Having been looking around for a lightweight tent for my daughter doing her D of E Bronze.
Best value/weight/space compromise seemed to be this from Halfords, on offer at the moment at £19.99. It has a porch, which is a big plus in inclement weather. It is only single skin, but the advantage of this is a much lighter weight - 2.5 kg - as you are not carrying an inner tent.
It may appear to be in the 'cheap and nasty' category, and I haven't had a chance to see this one in the flesh, but to get anything else near this weight you then make a huge leap in price to the 'serious' tents, so it may be worth a look.
I am less cynical about cheap single skin tents after the one I got at Woolies for £4.99 in a sale (reduced from £9.99!!). It has been dragged on and off beaches as a beach shelter, taken on a two day canoe trek, had very little care taken over it, it goes up in seconds, and kept my daughter dry in torrential thunderstorms on her practice expedition a couple of weeks back. This has lasted far longer than my son's Sunncamp Gemini 4, which we have lovingly cared for, but still had ties fall off, stitching come undone, and poles have bent beyond use nearly every time we have used it - and we paid 10 times that price for it!
we have a g2 trek xt from lightwave, lovely tent, cant go wrong. quite a large porch for storage but are much lighter tents available. they have a 'lifetime guarantee' as well
Are you going to be carrying this tent yourself or sharing the weight with someone else?
My son's Ten Tors training group uses Coleman Boas http://www.tentdeals.co.uk/product.asp?pID=695&cID=1&c=16710 which have really impressed me. Bombproof, 3.2 kilos, designed to be put up be one person in a hurry, will fit three teenagers plus kit, no problem in hideous 4-season conditions on Dartmoor. They've been discontinued a while now, which is a shame but does mean you can pick them up at bargain prices. MT
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thanks for all your replies.As i will be carrying tent i think the terra nova competition looks best as i can carry a bit more food,i suppose every ounce counts.
Is it normal to carry all food with you or do you stop off to do a shop .
ps
I dont expect asda or tescos thinking more like a local shop
jim
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hubby has the north face tadpole - fab tent, quick to erect and weighs just over 2kg, around £250, if you don't mind a little extra weight then the vango tornado is also a good contender at around £160, take a look at the links for info but I think I have seen them both cheaper elsewhere on the net. As you are backpacking you are going to need a quality tent, I wouldn't recommend using a budget tent on this occasion. Also have a look here and here for a selection of other tents suitable for your needs, have used both these online retailers before - excellent service.
Hi Jim, shops on route would be ideal to top up,less to carry initially.If not then I have found you really need to plan your meal menu,I take pasta,cous cous,small packet sauces,tinned tuna,instant mash,even packet soup as a sauce can be quite tasty.Powder milk for tea/coffee etc.Also some of the ready freeze dried type meals are ok but can be expensive.I tend to collect the small sauces,sugar etc that you get in fast food places.You really can pack lightly but you really need to plan.Hope you enjoy your trip................regards
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