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Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Looking to buy a new 2 man tent


Postby SteveNorthumberland » Thu Nov 11, 2021 8:06 am

As the title says am looking for a new two man tent to use generally 3 seasons.

Nothing wrong with my little laser photon 1 but i would like more space.

my main criteria are pitch in one, very light weight, side entrance.

the four i have shortlisted are as follows,

Hilleberg niak
Nordisk telemark 2
Terra nova laser compact 2
Robens chaser 2 (link below if you haven't seen it yet)
https://www.robens.de/en-gb/shop/outdoor-tents/poled-tents/2-person-tents/chaser-2

my basic thoughts are this
the hilleberg is the heaviest and twice the price of the others (nearly 3 times the Robens)
the nordisk is a bit flappy but gear clips and a couple of dyneema guy lines should solve that
the terra nova has condensation issues (although my photon was very good no idea why)
the Robens is heavier than i would like and is a mesh inner tent a good choice for the highlands but the quality of finish is excellent (i own a challenger 2 as a sort of base camp tent and love its quality).

based on my research, size, weight, waterproof rating, other reviews etc my favourite up to now is the Nordisk, i can afford all four but think is the extra £450 for the Hilleberg over the Nordisk at almost twice the weight a good choice?

i understand from Terra nova the laser series is having some sort of upgrade for next spring/summer but no idea what.

i don't generally like mesh inner tents as i am a cold sleeper and would potentially need to carry better rated sleep gear which my main reason for not having the Robens as number 1 (weight at 0.5kg heavier than the Nordisk is also a factor).

is there maybe a tent in my research i have missed of equal quality etc that i should have more seriously considered like the Vaude lizard?

please feel free to comment both positively and negatively (other opinions are always available), thanks for reading.
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby WalkWithWallace » Thu Nov 11, 2021 8:52 am

I have no experience of the tents you've listed, but what about throwing a Tarptent Scarp 2 into the mix?
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby SteveNorthumberland » Thu Nov 11, 2021 9:03 am

we discussed this on you tube (i am that steve)

difficulty of obtaining a tent from tarptent plus import duties etc haven't ruled them out but unlikely.

the scarp 1 is maybe big enough but i will add it to my research list.

thanks
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby Marty_JG » Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:01 am

Light weight, pitch in one, side entrances... if you use trekking poles have you considered the Lanshan 2 or Lanshan 2 Pro?

A mansion for under a kilo.
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby WalkWithWallace » Thu Nov 11, 2021 2:08 pm

Ah hello, its a small world. 8)

Scarps are still stock at the moment, however running the figures through the import tax calc, you'd pay £510 or £550 to include the crossing poles. Eeek, that's a bit of an increase on what I paid in the summer.

https://www.simplyduty.com/import-calculator/

Lanshan 2s don't perform very well in the wind.

Would a Terra Nova Southern Cross 2 be too heavy? Paul Messner's affiliate discount may still be valid.
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby boriselbrus » Thu Nov 11, 2021 7:21 pm

I have the Telemark 2. Used it for a dozen or so nights including in heavy snow.

I can't really think of anything I'd change. It's light, pitches easily and quickly and has kept me dry in some horrible weather. If you do get one, don't bother trying to pack it away in its door pocket as the instructions suggest, it means the tent is inside out and then it's a pain to pitch. Just pack it away like any other tent and it's fine.
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby SteveNorthumberland » Thu Nov 11, 2021 9:24 pm

boriselbrus wrote:I have the Telemark 2. Used it for a dozen or so nights including in heavy snow.

I can't really think of anything I'd change. It's light, pitches easily and quickly and has kept me dry in some horrible weather. If you do get one, don't bother trying to pack it away in its door pocket as the instructions suggest, it means the tent is inside out and then it's a pain to pitch. Just pack it away like any other tent and it's fine.


It’s my preferred choice right now ticks most boxes must admit the tarptent scarp 1 is also of interest (robin the scarp 2 is out of stock until March 2022 btw), I’m in no rush to get one, be interesting to see what terra nova come up with but the nordisk ticks the lightweight box.
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby AspiringHiker » Fri Nov 12, 2021 9:16 pm

Do you use trekking poles? If so there are options that use them in tent pitch saving some weight. If the "pitch in one" requirement is because you don't want to get the inner wet, there are some trekking pole designs that pitch fly first. The main advantage over the designs you listed is more inner volume for the same weight.
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby Marty_JG » Fri Nov 12, 2021 11:27 pm

WalkWithWallace wrote:Lanshan 2s don't perform very well in the wind.


I guess it means by "well" and "wind", but plenty of high-wind camps on Youtube.
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby WalkWithWallace » Sat Nov 13, 2021 7:36 am

Marty_JG wrote:I guess it means by "well" and "wind", but plenty of high-wind camps on Youtube.


I can think of two videos on YouTube where they get damaged in high wind too, albeit Stripey's was just the plastic clip for holding the doors in place. Depends what you want them for, but they're not mountain tents.
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby Giant Stoneater » Sat Nov 13, 2021 1:53 pm

AspiringHiker wrote:Do you use trekking poles? If so there are options that use them in tent pitch saving some weight. If the "pitch in one" requirement is because you don't want to get the inner wet, there are some trekking pole designs that pitch fly first. The main advantage over the designs you listed is more inner volume for the same weight.


The only problem with tents that use trekking poles is the need to dismantle the tent if you pitch in the one place and need to use the poles for a walk.
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby AyrshireAlps » Sat Nov 13, 2021 7:50 pm

In any of those types of tents I've had, that's a 10 second job, whip the pole out, leave everything else as it is.

Not an issue.
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby Marty_JG » Sun Nov 14, 2021 7:45 pm

WalkWithWallace wrote:I can think of two videos on YouTube where they get damaged in high wind too, albeit Stripey's was just the plastic clip for holding the doors in place. Depends what you want them for, but they're not mountain tents.


If that's the one I'm thinking about, it was a bad pitch; if you pitch sideways exposed to howling gales you don't put load-bearing stress onto the mid-panel room spacer. You always have to pitch for the conditions, even with Hillebergs. A lot of people use them as 3-season mountain tents, the 4-season solid inner would be very warm for a cold sleeper.
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby AspiringHiker » Sun Nov 14, 2021 11:07 pm

Giant Stoneater wrote:The only problem with tents that use trekking poles is the need to dismantle the tent if you pitch in the one place and need to use the poles for a walk.


Indeed, I was thinking from perspective of long-distance hiker, but if you go for the summits using tent as basecamp then trekking pole tents won't really work.
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Re: Looking to buy a new 2 man tent

Postby weaselmaster » Mon Nov 22, 2021 7:49 pm

We use the Niak for most of our adventures. On the plus side, it is reliable, well made, pitches really easily and you can put the poles in and move the frame around til you find the best spot before pegging it down (or indeed hard pitch it with rocks as weights if need be). I've only once encountered problems with the weather in it- pitched at 650m during a storm and the problems occurred because the pegs weren't very well in the ground, so more about terrain and choice of pitch than the tent). It is noisy in a high wind, but pretty secure.

On the minus side, the porch is quite small, and the angle of the outer wall makes it not that easy to cook etc in the porch. I've been using it with an extra guy attached to the front of the zip flap with some success in that regard.

There is also the new Hille anaris, which used poles and has 2 doors, looks pretty versatile for 3 season use, but I don't have that one.
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