1 or 2 man tent advice

[weelawser]

Folks,

I need recommendations on hiking tents, most of my walking is one or two day hikes been using a Banshee 200 which has served a purpose but looking for something a little better if possible.
Shortly doing the West highland way over 6 days and potentially more trips of longer duration than 2 days so looking for something quick to put up and not to heavy to carry but with some space, I know there will be a trade off with some wants however what do you all use on a regular basis.
Totally bewidered by all the choice out there !

Thanks in advance,

Paul

[nick70]

Hi Paul

A few factors to consider here would be:

1) what is your budget?
2) when would you be using it? 3 season or 4 season?
3) what size/height are you?
4) would you be looking for lightweight?

Its pretty much horses for courses and a lot of it, at end of day, comes down to personal preference. From what I have heard, read and seen, the Vango Banshee seems a fine tent, and certainly capable of handling WHW. Have you gave any consideration to getting same tent again? I know of some Banshee owners who are on their 2nd or 3rd incarnation.

If you are near Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling or Perth then I would recommend you going in to a Tiso store. They will have very knowledagable and friendly staff to help you out.

Best of luck and enjoy WHW when you do it.

[weelawser]

Thanks for replying Nick.
The Banshee has been great although only 5 8' I find it a little cramped and my son has now claimed it
3 season would suffice and budget can stretch to £500.
The vango Mirage 200 looks to be interesting and at a sensible price but at 3kg is that too heavy ?

[nick70]

Hi Paul

I asked about height as I'm 6 ft 1 tall, so whats good for me is not always the same for others.

If at 5 ft 8 you are finding Banshee a bit cramped then maybe yes, its a good idea to get new tent. As regards Vango Mirage at 3Kg, only you will know if you are comfortable with that weight. Personally I would prefer lighter. When I completed WHW in April 2017 I took a Vango Tempest 200, this weighed in at 2.35Kg and for someone of my height I found this really spacious and not too heavy to carry. When I done again in March this year I used a Force Ten Xenon UL, but this tent turned out to be worse than a Wendy House, so unfortunately I only have negative feedback about this particular tent.

As I said before if you can get to a Tiso store, the staff are super knowledgable and very helpful. They will put tents up for you, let you get inside them with a sleeping mat and bag, generally try and let you get as much of a feel for it as you can.

My friend earlier this year for doing WHW with me got a Wild Country Zephyros 2 online from Sports Direct for I think about £110. They still have tent but now £145 I think. He is approx 5 ft 10 and this looked an excellent tent, I certainly think it represented excellent value, and at £145 now still does represent excellent value. It certainly stood up very well to the weather when we done WHW this year.

Another thing to consider also, Go Outdoors do a price match guarantee. So if you see a tent there for, say, £250, but you see someone else selling at £200. Then Go Outdoors will match that price and reduce it by 10%, meaning, in example I have gave, you would get that tent for £180.

I know it can be a bit of a minefield, but generally I would recommend getting out to a couple of shops, check out some reviews. Unfortunately with the Sports Direct example I gave, they don't have them in their stores (as far as I know) so you are taking a bit of a leap of faith by ordering online. However as far as I know Wild Country is the sister range of Terra Nova, so again a very good and reliable brand.

Apologies for long winded answer but I hope this helps somewhat. Fingers crossed you see something that fits your needs and requirements.

Nick

[weelawser]

Appreciate the advice Nick.
We have a Tiso in Aberdeen so i will pop in by them this week.

[ScotFinn65]

Hi Paul.

I am using Berghaus Peak Pro 3.2 and happy with that. Although it is a 2-man tent, l find is quite spacious for 1 person and long enough for 6' 1".

My criteria were:
1. Easy to erect
2. Enough sleeping space, small porch and space inside for my 3 day kit.
3. Lightweight for carrying (2.2kgs)
4. Price to quality in my budget (can be bought for £135 online from Millets).
5. HH of flysheet and groundsheet at least 5000.

I know l can get: bigger, smaller, lighter, cheaper etc, but this choice balanced my needs well.

[Alteknacker]

Worth checking past threads on this - there's loads of information on this site.

As regards the main question: I always go for one size up - 2 man for solo trips, 3 man if with a mate. The weight penalty is minimal, and is, for me, more than compensated for by the increase in comfort. But this is a personal decision.

I have a Banshee 300 for 2 man, and a Force Ten Helium 200 for solo walks.

[MichaelUK]

I bought a Zephyros 2 for a 5 day hike, St. Cuthberts Way and St. Oswalds Way back to back. Second night there was a heavy shower and the tent was leaking along the pole seam! On closer inspection it was also delaminating. I managed to get my money back, £150, when I got home. Went online, Amazon, and bought the Vango Tempest 200 pro, £125. Ended up getting a price match from Go Outdoors, plus %10. Ended up costing me £105!!!! Its a fantastic tent, very spacious, though not as light as some tents, but manageable. Also bought the tarp for it. Had a recent night camp with thunder storms and the tent held up, very impressed with it. I have swapped out the guy lines for a thiner Dyneema cord and better tent pegs. Also carry it in a dry bag. Well worth a look.

