Tent advice for newbie

[marra33]

nice one cheers barney ;-), think I even got that little hint !!, ha ha you teach my missus to be a little more subtle like that !!!!

the banshee you have, does it have the 2 opening doors, do I need the one with 2 doors, I like the thought of the 2 doors, then I can brew up in bed, but do I loose any storage space for access ??
whats it like in the wind also, as the tops of the fells get a mite breezy, thinking of stability and noise from flapping around, or can you peg out extreme ??
thanks for the info so far chaps, invaluable....need to get this sorted before payday on friday...ha ha, my lad WILL be so jealous when I get the PERFECT tent

 

[Barney Rubble]

Ha ha no worries Marra, yep my banshee has two doors, it doesn't reduce space inside. There'll be tons of room for you and the dog. Only thing is one of the doors doesn't have much of a porch space, there is a porch area on the main opening though.

To be honest; I've not had an opportunity to use mine in the hills but would not think twice about bringing it on a hill camp as it is pretty solid when pitched. And like you said it's a nice low profile. There's a few vids on youtube where folk have used this tent in the hills and had no bother. I've used it in wet and windy weather and been very comfortable indeed.

 

[caorach]

I think two doors can be handy but not necessary. In the end if you are going wild camping then you have to compromise somewhere so I wouldn't get too hung up over doors. Where it works best is when I put the tent up the wrong way around and find that the door I had intended using opens out into a 3 foot deep bog pool. I then use the other door, until I get up for a pee in the middle of the night and forget of course

Although the Banshee isn't trendy it is a sort of "standard" and you'll not go wrong with one. I think their quality control isn't great and I had to send one back due to some bits missing but the upside is that the price is very reasonable indeed and it is a generally robust, sensible and practical tent. In terms of surviving wind on the tops then this is sort of a matter of common sense. I spend a lot of time in the Hebrides and over the last few weeks we've had gusts tp 133mph, nothing survives this. It is simply a matter of using your brain and picking your days and locations to suit the gear you've got, the Banshee will have limits but so will every other tent and you just have to work with them.

This is mine in action:

 

[marra33]

yeah thanks for the info, regarding the two door thing, its just a case of, if the wind changes direction in the night, so I can pop the door open to do what one needs to do after a brew to many at night, without having to climb round, into the wind etc, so for that reason I would probably prefer the 2 door, that said, if a one door came in at the right time, and right place, and was much cheaper, then that would do it as well, obviously checking the weather before setting out is an essential part of it anywyas, no point going out, if its hurricane winds, and your going to be stuck in a tent all day, negates the point of being out on the hills, mainly Im thinking of shelter in the porch, cooking....sitting, keepng the dog calm...ish !!!!, and just enjoying the morning views.
but yeah, I am coming round to the banshee, plus its a sensible colour, which I like, but I do also like the cobra....damn it ha ha
ps, cracking looking photos !!!!
cant wait to get home this week and get back out there !!!

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Personally I wouldn't worry too much about number of doors. To me the most important thing in a tent after it's weatherproofness is that it pitches outer first, or inner & outer together. This way you can get the tent up without the inner getting completely soaked.

How tent designers can keep making tents that pitch inner first I'll never work out. Bloomin' stupid design IMHO.

Dunno what the banshee is like in terms of pitching order, but thought you should be aware of it. Do consider the Luxe Hex peak as well.

J

 

[marra33]

I did check the lux hex peak out on google, and I do like the look of it, it of looks a bit like the tarp tent, I also found a chinese similar version for about a third of the price, but I cannot find any lux hex peaks in my favorite hunting ground that is thE bay, also they dont appear to be to many second hand ones kicking about, or any on special offer anywhere, that I can see anyways.
to date, I'm thinking the banshee is just pipping the competition, also it has a 5 meter water column, which I do really really like, not that I intend to be out in that much, but hey, its always nice to know you have a safety factor for the sudden unexpected downpours, if anyone see's any of the lux hex peaks going for a good price, feel free to drop me a line, or post here......

 

[marra33]

hmmm, I'm thinking maybe a re-take on the lux hex peak, just watched a couple of youtube reviews, I think I like it a lot, damn it, thats that then, its a straight race between that and the banshee, I think, and thats that, less than a week to go, and I'm fairly sure it has now been narrowed down to the two, I was tempted by the berghaus earlier, but I dont want the red one, and I'm not paying an extra 50 for it in green, so I think its the banshee or lux hex

 

[Nohoval_Turrets]

Another vote for the Luxe here. I have the GoLite Shangri-La 3, the tent the Luxe is the "tribute act" of - it's basically identical. It's a very nice place to be - very roomy and light. Lots of room to sit up and move about.

The only downside is that the zipper for the door can be a long way away in the morning, and you can't always have the door open in rain - because of the slope it just rains right into the tent. Other than that, it's superb.

 

[caorach]

Dunno what the banshee is like in terms of pitching order, but thought you should be aware of it.

First time you put it up (on the living room floor in my case) you join the inner to the outer and after that it goes up "all in one." This makes pitching very fast and simple plus keeps the inner dry.

 

[Trig]

If the price is a problem, the luxe mini peak is about £20-30 cheaper than the hex peak. Still about £130 new however.

The mini peak is also a 2 door design instead of the hex's one door.

 

[petrochemicals]

How aboult this, from vango, similar to the banchee, 2.5kg lots of room
http://www.vango.co.uk/gb/duke-of-edinburgh-recommended/1174-helix-300-k.html.

Anyone tried it ?

 

[marra33]

yeah, I was looking a few different vango tents, I quite like the tempest too, and there is one on the bay that Im watching just now

 

[pedrodog66]

I'll second the Vango Banshee here but the 300 version, not much more money or weight, iirc, but a bit more room for you, the dug and your gear. Don't rule it out as being 'too' big as you never know when you might get another dug, or partner or whatever. Ready made to accomodate them. Used this when I did the West Highland Way with my daughter and it was well roomy enough for us and our gear.

 

[marra33]

All sorted got the tempest in the end !! Ha ha, not quite the banshee that I was looking at, but after reading the reviews, and after having a tunnel tent in the past, decided to play it safe, plus I got it for a pretty good price, so happy with that, now I just need to get home, and get some nice weather to go out there and test the bugger

 

[marra33]

All sorted got the tempest in the end !! Ha ha, not quite the banshee that I was looking at, but after reading the reviews, and after having a tunnel tent in the past, decided to play it safe, plus I got it for a pretty good price, so happy with that, now I just need to get home, and get some nice weather to go out there and test the bugger

 

[Trig]

Had one of those too. Is a good tent, plenty of room inside, and nice big porch also. Only reason i got rid of was due to weight, or id still be using it.
Hope you enjoy

 

[marra33]

Hoping the tent turns up tomorrow, got some aluminium lightweight pegs ordered too, then wouldn't you just know it, I go and see a review for the mil tec recon one tent, in flecktarn camo damn I like the look of it, and it has some cracking reviews, tempted to get this for my youngest son, who has also decided that he might want to join me for a few camps ha ha typical, ah well, as a guy once said, you can't have enough tents