Year round easy tenting!

[Visian]

I ruled out some great tents because they required staking out. I can't remember when I last pitched a tent and didn't stake it down, but I find I often do some fine tweaking of the position between pitching and staking to make sure the tent is properly positioned with respect to any slant in the ground. And it seems like there is alway some slant wherever I camp.

i always position my ground cloth and then lay down on it prior to setting up the tent. there is nothing i hate worse than having my head pointing downhill.

but you're right, a free-standing tent is a nice convenience, especially if one is, um, required to move the tent in the middle of the night. damhikt

the Andromedia II tent i posted about above is not free standing but can set up very quickly with three poles and four stakes. technically it should be staked out better, but at least this quick set up gets the big vestibule available quickly to get stuff out of the rain.

[munchy]

+1 on Exped... I recently reviewed the Exped Andromeda II. Expeds are a small click below Hilleberg in terms of overall durability, a click above in flexibility, from what I've seen, there is a difference in price, too. Hillebergs are quite expensive (and worth it).

However, Randy, I would not recommend the Andromeda for you, since the peak height isn't what it needs to be for us old farts. (imo)

The Venus that Marchyman points to is a better option. it's peak height is about 5" higher than the andromeda.

although it's hard to beat the vestibule on the Andromeda.




ian

Damn, that is a nice picture !!

One feature of the Expeds where the inner tent "hangs' from the pole-supported fly is that, if needed, the inner tent can quickly be unclipped from inside, pushed aside (with gear inside) to make some room for spreading out under cover of the fly, such as when there is a steady rain and you just want to get under cover. Leaving your stuff inside when doing this protects it from getting dirty. While not free standing, as Marchyman pointed out, they do seem to go up quickly. Check the many YouTube videos that Exped has done on their tents by searching there for "Exped tent" or similar. They do a good job of showing the features of the various Expeds. Like you, I'm an old fart and this is one reason the Exped Andromeda appeals to me... big vestibule allows for crawling in the vestibule for gettin' dressed without my arse hanging out and gives lots of room for gear, as well. Again, the YouTube videos give you a good idea of the roominess of the Expeds. Pricey, though.

[motorcycletripper]

I love my simple set up MSR hubba hubba! I ride and F800GS and the hubby a HP2enduro. We camp all summer and most of the winter so choosing camping equipment was a serious decision... especially for the amount in rains out here!!!!
We share a MSR hubbahubba tent and couldn't be happier! For starters, the hubby's a fairly large man and I'm pretty tall myself at 5.8. We both sleep comfortably in this ten with room to spare and we can both sit-upright - plus, it has a double vestibule and doors which make it a pleasure to both store our panniers out of the rain and allow us easy entry and exits without stopping all over one another. To top it all off it is only 4lbs 3 oz, which can be made even lighter in the summer if you feel like camping out under the fly alone.
If you get this tent, guaranteed you won't be disappointed we are sure not!

[Polarbear]

Larger dressing rooms or mud rooms(vestibules), we call them, to store the boots and gear you do not want inside your living/sleeping area of the tent are a best sell item for my purposes. The Hilleberg has a very nice mud room. A space like this you can actually be in with your body is neat. A covered front porch. Most vesti's are a simple slant storage area, very limited but still worthy. I'm looking for the bigger enclosed front porch, some here have been mentioned.. Randy

[Rpbump]

Polarbear, Look at Catoma tents and see if the easy setup meets your needs. I bought the largest (a Switchback) as I need the room it offers. At $245 it costs less and offers more room than many of the other tents mentioned in this thread.
Ride Safe