Light tent and sleeping bag recommendations.

whyamihere

I'm looking at doing my first mini tour this year, in July/August. I'll be going Birmingham to John o' Groats and back, via Edinburgh both times, with rest days in Edinburgh each way (I intend to do 100-150 miles a day, so rest days will be needed). Other than in Edinburgh, I'd like to be camping each night. I do have a tent and sleeping bag, but the bag's falling to bits, and they're both quite even when packed down. It will only be in the summer, so they don't need to be particularly warm, but as it's a British summer, waterproofing on the tent is obviously a must.
The tent needs to be a 2 man preferably, so that I can put my bike inside without getting *too* cosy with it. In terms of weight and bulk, I'd quite like to have them on the front rack, though obviously if the tent is going to be too bulky it can be swapped to the rear one.
Budget isn't really an issue, as long as they'll last me a good few years.

APIII

Hi,
I've just got myself a pipedream 400 bag from alpkit. I haven't had the chance to test it out yet (off to Oz next week for a couple of weeks camping), but it looks to be a good choice. It's relatively light at 800g, packs down small, and is rated to -3c. I had heard good things about ALPKIT, and having visited their stand at the outdoor exhbition the other week, they seem to know their onions. They're made in the far east of course, but I do prefer to buy from a british company where possible.

ben_davies66

hi i bought a terra nova laser yesterday, really light and packs down really small. have read some good reviews about it so you might want to check it out

whyamihere

APIII wrote:

Hi,
I've just got myself a pipedream 400 bag from alpkit. I haven't had the chance to test it out yet (off to Oz next week for a couple of weeks camping), but it looks to be a good choice. It's relatively light at 800g, packs down small, and is rated to -3c. I had heard good things about ALPKIT, and having visited their stand at the outdoor exhbition the other week, they seem to know their onions. They're made in the far east of course, but I do prefer to buy from a british company where possible.

Thanks for that. Should have mentioned though, due to allergies down filled bags are out. I need a synthetic filled bag really.

stumcmurtrie

Last year I carried a Marmot Atom with me on the Inca Trail. It was very light (595g), comfortable, plenty warm enough and amazingly packs down easily into any small compression sack:
http://marmot.com/spring_2009/equipment/sleeping_bags/ultralight/atom_reg

Bikeradar also has a very brief review of another super-lightweight bag:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/product/mummery-05-sleeping-bag-32351

Have fun![/url]

amaferanga

I have a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 2 man tent. Very light (~1.5kg). Sleeps 2 comfortably, but as with most standard lightweight 2-man tents it's going to be a real squeeze getting a bike in it.

Why does the bike need to be in the tent anway? If you want to keep an eye on it then stick part of it under the porch of the tent and chain it to the tent poles so no-one can make off with it without you knowing about it. This is what I've always done if there's either nowhere to chain the bike to or if I particularly want to keep an eye on my bike.

If the bike absolutely must be in the tent then you might need to either consider a 3 man tent or get a tent with a huge proch (e.g. Vango Spirit 200+), but either way there's a big weight and packed size penalty for no good reason.

amaferanga

As for sleeping bags, there's no need to spend big money to get an ultrlight and small bag. I bought one from decathlon for about £30-£40 that's good down to about +5 (i.e. good enough for spring/summer) and weighs about 600g. By adding a silk liner its good for UK autumn as well.

takeonafrica

I'm looking at lightweight 2-person tents and sleeping bags too at the moment.
Have you considered Cumulus sleeping bags ? These seem to be a very good warmth to weight ratio although I've not tried one myself. The advantage (for me) of these over many other ultralight sleeping bags is they still have a full length zip.

And if you want the bike out of sight under the tent, what about the new Ghisallo ? It may not suit everybody's needs but it's an interesting concept. It's only a one-man tent but includes space under the fly for standing a bike.

Oh. just realised you're after s synthetic bag... the tent's still worth a look though!

tarpaullynn

Are you on a budget? Would help with suggestions for tent and sleeping bag.

whyamihere

tarpaullynn wrote:

Are you on a budget? Would help with suggestions for tent and sleeping bag.

We'll say £150 for the tent and £60 for the bag. They are flexible budgets though, as they'll both probably be getting a lot of use and so I'd like decent quality stuff.

rjh299

http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/Product_Typ ... Green.html
I've currently got this as my front runner for a tent to use for Tours of UK, Ireland and hopefully France eventually. Expensive i know but pretty lightwieght, decent size and should be good quality.
Looking at Vango Ultralite 300 for sleeping bag aswell

crafty

I have one of these..

http://www.tauntonleisure.com/products/ ... imi-2/688/

Packs down enough to sit on your rear rack. 2 man, so plenty of room to move about.

