Hi can anyone give me any suggestions or tips on what kind of 2 man tent to take backpacking. I am hoping to do a long distance walk round Shropshire next spring with my teenage son.(6 nights and 7 days hopefully and approx 18 miles per day). I have looked at the coleman bedrock, it's ideal in weight but looks small. I'm not new to roughing it as have been in army previously and family camping but this will be a new experience on my own and want to keep the weight down as much as possible but keep some level of comfort for my son and I'm not the spring chicken I was. As ex army I'm bias towards softies and snugpacks so will have them along with gortex jackets and plenty bridgdale socks. I'm also looking for a small all in one cooker with a meths burner so any ideas? Also, any advise on backpacks will be good, would be ideal to have a seperate area to carry the sleeping bags and poles. We will hopefully be doing the Jack Mytton Walk so it will be fairly easy terrain and plenty of places to camp and shop so not looking to carry too much and don't want to spend too much.
------------- April- Lower hill cl-much wenlock
May - Llangollen
June-holywell bay
August-any suggestions?
I've just bought a Vango Banshee 3 for myself and my 13 yr old son. Not used it together yet but I camped in it a couple of weekends ago. Found it very spacious plus it is light and well made.
Re rucksacks - I would advise something like 65+10 litre capacity. Gelert and Vango make some reasonable packs. I would look at things like integral raincover, hip belt, chest belt, pockets on the lid, external strapping points (for Karrimat) and, for your son, adjustable back positions so that the pack witll grow with him. Also, most rucksack are not fully waterproof so use rucksack liners(again Gelert or similar) or plastic bags
Don't forget to put your sleeping bag in something waterproof as it's stuff sac will not be (also your karrimat in a bin bag too - no point in having a dry sleeping bag on a wet mat!)
Hi Dave thanks for the great tips I didn't think about getting a rucksack to grow with my lad that's a great idea. Have been looking at the one's you've mentioned and have you any idea why some are for women, are they shaped differently? I was having a mooch on the net tonight and saw a very intriguing tent with no reviews as yet. It's a Wild Country Aspect 2 by Terra Nova and has some good head height.
------------- April- Lower hill cl-much wenlock
May - Llangollen
June-holywell bay
August-any suggestions?
I've been on the look out for a backpacking tent for a while now too and have also been keeping an eye on the Aspect 2. Saw an Aspect 1 in our local outdoors shop and it looked pretty good and a really decent size too. Have also seen the Aspect 2 in its bag so got an idea of size/weight packed. It seemed a bit bigger than some of the others but that was when it was sitting next to some Tera Nova's that were tiny. By the way I think the packed size was longer than the 40cm quoted on some sites but I could be wrong.
There's three on eBay just now with an 8 day listing all finishing at the same time so you might get a bargain. The last two I was looking at on eBay went for £91.79 (plus £5.99 postage) and £72.02 (plus £5.99 postage) but they were at different times and there were no other aspects for sale then. With the market split between 3 tents you could get it cheaper.
What I liked about the Aspect 2 is that you can use the front door as a canopy by using walking poles or by taking additional poles. Would be handy when it was raining. I'm thinking that the Aspect 2 door/canopy would be a bit like this Vaude Ferret door canopy.
I can't offer any advice on tents though sorry. Completely new to this myself. I've gone for a North Face Tadpole 23 but it hasn't arrived yet. Good luck with it though.
I'm a regular backpacker, I hope I can offer you a couple of tips.
The tent you are looking at is only really suitable for 1-2 season use, the hydrostatic head spec (how much rain it will take) is just 1500. For UK use you need at least 3000. I use a Vaude Taurus II, nice and roomy, watertight and under 3kg.
For a rucksack, at 70ltr is ideal, but you must try before you buy. see if the shop will let you put some weight in it and walk up and down stairs to see if it suits, they can aslo help with adjustments. I use a Berghaus C70+10.
For a meths cookery, you'll not beat a trangia, I have one and I find it unburstable.
My luxury item when backpacking is a pair of very lightweight trainers. after a long day, bliss...
My other tips would be, be prepared to smell, I take one set of clothes and a pair of shorts. (plus loads of socks)
Water is mega heavy so don't try to carry any you don't need to, I have a Katadine filter, expensive to buy but priceless on a hot day.
also carry a plastic garden trowel, for burying your poo. (dont forget toilet roll)
there is a website (v-gbackpacking.co.uk) packed with good advice + tips.
Happy trekking, Stu...
