Maybe i missed it... has the Bibler (Black Diamond) been mentioned? If not, I'm surprised! Bibler became Black Diamond a number of years ago, but as far as i know are the same quality. I have had my Tempest since 2005. Its extremely durable with very high quality fabrics and zippers. Single wall design works like Gore-Tex, with zero condensation inside and excellent venting. The Easton aluminum poles are inside the tent creating an egg-like strong shell. I have been caught in 2 day long rain storms on top of mountains and never been wet. It packs small, around 2 kilo's and has a front and rear vestibule. Tempest Tent - Black Diamond Mountain Gear
Another option is the I-Tent, used by Helge Pederson.
I-Tent - Black Diamond Mountain Gear
If i ever wear this tent out, which i find highly unlikely, i would replace it with another in a heart-beat!

BTW: These tents come with un-sealed seams. Before venturing out, you must seal them with Seam-Grip urethane sealer. Mine lasted six years before i re-applied mine and were always water-tite.

Having started this thread I suppose I should reveal what I bough in the end. I chose an Exped Orion which is a two man tent with two porches. It comes highly recommended by many on the HUBB and I hope it will serve me well over the years. It's expensive but I'm going to be asking a lot of it when I start my travels. I bought it from Travel-Dri, who must be one of the most customer focused UK companies you will ver find. Its first use will be at Ripley - maybe I'll see some of you there.
Thanks for all the helpful opinions ad comments
Geoff

anybody else wants a tent consider all year rounder husky fighter 3 , around 200 euros , guys on himlayas use it a lot and swear on it

A mountain tent is overkill for bike camping and unnecessarily expensive.

On the face of it I'd agree. Not only are they more expensive but they're bulkier and heavier as well. Here's a picture comparison between two of mine, an "old skool" mountaineering tent and a recently bought (2010) cheap and cheerful festival type tent. Both are two man capacity with similar amounts of porch storage.




The top one weighs in at around seven kilos. That's well over twice the weight of the bottom one and it feels like it when you pick them up.

So why do I bother with the heavy, bulky one? Partly it's because when the weather takes a turn for the worst I know it's going to survive. I've spent many days inside it sheltering from thunderstorms and nights where I'm not worried about non stop rain and / or high winds because I know it's not going to leak or blow down. It's over 20yrs old now without any real sign of decay so I'm still happy to use it regularly. Having that confidence in the tent does make for relaxing nights - it does for me anyway.

It also makes the cost per year a lot more acceptable. I'm not a gear junky and I'm not really bothered whether I have this years model or not. When I buy something it tends to get used until it falls apart and then replaced. The high initial purchase price can be painful but spread over 20+yrs (or in the case of my Vango Force 10 nearly 40yrs) it represents a lower cost per year than the smaller one above. That's only a couple of years old but already it's showing signs of wear despite only being used for dry(ish) summer nights. I'd guess another couple of years and that'll be it for that tent. I've no problems with it though, it was cheap and on hot nights it's better ventilated than the heavyweight ones. It's when the weather turns nasty that the overspecced tents earn their keep. I've been flooded out of enough campsites over the years to value the extra weather resistance that mountaineering tents incorporate.

I must say, Back, that I can't see past the Khyam tents. For bike travel I think they are fantastic. Now on sale at 30£ reduced from 70£. But till you said you weren't a gear junkie, I didnt mention this tent because I know that there are some (not on this thread) who think that dearer means better. And the Khyam is suitable for purpose, unlike a mountain tent for biketravel needs. But people want sophisticated tents so .........

I have an Exped venus II tent. Quite expensive was it. Used it in my M/C trip to Europe in May-June.

For such expensive tent, it kept me cold inside though lightweight and easy to set up and down.

I don't agree with Caminando "A mountain tent is overkill for bike camping and unnecessarily expensive.". If you have harsh and strong weather, good equipment is must.

My Exped tent is for summer only.

Next time I will take a mountain tent even for spring rides.

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

got the orginal Bibler I tent .. very_stable tent .. have camped out in 95+ mph winds with no problems. properly guided out of course.

minimal condensation, under extreme cold condition like 10f degree. your breath will condensate on inside of any tent.

main drawback to my Bibler four season tent is lack of ventilation for hot weather camping. that and weight .. it's too heavy for a two man tents. weight has been solved in the Black Diamond version which is one of the lightest two man tents available anywhere. much lighter fabric than the original Bibler design. but add vestibule for outside storage and weight goes back up to two layer tent range.

tent technology has really advanced since days of Bibler's first tents. thank goodness trickle down technology has made requirement of spending BIG $$$ to get a world class tent .. no longer valid.

my suggestion is focus on getting a light 3 season free standing tent that will easily survive 95+ mph winds. a two layer tent with LOTS of mesh to allow comfortable camping during 90f+ degree camping. while allowing cold weather camping down to 10F degrees.

choice available for USA are completely different for Europe.
here in America ... first stop would be a close out specialist, online store.

fact is most any high end, state of the art tent will meet or exceed your requirements. main problem is cost for these type tents.

state of the art for tents occurred years ago... sure minor improvement goes on every year. but tents that are a few years old are not that different from current models.... except for price $$$.

one can save 50%+ by knowing where and what models to shop for.
let's start with Sierra outfitters... since only what models are available counts. it's next to useless recommending models... only brands.

Tents up to 56% off at Sierra Trading Post

for instance this Marmot two person/3 season tent is available for $171 USD. very stable free standing light weight design. using the well known tactic of only buying a two man tent for one. 3 man tent for two...etc.



here's a pic of a true 4 season Bibler tent. if you remove vestibules, notice outline is nearly identical to Marmot tent above. properly guided out, both will easily survive 95+ mph winds. both use two long aluminum poles crossed forming a free standing dome.

naturally a true 4 season tent will have a huge advantage in truly nasty conditions like howling snow at say -10f degree below zero. that same advantage turns into a liability camping out in say 90f degree HOT conditions. where one needs as much venting as possible.

most any state of the art two layer, 3 season, free standing tent will easily survive high winds, 90f+ temps and allow camping down to 10f degree. which should cover just about any bike trip.

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R90S, R80G/S PD