Help me find a tent

[calnalu]

thanks for the input on camping! I'm there! Now I need recommendations for a good two-person tent. My perfect tent would be a three season tent that fits a couple people comfortably and has room either in the tent or in an attached vestibule for storage. It's light and easily packable. Sturdy, waterproof, and easy to put up in the dark. Under $200 would be good. Under $150 would be better.

Yeah, I know, why don't I ask for one with a wet bar too?

Recommendations?

Thanks,

Marty

[kbasa]

Marty, I split this off and moved it to Gear so people would look at it and know you were looking.

Personally, we have a Mountain Hardwear. It sleeps 3, which means your gear will fit inside, and it has a big ol' vestibule to keep your muddy, wet, yucky stuff in.

I've seen some very nice Eurekas lately, which are probably a better value.

[RebeccaV]

Last season I bought a 3 person tent from REI. I wanted enough room in my tent so that I could take the side bags off of my bike and have them with me. Two person tents are just WAY too small.

When I was shopping, my priorites were:
Long length
Three person
Lightweight/pack small
Rain fly that came down to the ground
Vestibules

I shopped at REI.com, Campmor.com and Sierratradingpost.com. REI has a nice 'tent finder' feature that lets you compare tents side by side. I ended up buying my tent at REI - it was some sort of closeout deal.

I love my tent including the two vestibules - they are great for stinky riding socks that you don't want in the tent. If I bought again I would buy something with even bigger vestibules.

However, after I bought my tent, I saw a Coleman tent at a rally that I really liked - particularly the huge rain/sun screen overhang thing that the owner was sitting under. Price? $150. It might be discontinued though - I've never seen it for sale.

Here's a picture of my tent from the REI site:

[MarkF]

IMHO is:

The best tent ever made is the Timberline by Eureka. It is an external frame design based on the age old A frame (pup) tent.

It can be had in a small (2 person) and large (4 person) size, in a lightweight, standard and heavy duty fabric and with or without vestibules.

The Boy Scouts of America have used this tent for years and it holds up to teenage kids for weeks at a time. Used and refurb tents are also available often directly from the manufacturer. New tents are also available direct or at a savings from CAMPMOR (http://www.campmor.com/webapp/commerce/command/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=226&prrfnbr=30173074).

MarkF

[basketcase]

Seems I recall seeing several tents advertised over there for sale.

[DarkCloud]

The tent is just a piece of the motorcycle camping puzzle. It all has to fit together.

First, form follows function. I know what is in each system case on the bike. When I go to a rally I have camping bag that I pack in advance, tent, hammer, air matress, a summer and a medium weight bag (use one as a pillow) clothes, etc. The camping bag has to be big enough to hold everthing I need, but not too big. It has a tethering point on each end. I have two Bungie Buddies on each system case. It sets across the seat. I fasten it down a strap on each side. You have to be able to see over it with your mirrors. There will still be room to put your Kermit Chair and cot on top of the system cases against the seat and be able to get in the side cases if you have to without taking the load off.

The tent has to fit inside all of it. Now you have determined how much space the tent can take up you've limited the size of the tent/material and support system. You can go to a good camping store that has the tents set up and the bag they fit in and start narrowing down your tent choices.

Features I like in a tent. Dome tent, you can assemble it in the light and carry it to your campsite if it is dark, fewer pieces, less to loose, no ropes or cords to tie. The perfect tent would be the beer tent. CYA in Spokane JON

[gcsitts]

After many years of tenting, a few tenting rules of thumb:
1. A tent is never too big.
2.The fly is always too small.
3. A "two man tent" is a small one person tent.
4. A 'three man tent" is comfortable for one person as long as it has a fly/vestibule.
5. A "four man tent" is a nice size for a couple if it is used on the road, i.e.: set up one day, packed up the next.
6. A "five man tent" with a fly is just right for a couple at a rally or longer campout.
7. A spare tarp always gets used for something.
8. Netting is good for quietly containing mosquitos until the tenter just dozes off.
9. Larger tents are not significantly harder to set up than smaller tents, they are just heavier and take more packing space.
10. Every tent eventually leaks. That leak will occur just above an occupied down sleeping bag.

