And then you have the (typically GS) crowd that's going for the garage-like tents nowadays. Big standing room height things marketed as where you can put your bike inside. FFS people, it's a so-called adventure bike, they can handle a night out in the rain! (See also, that bike trip pack list topic, which listed "bike cover".)

Me? I'm settled for life, with a cheap second hand Hilleberg. :mrgreen: Now all I have to do is flog the little Phad-predecessor...

 

Me? I'm settled for life, with a cheap second hand Hilleberg.

Hillebergs produce some great tents!

 

Most bikers I see in scotland europe or anywhere else have crap seventy quid dome tents.
or even crap expensive doe tents.
I have, ever since a horrible tent destroying gale always bought decent tents, and almost enjoy camping in hideous weather.
peopel are happy paying two hundred quid on boots, helmets, jackets and a few bob on vehicles, when comes to somewhere to kip they forget to buy decent gear.

£70 a lot of money for a tent, boots helmets etc is justifiyable as you always use them a tent only gets used a few times a year if that by most people. I got a Vango 3 man dome tent in the loft i bought a few years back and i've used it once and don't see it being used again in a hurry.

You could always get a gore-tex bivvy bag and then just sleep in a hedge or somewhere close to you and you'd never have to worry then about your tent getting blown down or damaged

Your photo doesn't make it look like you need an expensive tent it's not on the moor or highlands and i bet where that was taken you had a shower block, somewhere to eat and all the mod cons, not exactly ray mears outdoor survival

 

For the last 4 years I have used a £49 Vango dome tent from Go-Outdoors.
No complaints from me.
Nuff said.

 

Same here £37 Vango three man tent 3kg perfect for the bike and if its absolutely lashing down on packing up day i'm happy to leave it there like i did at the dragon rally one year -10 and it was like a sheet of cardboard no way i was packing that up

 

Vango not too bad, Hilleberg? mortgage but damn fine.
My tenty house?, yes showers were nearby, we were in Spain, in Ireland they were about 100 yards away. I have also camped in the Hebrides by the sea, that thing called the atlantic.
The weather can be a bast'.
Camping can get out of hand in Wales in no time.
Leaving your tent behind is shameless slobbish behaviour in my book. Some other sucker has to dismantle it and remove and dispose of it.
Bivvy bags? bugger that for a game, I like to read my book in comfort(ish) and eat breakfast in the dry.
I also make coffees for people arriving in the pouring rain.

 

Vango not too bad, Hilleberg? mortgage but damn fine.
My tenty house?, yes showers were nearby, we were in Spain, in Ireland they were about 100 yards away. I have also camped in the Hebrides by the sea, that thing called the atlantic.
The weather can be a bast'.
Camping can get out of hand in Wales in no time.
Leaving your tent behind is shameless slobbish behaviour in my book. Some other sucker has to dismantle it and remove and dispose of it.
Bivvy bags? bugger that for a game, I like to read my book in comfort(ish) and eat breakfast in the dry.
I also make coffees for people arriving in the pouring rain.

Not if you cram it in a bin yourself far easier than packing it away

 

Hilleberg is not something I'd normally buy, mortgage indeed and it gets used far too little for that kind of outlay. But if one finds a lightly used Keron 4GT for less than 200 quid, one would be daft not to jump at it. :mrgreen:

 

I buy a cheap tent 'cos I'm tight

However, my 10+/- yr old Coleman cost 35quid new off ebay, it's even survived several apocalypse type camps at LeMans 24, try that with your expensive tent!
It aslo survived a breezy Ullapool last year (just).

Sorry, I can't see the point of spending a fortune on a tent, if the weather's that bad, a proper roof & walls is much more desirable

Phil

 

For dodgy events I have the old VauDe Space II tent that survived the massive storm, cost a fair bit 17 years back, still goes up in about 1 minute with four pegs, does not leak and still gale proof.
Seems a bit smaller and lower than it used to. Still happy to trust it in extreme conditions.
The green guy ropes have faded to a lovely shade of gold as well.

 

I've had a VauDe the last 18yrs & it's still as good as the day I bought it
£500 in '93 was a big outlay, but so far it's cost me just over £27 a year & I see no reason why I shouldn't get another 20yrs out of it :thumbup:
Its withstood 2 kids, all weather's from mid summer heat in Greece to Mid Wales cyclones !!
I'd trust it anywhere & sleep like a log knowing I'll be bone dry & it'll still be over my head next morning

 

Don't think that expensive means good, last November at the Jellys meet all the £30 tents were fine but my £500 terra nova tent folded in the wind, £200 to repair, Terra nova's reply was "it's your own fault our tents arn't built for the Peak District in November," pretty crap really

 

Let's not forget the most important (well, funny anyway) bit... Derek was in it at the time

 

keeping the bike in the tent? hmm some people like to polish their bits in private.
Terra Nova catastrophe?, that would have pissed me off mightily.

 

Terra Nova catastrophe?, that would have pissed me off mightily.

