Dipping my toe into this cycle-camping malarky

[Cathryn]

Last night, I thought I'd give this cycle-camping-touring-bikepacking malarky a go. My boys are away so it was just me. I packed up my tourer, cycled 6 miles to a nearby campsite and camped there. This morning, I packed up, cycled 6 miles into Devizes, got breakfast and then went to church! My friend gave me a lift home!

This was the first time I've camped with a bike and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd planned to take our little 3 man tent but it turns out that IT'S ENOROUS IF YOU TRY TO PUT IT ON A BIKE, so I ended up taking the Tesco beach shelter that has served as my reading corner in my classroom for a year. (I found two pompoms and a paintbrush inside). It worked perfectly (no rain, no wind) although I appreciate it's not a long-term solution.

Other learnings
- my sleeping mat is so useless it's not worth the weight.
- my new front light is pretty cool
- the whole thing was a lot of fun.

So NOW...the question is...do I invest in a bikepacking tent. Two person tent or three? My husband is unlikely to be persuaded to camp AND cycle. He likes both very much separately. Which one, that doesn't break the bank.

Any small, light, 2-person tents recommended?

 

[Hebe]

No real experience or help, but how exciting! I keep thinking about doing this as there's a small site close to us. We definitely don't have small enough tents though, unless I bought a trailer or dropped it off in the car first, which seems to miss the whole point... I'd probably start by looking at Alpkit, the stuff we have had from there has been really good.
Where did you go for breakfast?

 

[Oldhippy]

Go outdoors have a decent selection of good priced tents. I am going to experiment with a teepee tent that me and my bikfit in and doesn't weigh a ton.

 

[Cathryn]

No real experience or help, but how exciting! I keep thinking about doing this as there's a small site close to us. We definitely don't have small enough tents though, unless I bought a trailer or dropped it off in the car first, which seems to miss the whole point... I'd probably start by looking at Alpkit, the stuff we have had from there has been really good.
Where did you go for breakfast?

Brogan’s in Devizes. Was fine but not fantastic!

We should do this together!! If we borrowed little tents we could do an overnighter!

 

[Elybazza61]

Have a look at the Alpkit ones and a two person one will give a bit more room for the kit.

We used my old Vango two person up in Norfolk and there was enough room for the two of us and our stuff(we did travel very light=no cooking equipment).

Tent with other half's unloaded Cotic;

My Stayer loaded up.
Tent in Tailfinn pack, poles in frame bag,sleeping mats on fork legs,plus clothes etc in bar bag; other half's Cotic had sleeping bags and more clothes in two small Ortlieb bags and other stuff in a bar bag.

Would probably get a tent that packs a bit smaller than the Vango.

 

[chris667]

It depends what you want from your camping.

How long will you be out? How far from home? What sort of weather?

If you're planning on only touring in this sort of weather and only a few miles from home, you don't need much of a tent - you can always ride home and pretend it never happened. I have even toured without a tent and slept with a bivvy bag. If you're going to do lots of touring, it's worth spending on a good one.

The last tent I bought new was a Saunders, so I am well out of date. Others can advise on brands. But I don't think you need to spend so much. I had a Proaction which was about £20 if I remember - I got way more than £20 of adventures from it!

 

[Cathryn]

Have a look at the Alpkit ones and a two person one will give a bit more room for the kit.

We used my old Vango two person up in Norfolk and there was enough room for the two of us and our stuff(we did travel very light=no cooking equipment).

Tent with other half's unloaded Cotic;

View attachment 659018


My Stayer loaded up.
Tent in Tailfinn pack, poles in frame bag,sleeping mats on fork legs,plus clothes etc in bar bag; other half's Cotic had sleeping bags and more clothes in two small Ortlieb bags and other stuff in a bar bag.

View attachment 659019

Would probably get a tent that packs a bit smaller than the Vango.

Thanks. The packing detail is really helpful.

 

[Cathryn]

It depends what you want from your camping.

How long will you be out? How far from home? What sort of weather?

If you're planning on only touring in this sort of weather and only a few miles from home, you don't need much of a tent. I have even toured without a tent and slept with a bivvy bag. If you're going to do lots, it's worth spending on a good one.

The last tent I bought new was a Saunders, so I am well out of date. Others can advise on brands.

I'm not gnarly, so it would be April-October and prob in campsites. Bivvy bags are not for me, alas.

 

[chris667]

I'm not gnarly, so it would be April-October and prob in campsites. Bivvy bags are not for me, alas.

Nor me! Things I put up with back then wouldn't work for me now.

My last cycling holiday was in a static caravan in Lincolnshire. Magic. And I could sleep in a proper bed and use a proper toilet.

 

[Cycleops]

We need pics @Cathryn !

 

[MichaelW2]

I use a high end Hilleberg Akto which is good in scary high winds. I started out with a Gelhert solo, v cheap, sufficient for summer and kept me dry in heavy overnight rain. Customer service was top notch when a pole snapped. I did 3 Euro tours with it.

Really my first camping tour was with a tarp ( army basha) , wild camping on the Suffolk coast.
Dome tents that are self supporting are good when you dont have firm ground.
For mats, a 3/4 inflatable is OK but also a sit pad of closed cell foam.
For a bag, again I started cheap for summer and upgraded to better stuff for a long 3 season tour. I still use the small cheap bag in summer.

 

[Jameshow]

https://www.nevisport.com/vango-sou..._BwE#color_code=Treetops&size_legacy=One+Size

Locked at this recently almost pressed buy but went travel lodge instead.

My daughter has the bigger one and has been great for guiding. Not sure I'd want it up Ben Nevis but low level stuff it's fine.

Smaller one should be stiffer too.

Also look at this

https://www.aldi.co.uk/adventuridge...yuWz1_6F1kIwmQHH-hhoCnSgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[chriswoody]

When considering a tent also think about the space you need for your kit and how much you can tolerate. So what I mean is, a two person tent can be nice and cosy for one, plenty of space around you to get changed and to stash your kit. This can easily feel far too small though when you get a second body in there, everyone differs though in how small is too small. Think about height as well, trying to get dressed or undressed from wet clothes, when you can't even sit up straight, is no fun at all.

Think about how the tent goes up as well, many folk prefer to have an outer first construction, so if it's raining, the inner stays dry. Personally I find them to much of a faff and much prefer an inner first construction. I've spent hundreds of nights under canvas and can't remember ever having an issue with rain. Simple construction is also good, the last thing you need when cold, wet and tired is a complex tent to put up, no matter how well practiced you are before hand. Pole section length is another possible consideration, tent fabrics can be folded down and stuffed into any nook and cranny on your bike, no matter how you carry you're kit. Tent poles though only fold down to a predetermined length and dependant on how long that is, it can potentially be a pain to stash on your bike.

As others have said, you really can't go too wrong with Alpkit tents, they have premium tent features at bargain prices. I have an Alpkit Soloist, a lovely built tent and a third of the price of comparably specced tents. The only issue is the door design is pretty poor, but I can live with that for the price. Go too cheap with a tent and you end up with features like glass fibre poles that are heavy and prone to snapping when you least need it and they tend to be heavy unwieldy things.

My Alpkit Soloist, which retails for about 120 pounds, admittedly it is a one person tent, but it just helps illustrate the quality you get for your money.

 

[numbnuts]

My one man tent

 

[MichaelW2]

My cheap Gelhert goes up inner first the outer. The Akto goes up both together which is nice in wet rain storm. I have never separated the inner from outer except for drying before storage.
Hoop tents like Akto can be tensioned for more height. The Gelherts main drawback was lack of height.