two person hiking tent recommendations?

[RSD]

Any comments on single wall tents? Avoid like the plague or some are good in wet and windy conditions?

[Taz73]

WE Dart 2 UK Winter.
Ticks a lot of your boxes.

[Franco]

"The only spot back home where we can set it up to let it air out/dry out after a trip isn't suitable for a non-freestanding tent."

If that is the only reason , then you could consider investing in one (or two..) of these :




Franco
Using chairs..
Sometime last year I had 3 tents to seam seal and it was raining outside .
So one of them ended up drying in the dining room using two chairs...

Last edited by Franco on Thu 14 Jun, 2012 11:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Son of a Beach]

...or over a couple of dining chairs, as we used to do.

It would be a shame to end up choosing a tent based on a reason that has nothing to do with actually using the tent (if there are other reasons for choosing a different tent).

[Bluegum Mic]

I was just looking at the sale page of my old local hiking shop and noticed this.
http://www.camphikeclimb.com.au/product ... ts_id=1443

Also had a look at at some reviews and it looks pretty good. Double vestibule/entry which is good. And from pics it looks like theres plenty of sit up space. And at 155cm wide I know a lot of brands that would claim that as a three man or close to it.

[RSD]

I was just looking at the sale page of my old local hiking shop and noticed this.
http://www.camphikeclimb.com.au/product ... ts_id=1443

Also had a look at at some reviews and it looks pretty good. Double vestibule/entry which is good. And from pics it looks like theres plenty of sit up space. And at 155cm wide I know a lot of brands that would claim that as a three man or close to it.

Cheers for that. I'm looking very seriously at it's slightly bigger brother the Squall - for 600 grams extra it is 59 cm wider which will give us plenty of space, and it looks very easy to set up as well. I'm hoping to find somewhere that stocks one so as I can see it in the flesh.

I've been putting the various tents on an spreadsheet with their weights, interior dimensions, floor and fly water HH, packed size etc and then highlighting in red any features I don't like, and green anything that is especially good. Eliminating any tents that have a red feature has narrowed it down considerably and is making things a lot easier.

[sthughes]

I was just looking at the sale page of my old local hiking shop and noticed this.
http://www.camphikeclimb.com.au/product ... ts_id=1443

Also had a look at at some reviews and it looks pretty good. Double vestibule/entry which is good. And from pics it looks like theres plenty of sit up space. And at 155cm wide I know a lot of brands that would claim that as a three man or close to it.

That's a very good price here in Aus (and importing BD from overseas is difficult), and it's certainly a proper 2 man tent unlike most. Great find

[Taz73]

I roamed the internet and found the WE Dart 2 UL Winter for $400 online.
Yes it was brand new from a retail store here in Australia.
2.62kg, 2 side vestibules, 4 seasons, free standing and above all, great construction.
Couldn't be happier.

[RSD]

I roamed the internet and found the WE Dart 2 UL Winter for $400 online.
Yes it was brand new from a retail store here in Australia.
2.62kg, 2 side vestibules, 4 seasons, free standing and above all, great construction.
Couldn't be happier.

I took a look at it but it's just too small for what we want.

[Taz73]

Understandable.
I wouldn't mind sleeping with the wifey in there but the night I need to share it with someone hairier, it's going to seem even smaller

[Bluegum Mic]

I was just looking at the sale page of my old local hiking shop and noticed this.
http://www.camphikeclimb.com.au/product ... ts_id=1443

Also had a look at at some reviews and it looks pretty good. Double vestibule/entry which is good. And from pics it looks like theres plenty of sit up space. And at 155cm wide I know a lot of brands that would claim that as a three man or close to it.