[lancew]

Marty,

If you're new to camping there's a VERY complete checklist on the IBMWR site, at IBMWR camping checklist (http://www.micapeak.com/info/mclist.html) . You don't need to worry about all that gear, but it will give you some ideas that you might not have thought of. IBMWR is a great resource in general.

Before you buy a bunch of stuff, try to borrow or rent gear for your first time. There is no better way to learn about what you want than walking around a campground or rally site and seeing the variety of things other people have and talking to them about it. You'll have a better idea of what you want/need when you go buy, or you might just decide camping sucks and never do it again.

It's always better to learn from other people's mistakes. :)

[richc]

Sierra Trading Post (http://www.sierratradingpost.com/) has some great deals on tents. I just replaced my 6 year old (leaking badly) Sierra Designs with a Kelty from them that was less than 1/2 price.
Get two ground cloths sized to the tent you select. One for inside, one outside under the tent. You'll protect the floor and make cleaning easier (fold up the inside one and take it out and shake it off).

[YB in IN]

I have just a cheapie Coleman tent that survived the storms at Charleston while other tents around me had snapped poles and all other manner of things go wrong. Also it kept me dry in the rain at every rally I went to this last summer and fall. Remember that when buying tents bathtub floors are you friend.

[lorazepam]

I got a great deal on a Bass Pro Shops Tent last year. It is a 3 person tent and was well under 100.00. If you dont mind yellow with a small fish on the side, they can have good deals. Cabela's is another hunter/fisherman camping related outlet that has good deals. Check their rainwear as well, you can save big over motorcycle specific labeled products, that are exactly the same. A 3 man tent is the bare minimum I would get for one of 2 people.

[Lee]

I see REI was mentioned. Don't forget to check their outlet section. http://www.rei.com/outerror.html
I purchased my tent there a couple years ago for about half price.
I see there is a coleman on sale, don't know if it is the same one as mentioned above.

[Lee]

The REI outlet address was out of date, try this one.
http://www.rei.com/outlet/index.html?stat=othome

[JimKane]

Take a look at this tent. It is sufficient for me and the wife with our gear.
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/commerce/command/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=12223&prmenbr=226
It is worth a look for $139:clap

[MarkF]

Originally posted by jentine
Take a look at this tent. It is sufficient for me and the wife with our gear. It is worth a look for $139:clap

Or this one Eureka Tetragon 5 Tent (http://www.campmor.com/webapp/commerce/command/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=226&prrfnbr=26041771) On sale for under $60 and still a Eureka. I'm not a big fan of domes but this one with only two poles and clips instead of sleeves makes set-up easy.

MarkF

[The_Veg]

I don't think this will be of any real help but I have had great results from a tent my brother got for christmas in 1981. It was from Sears and is a modified pup-style, with a vertical lower side about a foot high below the slope. This makes the floor space much more useful! It's 4.5 feet tall, about 7 long and 6.5 wide. Bright orange with no fly or vestibule, and it takes about 14 stakes but has lasted all these years through lots of abuse including a terrible tropical downpour on the Gulf coast back in '89. It hasn't seen heavy use but it is machine-washable and is holding up really wonderfully so far. And it packs into an 18-by-six-inch bag. Sure it has downsides but it has performed very well and has yet to let me down. I'm considering a newer model but like in the original question price will be a definite object as I only foresee a slight improvement in service over what I have now.

[MarkF]

Originally posted by The Veg
I have had great results from a tent my brother got for christmas in 1981. It was from Sears and is a modified pup-style, with a vertical lower side about a foot high below the slope. This makes the floor space much more useful! It's 4.5 feet tall, about 7 long and 6.5 wide. Bright orange with no fly or vestibule.