[Jon and Jen]

Myself and Jen are currently shopping for a new tent thanks to the wind assisted destruction of our trusty old faithful outwell while camping on Skye. We have looked at plenty, been round the displays at the Superstores in Glasgow and we have finally settled on the MSR Elixir. We are going 1 up and buying the 3 man for the two of us for pack space but the 2 man is very spacious and would easily do two or one in luxury. Lightweight and not a bank breaker. £240 in go outdoors but can be found cheaper.The two man is only 2.7kg iirc but the 3 man @ 3.2 is a kg lighter than the 2 man I've been lugging about for the last year.

The interior space is amazing, only downside is it doesn't erect in one but can be assembled fly first if weather dictates. Biggest draw for me is MSR customer service and a 3 year warranty.

[weelawser]

Thanks for all your advice, been out and about, in and out as many tents... I think I am all tented out now
Narrowed down to a couple, still for price and " you know what to expect factor" the Vango Mirage Pro is great value and can get it for £116 with Blacks price promise, however it weighs in at 3kg.
The other option is the MSR Hubba Tour 1 but comes in at £300 and a 1kg lighter, also outer pitch first, more of a hybrid tent but cracking space, just got to decide

[Sack the Juggler]

I know you're all tented out now, but for £500 there are a lot of lighter tents than that out there.

Here's a few that some rave over, but all too expensive for my pocket I'm affraid

Nordisk Telemark 2 LW £409 - 950g http://www.wiggle.co.uk/nordisk-telemark-2-light-weight-tent/
Terra Nova Starlite 2 £399 - 1.36kg https://www.trekitt.co.uk/33279/products/terra-nova-starlite-2-tent-green.aspx
Vaude Power Lizard SUL 1-2p £342 - 1.16kg http://www.wiggle.co.uk/vaude-power-lizard-sul-1-2p/
Wild Country Zephyros 2 £126 1.81kg https://www.millets.co.uk/tents-camping/108811-wild-country-zephyros-2-man-technical-tent-green.html/
Wild Country Hoolie 2 £133 - 2.45kg http://www.wiggle.co.uk/wild-country-hoolie-2/

ok, that last one isn't so lightweight but its my tent and its got loads of space

[kaiserstein]

If I had £500 to spend I'd probably go for Scarp 2 tarptent with optional crossing poles. Probably be about 500 quid after you imported it.

[Scottk]

I would go Scarp 1 as the newer models (since 2016) have enough space for 2 mats inside or you can alter the size of the vestibules. 2 doors, lots of space and reasonable weight-about 1.3kg.
The optional crossing poles make them very strong if you decide to try winter/high level/poor weather camping
There are 2 for sale on ebay at around £300. If you want to see one, I have one and you can see it up as I am near Aberdeen.
Takes less than 5 mins to erect, lots of space and the dual entrances and vestibules give it a lot of flexibility.

[nick70]

I bought a Zephyros 2 for a 5 day hike, St. Cuthberts Way and St. Oswalds Way back to back. Second night there was a heavy shower and the tent was leaking along the pole seam! On closer inspection it was also delaminating. I managed to get my money back, £150, when I got home. Went online, Amazon, and bought the Vango Tempest 200 pro, £125. Ended up getting a price match from Go Outdoors, plus %10. Ended up costing me £105!!!! Its a fantastic tent, very spacious, though not as light as some tents, but manageable. Also bought the tarp for it. Had a recent night camp with thunder storms and the tent held up, very impressed with it. I have swapped out the guy lines for a thiner Dyneema cord and better tent pegs. Also carry it in a dry bag. Well worth a look.

As I said very much horses for courses. I'm sorry to hear of your issues with Zephyros 2 but when my friend used it earlier this year for WHW it held up really well in some unfavourable conditions. Sometimes I also think it can be your 'Donald Duck' as to whether a tent works for you unfortunately.

But yes, I will echo your comments about Vango Tempest 200.

[nick70]

I would go Scarp 1 as the newer models (since 2016) have enough space for 2 mats inside or you can alter the size of the vestibules. 2 doors, lots of space and reasonable weight-about 1.3kg.
The optional crossing poles make them very strong if you decide to try winter/high level/poor weather camping
There are 2 for sale on ebay at around £300. If you want to see one, I have one and you can see it up as I am near Aberdeen.
Takes less than 5 mins to erect, lots of space and the dual entrances and vestibules give it a lot of flexibility.

I'm always hearing promising things about these tents. Did you have to order yours direct from US Scott?