Bushwalk Australia

Hello all,
I am looking into going on the overland track in late April or early May and I'm after a fairly lightweight, four season tent that isn't terribly expensive. Does anyone have any advice or useful links on this? I have no idea what kind of price range I should be looking at, or what the lightest weight I can really afford would be, so any help would be appreciated :)

also, what shop/s in Hobart are the best for equipment on a budget?

thanks :)

probably not rated for 4 season but the DMH Oberon is a cracker of a tent for under $100 if you shop around. TuffWear in burnie had it for ~$70 last year. I gots one and Im very happy with it. A little practice makes it simple to pitch the fly and tent at once to keep inner dry in rain. It also has great pop out ventilation at rear.

thanks

Do you think it's reliable enough for 4 season use in Tasmania?

You might also find some useful information in the following two forum topics, which ask questions similar to yours (but not quite the same):

One person Tent
2 person tunnel tent

Heya,

This is something I looked into a while ago, but still haven't got around to purchasing a tent yet. There are quite a few options here. You can compare features and price of the brands they stock easily. I think I decided the best value light 4-season tent was the Sea-to-Summit Second Arrow. You can probably go cheaper if you need to by opting to carry more weight. I think what I found was that the cheaper options tended to weigh more. Also, I was frustrated by a lot of manufacturers who wouldn't rate their tents in any particular weather or conditions. Some like to use the "x season" rating and some like to say things like rated "below the snowline" or "above the snowline", many prefer not to give you any indication. I thought this was dodgy, and decided to steer clear of these.

Anyway, whatever happens, please let us know what you decide, and provide some info after your first walk with the tent. You'll probably have something sorted before I do, as I'm not buying until I've got a walk lined up.

L8r.

Thanks for all the suggestions :)

The Vango Helium 100 looks good at the moment, weighs 900g and costs $270. I've emailed Vango about their testing and have been assured that they are reguarly tested in 4 seasons in Scotland, including snow.
http://www.vango.co.uk/products/f10tent ... &modelid=4

Looks like a good options! Note that 272 euros is currently 469 Australian dollars.

waldgeist wrote:Thanks for all the suggestions

The Vango Helium 100 looks good at the moment, weighs 900g and costs $270. I've emailed Vango about their testing and have been assured that they are reguarly tested in 4 seasons in Scotland, including snow.
http://www.vango.co.uk/products/f10tent ... &modelid=4

Some time ago I was interested in the Vango TBS Spirit 200+ shown here:
http://www.wildearth.com.au/vango-spiri ... p-208.html

I could never find anywhere to have a look at one and don't know if it's still a current model. Eventually went with the WE Second Arrow. Partly because I had similar concerns as expressed in the thread below, and the Vango tent is nearly 4 metres long. Love that vestibule though!

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=571#p3758

Kind regards,
John W

Son of a Beach wrote:Looks like a good options! Note that 272 euros is currently 469 Australian dollars.

I found one in australia for $270au

can't seem to find the helium 200 anywhere though

waldgeist wrote:

Son of a Beach wrote:Looks like a good options! Note that 272 euros is currently 469 Australian dollars.

I found one in australia for $270au

ah cool - I just thought I'd better check you really were talking Aussie dollars. Wow, that's an amazing price, in that case! Well done.

Please let us know how it performs after some use.

Heya!

Jusy checking back in on this thread to see what sort of tent you went with in the end. Was it the Helium or something else?

L8r.

johnw wrote:

waldgeist wrote:Thanks for all the suggestions

The Vango Helium 100 looks good at the moment, weighs 900g and costs $270. I've emailed Vango about their testing and have been assured that they are reguarly tested in 4 seasons in Scotland, including snow.
http://www.vango.co.uk/products/f10tent ... &modelid=4

Some time ago I was interested in the Vango TBS Spirit 200+ shown here:
http://www.wildearth.com.au/vango-spiri ... p-208.html

I could never find anywhere to have a look at one and don't know if it's still a current model. Eventually went with the WE Second Arrow. Partly because I had similar concerns as expressed in the thread below, and the Vango tent is nearly 4 metres long. Love that vestibule though!

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=571#p3758

Kind regards,
John W

And I'm broke......

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores ... 13-tn&np=Y

Speculator wrote:Heya!

Jusy checking back in on this thread to see what sort of tent you went with in the end. Was it the Helium or something else?

L8r.

aye, I ended up getting the Helium, i'm impressed by how lightweight it is, I haven't tested it properly yet but will be doing that in the next couple of weeks :)

It's a light little thing, look forward to your reports. There's a few of these similar designs around, and many reports seem to dismiss them for lack of headroom with the angle of the ends. Let's know if it 'fits' ok. (How tall r u?)

