Tents
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matey 
Great Pebble said:
I believe the older canvas models were orange, the newer (Lighter) nylon ones are green.
cheers,
simon
simonsays said:
For all details on Force tens just pm me
I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to them
the SD models were the cavas bright orange colour, the nylon ones (the CN) models were green. however you could get the MKIV and MKV in a CNX which had the extraned porch built in. Or you could get either a porch in orage in both nylon and canvas in the oragne colour
the nylon extrention for the MKV was 1.4kg and the canvas was 2.2kg
given that a MKV with an extrention could take five people on a D of E with kit without any problems it only werighed 6.3kg plus the 1.4kg for the porch
we carried less weight for the tent per person then the people with their own "light weight" back packing tent
Vango do a fairly nice strong tent which is good for about £40 which I think is called teh delta. They decided that rather then skip on strength form a up market tent they'd increase the weight. Thus you get a geogostic dome tent which stand up to insane winds up the alps (well my brothers did). The only issue is it's 4.2 kg for the tent. On a D of E this isn't a problem. They have enough space if for the little niggles and stand up to being put up and taken down a lot well as well.
To the man who threw away 15 force ten tents :tw::tw::tw::tw::tw::tw::tw:
I agree with squidders, Try a cheap one first and then get a decent one. The only way to save on the £500ish ones is look out for own brand models which are direct copies of Terra Nova and North Face but cheaper because they didn't spend on the R&D. The only exact example I can think of was one sold by the YHA shops before they went belly up which was a copy of the Terra Nova Quasar, it had easton poles and was exactly the same dimensions but a lot cheaper.
I'm not sure about the argos £30 being as good as terra nova or north face. They might seem expensive but I've had mine 10years now and when the tension on the zip caused the fabric to fray (we used it every night for 2 months) they not only repaired it free but upgraded it to the same style as the new models which had extra material to stop that problem.
Definitely go to a big tent show and test them by lying in them and even ask to take one down and pitch it yourself. Also go round at the end of the show and they might sell you the display one cheap.
I'm not sure about the argos £30 being as good as terra nova or north face. They might seem expensive but I've had mine 10years now and when the tension on the zip caused the fabric to fray (we used it every night for 2 months) they not only repaired it free but upgraded it to the same style as the new models which had extra material to stop that problem.
Definitely go to a big tent show and test them by lying in them and even ask to take one down and pitch it yourself. Also go round at the end of the show and they might sell you the display one cheap.
The other good thing about seeing the tents up is any poor quality seems will show up a lot more. inspect these on the demo ones.
My other bit of advice is not too get upset if the tent is a right PITA to put up the first few times. The poles have to get a bit bedded in before they are easy to put up. Mine took me about ten minutes to put a pole i right the first time it's up. It's not such an issue with the longer poles in some tents. This is my only grip with mine
My other bit of advice is not too get upset if the tent is a right PITA to put up the first few times. The poles have to get a bit bedded in before they are easy to put up. Mine took me about ten minutes to put a pole i right the first time it's up. It's not such an issue with the longer poles in some tents. This is my only grip with mine
I'm with vango force 10 advisers for DofE groups they can take the worst of weathers, last ages and take more abuse than any other tents I've seen youth groups use. The only other piece of advice I've got is to carry a small role of gaffer tape and a pole repair kit no matter what tent you use.
den said:Wow great response. Thanks everyone. :You_Rock_
This is just the sort of information I was looking for. Keep em coming.
Can someone expand on the types of designs that are available, not for D of E but in general?
Thanks again
Den
yeh sure
large frame tent
heavy strong easy the sort of thing you get put up with caravans. The wont hold up to lots of strong winds due to the high flat sides. Thes are out of fashion due to more mordern designs
A frame
the classic design for smaller tents. The Vango force ten is the mosst famous of this style. Again it's a heavy system but this gives a very strong tent. Has two poles at each end with a ridge running along the length of the tent. Simple to put up. The force ten can be pitched inner or outer tent first. They tend to have sloping sides so don't always make the best tents when they are small. A short person can just about stand in a larger model of the force ten
ridge tent
similar shape to the A frame tent (which also has a ridge pole) They tend to have one pole at each end of the tend and one running along the length of it. This means that it save a bit of weight over the A frame but looses out in strength. It also means you get a pole in the middle of the doorway which causes problems. I don't know of any tents made that use this system now though.
