Rowan

I agree with this. IIRC on my first tour, the tent was in the panniers, but ever since then, the tent has always gone on top of the rack. You are right that often a tent can be damp at least or wet at worst, and is the last thing I would want in a pannier with other stuff that was meant to be dry, unless the pannier is dedicated to only the tent.

Our current Quechua 3P tent is a nice-sized package that normally sits along the top of the rack. It is bungeed into place and I can slip other stuff, including drink bottles and clothing under the bungees, and yet still have good access to my panniers without having to shift any stuff.

On our trip through Europe, we acquired additional stuff along the way that meant something had to be moved out of a pannier to accommodate it, and the sleeping pad in a drybag was it. That's then I moved the tent to across the rack and put the pad behind it. I soon discovered those issues of pannier access and removal became a lot more difficult.

Western Flyer 

I've used Quest Outfitters and Bear Paw for tent poles and other sundry goods. Both have excellent service and slightly different inventories.

Burton

In the morning a tent can be damp from condensation. Even when the sun is out - the heat can force moisture from the ground and the bottom of the tent or the footprint will still be wet. Anticipating that and either standing the tent on end in the sun is the best way to deal with that - before packing!

If you're obliged to pack up in really wet or rainy weather - the whole tent is going to be wet on the outside and since it's waterproof - rolling it up that way isn't going to let it dry out inside regardless of where you put it or what you pack it in. Some people are apparently concerned anout their panniers - I 'm more concerned about the tent. Mine cost more than the panniers and - I have to sleep in it! A wet tent can mildew regardless of where you put it.

So personally I carry large thin garbage bags (that can double as a pancho in an emergency) and in crummy weather if the tent has to go away wet - it goes in one of those in a pannier and still gets erected and given a chance to dry out as soon as possible. At some point I have to stop anyway for a break, or to eat, so its just another thing to add into the pitstop. Erecting a self-standing tent is at most a 6 minute process and the airing out process doesn't require supervision.

I realize some people like to spend as much time on the pedals as possible and cover as much distance during a day as possible, but that's never been my style. I'd much rather spend more days on the road - distance covered is much less important. What really counts is if I'm having fun or not.

Western Flyer 

Very few panniers are breathable to any significant degree. If you stow a wet tent in your pannier, expect it still be wet at the end of the day and everything packed inside with it to be damp. Most lightweight tents come with stuff sacks made from the waterproof falldown fly or floor fabric, so even if you pack your tent on top of your panniers it will still be wet at the end of the day.

There is a second and more important concern. All most all lightweight tents are made out of nylon, which has moderate to poor ultraviolet resistance. UV damage is cumulative and irreversible. OME stuff sacks offer very little UV protections. And even though you are through camping on a bike and your tent will see very little sun when in use, it will be exposed to its destructive UV force when strapped on top of your rack all day long. In addition the typical tent stuff sack offers little wear or puncture protection either inside or on top of your panniers.

My personal solution was to make a custom sack out of marine grade polyester fabric with a durable water repellent finish which offers both breath-ability (dry-ablity) and substantial UV protection. The extra plus is my tent now stows neatly between my panniers. You don’t have to know how to sew. Almost everyone has a friend or relative with a sewing machine that can be bribed to take the fifteen minutes needed to put one together.

BigAura

For me a larger tent is worth the extra couple of pounds and pack volume. I use the Big Agnes SL3 for long tours. I pack the tent and and fly separately in small stuffs mounted perpendicular to the rack, with the polls longways underneath. The total tent weight is a little over 4lbs for about 40 square feet of living space.

staehpj1

That works well, but assumes you wait until the sun is well up before hitting the road. That is often not the case for me. I do often have some sun in camp in the afternoon/evening and take advantage of that when I can.

I find that if I roll the fold the tent into thirds long ways with the waterproof floor on the outside and roll it up, it can stay on the rack in it's non-waterproof sack and will be neither wetter or drier at the end of the day. If the inside is wet at all I wipe it down before packing. The outside of the bottom sometimes stays wet, but I find that acceptable.

irwin7638

Me too. The pack size for the tent can be an issue, but since it's a heavier item I like it low. I just put it in a front pannier, if the stuff sack is a long narrow size, I just stuff the tent in the pannier without it's sack.

Marc

Burton

Yeah - that sounds good too! I imagine everyone travels a little differently. During tourist season it makes sense to start early and stop early - otherwise everything is booked! My preference is to travel off season - September / October. Days are still long and I can spend some time in the morning relaxing, cooking for the day, checking the route and if there are laundry facilities - catching up on that. Even stopping after the sun goes down - I can usually find a place to stay. During the day there have to be rest stops, pauses to enjoy the view, photo opportunities - and the odd unavoidable distraction - like a Hungarian buffet or homemade dessert that wasn't on the map. I'm too old to try to set any land speed records!