Lightweight but spacious tent?

[Fandango]

If i had the extra £250-350 to spare when i bought my omega 250 i would probably have gone for the terra nova laser space 2 purely because your able to stand to dress. but would only save 1kg ?

question of priorities i guess , if i was still in my teens i would maybe just make do with a survival blanket an a tarp.

= A lightweight Terra Nova Laser space 2 is 6ft tall with large porch area, maybe a little pricey but an excellent tent.

If I was in my teens I'd be having sex all weekend so wouldn't be cycling around the country

However, being an old fart, that tent looks awesome! It's a bit heavier than I would like, but still 2KG lighter than my current one, and spacious in width and porch too. It is a bit ouchy on the price, but unless anyone can come up with a similar one I think I may have to bite the bullet. Thanks for finding it!

Brommyboy, thanks for the link, they have quite a lot of interesting stuff about saving weight, a good read.

 

[HelenD123]

You can get a substantial discount if you look around. The best price I found for my Terra Nova tent was from Uttings Outdoors and the service was great.

 

[Wardy]

It's nearly time to break out the tent for this years continuation of my round the UK tour, but the hills of Yorkshire nearly killed me last year, so I have decided to try and drastically reduce the weight I carry. Any half decent hill and I am walking with the 35KG I usually lug around, OK I like a piece of toast in the morning :-)

Nothing wrong with a bit of a walk at times Fan, as long as it's not for too long. Have you got some good low gears on your bike? Mark you, I find that if I'm down to the two lowest gears on my bike I'm just as fast walking anyway!

 

[Fandango]

Nothing wrong with a bit of a walk at times Fan, as long as it's not for too long. Have you got some good low gears on your bike? Mark you, I find that if I'm down to the two lowest gears on my bike I'm just as fast walking anyway!

I have a Ridgeback Panorama which is lovely and has lots of gears, but the combination of my 18 stone fat ass and 35KG of luggage was a bit too much last year. I can go up hills without any bags, so I want to get as near to that feeling as possible. The Laser space 2 is probably my perfect tent, I just wish it wasn't £340!

 

[Wardy]

I have a Ridgeback Panorama which is lovely and has lots of gears,...

I'm green with envy! Think it's a great bike. Still have my old Saunders Backpacker 2 tent of 70's ilk, but like you, comfort issues are starting to creep in! Lack of headroom is annoying as is navigating past the front pole and even though it's a two-person tent, dressing and undressing is a faff. I must say that weight now takes second place to comfort and (dare I say it) I've even found myself wondering if I still want to camp.

 

[Fandango]

I'm green with envy! Think it's a great bike. Still have my old Saunders Backpacker 2 tent of 70's ilk, but like you, comfort issues are starting to creep in! Lack of headroom is annoying as is navigating past the front pole and even though it's a two-person tent, dressing and undressing is a faff. I must say that weight now takes second place to comfort and (dare I say it) I've even found myself wondering if I still want to camp.

I am very happy with the bike, it is lovely, doesn't cycle up the hills for me though

I have been wondering about the B&B option myself, but a lot of B&B's charge a fortune these days. I don't want a "boutique" experience, I just want a bed and a toilet for £20-30 which is hard to find. The other problem is that you have to prebook accommodation and I am never sure quite how far I will get in a day. I would get a bit bored having to stop at lunchtime because I had a good morning and there was still another 30 miles in my legs. I might try it though, just to see what touring with a couple of shirts and a pair of pants is like

 

[Wardy]

I am very happy with the bike, it is lovely, doesn't cycle up the hills for me though

I have been wondering about the B&B option myself, but a lot of B&B's charge a fortune these days. I don't want a "boutique" experience, I just want a bed and a toilet for £20-30 which is hard to find. The other problem is that you have to prebook accommodation and I am never sure quite how far I will get in a day. I would get a bit bored having to stop at lunchtime because I had a good morning and there was still another 30 miles in my legs. I might try it though, just to see what touring with a couple of shirts and a pair of pants is like

