Need help choosing tent

[WalkingNowhere]

Hi all

Sorry if this is the wrong forum for this but all my tent research keeps leading to this forum.

Basically, I am looking for a tent I can use year round.

I do long distance beach walking and the tent will be setup in sand dunes or on the beach. It needs to fit in a 65L pack, be able to handle strong seabreezes and the occasional downpour.

I have pretty much ruled out all 3 season tents at this point. Almost bought a Big Agnes Copper Spur or a Marmot Tungsten 1p until I discovered 4 season tents.

I just assumed they would be way heavier the 3 season and unsuitable for my mild clime in southwest Australia. It never gets below 0 degrees, never snows and rarely hales.

Can anyone think of a tent suitable for me? I walk around 20-30kms per day along the beach with around 5L of water and 2 days worth of food and not much else in terms of gear.

I was thinking the Vango F10 Helium 100 1P but cant find anyone in oz with stock.

Next was the Wilderness Equipment ACE Ultralight 1 (not the winter version).

Would these do me? Or am I offtrack?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Zone-5]

Look here...

http://blackwoodspress.com/blog/12796/d ... -shelters/

Looking for a new lightweight backpacking tent or shelter? Here is a list of every backpacking shelter I could find (120+ so far) that weighs under 3 pounds, to help you narrow your search. I’ve organized them by weight and included photos and links to online retailers so you can do an easy side by side comparison and find the best shelter for your needs. Tents, tarptents, tarps, hammocks and bivys are included, as long as they weigh 3 lbs or less.

- - - - - - - -

LightHeart SoLong 6 - Standard


http://www.lightheartgear.com/index.php ... t/view/7/7

[WalkingNowhere]

wow, that was a really definitive answer

thanks

[Strider]

I just assumed they would be way heavier the 3 season and unsuitable for my mild clime in southwest Australia. It never gets below 0 degrees, never snows and rarely hales.

IMO your assumption is correct. Unless you are using your tent in Tassie or above the snowline on the mainland, you don't need a 4 season tent. A three season tent will more than satisfy your needs and will be lighter to carry.

Have a look at Tarptent, One Planet, MSR, etc

[slparker]

I'm generally a tent user but I'd consider a tarp for s/w/ oz. The generally sheltered campsites on the bibbulman and cape to cape (for example) and mild temps would suit a tarp.

[kitty]

Hi Walking Nowhere,

Have you made a list of the things you require in a tent? If not, you might want to do that, to narrow your search and to help others make a recommendation for you.

Season? What season do you walk in? SW WA Summer? or SW WA Autum/Winter/Spring?
Weight? Are you looking for an ultralight tent? What is your ideal maximum weight for tent.
Single wall or double wall? SW WA I would think double wall is the way to go.
Inner mesh or solid or combo? Camping in the dunes with wind blow sand and wind blow sea spray - I wouldnt want a meshy tent. Consider one with part solid inner up to 50cm or so.
Two vestibules or 1? 2 vestibules are awesome for through breezes and for organisation especially when its raining.
Free Standing? - if you are pitching on sand dunes a free standing tent might be handy, or a tent that only requires two pegs to keep it upright. However if its windy then you would need to use the extra tie out points anyway so free-standing might not be an absolute requirement. But consider that pitching a tent that requires 8 pegs on a sand dune might be more challenging than one that only needs two pegs (or none).
Budget?

Why did you rule out 3 season tents? It would seem that this is the type of tent that would suit your requirements.
As Strider mentioned, a 4 season tent is probably unnecessary for you based on where you are walking.

BA Copper Spur you mentioned looks good.
Something similar is the MSR Hubba Hubba NX. Or Hubba NX. Ive used the Hubba Hubba (mesh) in SW WA coastal conditions and would think the NX would be better option.
Tarptent Moment DW.