I used to see a lot of these tents at Boy Scout events. Like anything, continuous use by kids will destroy tents before their time. I don't see many now. Perhaps it is no longer available or perhaps the big tents companies, like Eureka and REI, have become very competetively priced. But I'm with you on my appreciation for the A-frame or "pup" tent and those mini walled tents were the best of A-frames. I keep plugging the Timberline just because of it's great external frame. A one of a kind!

Ironically, I just inherited another dome tent which might be my next rally tent. It's smaller than my current dome and larger than my bivy. It is a "like-new" Walmart tent with a floor made out of that woven plastic tarp material. Not light or small but it sure looks dry. We'll see come spring time!

MarkF

[cmcbeth]

One more plug for the Eureka Timberline. I have a couple tents. One of them is the Timberline that my father and I used as we m/c camped across country (see Robert Pirsig's book) in 1980
(!). It is still in good shape and nearly 25 years later I still use it (with liberal waterproofing, of course). Great utilitarian tent!

[bobw]

Originally posted by The Veg
results from a tent my brother got for christmas in 1981. It was from Sears and is a modified pup-style, with a vertical lower side about a foot high below the slope. This makes the floor space much more useful! It's 4.5 feet tall, about 7 long and 6.5 wide. Bright orange with no fly or vestibule, and it takes about 14 stakes but has lasted all these years through lots of abuse including a terrible tropical downpour on the Gulf coast back in '89.

I had one just like this one too.....may still be in the attic. Mine had a rain fly....might just as well not have as it didn't really do a good job. But the tent still got a lot of use for many years. I got mine in 1975 when my wife and I took a trip from Oklahoma to Yellowstone Park. Not on a bike....Triumph TR6 convertible. We camped for 2 or 3 nights and then stayed in a motel one night. We were gone for 2 weeks and had a ball.

[rapz]

I had a Kelty Yellowstone, but the poles snapped in the Big Bend high winds so I got a Sierra Comet w/DAC Featherlite poles which are lighter and stronger than the standard poles and can handle unexpected high winds.:brow

[gcsitts]

I bought a new Mountain Hardware three person tent in December. I set it up in the yard a couple of weeks ago and have slept in it several nights, including one night of strong winds, another of 3" of snow and another where it rained heavily and then froze in the early morning. It got down to about 28 degrees.

Other than double-stakeing it (the ground is wet and soft) and using a ground cloth under it, it was a normal set-up. I was surprised that it held up for a week through all that, staying dry and not leaking or buckling under the snow load.

It did collapse down some under the snow, but a shake from the inside pushed the snow off and it sprang back.

Watching it lean and give when the wind blew I came to appreciate the advantage of its flexible aluminum poles.

I hear concerns with the fibreglass poles breaking. I presume aluminum poles could kink, but could be straightened.

This "three man" tent is just about right for me when I am solo. But I want to find a larger tent for trips where two of us ride. (2 bikes) and stay a few days... like Spokane.

I'm looking for about 6' headroom. From the LL Bean site, it looks like a 6 person family tent fits. But they use fibreglass poles. I haven't found a site that sells a good tent of that size with aluminum poles. Is there a reason for that?

Are there any observations from those who have used larger tents, or comments on the pole materials?

[kbasa]

Did you buy a Skyview 3? Tina and I have had one for about 7 or 8 years now and absolutely love it.

Plenty of room, big ol' vestibule and wind and rainproof construction make it a worthwhile companion.

[gcsitts]

My tent is the MH Light Wedge 3 model. I haven't seen the Skyview model listed recently.

The Light Wedge design has very large screen panels in the sidewalls which I'm hoping will make hot summer nights more enjoyable than the more solid wall models. It's a nice design, but just big enough for me alone. I like to keep a lot of my s.. stuff inside with me, especially when it is wet outside.

