I need a new tent!
Jun. 10th, 2012 12:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fearmeforiampinkSo, at the last Maelstrom event I went to, my old tent finally gave up. The zips on it had been getting more unreliable for the last year or so, and they just stopped gripping/closing the tent properly. Fortunately, thanks to it not being that cold, there being no rain, and grabbing an extra blanket from helpful first aid dude ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
redhillian, this wasn't too bad for that event.
But now I need a new tent for the next event. I'm after suggestions for such; something that lasts and will fit my needs. I'm going to explain what I want out of a tent, and then what I'm currently considering. Reviews of that which I'm considering would be appreciated, as would any suggestions for good alternatives.
What I had was a Blacks Magic 3XT tent; I can't seem to find any photos of it, but essentially it was a semi-popup tent (aka 'Quick erect'). Basically, it popped up, but you needed to add an extra pair of poles to it to keep the centre up. It was large enough for a double airbed inside with maybe a foot or so on the left and right of that, and a bit more than that above and below (though there you're restricted by the slope of the tent). Enough space for me + stuff, easy to put up, and (once you have the trick) easy to take down. Packed away it was a fairly large disk, but reasonably thin, and not that heavy.
I'm after something that has the same advantages; easy and quick to put up, a reasonable amount of space in it, and transportable as one person on public transport who already has a fair amount of kit. Yes, there are lots of lovely large tents that fold down small, and it's really not that hard to slide the poles through them, yadda yadda. I want something largely pop-up, when I'm dealing with it alone it makes my life much simpler, and I consider it worth the expense and occasional size issues.
Based on having seen a few people with it at events, I was considering getting a Quechua Base Seconds 4.1 - enough space for double airbed in the sleeping compartment, lots of space for my stuff outside, and I could even stand up when kitting up at events. It also appears to be pretty much fully pop-up — you have to open the awnings, but that's it.
Alas, those don't appear to be available any more. So, I've gone seeking other options.
Firstly, I came across this, the Outwell Fusion 400, which is more along the style of my old Magic 3XT tent — just a bit bigger and more fully pop-up
On the one hand, simple, easy to put up, decent amount of space inside. On the other hand, there are now pop-up tents you can stand in, so do I want to restrict myself to one where you can't? Also, it's been pointed out that it's more expensive than some of the aforementioned stand-up tents. I'm willing to spend a bit of money on this if it'll last, as I tend to spend about three weeks or more camping at LARP events in any given year, but there's no reason to get something less good for more money.
Looking at Quechua's stuff, since they were what I was originally thinking of replacing my old tent with, they do have one possibility; the Seconds Family 4.1 it's a case of 1: Peg down groundsheet, 2: tent pops up over it 3:Put in an extra pole or few'. TBH, more effort than I'd really like (yes, I am that lazy), but it's within viability. It has a good sized sleeping area and standing room storage area, and (from a cursory glance) appears cheaper than the Fusion 400. The main thing that puts me off is that (from the video on the linked website) it looks like it might be quite annoying to do the 'fold into impossible circles' part of getting it into its bag if I'm on my own.
So, anyone have any experience with any of those three? Or have any other suggestions that fit within what I'm after?
redhillian, this wasn't too bad for that event.But now I need a new tent for the next event. I'm after suggestions for such; something that lasts and will fit my needs. I'm going to explain what I want out of a tent, and then what I'm currently considering. Reviews of that which I'm considering would be appreciated, as would any suggestions for good alternatives.
What I had was a Blacks Magic 3XT tent; I can't seem to find any photos of it, but essentially it was a semi-popup tent (aka 'Quick erect'). Basically, it popped up, but you needed to add an extra pair of poles to it to keep the centre up. It was large enough for a double airbed inside with maybe a foot or so on the left and right of that, and a bit more than that above and below (though there you're restricted by the slope of the tent). Enough space for me + stuff, easy to put up, and (once you have the trick) easy to take down. Packed away it was a fairly large disk, but reasonably thin, and not that heavy.
I'm after something that has the same advantages; easy and quick to put up, a reasonable amount of space in it, and transportable as one person on public transport who already has a fair amount of kit. Yes, there are lots of lovely large tents that fold down small, and it's really not that hard to slide the poles through them, yadda yadda. I want something largely pop-up, when I'm dealing with it alone it makes my life much simpler, and I consider it worth the expense and occasional size issues.
Based on having seen a few people with it at events, I was considering getting a Quechua Base Seconds 4.1 - enough space for double airbed in the sleeping compartment, lots of space for my stuff outside, and I could even stand up when kitting up at events. It also appears to be pretty much fully pop-up — you have to open the awnings, but that's it.
Alas, those don't appear to be available any more. So, I've gone seeking other options.
Firstly, I came across this, the Outwell Fusion 400, which is more along the style of my old Magic 3XT tent — just a bit bigger and more fully pop-up
On the one hand, simple, easy to put up, decent amount of space inside. On the other hand, there are now pop-up tents you can stand in, so do I want to restrict myself to one where you can't? Also, it's been pointed out that it's more expensive than some of the aforementioned stand-up tents. I'm willing to spend a bit of money on this if it'll last, as I tend to spend about three weeks or more camping at LARP events in any given year, but there's no reason to get something less good for more money.
Looking at Quechua's stuff, since they were what I was originally thinking of replacing my old tent with, they do have one possibility; the Seconds Family 4.1 it's a case of 1: Peg down groundsheet, 2: tent pops up over it 3:Put in an extra pole or few'. TBH, more effort than I'd really like (yes, I am that lazy), but it's within viability. It has a good sized sleeping area and standing room storage area, and (from a cursory glance) appears cheaper than the Fusion 400. The main thing that puts me off is that (from the video on the linked website) it looks like it might be quite annoying to do the 'fold into impossible circles' part of getting it into its bag if I'm on my own.
So, anyone have any experience with any of those three? Or have any other suggestions that fit within what I'm after?
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no subject
Date: 2012-06-10 02:30 pm (UTC)I don't have any experience about those tents and my own tent preferences are very different to yours (I bloody HATE those discs!) so no point expressing an opinion, but what I would suggest is going to a Decathlon store to have a look at different models as they actually have loads of them assembled in store (at least they always did in the Canada Water store). If you're planning on spending a bit of money it makes sense to take a proper look first.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-11 12:35 pm (UTC)http://www.decathlon.co.uk/base-seconds-42-tent-id_8091844.html
Like a 4.1, but with extra Ald'ruhn chic.