I am looking to buy a 3 man tent. It will be used for backpacking but also for some longer stays at campsites of around a week. This means that a porch is essential.
My budget is £100 but if i really liked the tent i might be willing to increase the budget
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How many camels will be carrying the tent ? If it is only you, then most 3 man backpacking tents are a little on the heavy side for extended walking.
For example, Nico13's suggestion is a great tent, but weighs in at 4 kilos, which is a pretty heavy lump to cart around all day, along with all the other stuff you will be carrying.
Try to aim for less than 2.5 kgs per person to carry. Also, think about a 2 man tent if you are on your own. Sticking with Coleman, you could go for the Avoir 2, which is fine for 1 person, and weighs 2.5 kgs. You could push it to the Avoir 3 (reasonable size for 2 people), which is 3 kgs, but this is getting heavy.
If however you really want a tent for 3 people, and 3 people are going to carry it, in my opinion you should be looking at perhaps a 4 man tent that splits down for carrying. Or even two 2 man tents.
Have a think too about the use you will put it to. Will you be camping in the summer on established campsites, or will you be wanting to spend a few nights in Glencoe in February ? If it's the latter, then I think that you need to budget for a bit more than £100. If it's the former, then instead of "proper" backpacking tents, some of the smaller domes and tunnels from family tent ranges will probably fit the bill. But might be difficult to fit into a rucksack or three.
As well as Coleman, you could download the Vango catalogue, and have hours of fun ticking your boxes with their vast range of small family tents and their backpacking tents.
On a hike 3 people will be carrying the tent as most of the time it will on be 1 or 2 nights but i will be using on my own longer stays. The longer stays will always be in summer but the hikes will be spread throughout the year.
I was also looking at the phact x3 as i would prefer this to the phad but was wondering if it was outer first (or preferably in 1).
Another tent i have seen is the quecha t3 ultralight pro and would like your opinion on this
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I've got a Vaude Taurus 2 and I think it's bloody brilliant. It's easy to pitch, relatively light, reasonably roomy and able to withstand fairly harsh weather. I've used mine for wild camping on Dartmoor with my son and unreasonably large labradoodle dog. It was perfect. You can get one for £126 at World of Camping.
I was also thinking about the vango spectre 300. I was just wondering how big the porches at the end are and if i would be able to fit a 70l rucksack in it. If anyone has experiences with this tent it would be helpful.
Post last edited on 25/08/2009 21:49:29
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Topic: 3 man backpacking tent