tunnel tent
This are just like the poly tunnels you see at garden centers. tend to have three poles which run parrallel, though some small ones only have two poles and there are big family ones with four. Allows a nice light weight tent and they seem strong enough for most peoples needs. Steeper sides then the ridge pole design so feel big inside. They often have two poles for the bedrrom section and then have a thrid pole which supports a porch area where you can store your kit. This is good for coooking under in wet conditions. vango gamma
wedged tunnel
These have two poles in them with one large hoop and one small one. Give you less space then a standard tunnel tent and don't tend to have much of a porch so no space to cook under. They are stronger and will stand up to some really harsh weather though as they are often low to the ground and have lots of guys to hold them down. thisis a good exaple of it's type
Dome tent
The mordern stardard tent. Two longish poles cross run diagonaly acoss the tent and cross over in the middle. Fairly light weigh and gives lots of space. Like tunnel tents they often have steep sides which gives a fair anout of space inside the tent. A lot have a third pole for a porch which gives space for cooking such as this one
geogostic dome
I doubt I spelt that right
These are basicaly a cross between a dome and a tunnel. They use four poles and tent to be used on more expensive tents. A very strong design. They weigh a lot though. I think Vango do a cheep tent which uses this pole structer though and it would be well worth looking at for D of E. This is the inner tent of a vango Hurricane
semi geogostic dome
Odd one this. They use three poles and not surprisingly are somewhere between a normal dome and a geogostic dome tent. The Vango hydra is a good example. The picture is of the inner tent. This is quite common where you want an all weather backpacking tent but they tend to be quite expensive
tenbears10 said:
I don't like to do things by half
I may have to copy and save all that as I was rgather pleased with it
neo_wales2000 said:
I have one of the (in)famous Argos ProAction 'Tiger Paw' tents bought on special for £15.00 and can say yes, it'll probably do the job. Mine is not the best ventilated (I find it far too hot in summer) - can look a little too taut or loose depending on how quickly you pitch it! (or how many pints of Old Peculiar you have before you pitch it), and isn't the most robust construction. If you are careful it will probably last a little longer than a few nights. Nothing to lose, and as someone earlier on said, at least you'll know what you want after that.
red
I have one of the Argos £30 specials and was out in it the weekend before last in the gales. I saw a Jack wolfskin get blown away, a Vau De totally trashed and dare I say it a Mosketellan tipi (spelling) broken.. I had the pleasure of a snug night with no problems :super:
Argos does it for me
Argos does it for me
I've had no probs with the old Argos tent in the wind. It is a copy of the Sierra Light Year (£140!) and the design is sound.The zips are weak however, and need careful handling.
The new Argos Sydney tent is only £15. There is speculation on the uk.rec.walking newsgroup that it is single skinned and therefore suspect. Also, nearly all budget tents have glassfibre poles - the old Argos one man was unusual in having finely machined alloy poles.
However Argos have a 16 day returns policy, so would be worth a look!
The new Argos Sydney tent is only £15. There is speculation on the uk.rec.walking newsgroup that it is single skinned and therefore suspect. Also, nearly all budget tents have glassfibre poles - the old Argos one man was unusual in having finely machined alloy poles.
However Argos have a 16 day returns policy, so would be worth a look!
MMM... I've still got My Wolfskin Tundra, which I really don't much care for.
Robust enough once you have it up properly, but you need to spend a lot of time doing that. Goes up in seconds, takes up to half an hour to tension properly. PITA.
Robust enough once you have it up properly, but you need to spend a lot of time doing that. Goes up in seconds, takes up to half an hour to tension properly. PITA.
I'm still pleased with my Jack Wolfskin Termite2, which I've had for coming up for 4 years. The proofing on the groundsheet is a little sus these days, but all it takes is seperate sheet - that takes up very little space, and everything's hunky dory.
The Termite had a fully external frame that the outer hooked onto, making for a very quick putup and takedown; although the entrances had to be pegged seperately.
The Termite had a fully external frame that the outer hooked onto, making for a very quick putup and takedown; although the entrances had to be pegged seperately.