I wouldn't expect to weather a heavy snowstorm in it with those large flat panels. (Whatever they advertise) I'd be interested to see how it goes in the mountains and your personal experience (I'd go somewhere with a hut nearby).

Notice they also make a v. light 2 person also...

I'm a bit peeved with Vango for their deceptive advertising of the sleeping bag I got so let's see how the tent goes- good Luck

Nuts wrote:It's a light little thing, look forward to your reports. There's a few of these similar designs around, and many reports seem to dismiss them for lack of headroom with the angle of the ends. Let's know if it 'fits' ok. (How tall r u?)

I wouldn't expect to weather a heavy snowstorm in it with those large flat panels. (Whatever they advertise) I'd be interested to see how it goes in the mountains and your personal experience (I'd go somewhere with a hut nearby).

Notice they also make a v. light 2 person also...

I'm a bit peeved with Vango for their deceptive advertising of the sleeping bag I got so let's see how the tent goes- good Luck

The potential pitfalls you noted about the tent, and Vango as a whole certainly bother me a little too. I'll be really keen to hear how it goes. I'd be really keen to see one somewhere too, but unfortunately noone seems to carry them locally. The large flat are might indeed cause a problem in the snow, on the other hand it might cope better in the wind that the microlight or the hubba, I always worry about those tents with that one big arching pole, in that if the wind swings around and you get a crosswind you could become a sail or sorts.

L8r.

I too am dubious of the tents 4 season rating, but it does sound super light and great at that price.
The main thing that gets me with the tent is that (although hard to really tell from those pics) the vestibule does not seem to overhang the entrance to the inner when open ( i may be wrong). I think that for a tent that is really 4 season, you could be using it in 4 seasons, which in tassie means you will be getting in and out of the tent in torrential rain/snow etc. I think it's fairly crucial to have a vestibule with at least enough room to sit in taking wet gear off to get into the tent. If you go from full wet weather gear to warm sleeping bag, there will be a transition period where the vestibule is open to take gear off etc, and i would be worried of rain going straight into the tent. The other thing that gives me the impression it is not a real 4 season, is that the door is mesh only from the looks of it (again, may be wrong) In Tas conditions this could make a big difference to temperature in the tent, especially if the wind picks up (when does it not in Tassie!)

Would also like to hear how it goes, and the tent sounds great for the OT, where there are huts if the s*** hits fan weather wise.

Well waldgeist have you tried it yet? I'm pretty interested in the Helium 200 and would love to here your opinion!
Found some pics here by the way
http://ibenviro.spaces.live.com/photos/ ... 3F21F!275/

Where did you buy it? I can only find one place and they are out of stock.

If you are using trekking poles, have a look at the Aarn Pacer tents, basically a stronger version of the Vango. They are heavier , about 1500 for the single, about 1.75 kg for the double, but cosider that two good trekking poles can hold a much greater load than a tent pole. The pole connector is a lot stronger than any pole section I have seen, similar to the poles used on base camp A frame tents.
http://aarnpacks.com/products/pacer_tent_2.html
Available from http://aarnpacks.com/products/pacer_tent_2.html
Franco

Hello :)

The tent seems fairly good. I'm not an expert but it was pretty small, but tolerable. I haven't used it in bad weather so I can't comment on that, but I managed to sleep well on the overland track in July. ansco.com.au said they could get the 2 person one in when I emailed them about it a few months ago, I hope that helps :)

I have the vango helium 2 man that weighs 1.3kgs! Looks well put together!I will need to test it out over time!I also have access to stocking these tents if they prove a success!

Cheers Beachy

Thanks - I had a sit in a tent yesterday and have decided I want a higher roof than the Helium unfortunatley. I would like to be able to sit up straight ideally.
I'm a bit skeptical of the Aarn's 2000m floor - at that price I'd probably get a Macpac Microlight I think.

I bought an AARN pacer (uses treking poles) after a great experience with their packs. It isn't huge for 2 people but light and feels like a 4ish season. I'de rather be in my Macpac Olympus but at 3.5kg it is double the weight so I need a bad weather forecast for it to get a run now. I am confident the Aarn will be good except maybe in heavy snow. I bought mine direct from NZ about a year ago as they wern't released into AUS but may be now. Also always liked the look of MSR Hubba (1 person) and Hubba Hubba (2 person).

Cheers,

Andrew

waldgeist wrote: I'm after a fairly lightweight, four season tent that isn't terribly expensive.

Hi. I'm reminded of Bontrager's Axiom: "Light, Strong, Cheap: pick any two"

waldgeist, can you sit in the vestibule of the Helium 100 to take off wet gear with the fly zip closed? Is the inner door only mesh? They are for sale on eBay from Wildearth.