Ed

nun

How about a tent and sleeping quilt for under 2.5lbs. Here's what I use

http://www.tarptent.com/contrail.html

and the Shenandoah quilt

http://www.jacksrbetter.com/Rectangular%20Quilts.htm

There's no need to put your bike in the tent, bikes and tents generally don't mix well anyway.

tarpaullynn

Well you can spend a fortune on a tent, personally I'd go for something like this, good brand name, quality tent, roomy, not to heavy, room inside for you bike if you want.

http://www.outdoorworld.co.uk/vango-spirit-200-tent-2008-p-7.html

More info here

http://www.outdooraction.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_copy_of_copy_of_VANGO_SPIRIT_200__TENT__2008_.html

For a sleeping bag, try this, warm enough and small weight and pack size,

http://www.gelert.com/products/X-treme_Lite_800.aspx

ikenbikeit

Being a bargain hunter, whilst browsing around ADAPT OUTDOORS , A Liverpool shop, I noticed they had a Force ten Nitro 1 person tent for £ 129
Force ten Nitro 2 person tent for £ 149
and the 200+ for £189

Staggering value! The tents dont appear to be on their website but they do mail order . The phone number is 0151 709 6498. Super service in there as well.

thehairs1970

When my wife and I were doing a round the world trip a few years back, we bought a secondhand Macpac Microlight. It is a 1/2 person but we lived in it solidly for over a month plus numerous stuff in between. They are out of your budget new but I found one on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Macpac-Microlght- ... 240%3A1318

Worth a look I'd say.

Martyn

Jay dubbleU

This is my lightweight backpacking tent - falls within your budget and is very well made for the price

http://www.vango.co.uk/products/tentsIn ... id=44&id=1

Try this for a sleeping bag - synthetic, not expensive and warm enough for three seasons

http://www.mountainhardwear.com/en-EU/P ... wAll=False

tardington

You could always have a look on gumtree? Hardly ever anything good, but when there is, you can generally go round and check it out before buying. Also, not sure about fitting the bike in the tent? You do get bike-tents, where the bike is an integral structural element, ie not stealable...

I'm interested in your route - I went to John O'groats, and we left from edinburgh. It was a bit of a guddle, till we got to auchterarder. It was nice there though! Oh, for security, the only place we were worried about the bikes was in Inverness, as we stayed in the huge and unpleasant campsite there. The bike shop in the city centre was great though, they stayed open late to sell us a map!

Are you planning on wild camping and route-planning? or following the Cycle Network route? We did the winter one (up to Tongue, as opposed to the coast road). It was all great really!

Except the first day, when we were supremely hungover.

buddz98

whyamihere wrote:

I'm looking at doing my first mini tour this year, in July/August. I'll be going Birmingham to John o' Groats and back, via Edinburgh both times, with rest days in Edinburgh each way (I intend to do 100-150 miles a day, so rest days will be needed). Other than in Edinburgh, I'd like to be camping each night. I do have a tent and sleeping bag, but the bag's falling to bits, and they're both quite even when packed down. It will only be in the summer, so they don't need to be particularly warm, but as it's a British summer, waterproofing on the tent is obviously a must.
The tent needs to be a 2 man preferably, so that I can put my bike inside without getting *too* cosy with it. In terms of weight and bulk, I'd quite like to have them on the front rack, though obviously if the tent is going to be too bulky it can be swapped to the rear one.
Budget isn't really an issue, as long as they'll last me a good few years.

good idea you made some best solution for here, the tent is one most important to have


_________________
Pop up canopies

Wooliferkins

Sleeping bag Snugpack Softee, love mine in the summer, packs up dead small (16x16cm). My tent is a TerraNova Laser you wont get your bike in it but it's waterproof light and small. The Topeak Bikecamper might be worth a look.

ikenbikeit

Here is a bargain - I'm selling it so I must declare an interest. It's going on ebay if not sold.

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=23951

Chris Swansea

Take a look at the Hilleberg range of tents, superb quality, lightweight and some have a whopping porch - look at the Nallo GT. Pricey but worth every penny IMHO (I have an Akto).

As for sleeping, I have moved to a quilt rather than a bag, I hate being wrapped up tight in a mummy, so they are well worth a look and perfect for summer camping. make your own if you are handy with a sewing machine http://www.rayjardine.com/ray-way/Quilt-Kit/index.htm or if you Google, there are plenty of manufacturers making them.

I have a Rayway and I also split an old Golite bag myself. Took half an hour!