their cost is relatively high, but their venting/air flow doesn't equal the two-wall. One rider with his/her gear in a two-person tent, with vestibule, IMO, is fine. A three-person doesn't weight that much more and would seem palatial in comparison. The larger footprint of a larger tent can also be a factor. Some tents are fashion colored, changing year-to-year. I'm here 'screaming orange' for safety on exposed mountainside slopes, and then the 'you don't know I'm there' colors. Most performance tents come 'seam/taped-sealed' from the factory. IIRC, there's no law prohibiting you from going over the seams again yourself, with seam sealer. The 'cheap' tents being sold in mass merchandiser stores now are light years beyond what was offered 10 years ago. Don't discount them. A stick of seam sealer and you'd be set. I'll say again, how and where any tent is pitched is the most important thing. Both REI and Campmor offer top-notch tents, and you can click arond on their pages to get different specs, like ground size, inside height, etc. A ground cloth placed underneath the tent is a good idea. The helps with abrasion on the tent floor and also with heavy rains. Tuck/fold the ends of ground cloth underneath the tent floor so that rain water passes under the ground cloth, not between the ground cloth and the tent floor. You can buy the expensive ground cloths designed for spefic tents, or just use any ol cheap tarp or piece of plastic. The result and protection will be the same. REI may let you setup tents in their store/s, so you can get inside them, get a feel for the space, and learn how to set it. Just gotta ask. Don't be shy. This is a big deal for you. They also have an unbeatable return policy. Also understand that we conform to whatever is available, or is being used. There are so many good offerings. What space do you want, and how do you want to use it? This is usually a trial and error thing.
Nice write up . It really sums it up good! I've got a Hilleberg Nallo GT 2. Yes, expensive, but well made, light and huge vestibule.
All that plus: The BEST thing I've found for under the tent is cheap weed matting from a gardening store. It's a fraction of the weight and folded size of a tarp, and it breathes, which means water doesn't pool under the tent (and then leak up through the tent floor). Get it a bit oversize and you can have a doormat in front of the tent to catch some of the dirt before it comes in. Pete
Hi everybody, we have also tried many tents. for our trip around the world, we have decided for the Staika from hilleberg. It is robust, has a small pack size and hilleberg has an excellent reputation as a tent manufacturer. You`ll find it here