How do you think poor Derek felt, it was about 0500 in the morning, gale force winds and pissing down. He said his hands were numb and his helmet and gear got soaked.

 

The shiny silver finish makes no difference, I had one donkeys years back, the fibre glass poles were crap as well.
if you like shiny silver try a 'Moonbag' sleeping bag' they had a silvered inner finish to keep you warm. Boloody useless, kept you cold and sweaty. Cheap though.

 

Why do so many bikers have crap tents?

Well, 'crap' is a subjective term, but if you mean 'cheap', then I'd say it's personal choice. There a re some excellent 'cheap' tents on the market, what's perhaps more ridiculous is buying a top of the range tent and only using a couple of times a year on serviced campsites. But at the end of the day, that's personal choice again!

 

I am quite pleased with the Khyam Biker tent I bought a couple if years ago. Used a few times and it seems fine even in wind and rain. Good sized porch area for kit and sitting in. Easy to put up but perhaps bulkier than others if a similar size - not too bad though across the pillion seat.

 

I reckon 70 £ can buy a very decent tent........ you can buy something good for less on ebay....

 

I've just bought myself a new tent, I hate camping, so if I don't get on with it, no big issue 'cos it cost me £28

 

Tendays? another tent fetishist.
They are wonderful technology. I love them.
I always get the Vau De catalogue. Grr.

 

This has done my head since the 80's as well.
I had a crap early dome tent, blody awful thing.
Most bikers I see in scotland europe or anywhere else have crap seventy quid dome tents.
or even crap expensive doe tents.
I have, ever since a horrible tent destroying gale always bought decent tents, and almost enjoy camping in hideous weather.
peopel are happy paying two hundred quid on boots, helmets, jackets and a few bob on vehicles, when comes to somewhere to kip they forget to buy decent gear.
Not everybody of course, but look around camp sites and events fields and it is common.
Current tenty house
View attachment 24404
Mountain Hardware Hammerhead, four seasons rating and safe in snow.
Years back when my boy was a baby we were campin on the west cost of Ireland, Eagle Bay great campsite. A huge atlantic depression came in and wrecked the campsite, all our neighbours tents were trashed, a cravan nearby was tipped over we lay there all night terrified, ready to abandon ship, (well junior was fast asleep) and survived. I read 'A Perfect Storm' made it even more terrifying.
lots of bikers are into their technology and stuff, tents are some of the best stuff ever.
A few feeble poles, a bit of old sheet becomes a wonderful shelter, almost as wonderful as bicycle wheels.

There are plenty of good tents available for less than 100 quid these days. They might not have the latest strongest ripstop nylon or polymid flysheets or laminated groundsheets with a 10, 000 hydrostatic head rating or be super lightweight. But they do the job.
Your mountain hardware isnt an overly expensive tent either. its Strong because its a semi geo yes but not what id call expensive.

Out of my collection of tents, the one I actually use the most is the cheapest at 130 quid. And if I could get it on the bike id use that. A vango swift 300 pop up tent.

I should point out that some of the people on this forum have braved far harsher conditions with cheap tents than you would credit. Try minus 17.8 in snow in the peak district or sleeping under a metal gantry in winter without a tent in November in the peaks.

Paul


Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2

 

Interesting thread this tent one.

You pay your money, you take your choice, you make your bed/tent & sleep in it.

Don't think "crap" is the right word to use really, as Stuart found out to his cost at Jellys I witnessed the wreckage.

XRV_Jim says "cheap" is more like it, but if it works it's good.

 

I suppose it really depends on what you want the tent to do and what you realistically expect the tent to withstand. And your budget.

My vaude hogan xt is allegidly a 4 season mountain tent. External exoskeleton combining an a frame and a ridge pole to boot.

If the weather forecast was decidedly iffy id pack a different tent though. And that would be a full geo. The f10 spindrift 300.
The other f10 (sentinel 500) I use when I take my kids camping. I dont want them being scared if the weather turns and both f10s are like bomb shelters. Wind ? What wind ?

Even extortionately priced hillibergs can end up in trouble if the wind is side on to a tunnel tent.

Horses for courses and a lot of luck with wind direction.

Paul



Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

oh I do like geeky threads, and like most people I do think you get what you pay for, to a certain extent. I'm also a massive fan of sales and buying second hand so yes to getting a decent tent, but no to paying full price.
I mainly use a 20year old blacks own brand tunnel, yes it looks a little worn around the edges but the build quality is suprising, was about £180 at the time, but I remember sale-ing it for about £120, rock on student loans!

 

To answer the question, "Why do so many bikers have crap tents?" I'd say that most seem to go to the toilet block to crap so don't need a special tent for it. HTH.

 

Why waste money on an expensive tent that gets used once or twice per year?
Better to spend the money on farkles for the bike that gets used all year round.

 

I have been scouring the ads and for the life if me cannot find this make "Crap" many of you are raving about - such a shame as I wanted to replace by "Superb" and "Excellent" tents with one ;-)

 

 

DC in leathers!