What tent?

MattR

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Nov 16, 2019
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North Hampshire UK
I’ve got a Hilleburg one man tent from my backpacking days and it’s a great around tent that has stood up well to two trips around New Zealand and many trips to Europe.

But now I’m moving to motorcycle camping I can afford a bit more weight and size. So I’m looking for a good two man tent that is four season and will accommodate my new Helinox cot and my bike gear. It needs to last as I don’t want to be buying another tent in a couple of years.

I’ve looked at Mountain Hardware Trangos and Outposts but I’m not sure if they are strong enough.

Anyone got any suggestions for me to look at?


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moto.monk

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los angeles
I have 3 tents ,2 from amazon they are alps, one 4 man and the other 2 man. The brand can but renamed to many others. The other is Walmart and is a 2.5 man tent with a cross beam for more head room. Had zero issues with all of them. They are all 3 reason and good for 30s but you will run into condensation problems. I dont have a picture of the 4 man. But the 2nd pic is of the 2 man and is 4.5 lb or something.IMG_2470.jpgIMG_20200119_200306_725.jpg
 
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ballisticexchris

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I have a Kelty 2 man tent that comes in at 5 lbs and hold me and all my gear inside. I'm thinking of switching to this one:

Hyke & Byke Zion 2 Person Backpacking Tent

It is a really slick design that allows you to put up the tent fly first if it's raining.


My sleeping bag is synthetic and huge and I'm now looking to swap it out for a cheap ultralight down bag/inflatable pad setup.
 

Mak10

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SE Idaho
A couple of features that led me to my current tent.

I wanted doors on both sides of the tent, and the poles had to be short enough to fit inside my panniers.

I found a NEMO 2 person that has worked well. 0A3DC07E-854E-47A7-AD6B-6ABB8E20C865.jpeg
 

Gerard

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Sydney Australia
I use a Prohiker Companion tent and an Exped Downmat 9 airbed and it all fit in the exhaust side of the Yamaha pannier including the sleeping bag. The airbed is insulated and comes with a build in hand pump. Because of the insulation, you are not supposed to blow it up by mouth to prevent moisture. The pump is awkward to use and time consuming, so i made an adaptor of a plastic screw bottle top and a tire valve and use the electric pump out of my tire repair kit to fill if.
 
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ballisticexchris

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Nemo tents are very high quality and durable.
 

Mak10

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I like that it has doors and vestibules on both sides. If I’m sleeping in it with my wife, and one of us has to get up, we have our own exit.
It could have better vents on the fly.

ive seen some good tents from MSR and REI.
 

lund

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Okanagan Valley, Canada.
A quick post on tenting and motorcycles.
A lot of people tend to over think motorcycle camping and generally over kill the whole idea. One needs to remember that motorcycle camping is not mountaineering and in 90%+ times is done during the summer.
Here are a few things to think about, your budget, when you tend to camp, where you tend to camp and how often.
Setting up with a 4 season tent or even a 3 season tent for summer usage when temperatures are warm can be very uncomfortable to sleep in. Plus the unnecessary baggage you end up carrying.
While the allure of a high end expensive tent's might be attractive, most 2-3man free standing tents available today that fit motorcycle type camping (sizing) will easily and comfortably lodge you overnight for many trips and years and won't unnecessary take money away from the real reason you ride.
For the same reason you can buy a Helinox camp chair for nearly $300.00 or a Trekology camp chair for $50.00 from Amazon. I have both and the Trekology camp chair I prefer. Overall side by side you can't tell the difference other then color and the Trekology chair is slightly more comfy for my size.
The point is, know what you need first and don't be fooled by over priced gear that made its name through great PR stunts and that is most likely made in the same factory.
 

lund

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As a side note I should mentioned that for my motorcycle treks I have used everything from a $35 tent with fiberglass poles from Walmart to a $600 Northface mountaineering tent and several others in between.
My favorite in terms of ease and quick setups, comfort and practicality for motorcycle camping cost me less then $200 and is my go to tent for most all my motorcycle trips. While a $35 tent is awesome for bush camping on a dirt bike where your gear gets beat up, so a who cares if your $35 tent gets wrecked on a spill. The $600 Northface collects dust on the shelve.
My go to is from Hotcore, Mantis3 model, has been put up and down several dozen times over a span of several years, its not new anymore.
 

regder

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Toronno
A rider was telling me that NatureHike from Aliexpress are basically rebranded MSR tents for a fraction of the price. I have done zero research on them, and there's the whole IP theft aspect, just throwing it out there.

Me, I've been using a Eureka El Capitan 3 for about 8 years now. Has never let me down, plenty of space, and comfy in most weather. A touch heavy and on the larger packed size of things though. Takes up probably 20L of a 30L dry bag.

For some reason, the only pic I can find of it setup

 

SkunkWorks

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Colorado
IMG_7290.JPG

I have a Kelty "Trail Ridge-3" (they also made a 2-man version)
Has doors and vestibule on both sides. The poles fold up short enough to fit inside my hard-case.
It packs up decently small for a 3-man tent, and wasn't expensive at all..............

This was from a trip last year. Poles and all are in that bag.
It will squish down smaller than this picture shows.
IMG_4295.JPG
 

Mak10

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A couple of really good features that I prefer is clip on attachments to your poles. Makes setup much faster.
I used a Slumberjack two man for a long time until the fiberglass poles were done. It served me well for the $65 it cost.
Aluminum poles are a much nicer upgrade.
And speaking of poles. I don’t pack them in the same sack as my tent. In my hard panniers they can vibrate and wear holes on your tent.
 

MattR

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North Hampshire UK
Ok thanks. Some good info to digest there. I must admit I really can’t tolerate low quality in anything I buy ( it drives me mad when something doesn’t work quite right) so I tend to discount the cheap stuff in favour of stuff that is reassuringly expensive.


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CatBehemoth

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Aug 16, 2018
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Tents are interesting topic, but lately I'm much more interested in sleeping pads, they seem to matter much more in a sleep comfort.
 

MattR

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North Hampshire UK
Tents are interesting topic, but lately I'm much more interested in sleeping pads, they seem to matter much more in a sleep comfort.
Me too. I’ve been using a Thermarest pad which is very good but I’m hoping to move to the next level with my new Helinox cot. Question is, can you use the pad and the cot together?


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Ronzo

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Ontario, Canada
I have a Eureka Apex 2XT that I have been using for years. 2 person 3 season tent with 2 doors and 2 vestibules.
If I wanna go super light I take my Eureka Midori solo.
 
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ballisticexchris

Guest
I'm very happy with these two items, especially the sleeping pad.

Marmot Catalyst 2 tent.

Sea to Summit self inflating sleep pad.
Me too. I’ve been using a Thermarest pad which is very good but I’m hoping to move to the next level with my new Helinox cot. Question is, can you use the pad and the cot together?


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Are you guys talking off the motorcycle or park and camp? I have experience with self inflating pads and found hey are super heavy and bulky. Not a good choice for motorcycle camping.

Here is my setup that is a good compromise of less bulk and no compromise in comfort. Best of all it packs away quick. It takes 20 breaths to fill. I have this and the pillow that are super duper comfortable. After using hard ground, clothes and gear for pillows for all those years I'm liking a good nights sleep.

pad

pillow
 
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