Quote: Originally posted by ezee1 on 06/8/2010
Hi Dave thanks for the great tips I didn't think about getting a rucksack to grow with my lad that's a great idea. Have been looking at the one's you've mentioned and have you any idea why some are for women, are they shaped differently? I was having a mooch on the net tonight and saw a very intriguing tent with no reviews as yet. It's a Wild Country Aspect 2 by Terra Nova and has some good head height.
Women's rucksacks are slightly different because of torso length, narrower waist and shoulders, so shoulder straps and hipbelt are positioned appropriately.
Can't advise on tent other than go for good name and quality, something that will stand bad weather not just summer use, preferably with storage for rucksacks and canopy for shelter. Terra Nova and Vango are worth considering.
There are small stoves F1Lite is efficient but gas. Many still go for Trangia.
------------- Mavis
It is easier to smile than frown so share a smile every day
Hi Stu_and-Dawn that's some great advise many thanks for that as I was watching a couple of those wild country tents on ebay at the mo. I got a bargain Trangia off the net so I'm looking forward to using this and the meths is so cheap. I watched a programme the other night about the history of camping and saw a cracking 1 man tent with a pod for your rucksack but can't remember the name at the moment! I've also been looking at a Berghaus 60+10 ladies rucksack so will definately check these out in person as they seem to be the good one's to use. I like the idea about the trainers and the trowel but not so much the smelling lol! Also on that programme was a bit about wild camping which sounds fab but I'm a bit too wary to just camp anywhere in case I come across unfriendly land owners. Do you or anyone else have any experience of this?
Finally thanks to Fotogen on the ladies rucksacks, think this may be a good thing for me to check out when I go looking at them.
------------- April- Lower hill cl-much wenlock
May - Llangollen
June-holywell bay
August-any suggestions?
Hi Eeze. I'm afraid that there's no easy answers to your question for the simple reason that things like back-packs are incredibly subjective and, more often than not, what people use on a regular basis is always deemed to be the best.
So, bearing that in mind...........
I've done backpacking for some decades (and I'm ex-army too!) and can say, without fear of contradiction, that the biggest things are time (to research, try on, test etc) - and expense!
Anyway, in my opinion:-
Tents. I would be tempted to write down exactly what you want from the tent, and then find the tents that fit the criteria, then look at them and then buy! So, do you want a two man which is two man or two man with a bit of room to cook should the weather be really bad? Do you want 3 season, 4 season? How easy is the tent to put up in bad weather? Is it inner first (the inside gets wet when putting it up in the rain), fly sheet first (you get wet/muddy crawling on the ground to attach the inner), both together (almost always costs more)? Do you mind carrying a fraction more weight for ease of use and comfort or do you not care?
I'm afraid that these are all the question you need to answer first: I did what I've just said and ended up with a three man tent (see my review on this site) and have never regretted the choice for a moment.
Stove. I'd be intrigued to know why you specifically want a meths stove (horrible smelly stuff) but, nevertheless, I would seriously recommend a Primus. Multi-fuel, light, robust, idiot proof, totally reliable and from a company that's been making camping stoves for some 70+ years (and have never made a bad one). They are used worldwide and commonly used for expedition work as a result of which spares are readily available (but in 10 years I have never needed any new parts).
Backpack. Women's packs tend to have more padding on the - slightly wider- shoulder straps, more padding on the hip belts and, depending on the quality, slightly reshaped yoke to allow for shoulder shape.
When looking at a pack the rules are wear, wear, wear and wear again. The back length should be adjustable so the shoulder straps follow the line of the shoulders and so the hip belt sits in the right place. If the shop won't let you spend time adjusting the pack and trying/adjusting until it's right for you - go somewhere else!
Once you have it adjusted put weight in it - not a kilo or two but ten, fifteen or more - and see if it is still comfortable. If so . . . . it is obviously the pack for you. Mine? Millet Oddysee 70. Straps on straps for attaching everything and anything and, in my opinion, a great pack.
Sleeping bags etc. Don't much about - buy dry bags for anything that's going on the outside of your pack. They weigh next to nothing but it means that you NEVER have wet kit.
For a backpacking tent, have a look at Vaude's range. I know you are on a budget and Vaude tents are not cheap but they are light, robust, very well made and long-lasting. Start by looking at the Hogan, the Taurus and the Mark II. There are plenty of reviews here on UKCS and elsewhere online including these Vaude reviews
At the more affordable end of the spectrum, Vango offer tents suitable for backpacking.
Whatever you choose, it's worth shopping around online as there are some good discounts to be had and many big stores offer a 'price match' on the lowest price you can find. Check out the UKCS 'for sale' adverts as well, of course.
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Topic: advice for long distance hiking
