Lidl backpacking tent for £15 for occasional use

[KneesUp]

On my first 2-week tour (Le Havre to Barcelona) I used a ten pound tesco tent and was quite content (no punn!) with it, it only a single skin but luckily no rain so no problem. As you state, for an occasional weekend use it should be fine. Later if you start to tour more, for longer periods then you could soon upgrade.

I had a £9.99 Tesco tent the first time I went to Scotland (not on a bike admittedly, I went in the car on a bit of a whim and picked the tent up because it seemed big enough to sleep in and it was a tenner) It did rain, and the tent was still fine. Very small though - as with all tents it would sleep one less than it said, making it 1-berth. I used it every night for a fortnight - it was really easy to put up and down which made it ideal as I moved on every day, as you possibly would on the bike. Cooking was a pain with no porch, so in the end I just ate cold stuff or went to the pub

 

[Yellow7]

At £10 I obviously had the upmarket version of yours!!

 

[Andy_R]

The Lidl one is single skin, the ones I've seen seem fairly well built but I'd be wary of the cheap fibreglass poles. Read quite a few comments about ranging from it being well ventilated and staying completely dry in heavy rain to people getting soaked by condensation even with all vents open. Also seen people saying that the floor is not as water proof as it might be.

Last time around the tent was graded at 1500mm but this time it is 2000mm so should be waterproof in most conditions. It isn't to bad a size for one person and gear and at 1.5kg is pretty light. Tempted but probably won't buy.

A hydrostatic head of 1000mm is the legal requirement to call a tent waterproof. A 2000mm hydrostatic head will barely cope with an English summer, and as time passes UV radiation will degrade the waterproofing. Expect to get wet.

 

[fluffkitten]

A hydrostatic head of 1000mm is the legal requirement to call a tent waterproof. A 2000mm hydrostatic head will barely cope with an English summer, and as time passes UV radiation will degrade the waterproofing. Expect to get wet.

Agree on the UV, it eats tents soon or later depending on how they're looked after. None of the tents I've had in the last 10 years have had a hydro head of more than 2000mm and none have leaked (except for the cheap Tesco job that leaked through the top vent rather than fabric) despite being used all year round in extremely bad conditions.

That none of them are light weight might contribute to that.

 

[Crackle]

[QUOTE 3016532, member: 45"]I'll give you £45.[/QUOTE]
Is that for the postage? I wouldn't willingly inflict it on anyone.

 

[bigjim]

Personally I'd use any of the tents mentioned rather than a Bivi. I took a £17, 800g, tent from Amazon on my French trip last year. Yes lots of condensation on a dewy night [thats what a cloth is for] but it did not drip on me and the tent did it's job fine. I've got the Lidl tent last year but not used it yet. But it has stood up to gales and torrential rain in the back garden without falling down or letting any water in.
Plenty of double skinned tents suffer from condensation.

 

[Blue Hills]

Personally I'd use any of the tents mentioned rather than a Bivi. I took a £17, 800g, tent from Amazon on my French trip last year. Yes lots of condensation on a dewy night [thats what a cloth is for] but it did not drip on me and the tent did it's job fine. I've got the Lidl tent last year but not used it yet. But it has stood up to gales and torrential rain in the back garden without falling down or letting any water in.
Plenty of double skinned tents suffer from condensation.

I've read your very entertaining blog Jim.

I look forward to reading about your adventures with the Lidl tent.

I don't see the bivi as slumming it to be honest - it's for a certain type of use in certain conditions and locations - if away for any time I'll always have a tent with me as well.

 

[sidevalve]

Having used several single skin tents on m/cycle rallies [trust me they get a LOT of stick] I have never had any problems. It really is horses for courses. Do you intend to tour in bad weather ? Do you intend to live in it if it rains ? Do you intend to do much cooking or do you mean to make the odd brew and eat out ? Poles will break but so will expensive ones if used by a muppet with the mechanical sympathey of a bull elephant.
Just be HONEST with yourself and see what you REALLY want it to do. A quick light nightime shelter in summer - a heavy duty protector in bad weather in which you plan to live for days at a time. One other thing some of the bendy f/glass pole types [yes even expesive ones] can be a pain to erect quickly on your own.

 

[Blue Hills]

It really is horses for courses. Do you intend to tour in bad weather ? Do you intend to live in it if it rains ? Do you intend to do much cooking or do you mean to make the odd brew and eat out ?.

Well you can't always control weather. If it starts raining you haven't much choice to but to "live" in it a bit unless you are on a camspite and can spend a few hours in the toilet block loitering suspiciously. I take your implied point that it would have a use for a simple weekend away, particularly locally, where you had a good forecast. Though this is Britain so even then a full set of motorcycling leathers and a full face helmet might come in handy