tent easily put up by one person??
 

Hi looking for a tent that's easily erected by one person, something compact&lightweight that will be easily loaded onto bike.

Don't know whether to buy it here in the UK and put it in with my luggage or wait until I get to the US.

Any suggestions/advice most welcome.

Cheers
Tony
Northern Ireland UK.

Try here FindMeATent.com / Find Your Perfect Tent - Tent Reviews & Comparisons

tent
 

Hi Tony,

was looking for exactly the same and went with the Vaude Mark II, it´s very very easy to erect, the inner tent stays dry, even if you put it up in heavy rain and it only weights 2,9 kilograms. Not cheap, though, quite a bit over 200 Euros. Don´t know wether it´s available in the UK - certainly not in the US.
Happy travels

Mike

Vaude Hogan also here.

Wish I had never sold mine.

The Vaudi Hogan isn't bad, but IMHO the Vaude Space is the better choice: It weighs hardly more, but has two entrances and two apsis. Besides that, the tent poles of the Space aren't as complicated as for the Hogan.

if i can manage a khyam biker on my own, anything smaller should be childs play. unless its windy, any tent is a nightmare in strong wind on your own!

This worked well a few weeks ago in the snow in the Pyrenean mountains.

I may well get one when My 6 years old £10 one from the supermarket fails in some way.

Buy Coleman Japura 2 Person Tent. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for .

Stick with what you have OM, or when it fails buy another.

Really, a tent is a tent. Given the risks of getting it stolen (had mine nicked in Zaire - back when it was called Zaire 32 years ago) why not just go with the cheapies?

I've had two tents in the last 30 years - the first was perfectly serviceable, but my wife gave it away a decade back simply because it had been a gift from my ex-wife - while my current one was a $29 Kmart special and has done me well for the past 10 years including being used in China, Russia and a whole of obscure places in between.

Oh,.... and it's really simple to erect by one person in the middle of nowhere during a 40 knot gale. :biggrin3:

If you can get one in the UK do so, I found it very difficult to get a tent with a full flysheet in the states, most have a half or none. I am talking cheapies here.

I ended up buying one form a store called DICKS, for about $100 which included lifetime insurance, it was OK, but no real vestibules which I believe is needed for a biker.

If you can get a Hogan with the large side entrance vestibule, then go for it, that was what I wanted before I left OZ, but the importers would not bring that one down here.

Oh, btw I only considered 3 man tents, this allowed me space for all my gear and me and the Exped7, and it had a pretty good inside height. Believe me, when you are trying to get dressed into moto gear inside a 1 or 2 man, that takes some flexibility, which I no longer have ;)

Cheers
TS

+1, hence the khyam biker, storage is never going to be a problem for me but its not the lightest or smallest packed tent out there! which is also not really a problem for me as my significant other wouldnt be seen dead either on a motorcycle or in a tent so i got the whole bike to myself and at least a pillions weight of available capacity

Just buy the cheapest 2-person full-fly dome tent you can find unless you plan to camp on mount everest or something. Setting up one of these takes about 5 minutes. Also the expensive tents are for hikers, not motorcyclists who usually have to store all their gear inside the tent.

Depending on where you are going, I recommend a hammock from Hennessy Hammocks:

HENNESSY HAMMOCKS.com: ultra-light line of jungle hammocks, ultra-comfortable camping hammock /chair/ tent combo

I've traveled a lot in the US and never had problems finding a place to hang my hammock. Get the "snake skins" and setup/takedown takes 30 seconds. Small, lightweight, and extremely comfortable. For temperatures below 75 degrees, I use a pad underneath me. I use an Exped Downmat, which has worked well even in sub-freezing temperatures. You can also get an "under-quilt" for cold weather, but that doesn't work if you are ever on the ground.

For times when a tent is the only option I use a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2 tent. It is about as small and lightweight as you can get in a tent (2 lbs 10 oz) and very easy to setup. The SL1 is a one-person version.

I'd wait until you get to the US, then make a bee-line for the nearest REI store... if you can't find a decent tent there, at half (or less) the price you'd pay in the UK, you may as well pack up and come home...

Actually, what I would recommend is you find somewhere that stocks the Big Agnes range - I have a Seedhouse II which you can set up in less than 5 minutes, is plenty big enough for one plus all your riding gear, and packs down very small. It has a full fly sheet, plus you can set it up with just the inner as a 'bug-hut' in hot climes (just don't get undressed with the light on x)

J x

ps. I pretty much bought all my camping kit when I first arrived in the US - Thermarest, Jetboil, dry-sacks, head torches, multi-tools - all are significantly cheaper in the US, particularly when you factor in the exchange rate too...

I use a Half dome by REI, its light, quick to put up, well made, not too expensive. I have spent close to 250 nights in the tent and it is still solid and ready to go.

Vango Omega 250 Tent
 

Hi Tony

I recommend the Vango Omega 250

Omega 250 | Tents | Vango

I used a Vango Beta 350 for 3 years and was about to downsize to a Beta 250 to save space and weight on motorcycle trips...but I managed to get an Omega 250 for a good price from an online auction site: brilliant decision, as this is basically a lighter and stronger version of the Beta - and the Omega is also recommended kit for the 'Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme', which is an impressive endorsement. Millets and Tiso also have them...at full RRP.

The Omega shares the layout/dimensions of the Beta but saves weight by having aluminium rather than fibreglass poles, and a polyester (rather than polyethylene) groundsheet - now a 'bathtub' design rather than flat, to give better weather protection around the sides. The addition of a 'Tension Band System' (TBS) also claims better stability in strong winds, although to be honest my non-TBS Beta always felt stable enough, whatever the weather.

The 3-pole tunnel design gives a spacious tent with a useful porch area for storing panniers and wet gear, and it is easy for one person to pitch quickly - particularly after the first pitch, if you keep the inner and outer together so they can be pitched 'as one' next time.

My only (very minor) concern is the thin polyester (rather than thicker polyethylene) groundsheet...only time will tell whether this presents a problem, as I haven't suffered flood conditions in this tent yet.

Overall, I'm very happy and would recommend this tent to others. Alternatively, if you can't get your hands on an Omega, or if you think it's a bit pricey, then go for the Beta - it is a Vango, after all!

The Omega 250 weighs under 4kg and packs to 42cm x 18cm diameter, so straps neatly on top of one of my 'Pooratech' ammo box panniers.

Jo
Northern Ireland...