neildon Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Im off on the Mac 4x4 in March and i have a tent but its one for me and my girls when they want to camp in the field with their horses so its not a quick up and down job. Obviously oztent seems to be the weapon of choice for a 30 second tent but the price tag is prohibitive. Any suggestions on fast 2 man tents??? Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Depends what you want The Oz-Tent is a fallacy. Yes it's up in 30 seconds. WITH ALL THE GEAR IN ? I think not. For us thev hardest part if filling and emptying the tent...... Have you a Go Outdoors near you ? They have some sensably priced nylon pop up tents for two, three, four and five people. If you go pop-up maike sure you can peg the bit at the front and back down, otherwise you'll get a draught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neildon Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 nearest to me is Coventry but Ive purchased from them before both instore and online and to be honest when Ive purchased on line ive always been happy with the purchase. was just looking at a Gelart popup tent Thanks very much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M&S Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Any simple dome tent would do the job. Usually 2 poles, maybe a third for the porch. Takes very little effort/time to put up and probably less time to pack away than a pop-up If you want a throw-away tent then a Geler/Hi-gear pop-up would see you through a few nights if the weather isn't too bd. Just pray it doesn't rain much because it will leak! You haven't stated a budget, but if it's just for the odd weekend every so often on campsites/showgrounds etc then I'd go for one of these (or similar, just use Go as an example): http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/tents/vango-zetes-300/CORETSEBZETES30 http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/tents/vango-delta-300-tent/CORETSEADELTA30 Vango tend to give good performance for your money - at the lower end of the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardAllen Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Vango do pop-ups now, though there new website makes them harder to find than their old one . . . I've had a small traditional Vango since 1983 - bomb-proof. Got a family one last year - cannot fault it. Very interested in whether one of their pop-up's can sensibly be put on a roof rack. Vango are my preferred choice for tents, (no connection other than as a ciustomer). Regards Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neildon Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 maybe i should just use mine then....its similar to those, a bit bigger as its a 4 person 2 compartment but with a bit of practice it should go up quicker than it does. Thanks for your help. Neil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I can recommend Kyham quick erect tents - we have a small one, and a somewhat larger one. They are not the cheapest, but they are not at the oztent level either. hth Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neildon Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 those kyham tents look good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Should probably mention though, that they are generally bulkier than an equivalent conventional dome tent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappers606 Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I've got a Quicha(?) 3 man pop-up tent - the XL version as it has a small porch area on the front as well. It is great. It was about £60-70 if I remember correctly, but the longest part of setting it up is taking it out of the bag. 4 pegs and its in place through rain, wind, ice the lot. Does take a bit of practice to put away again though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon119 Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I can highly recomend the vango hurrricane range, either the 200 or the 300. I'm the quatermaster for my local scout group and we have 6 of each. They don't take long to put up, you can leave the inner and outer attached so no crawling about on hands and knees in the dark trying to find the little fixings. The 200 will comftably sleep 2 adults (300, 3 adults) and there is a decent size porch to leave wet muddy gear in. The scouts haven't managed to break one yet and i've lost count of how many times they have been out which is saying something for their build quality!! Not the cheapest tent available but well worth the money in my opinion, if well looked after will last you a lifetime. TENT HTH Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M&S Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 The Oz-Tent is a fallacy. Yes it's up in 30 seconds. WITH ALL THE GEAR IN ? I think not. That would be called a caravan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 That would be called a caravan Martin.The hardest job is not putting the tent up. A Greensport Caprivi by the way, heavy canvas as well,The hard part is getting the gear off the roof or out of the Defender and getting it into the tent. I made a bet some time ago that Margaret and myself could pitch out tent and have the gear inside in not much longer time than somebody with a pop-up or Oztent.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I've done the dome tent thing, then I tried the Gelert pop-up ones and they are pretty good, but the poles are weak and once one starts to go the thing loses its "pop". I now have a Khyam one and am very happy, I really couldn't be doing with a "normal" tent now faffing about in the rain & dark trying to put poles in holes etc. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 The hike tents we use with the scouts are 'Vaude's they are great very quick to put up. not sure on how much they are though. Also scout proof! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Another recommendation for the Khyam range. We have a large 5-man one and it's so simple to deal with, although very bulky. I also have a 3-man Coleman tent that I bought some 8 or 9 years ago. It's been used in all weathers and apart from a bit of seam sealant (like 2" length) on the back and a fresh coat of waterproofer on the groundsheet, it's been faultless. In my experience, you can pay as little as you like for a tent and it will work for a while, but then the zips start going and the seams start leaking. I have previously left tents in wheelie bins at campsites having woken up with wet bags/airbed etc etc... Definitely another case of 'you get what you pay for' and if you are on the Mac, the last thing you want is to be worrying if your tent will last the night. There's more to life... On the other hand, I would have no issues with popping into Argos to buy a cheap one if I could guarantee that the weather was going to be good and I'm unlikely to use it again, which might be your situation... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark90 Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 The hike tents we use with the scouts are 'Vaude's they are great very quick to put up. Another vote for them, if they are the models with the shock cording that clips around the poles to save the bother of threading them through then they are very quick and easy to put up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunter Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Last years Mac 4x4 involved one night's camping in a campsite with plenty of time to erect dismantle etc. The second night, most booked into a hotel, a few camped or snatched some sleep in their vehicles. It was all pretty tame really. Nothing hard core! For contingency you could each take a campbed and a bivvy bag. Mind you it's early March so the snow could come back! I used a rooftent and arranged for the hotel barman to fill a couple of hot water bottles Warm as toast! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Another vote for them, if they are the models with the shock cording that clips around the poles to save the bother of threading them through then they are very quick and easy to put up. best tents i've used Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redneck Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I've had a Vaude two man tent for years, and used it in some pretty bad conditions in the Welsh mountains, Dartmoor, Alps etc and never had problem. Very quick and easy to put up as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bristol Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Being a cheap skate I have endured far more camping than is probably good for a persons health/sanity using a range of tents from a cheap £20 tent from argos which is now about 20 years old, to a 1950 American Army tent, both of which I can now erect in under 5 minutes on a good day. I reckon its just a case of being familiar with the operation you are about to undertake, once you've done it a few times you get to know how to put it up and whats likely to go wrong (meaning you can then avoid it going wrong hopefully). So thats my long winded way of saying its as important to have put up/taken down the tent a few times as it is how much the tent cost/who made it xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbocharger Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I agree with Mike and Matt - the time to having a usable tent is much more to do with your familiarity with the equipment than the design, and the pop-up tents are weaker to boot. I looked at tents for 2 weeks around Europe and took two identical £10 tents from Asda. Certainly not the best for typhoons, Iceland or the rainy season, but up in less than 5 mins each night and one's never been out of the bag, just carried as a spare. You won't truly appreciate good design until you've had to use the poles and pockets, and checked that you can get it back into the bag! If you're looking to buy long-term, why not see if anyone on here will lend you a recommended tent for a weekend? You're welcome to borrow one of mine Well done everyone for getting this far without any "getting it up" jokes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neildon Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 All advice and help has been truly appreciated. Seemed a simple question and almost didnt ask as it seemed a bit trivial but thank you all. Going to stick with the one I have for now and see how it goes....more practice and it will be easy!! Neil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 As has been said its familiarity of how to get put it up. A big scout patrol tent can be put up in 10 mins by two/three people who know exactly what they're going. And the Vaude's i've had up in less than 2 minutes! Practise with what you have, will make a world of difference to when you have to put it up when chucking down with rain!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Twig Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Survived a Force 8 in a 4 man Khyam job - wouldnt buy anything else after that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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