Tent recommendations: 1 or 2 man, pack friendly, 3 season & £100 (or less)

[Neumo]

I am after a small tent that meets the following requirements:
- Is a roomy 1 man or 2 man size (room for a 6ft man to stretch)
- Is light & small enough to go in a pack (less than 2 Kg)
- Is good enough in rain & wind i.e. OK on a beach
I am not expecting 4 season storm performance for the money
- Costs less than £100

I am looking at a Jack Wolfskin Gossamer as the front runner at the moment. Any other recommendations would be gratefully recieved.

 

[Fizzy]

A little over your weight limit (it's 2.5kg) but Amazon are selling the Coleman Bedrock for £29.99 inc. delivery. A step up from that is the Coleman Avior X2 which is a little lighter and is £65.99
Ticking all your boxes is the Vango Banshee 200 which Go Outdoors are doing for £79.99

 

[Neumo]

Thanks I will look at the Coleman tents. I have read quite a few reviews that say the Vango Banshee 200 is too short for many people of 6 foot, so will avoid that one I think.

 

[Dozza]

I was looking at all their stuff on the weekend; they've also got a 3 man for £10 more if you want more room (2.5kg). Not that I really need one just at the moment and have just ordered a 3x3 tarp and will press on with that idea and bivi bag for now but this post should be useful as it was exactly my question for some time.

 

[Neumo]

I have a DD 3x3 Trap but am planning to do some beach camping this year where there probably are not any trees for a hammock & where there will be some brisk winds. I want a bigger 1 man or 2 man tent that I can take in my pack (so not too big or heavy), that is OK in most winds, is waterproof and is preferably green. I know I wont get the quality of a £200+ tent but I dont want to spend that much time in it as I plan to hammock & tarp most of the time.

 

[Neumo]

The Gelert Solo or Coleman Bedrock look good value for money. The reviews are mixed but enough people seem to like them. I will not be using this a great deal & it will live in the boot of the car most of the time, but I want to have the option of a tent for when tarp camping is not ideal, such as beach camping

 

[dirty ben]

I recentley bought a coleman bedrock tent,took it on two camps on dartmoor,then sold it,the problem with it is that it only has the one pole,so down by your feet area the whole thing sags a fair bit,if a strong wind picked up the flysheet would be touching the inner causing problems with damp,also with the sagging inner tent i would personally call it a one man tent because of the restricted headroom at the sides,i just bought a cheap and cheerful tent from mountain warehouse £32,its a copy of the vango zetes,fairly heavy,but i have ditched the 24 steel pegs and the porch groundsheet to save about 800 grammes to bring it down from 3.6kg to a more friendly 2.8kg,hopes this helps your choice

 

[Neumo]

I looked at a load of reviews of the Colman tent that said the same thing. I will keep looking & have checked to see if the trip I am doing on the Dorset coast needs a tent or if I can bring my hammock & tarp rig along. I will keep on looking &?maybe put a wanted ad up to see what is about

 

[Nonsuch]

SASSKit have a single hoop tent for £37. Maybe worth checking out. Haven't got one myself but their other kit is A1+ as many on this forum will attest. IMHO steer clear of Vango - you will be disappointed.

http://sasskit.co.uk/product.php?id=52

NS

 

[ocean1975]

I have got a vango spectre 200 that is light weight,packs down small and has stood the test in bad weather ie wind and alot of rain lol.Brought it last year for around £60.Would recomend

 

[Neumo]

I am confused now. I keep finding good looking cheap tents & then read mixed or conflicting reviews. I will take my time with this & maybe find a good 2nd hand one. I do want a bivy at some stage so may go that route instead.

 

[Dozza]

SASSKit have a single hoop tent for £37. Maybe worth checking out. Haven't got one myself but their other kit is A1+ as many on this forum will attest. IMHO steer clear of Vango - you will be disappointed.

http://sasskit.co.uk/product.php?id=52

NS

Not seen that one before - I like the look of it...

 

[Fizzy]

I am confused now. I keep finding good looking cheap tents & then read mixed or conflicting reviews. I will take my time with this & maybe find a good 2nd hand one. I do want a bivy at some stage so may go that route instead.

That's always a problem. Not sure where abouts in west Sussex you are, but SK Camping are in South Godstone, just on the A22 and have a fairly wide range of tents already set up so you can go and view them

 

[basha]

The SASS single hoop tent looks very similar to the Gelert Nakina and the Gelert Micron 2 which I have had.
I used them instead of some of my ‘better’ (more expensive) tents especially when I thought they were in danger of getting trashed by other campers/fires etc. The reality was I ended up using them a lot and found them to be excellent value for money.

Being a single hoop design they are really quick to put up and take down. They are very stable even in ‘normal’ windy conditions. I rarely found the need to guy it out as it pegged out so solidly. I think this is a sign of a good design.

My Micron 2 failed in North Wales last year when it fell victim to a massive storm which shifted wind direction and was blowing straight into the side of the tent when I was out for the day. It finally caused a couple of the pole sections to over bend. The tent material did not fail or leak even though it was basically flattened. I intend to replace the damaged pole sections and re-use it.

 

[ged]

SASSKit have a single hoop tent for £37. Maybe worth checking out.

I can recommend this style of tent, I have several cheap and cheerful two, three and four man tents but this is the one I'll take if I have the choice, like last weekend at the Spitewinter meet:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57907

Scroll down to the only picture of a tent, that's mine. I think I paid 35 quid for it at Yeoman Outdoor.

It's very roomy. Because of the six-sided shape of the groundsheet if you sleep in the middle you have loads of room for head and feet. There are doors (with mosquito nets) at each end so you can get very good ventilation if you need it. It's probably a bit heavy for you though. Being a single pole design it won't stay up without pegs like most two-crossing-pole designs but that's a small price to pay for the roominess. I'd seriously consider spending more on an up-market version of this design if I found one.

 

[spiritwalker]

the banshee is bigger than the gelert solo i found the gelert solo tiny and i dont think the coleman bedrock is much bigger. I am 5'11" and have plenty of room in my banshee i even get my pack inside with me and its rock solid in the wind as its very low to the ground. The only negative i have with this tent is that you cant sit up in it but i only use it to kip in really its my hiking tent packs very small and fits easily in a 45l pack with sleeping bag etc

 

[Neumo]

I will have a look at these. I like the look of the SASS kit one & will compare it to the others mentioned here. I saw the coleman bedrock today in a camping shop & it looked OK, but will look around some more. One of the bigger 1 man tents in green that is reasonably light & small would do the job. I have a larger 3 man that I use for car camping but I have been drawn towards a tarp & hammock setup since I started to hang around here.... Thanks for all your suggestions.

I am going to use a tarp & walking-pole/stick combination when I go for a trip at the end of the month for a couple of days on the Dorset coast, so I have decided I am in no hurry to get this now. I will keep looking about & look at lots of tents before I buy one.

 

[drewdunnrespect]

why has no one mentioned the polish lavvu that is about £22 - £25 including postage and is made of canvas and yes addmittedly ways a bit but can sstand up to anything virtually and yes it has no mosi net or ground sheet but thats all over come with a head net and bivi bag

drew

 

[ged]

why has no one mentioned the polish lavvu that is about £22 - £25 including postage

Probably because of the weight and the size and...

Got any good links?

 

[Neumo]

Interesting point about the lavvu, I shall look at those threads again.