Know what you mean. For me, it seems it's the elasticity in my lungs which is sadly lacking on some hills. Met an Aussie racing cyclist many years ago en route to Cape Wrath and he described hills as "floaters" as he "just floated up them". Mark you, he had a lightly packed saddle bag and I had full camping gear. I did pick up a useful looking book recently, entitled "Cyclists & Walkers Welcome" and issued by the Tourist Board for England. It lists 500 quality-assessed hotels, B&B's and self-catering homes in England that "go out of their way to make special provisions for cyclists and walkers". It was reduced from £5.99 to £0.49p at one of The Works outlets and as I can't see any publication date, the average charges of between £25 and £35 for B&B could be questionable. Have you considered youth hostels? At least it would be a cheaper option if you failed to turn up for an online/phone booking - or if out of season you could phone to see what bookings they have and then take a chance. I've had sedentary car-driving "suitcase hostellers" turfed out of a full hostel in the past when I've arrived by bike, but I don't know if that would happen now. Another "string to your bow" perhaps.

 

[bigjim]

It always amazes me how they get to these prices [£400+] for a 2 man tent. You can buy huge weatherproof good quality 6 person family tents for less than half that price.
I suspect it is a case of what the market will stand.

 

[Fandango]

Thanks Wardy, but I'm not sure hostels would be for me. £25-30 for a B&B is reasonable, I think I will try a B&B tour to see how I get on, but depending on my business' end of year figures I might splash on the Laser Space 2. I do like the freedom of camping, and the money saved pays for dinner and beer

Have to agree Bigjim, the price of lightweight tents is rather higher than I would like, but I suppose they use more expensive materials, and don't sell in large quantities due to the price - bit of a catch 22.

 

[Fandango]

Just to let you guys know I did listen to you. I have been watching prices for the Laser Space 2 and finally found one for a bargain price of £270 here. Slightly odd that they have the same tent for £350 here but they appear to be the same tent. Just placed the order so hopefully, if it's an error on their part they will honour the deal - I took a printout of the page. Looks like I will be camping in style this year, and the headroom is just awesome, you can also get a couple of bikes in the porch which will be great if there is nowhere to lock the bike to.

Thanks for all the help, I'll report back later in the year on how it works out.

 

[P.H]

Just to let you guys know I did listen to you. I have been watching prices for the Laser Space 2 and finally found one for a bargain price of £270 here. Slightly odd that they have the same tent for £350 here but they appear to be the same tent. Just placed the order so hopefully, if it's an error on their part they will honour the deal - I took a printout of the page. Looks like I will be camping in style this year, and the headroom is just awesome, you can also get a couple of bikes in the porch which will be great if there is nowhere to lock the bike to.

Thanks for all the help, I'll report back later in the year on how it works out.

I think someone noticed the price error, it's £350 in both your links now. You may get lucky, but from what I understand they are not obliged to honour errors.


If it's the tent you want, I hope you just buy it anyway. I'm sure I've paid absurd amounts of money for some of my kit, if it's the right thing and I get the pleasure of using it I soon forget how much it cost.

 

[Fandango]

This is an old thread now but I just thought I'd give my impressions of the Laser Space 2 I bought following your recommendations. It is a great tent, it takes 5 minutes to put up and comes down even quicker, the height inside is perfect for sitting up on my Exped chair, I can actually sit in a folding full size chair if I want. The length is also a great feature, I can stretch out fully with no problems, it would be perfect for tall people. I love the porch, I can stand up and get dressed in it in comfort, my bike will also fit easily if there is nowhere to lock it up - there is a back entrance to the tent so I could use that if I wished. I was a bit concerned about the material as it seemed so thin, but it has proved durable, nothing has torn or broken, this is a top quality tent. Shame that the special offer price is no longer available but in my opinion it is still worth the money. If you are fed up camping in a coffin and you don't mind a bit of extra weight, you will be very happy with a Laser Space 2. Thanks for your help guys!