Backpacking/ 2 man Tent help.

[Grace.]

hello everyone.
Me and my boyfriend are thinking of purchasing a Backpacking 2 man tent. Our tent at the moment is a Eurohike Cairns 3 man. Its a great tent just is super heavy and is not for the type of camping/walking we are hoping to get into over this summer.

Any suggestions for us? Under 150 would be great.

Thank you. Welcome to all suggestions.

Grace

[surfnscenic]

See this link to a previous discussion on tents. There are others if you use the search option.

http://www.ni-wild.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1716.msg16728#msg16728

I bought a Vango Spectre 300.  Great tent for two with room for kit.  Newest model has two doors.

http://www.vango.co.uk/tents/spectre-300.html  You can get them for around or maybe less than £100

I'll add more details later.

[Grace.]

Thank you.

Shall have a look

[MG1]

I think Redleader is selling a 2man vango, if it s not already gone..

[Grace.]

I did see this. Only thing is me and my boyfriend cant drive yet so it would be hard finding someone to give us a lift up to get it. Sadly. Otherwise I think we would have it

[LandyLiam]

the vaude taurus 2 (2.5kg) would suit you (might get one for £100 on ebay) but you could save a fortune by going for a gelert rocky 2 at 3.6kg (or 3 for extra space but 4.2kg)

vaude taurus:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vaude-Taurus-Person-Tent-Green/dp/B000PPEBG4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1305558589&sr=1-3


rocky tents:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=gelert+rocky&tag=googhydr-21&index=sports&hvadid=6400959006&ref=pd_sl_x5cpbgqw2_b

[Grace.]

Thank you. I like the look Vaude Taurus if I could get it on ebay cheaper that would be great though. When purchasing the cairns we looked at the Gelert rocky. At the moment ours weighs 4.7kg and I think we are just looking for a more backpacking light weight tent. Also I think Oisin wants to go for a more professional tent for his collection if you know what I mean. Will show him the Vaude Taurus though.

Thank you very much for the links and advice

[suspectmonkey]

Definitely think it would be worth trying to find a way to buy RedLeaders Vango Banshee, might be worth sending him a PM?  To be honest if I was going to recommend a tent for 2 person backpacking it would probably be either the Vango Banshee or the Vango Tempest.  2.5kg is grand when split between two people, and the Vango tents are both spacious and really well made.  Add to that RedLeaders has barely been used and is around half price, I'd jump at it

[Grace.]

Yes me and Oisin really like the idea of trying to get up to get the tent though we did come across this North face rock 22 on ebay. Any suggestions on this tent?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NORTH-FACE-ROCK-22-2-PERSON-CAMPING-TENT-HIKING-TENT-/230596421125?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_HikingCamping_Tents_JN&hash=item35b09e2605#ht_1925wt_905

[suspectmonkey]

Personally I haven't used a North Face tent before, but I think Mr. 6 Pack on here has one?  On paper it looks like a good tent, although there is no real weight saving over the Banshee so if it was me I would go for the £50 option   Looks like the North Face might have a bit of a porch though if that's important to you, although I've always thought you could easily use a stick or walking pole to prop the door of a Banshee up and make a nice porch area for cooking etc.  £139 is quite expensive mind you, and I can't help but think you are paying at least £40 for the North Face brand name alone.  For example, after shopping around I was able to buy a Vaude Hogan Ultralight, which weighs in at 1300g, for £100 and it has SilNylon sheets etc.

[Grace.]

Very true about the brand name your really paying for. I put a post up on the tent for sale but he hasn't got back to it so I shall PM him about it.  Only thing is there would be two backpacks :S would they fit in? Im sure we could fix up the tarp someway though to get some more cover I guess. At the moment the tent is really needed for the lightweight issue because we were hoping to maybe travel down south with it and camp so it would be trains and all the rest also because im only 5'2 I really need me backpack to be as light as I can make it compared to  Oisin.

Grace

[RedLeader]

I'm flogging the Vango Banshee 300 which is technically a 3 man tent. The 200 is lighter again at 2kg but tight for 2. Depends on what you're after, two people in a 2 man (light) tent is always a squeeze, as is 3 in a 3 man. However, if it's lightweight you're after sometimes the squeeze is worth it.

Either way, I'd recommend both the Banshee through experience and the Tempest as I've seen Suspectmonkeys plenty and he's always been happy with it. You'll get either in a 2 man brand spanking for <£100 I'd have thought.

[Grace.]

That would probably be even better, Stop Oisin complaining so much I've kicked him in my sleep as much.  Its a great weight for being a 3man though. If we can get it, it will be great -fingers crossed-

[suspectmonkey]

Only thing is there would be two backpacks :S would they fit in?

Best way to split a tent between two is to get a couple of dry bags, like those made by Exped or Alpkit.  You then stuff the outer sheet into one bag, and the inner into another.  One person then carries the outer and pegs, and the other carries the inner and poles.  You don't need to worry about rolling the tent up nice and neat, just stuff it into the dry bag nice and tight.  This is also good as if the outer gets wet it keeps it separate from the inner.

I would say the Banshee 300 is more comparable in size to the Tempest 200.  The Banshee 200 is definitely a much tighter squeeze than the 2-man Tempest, but around 0.5kg lighter.

[Grace.]

That's a good idea. We shall need to invest in a few more dry bags. Though I mean't could two backpacks fit into the little porch? Sorry I worded it wrong.