That's a very good price here in Aus (and importing BD from overseas is difficult), and it's certainly a proper 2 man tent unlike most. Great find

Tis a good find. Plus the guy that runs the store is one of the loveliest blokes you'll find. I've bought loads of stuff from them over the last few years and anything they don't stock they'll get it in (so I can definitely vouch for them). If I had a use for it id give that tent some serious consideration as it looks extremely roomy for a two man and well built/good features. Family commitments and now living 1500km from the oz alps have put my winter touring on hold

[wayno]

a mate picked up a black diamond one he likes,http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/mountain/shelters/mirage-tent

http://www.gearbuyer.com/bq/black_diamond/mirage%20tent/index.html

all mine are old or cheap kathmandu ones...

[RSD]

I was just looking at the sale page of my old local hiking shop and noticed this.
http://www.camphikeclimb.com.au/product ... ts_id=1443

Also had a look at at some reviews and it looks pretty good. Double vestibule/entry which is good. And from pics it looks like theres plenty of sit up space. And at 155cm wide I know a lot of brands that would claim that as a three man or close to it.

Cheers for that. I'm looking very seriously at it's slightly bigger brother the Squall - for 600 grams extra it is 59 cm wider which will give us plenty of space, and it looks very easy to set up as well. I'm hoping to find somewhere that stocks one so as I can see it in the flesh.

I've been putting the various tents on an spreadsheet with their weights, interior dimensions, floor and fly water HH, packed size etc and then highlighting in red any features I don't like, and green anything that is especially good. Eliminating any tents that have a red feature has narrowed it down considerably and is making things a lot easier.

Well after all of that it's back to square one - I contacted the guys at the link above and Black Diamond don't import the Squall into the country

[sthughes]

Really the squall is what many companies would call a 4 man, the 2 man is a big 2 man you know. A whole foot wider than my MSR Hubba Hubba HP! In case you care.

[RSD]

Does anyone know anywhere where you can buy Black Diamond tents overseas and get them shipped to Australia? It seems a bit of an issue from what I understand but it's a bit ridiculous to prevent companies shipping something to Australia that they aren't prepared to distribute here!

[ninjapuppet]

I just wanted to chip in abit of info on supposedly "bomber" tents.
The North Face VE25 and Mountain hardwear Trango are the 2 tents that dominate in the himalayas. Caught up with a mate who had climbed Denali last year and he was showing me photos of 3 VE25 tents that were shreded when a storm came through. My mate was also in a VE25 but had massave wind blocks all around, almost like a bottom half of an igloo.
Winds were reported 75 knots. (135kph)

So ultimately, I dont think the tent you have matters as much as site selection and other mitigating factors. You simply can not just rely on the fact that your tent is bomber.


Here is a pic of a VE25 on top of Ama Dablam, its the yellow tents. Thought this was pretty crazy to camp on top of it.

Attachments

ve25.jpg (196.75 KiB) Viewed 6125 times

Last edited by ninjapuppet on Sun 17 Jun, 2012 3:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Mountain Rocket]

That photo is ridiculous! What a spot to pitch a tent. Jeez.

[ninjapuppet]

yea, theres an expedition company that offers a climb of ama dablam, and also offer to camp on top of it.
Thats their selling point of the company. I dont think anyone else offers that service.

[wayno]

Does anyone know anywhere where you can buy Black Diamond tents overseas and get them shipped to Australia? It seems a bit of an issue from what I understand but it's a bit ridiculous to prevent companies shipping something to Australia that they aren't prepared to distribute here!

sunny sports shipped a black diamond pack to me in nz
otherwise look up a mail forwarding company in the states where you can ship your gear to over there and they will forward to you.
it's bollocks they won't ship overseas, a lot of the time people are after gear that isnt sold here...
i ask the vendors when a particular item will be available locally first, but often the answer is theres no plans to.... so arguably they are doing themselves out of sales...

[shurik]

http://www.rei.com/product/705525/rei-q ... me-ul-tent

REI are pretty good, light and pack small.

[Gareth]

i'm also looking around for an allrounder 2 man tent (bluemountains/new zealand hiking, ocassional backcountry skiing, backpacking etc). any opinions on the vango spirit 200+??