Needs to be cheap (under £50) and very light for DofE I want a 4 man so that there is room for all the bags with three sleeping. SIG a necccesity but being able to errect the outer before the inner is preferable. For use in exmoor.
Thanks
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Spike, if you're going to be doing DofE backpacking with this tent then you should really think about getting the smallest tent possible. 3 person size maximum for three people, maybe even a generously sized two person one. You're only going to be sleeping in it!
If you can up your budget then I'd suggest you look at something like a Coleman Phad 3 for just under a £100 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coleman-Phad-X3-Family-Tent/dp/B000PEN1VG . If you're going out into moorland conditions you won't want a tent any heavier or less robust than that I think. MT
------------- Tackling life the Western District way
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I have the Phad X3 that I use for backpacking and it's a cracking tent. Depending on the size of you guys then it may be a bit cramped for 3 plus gear but it may be worth putting up with as it's a long term investment on a good tent.
------------- CamperPete
Never be afraid to try something new, remember.... Amateurs built the 'Ark'... but Professionals built the 'Titanic' !!!
Hi Pete, glad to hear you endorsing the Phad from first hand usage. I am only going on my son's Ten Tors (Dartmoor) hiking over the last few years. Three big seventeen/eighteen year old lads with 55 litre rucksacks and walking boots to match. Their tent of choice was a two-person Coleman Boa! They also had the option of using the Vaude Mk 2 which is a three person tent and so marginally more spacious but also marginally heavier, and the Boa won virtually every time. Apparently if you've been backpacking across the moor all day you don't care how snug the tent is so long as you get to lie down. I took their word for it. MT
------------- Tackling life the Western District way
I reckon it's worth looking at this: the Coleman Adrenaline 3 at £59.99. It's a three man tent, not a four man, but there is room to stow some gear in the storage areas. It's a four season tent with lightweight, but strong, aluminium poles, and weighs in at 4.9kg, but it can be split and carried in two bags (supplied).
I had one and it is easy enough to pitch, poles and sleeves are colour-coded, and it is a good space (though irregular). Only sold it because I am getting too creaky so never used it, and we only do family camping nowadays.
When I did my DofE (also did my Silver expedition on Exmoor) we crammed 3 of us into a 3-man low tunnel affair wit the tiniest of porches. Over the three nights we took it in turns to sleep in the middle so at least one of us got a good night's sleep with warmth on both sides.
Anyway, what I was going to say is that the rucksacks went under our feet or heads and then the teeny porch housed boots and trangias overnight. You really want to be carrying the lightest equipment you can and save weight-space for food!
in that context I like the look of the Vango Tempest 300.
Na got to be a 4man otherwise the other two will wake up each morning grumpier than anything. I am not too bothered about myself as i can live fine on 4hours sleep for 5days or no sleep for two and a half.
Quote: Originally posted by spike1 on 23/2/2008
Na got to be a 4man otherwise the other two will wake up each morning grumpier than anything. .....
Perhaps your DofE leader(s) can offer you some advice about balancing the need for a good nights sleep against the need for a manageable pack weight to be carried during the day?
Many backpackers get to the point of even cutting the handle off their toothbrush to save weight - I kid you not! - so it would probably pay to think carefully before adding on a couple of kilos for, basically, an overnight shelter to crash out in when you're exhausted. MT
------------- Tackling life the Western District way
Hmm. I learnt alot from the Bronze DofE and wash kits will be missed out this time and I alot more consideration will go into the food i take too.
As for a tent I have got a florida B, i carnt find one online but its a 4 man with a very large porch its more like a second room with a ground sheet and a window. The bedroom part has a SIG. Once split up each person will cary about 2kg. Thanks for your advice though.
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Topic: 4 man required