I use a Wiggy bag on a Thermarest matress. I was having a problem with the matress slipping around on the nylon tent floor. I cured it by buying a roll of that rubberized kitchen shelf covering material... the kind that is a rubberized mesh. Placed between the matress and the floor, it stopped the slipping. The mesh rolls up right inside the matress. The mesh is only about a foot wide and five feet long but it seems to be enough to do the trick.

I also have a small piece of thin carpet material with rubberized back, about 18" by 24" that I put outside the door within the vestabule area. It made a dry place to kneel while crawling into the tent when it was raining and the ground was wet. Until I added it, my knees were getting wet and muddy every time I went in and out.

[MarkF]

Originally posted by gsitts
Watching it lean and give when the wind blew I came to appreciate the advantage of its flexible aluminum poles.

I hear concerns with the fibreglass poles breaking. I presume aluminum poles could kink, but could be straightened.


Absolutely not! I've had aluminum poles bend and kink. Those that bent could still be used but I've had no luck reshaping them. Those that kink are done for! They no longer will hold weight or shape and if you try to reshape them they break in two.

MarkF

[BMWRider]

Backcountry Equipment (http://www.backcountry-equipment.com/) has great prices. I recently went through the whole camping research process and ended up buying a Sierra Designs Gamma tent from the very good folks there. Even free shipping available. I saved a ton of money and I'm really impressed with the quality of this tent. :clap

http://www.sonomaoutfitters.com/tent_bp_img/sd_gamma_l.jpg

[subvet]

Agree with lancew.....we borrowed some gear from friends last summer after many years of not camping and decided that camping USED to be great.
A fullsize Dodge Quad-cab makes a great tent if the seats recline!!

[gcsitts]

.... and there's still room in the back to carry that HD around the country.

[The_Veg]

Okay, just for the fans of cheep ol' tents, here's the one I was talking about, seen at the 2001 Jailbreak In The Clouds in Queen Wilhelmina State Park along the TSD in Arkansas. My former bike The Brick is in the foreground.

[ian408]

Hey Veg, I had one of those things. But I upgrade some
years ago to a North Face Firefly.

Regardless of what tent you decide on, make sure you pitch
it in the store and that it has a nice TIGHT pitch to it. When
you're satisfied with the tent, take it home and seal the seams.
This helps keep the water out. If the tent you decide on has a
"footprint" or something to help protect the bottom, it's worth
owning.

Chances are good you'll want something more than the cheap
stakes that come with most tents. Some extra cord is also
usefull for the odd times (ie;most) you can't seem to get the
pitch just right :)

Ian

[BradfordBenn]

Have you also taken a look at the stuff in the MOA website?
http://www.bmwmoa.org/camping/tents.htm
http://www.bmwmoa.org/camping/index.htm
http://www.bmwmoa.org/camping/basics.htm
and on and on....

[kbasa]

Word of advice re: ground cloths and footprints under the tent.

They should never extend beyond the edge of the bottom of the tent. Not one little bit. They'll catch rainwater and funnel it right under the tent.

[The_Veg]

Yeah Dave, my brother and I learned that the hard way with the orange tent in the picture back in '89. We were camping on an RV site in an Alabama state park on the Gulf Coast and woke very early one morning to the sensation of soaked sleeping bags. We'd allowed some of our tarp to protrude past the door-end as a sort of 'front porch' on which to remove our shoes. This didn't merely *funnel* the water, it ran it like an Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi River project under the poor little tent! We got up and made a quick run for my car, which at the time was a beat-up '77 Monte Carlo. I mention this because we were still wanting sleep and there ain't room to do anything but sit upright in that car, despite its huge exteriour.
My brother hasn't slept in a tent since.

[Equimedic]

Here's a great tent that you can set up in less than a minute: http://www.apachetents.com/index.cfm

Their website has a video of it being set up. They have a sale going on right now. I'm happy with mine.

Jerry