I'm looking for a tent to use while camping in Germany, Austria and Italy, in May and June.

I was considering the Vango Banshee but had my doubts as it pitches inner first. I've seen the the Vango Tempest on the internet which seems to be more spacious and pitches flysheet first. Does anyone have experience of either of these tents or suggest any other possibilities in the sub £100 price range.

Cheers,

Craig

Hi,
I am using a Eureka "timberline" "2 XT tent and it works great for me!
It·s not a fashionable - "in" tent, but cheap, tough, easy to pitch, wind/waterproof thingy and it has become a good friend.
Cheers,
Dan

[QUOTE=craig76;181403
I was considering the Vango Banshee but had my doubts as it pitches inner first. I've seen the the Vango Tempest on the internet which seems to be more spacious and pitches flysheet first.

Craig[/QUOTE]

What's the problem with a tent that pitches inner first? I know you'll say that the inner gets wet if you pitch it in the rain but its not very often that that happens and the rain has to be really heavy to make much of a difference. If it's a hot night you can just pitch the inner and keep cooler.
I've got seven or eight tents that I've collected over the years, some of which pitch inner first and some outer first. Two of them pitch both together. The smaller tents that pitch outer first are all a pain to clip the inner into involving crawling around on hands and knees trying to attach fiddly clips to things you can't quite reach. In the rain this keeps the inner dry but you end up wet from crawing around on the grass.
The "both together" tents are ok once you've figured out which bit goes where but and can remember the assembly sequence but if you're tired and trying to do it in the rain the whole thing is likely to end up soaked by the time you've got it up.

One thing I would recommend is that you pick a tent one size bigger than the sticker says, ie use a two man tent if you are solo and a three man tent if there's two of you. You'll welcome the extra space for luggage etc or if you have to stay in it for any length of time.

Similarly, look for tents with reasonable headroom. 100cm height (in the sleeping bit, not on the outside) I would regard as too small. You can't do anything other than lie horizontally so sitting up in the middle of the night to relieve aching arms etc becomes a problem. 110cm is just about the minimum I can cope with for this (and I'm only 5' 8") My old Vango Force 10 is 130cm and you can sit up to read a book inside it.

Nothing wrong with the vango if your a solo hill walker. Nice tent and reasonable price.

However for biking it is a VERY small tent.. you won't have space to put your luggage if you leave the campsite, only in the tent itself as the porch is tiny.
Getting dressed in one is a major struggle and thats into every day gear, donning your bike gear whilst trying to keep dry if it rains is well, is a contorsionists trick.. lol.

Nothing wrong with inner pitching first tents btw, you just have to know how to screen the tent properly whilst you inser the poles etc in the rain, not easy I admit, but do-able with most tent if practised. But then I use and sell Exped Orion tents and that pitches inner and fly togather.

If your planning a long bike trip where the weather might get changable, I would seriously advise looking at a larger tent, if your solo you shoud look at the 2 man, if your two up, then 2/3 man even some smaller 4 mans, if you have a big bike or on two bikes as a team.

If your trip is going to last a while, and your likley to do more trips in the futre, then I advise you spend out on a good tent and a fly sheet protector. You tend to get what you pay for, and cheap tents are great for occasional usage and a couple of years. If you want it to last longer and see you through more adverse weather, then spend the cash and get a quality tent.

Vango's arent bad as a whole and the tempest is a great fell walkers tent. I have known a few bikers with them and all have now upgraded to larger tents.

My new 2008 season tent stock should be arriving in next few days so do take a look at the site - Gearpac.com Expedition Equipment and Travel Gear say next week. I think you will find my prices are pretty competative on the Exped and Vaude tents I do.

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safe riding and hope to see you out on the road. .. John..

Thanks for the advice. I'm travelling alone but was going to buy a 2-man or possibly a smaller 3-man tent anyway. It just seems that most of the tents within my budget are either too heavy, too large pack size or have no storage area.

I haven't done any serious camping for at least 12 years so I'm after something thats quick and easy for 1 person to put up too.

Vaude Space III - SS06 - Massive Discounts at www.Gear-Zone.co.uk Not particularly cheap though. Also needs an undersheet.