Strider also mentioned One Planet tents, the Goondie are popular and there are some reviews on this forum.
http://www.oneplanet.com.au/tents.html

If you are keen on the Vango Helium, an alternative is the Wild Country Zephyros, but I would have thought that these are more for Scottish type conditions. Dunno, never used either.
http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/au/wild- ... _colour=98

Cheers, Kitty

[Mickl]

I was thinking the Vango F10 Helium 100 1P but cant find anyone in oz with stock.

Wild Earth are selling the helium 100 and 200 on sale at the moment. I would recommend the 200 though as it would be a lot more comfortable for a small weight penalty. Check the gear review section as I put a review up on the previous model recently.

Mick

[Franco]

WalkingNowhere,
Given your beach walking (30km on sand ? you must be nuts...) I would suggest you take a look at the Tarptent Moment DW.

The reason is that it is a very fast and easy tent to set up, works with just two pegs but better in the wind with the added pole guylines (so 4 pegs in total) Packs relatively small and with the fabric inner ("solid") you get better wind protection, handy if sand is blowing about.
It has two entry points (so you can look out on two sides..) and with the sliding floor you can create a larger vestibule on one side so that you can cook inside if needed, providing you don't use a flame thrower ( a JetBoil or Caldera cone set up works particularly well)
On warm nights you have two large bottom vents (one at each end and or you can leave both fly doors open for cross ventilation.
http://www.tarptent.com/momentdw.html

But of course I am with Tarptent...

This is my World Record time for setting up the Moment :

(should be an Olympic event...)

[WalkingNowhere]

Thanks all

Good suggestions but all made after I placed an order.

I wanted the helium f10 and although they are on sale at wild earth, they have none in stock and am pretty sure vango discontinued them a while ago so they are probably never coming back.

I ruled out ultra light tents due to being the middle of winter with heavy rain. The 1100mm fly doesn't inspire much confidence and the 1800mm base would be shredded by beach sand.

I figured I would buy a heavy, cheap tent for the winter, learn it limitations (if any) then decide on a spring/summer/autumn tent that would suit my purposes.

The winter tent I chose was the vango banshee 200.

Supposedly the UKs best selling tent, 5000mm waterproof, heavy duty floor, can withstand Scottish winds and rains and all for around 600g more than the tents double the price. I like that it can be built with fly on top so the inner doesn't get wet in the rain. Downsides include 14 sand pegs required and a bit on the heavy side but will make do this winter until I learn the ways

Thanks again

[Zone-5]

Good suggestions (tent) but all made after I placed an order.

...I ended up buying the berg (pack) before it was posted.

I don't understand you! Why are you bothering us with deliberately rhetorical questions?

You asked for advice on both threads, we gave it but on both occasions (tents & backpacks) you had already pre-ordered before you got an answer from us!

Perhaps next time you should make that clear else I won't waste my time...

[WalkingNowhere]

I explained in the post.

As a new member, both threads were moderated before going live to the forum for about 5 days. By the time they appeared on this website, I had already ordered my gear.

[Strider]

Good suggestions (tent) but all made after I placed an order.

...I ended up buying the berg (pack) before it was posted.

I don't understand you! Why are you bothering us with deliberately rhetorical questions?

You asked for advice on both threads, we gave it but on both occasions (tents & backpacks) you had already pre-ordered before you got an answer from us!

Perhaps next time you should make that clear else I won't waste my time...

Mate you need to step down off your high horse a bit. It was already explained how this happened.

You've made waves here since you arrived and I can't for the life of me work out whether your intentions are aggressive or defensive, but either way the attitude is quite uncalled for. Time to give it a rest.

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[Zone-5]

Sorry, I'm not trying to be aggressive... I do try my best to answer questions on the forum and some times it takes quite a bit of back research to find a good answer.

I'll withdraw from the forum...

[Strider]

Doesn't need to be all or nothing. But accusing a new member of wasting your time is a bit rough when they were simply waiting for their post to be approved.

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