Lightweight tent recommendations?

How big is it packed up? And how heavy?! Would be useful to know!

http://www.tauntonleisure.com/products/hilleberg-nallo-2-gt-tent/863/?source=froogle&utm_source=product_feeds&utm_medium=google_products_froogle

Yup, I was thinking more of actual size/weight, rather than claimed. cheers though.

this looks a good shout http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/0199382/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CSports+and+leisure%7C14419152/c_2/2%7Ccat_14419152%7CCamping%7C14419397/c_3/3%7Ccat_14419397%7CTents%7C14419414.htm

http://hennessyhammock.com/

look good tbh.

I used a hennessy hammock on my bike tour across Europe this summer. They're pretty ace. You get to sleep in cool places like this:

How big is it packed up? And how heavy?! Would be useful to know!

However there is a lot of air in the bag, scrunched down it goes to about the size of a normal sleeping bag. Just weighed it on the scales and it came to bang on 3kg!
Hope this helps

Recently cycled 1k miles across Europe with a Terra Nova Voyager superlight. Highly recommend it, it's just the right size for two people and the porch space fits 4 loaded panniers just comfortably.

It's quite expensive but I can see myself keeping it for decades.

Nice first post. Tell us more of your trip.

Welcome to the mad house/tent.

I used a hennessy hammock on my bike tour across Europe this summer. They're pretty ace. You get to sleep in cool places like this:

Hammocks are ace when you have trees - the Hennessy is pretty good because you can set them up like a tent as well.

Recently cycled 1k miles across Europe with a Terra Nova Voyager superlight. Highly recommend it, it's just the right size for two people and the porch space fits 4 loaded panniers just comfortably.

It's quite expensive but I can see myself keeping it for decades.

That's really interesting Mr. Standard. I'm still undecided about which tent to get. I suppose this is a proper two person tent for the weight of a solo tent (an akto for instance). What's the packed size like and how did you carry it? Good stuff, thanks.

I used a hennessy hammock on my bike tour across Europe this summer. They're pretty ace. You get to sleep in cool places like this:

Starting to plan my touring trip now.

This looks like an awesome way to set up camp, stealth, easy to set up and you don't need to carry a mat to sleep on.

The only downside I can see for my trip is that I'll have to either become very intimate with my touring companion or persuade him to also buy one.

Did you stealth camp on your trip? The hammock seems to be much more stealthy than a tent, especially the 'camo' versions.

sorry for the late reply mate, haven't checked this for a while.

I stealth/gypsy camped all the way (France-Austria via Czech Rep.) Check out my profile for the [ahem] 'blog'. The hammock has pro's and cons. It packs down small, there's no poles and it goes up very easily. It can be comfortable but it takes some getting used to in my experience. You will still need a mat because mosquitoes can bite through and being off the ground means you will lose heat quicker so having a layer there is pretty essential. I slept in graveyards, public parks, playgrounds, sports fields etc. when wooded areas weren't available and you learn to recognise good sleeping spots after some time.

Where are you planning on going?

Love the blog, no need for words. I was actually thinking of doing something similar for my trip, I always see things worth taking a picture of when I'm on the bike.

My trip will be a fair bit shorter than yours, London to Paris to Bruges to Amsterdam to London. I'll also be traveling lighter.

Cheers for the tips about the hammock.

Cheers. I briefly passed through Belgium on the way to Maastrict and it would be good to explore it a little more someday. Go with a tent though. Much better suited to your journey.

If you haven't already, check out the CTC touring forum:

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewforum.php?f=16

Yeah, the CTC forum is a good resource, similar to here, dare I say it. Five minutes of browsing reveals that touring bike geeks accuse each other of having poorly built wheels in exactly the same way as fixed bike geeks.

I confess that I have done absolutely no research yet, not even route planning. Shit, I really need to get started.

I'll post on the CTC forum for advice when I've done a lot more research.

Took the £25 Gelert one man to Bolivia and it did just fine in gale force winds and freezing conditions. Why pay more?

It's easy to get a bit obsessive in the planning stage. My advice would be to take as little as possible and don't plan the route too much. I landed in Dunkirk with only 2 pages printed off GoogleMaps of the local area. Got completely lost that first day before picking up a free map from a tourist place on the second which kept me going for another 5 days before getting a decent road map. Plus the bike was a 20 year old mountain bike with knobbly fucking tires on... [shakes head]

Get decent racks/panniers and make sure whatever bike you use is in good shape. Don't buy into the massive gear-fest of buying gadgets and things that you won't really need. For example, I took a lightweight stove but never used it because I found it too much of a chore to make a meal so just lived off fruit,baguettes, cheese/ham sandwiches, croissants, yoghurt, cereal and chocolate. I would have appreciated the saved space/weight a lot more in that case.

A compass is really useful though.

Any questions drop me a PM.

company in colorado called big agnes make some nice ones. i got a lill one man on, really light

You've probably got one by now, but... I eventually plumped for the Helsport Ringstind 2 man. I got it a bit cheaper than list, but it was still a fair whack.

I used it for my solo trip around New Zealand last summer (their winter). It was increadibly light, and once I got used to setting it up properly, it was a great in all sorts of conditions. The 2 man was nice and roomy, which meant I could have all my panniers in from out the rain,and still have room to wriggle a bit in my sleep. I was also able to sit up in the tent when it was raining and cook in the porch area.

It's really lightweight which is a bonus on those long up hill days, and the selling point for me was its superior length ;) I'm about 6'5 and I could lay comfortably in it with out the sleeping bag hitting the ends.

I also thought about the Saunderson Spacepacker or jet packer, as well as the hilleburg Akto. Can't wait to get out on another adventure!

Cheers, Will

Hilleberg. The tentmakers. Best tent I ever had. Nallo GT. http://www.hilleberg.se/default-e.HTM

www.osmosno.wordpress.com

Hennessey Hammocks are great. I got mine at www.facewest.co.uk.

If you don't have trees you can use a wall or a branch to make it into a tarp.

So yeah, tents.

Question:

The tent I'm about to buy comes in bright red or 'outdoors' green. I fancy the red one cos red is the bestest colour what there is, but the green is probably the more sensible choice.

Is there any functional reason why I should choose one or the other? Is red for standing out against snow and green for blending in in the woods or something?

Will the red flysheet fade in the sun like red often does? Which will have a better interior light/colour (both colours have a yellow inners)? Does it even matter?

Thanks tent people.

red's nicer than green, I'd base it on that

If you're gonna stealth camp / camp where it's not allowed I'd def go for green

I'd always go green personally unless your in snow like you said but that's me. My own one man tent is orange and it's the biggest issue I have with it. Not exactly conspicuous. As Kboy says if you are ever stealth camping you will want a mute colour.

What tent are you going for?

also consider re-sale value, green tents I guess is default option for people and might fetch a bit more if you need to sell it