John

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Nostradamus Ate My Hamster

Hi Craig, I've got a Vango Tempest 200 ( the two person one )and have used it regularly for the last 2 years in the UK and abroard. I think it's a great choice for a one person motorcycle touring tent. It's very waterproof, holds up well in strong winds, it's a doddle to put up ( 3-4 minutes max) it's light ( weighs 6lb dry), it's proved to be great in cold weather ( i've slept in mine down to -6 degrees C ) it's small ( fits in Touratech aluminium panniers / any soft luggage ) it's robust (we've used ours for countless short trips and there's no sign of wear etc) it's got really handy pockets running along the inside along the length of the tent to keep stuff organised. The front part of the tent is ideal for leaving wet gear in to save bringing it into the tent and is also big enough to use to cook in. Here's a picture of my wife ( doing a Ninja impression ) in the P***ng rain on Exmoor earlier this month.
Hope this is of some help - if you would like anymore pics PM me and I'll email them over, have fun on your trip.
Mike

Attached Images

 

I've had a Wild Country Ilanos for several years now and it's proved to be an excellent cheap (ish) solo biking tent. It's a 'two' person tent but you'd want to be pretty friendly with whoever you were sharing it with, which makes it a good size for one without being overly heavy. It packs nice and small and has proved nicely weather proof until recently (it's getting a bit long in the tooth now and needs replaced). Mine cost circa £100. It also has aluminium poles, which is definately a good thing. Fibre glass poles are rubbish and should be avoided.
Not absolutely sure they still make it but it would be worth doing a google search for.

Matt

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*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

They do still make it, and for a bargain price here too:

Wild Country New Ilanos - SS06 - Massive Discounts at www.Gear-Zone.co.uk

By the way, it's an inner pitch first tent, but like others here I have never found this to be a problem. The tent goes up so quick you've got the outer on before it can get seriously wet.

Other good points are that it is free standing so can be pitched easily on sand and can be moved very easily. It can also be pitched with just the inner on hot dry nights.

Matt

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*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

Thanks for that. The reason the Vango Tempest appealed was because of it's low price and that it does have aluminium poles. Also, I can actually see one at a dealer near me before I buy. Regarding extra space, I think if I was to go for this tent, I'd go for the 3-man bearing in mind the advice given in previous posts and there seems to be only a minor size/weight penalty.

Hi:

Bit of an old thread I know but I though I'd chip in. I agree with motorbike mike. I've just purchased a Vango Tempest 200. It's a good little tent ideal for solo touring.

I had originally purchased the Vango Beta 250 because of the big porch area but it is very big when it's up - more than sufficient for a solo rider - but it has quite a large pack size. Conversely the Tempest has a much smaller pack size so it's ideal for solo touring! In the end I sold my unused and brand new Vango Beta 250 to the neighbour for car camping.

Although the Tempest 200 claims to be 2 man in practicality it would be a struggle. It's perfect for one, with more than enough room for the solo tourer. One man tents/bivvys are just too small, the beta 250 was too big but the Tempest 200 sits nicely in the goldilocks zone. The porch area, whilst not huge, is big enough to stow packed up gear.

The Banshee is not bad but You lose even more vestibule space and I've heard it can leak when the fly bows in the rain to touch the inner, which is a recipe for a wet night. Of course efficient pitching can eliminate this but the pack size is bigger than the Tempest.

I would advise making a footprint though as the ground sheet is quite thin. It'll be fine for campsites with nice turf but in the woods caution needs to be taken. The cheapest place I found for the Tempest was at Best-Buys at £80 they even do free postage!

I'll be using mine for stealth camping too so the colour is ideal, I will be changing out the bright orange ropes for OD para cord though. Hope this is helpful to someone.

xXx

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www.AdventureVagabond.com Mongolia & Siberia 2012: Adventure Moto Madness

I have just bought a tempest 300.I have only used it twice but so far it seems fine.Having used very small tents for too many years I went with a bit larger one this time and think that I made the right choice.I would agree about using a footprint as the groundsheet is quite thin.Next on the shopping list is a tarp I reckon

Hey TD:

I've had a good look for ready made footprints for the Tempest range with no luck, so if you find one let me know.

Have ordered a tarp, webbing and grommet kit off ebay - all in for about £15 - so I'm gonna make one when it all arrives, hopefully the weather will hold off so I can make it before the HU meet in 10 days.

xXx

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www.AdventureVagabond.com Mongolia & Siberia 2012: Adventure Moto Madness

Iv also got the Vango Tempest 200..

Excellent value for money.

Great quality, fast and easy to assemble and packs up very small... 100% waterproof, vents well and has lots of nice features such as colour coded poles, vent flaps, removable porce ground sheet etc.

I'v used it on the bike and it suits my needs well. It is small though but more than big enough for 1 person.

1 negative over a dome/geo tent is that you can only sit up in it right at the front which is a bit of a pain. It's got a low ceiling indeed. BUT, it packed VERY small indeed.

I think i'd get the Tempest 300 if I had the choice again.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I just cut a piece of plastic sheet to slightly smaller than the shape of the tent.I cut it smaller to stop the rain running in.

Time to look on ebay for a tarp