Lightweight tent recommendations?

Wrong thread.

I was at a motorbike show yesterday and Cotswold Outdoor had a stand with the new Terra Nova tent (ultra something or other). I have an old TN Solar which I love and asked if this was the latest version.... "Not really, for starters this one's £1400".

I asked for a lie down on the Thermarest after hearing that.

If you strap the poles to your toptube* or rack-top then cheap tents are fine for touring.

This.

The volume size is less than half the original once you removed the pole, replacing the green bag with a smaller drybag (compressor work best) will reduced it further.

I might sell my Terra nova laser comp 1 if anyone is keen? PM me.

Alpkit have come out with some new lightweight <2kgs tents Ordos and Jaran. No direct experience of them but I have seen the Zhota (bigger mountain tent) and it seems very impressive so if these are at all similar I expect they will be well worth the money especially as so much cheaper than similar offerings.

They've been mentioned on the previous page.

One of them (the blue one) is designed and made by Alpkit, the other is rebranded. They both look remarkably average to me, a little disappointed. The price is ok though.

Alpkit is average though, what do you expect. Average, and reasonably priced. That's what appeals to lots of people. but if you want really good kit, spend more.

I realise Terra Nova must have been mentioned but just to say I toured for two years with a terra nova laser and loved it. Lightweight and very roomy for one person. There is space to stuff panniers in the porch too. One of the best aspects for me is with one pole it goes up and comes down super fast, which is great when you are cold, tired, wet or surrounded by biting insects.

I'm looking for a rab ridge raider, if anyone sees or has one for a good price.

What are your thoughts behind that? Seems a bit weighty for what it is... (Assuming it's for the tcr...)

They pop up on eBay under the old brand sometimes "integral designs"

No I'll use an alpkit bivi for that. This is for training. I found a laser comp had too big a footprint for wild camping. So although I like the laser, it's too big. And is like a bit of head space when away training for multiple days. I wish there was a lighter version too though, it is heavy.

Ah, that makes sense! I picked up a Rab Ascent bivvy a few weeks ago, it looks and feels pretty good but I was surprised at how bulky it was when it arrived. Figured I'll live with that for the midge net alone though, going to be glad to avoid those bastards this summer.

Yeah they're 600g. I was looking at one of them to start. But I figured the extra 300g to have head space of the ridge raider would be nice. I'll be away for weeks, so worth it.
I'm going to get an ascent too, for hiking, as its eVent and full closure. The alpkit is good, but I want the ascent as it is a far better bag.

Sorry, I meant the volume of the Rab bag. The Hunka XL I have is ~500g but must pack to 1/3 of the size of the Ascent.

Have you considered tarp tents if it's for weeks at a time? Even more space but similar weight to the Ridge Raider or is the footprint too big? http://www.trekkertent.com/home/home/3-stealth.html or similar?

Too big. Would just use laser comp in that case.
I just want a bivi really as I'm simple. But the headspace seemed a nice thing, for changing/reading/eating in the dry/shelter.

I know how a hunka packs down, so he rab must be massive pack size for what it is! I'll have to try find one to see, as I sounds quite big when packed. Not very bikepacking friendly.

Nah. Ime, Alpkit usually nudges out the other brands on value and design. These tents are slightly below the average.

The design of their framebags, top tube bags, and harnesses leaves a lot to be desired. They are a lot cheaper, but that's about all they have going for them.

Took a few quick snaps this morning, hunka xl loosely packed/rolled, rab ascent rolled and stuffed into bag...

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That rab is huge, I reckon my Six Moon Designs tarp-tent is smaller than that!

Yeah that is huge!

Bigger than my laser comp too!

Looks like you are paying for the Rab name, more than anything else.

eVent material

Not really. I like my Alpkit bag, it's cheap, no-frills, not hugely breathable. This Rab model has an eVent upper, bathtub floor, full zip closure, midge net and has a guy line thing to suspend it off your face. The Rab is a lot bigger inside than the Alpkit, could easily fit a huge winter bag + inflatable mat in there.

If you want racing weight, then companies do superlight, super compact pertex bags, but they will wet through and are relatively delicate. I'll take the Alpkit if I'm going for a cheeky overnight in the summer or big audax-type events as a just-in-case. If I'm going for a week in Scotland during midge-season, or out in the Peak during the colder/wetter months I'll happily put up with the bulk/price for more breathability and no bloody bugs.

Slightly OT, lightweight sleeping. But pretty keen to try one of these out...

http://www.phdesigns.co.uk/alpine-ultra-down-half-sleeping-bag-pied-delephant

Reading about the differences then yes I guess the extra £100 makes sense.