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Tent for bikepacking

Old 05-28-17, 08:05 AM
  #1  
Fritzov
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Tent for bikepacking

Got som great advice to My earlier question abort sleeping system. Tried this weekend to go on my first trip and with just a sleeping pad and a bag with the plan to sleep in wind shelters along the trail. My 2 conclusions are that during weekends most wind shelters ar occupied and sleeping "cowboy style" isn't a pleasant experience if your not prepared for it.

Still looking recommendations on tents and the optimal would be if it fits to hook up on my drop bars on my Salsa Fargo. Any suggestion on tents or how to fit them on bike. I already have a frame bag and saddle bag so there is no space for a tent.
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Old 05-28-17, 08:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Fritzov
Got som great advice to My earlier question abort sleeping system. Tried this weekend to go on my first trip and with just a sleeping pad and a bag with the plan to sleep in wind shelters along the trail. My 2 conclusions are that during weekends most wind shelters ar occupied and sleeping "cowboy style" isn't a pleasant experience if your not prepared for it.

Still looking recommendations on tents and the optimal would be if it fits to hook up on my drop bars on my Salsa Fargo. Any suggestion on tents or how to fit them on bike. I already have a frame bag and saddle bag so there is no space for a tent.
I use a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 for solo trips. For 2 person trips, I use a Big Agnes Seed House SL2. Both can be carried on a Revelate Design Sweetroll or handlebar harness (my preference for flexibility)
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Old 05-28-17, 09:57 AM
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You should decide if you want a tent or a bivy sack?

Once you decide that and if you want a tent, you should decide if you want self supporting or not?

If I was approaching this from a pure minimalist perspective and it sounds like you are doing that, I would look at something like the ones from Six Moons Designs. They not self supporting so some would rule them out. They are designed for backpacking with trekking poles, so you would need to add poles to your shopping list if you go that route.

My last two trips were with a different brand of trekking pole tent (mine is larger and heavier than you are interested in), and I was pretty happy with the lighter weight and simplicity of the newer trekking pole style shelters. The only thing I did not like in my last two trips was that one campsite was on a wooden platform in the Everglades and my non-self supporting tent did not work so well where I could not put in stakes.
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Old 05-28-17, 10:07 AM
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I just got this. It is on sale until the end of tomorrow, fwiw:

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/11...me-1-tent.html
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Old 05-28-17, 10:27 AM
  #5  
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Originally Posted by Fritzov
Still looking recommendations on tents and the optimal would be if it fits to hook up on my drop bars on my Salsa Fargo. Any suggestion on tents or how to fit them on bike. I already have a frame bag and saddle bag so there is no space for a tent.
Sounds like you want to either protect the bike, or to use the bike as a support for your shelter. While the Big Agnes (an other free-standing tents) are easy to set up, and don't require help from the bike, providing protection for your bike might take some more research.

Simple answer -- a TARP. For solo 3-season backpacking I haven't used a tent in over 40 years! Break out the tarp.
Advantages:
* Weight: My kit weighs about a pound,
* Packed size. Would probably fit into a quart bottle. Could probably jam into your frame bag.
* Can sleep two, especially with the sides pulled up and out.

Siliconized nylon is lightweight but spendy. Urethane coated nylon is cheaper but heavier and more bulky. To experiment you might start out with a simple blue tarp from you local big-box hardware store, cheapest but really bulky. 10 x 8 or 12 x 10. Either way you will want to start with about 50 feet of 1/8-inch nylon cord and about a dozen tent stakes.

Procedure is much more complex than a free-standing tent but....
* Find at least one tree or post, or have a companion with a second bike, or carry something like a trekking pole (Lash to seatstay, top tube?).
* Away from the tree, about the length of the tarp plus 3 to 5 feet, use a length of cord to fasten your bike in an upright position. This will become the peak of the tent at one end.
* Drape the center of the tarp end over the bike, as far forward or back as you wish for bike protection, and tie the center to the bike.
* Stake the corners at that end to the ground. Use 2 to 3-foot lengths of cord to allow for adjustments rather than simply staking the corners down.
* From the center point at the other end use another length of cord to tie the peak to the tree / post. (I won't go in to using a trekking pole/ stick as that add a little more complexity.) Pull snug.
* Tie out the corners at that end and you have a simple lightweight shelter.
* For more comfort, tie out the bottom at grommets along both sides.

There are several further variations like using tie-off points away from the edges to pull the tarp up and out, giving more room.

Disadvantages:
* Definitely 3-seasons, and with little wind.
* No insect protection. It's just a basic shelter.
* Complexity of setup. (I can set up in under 10 minutes.
* Knowledge of knots. At least bowline, taught-line hitch, and clove hitch. (Any Boy Scout could show you.)
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Old 05-28-17, 11:03 AM
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I'm into ultra-light/ultra-compact - my favorite are floorless pryamid 'mid' tents with inner nest for best combination of weight, pack size, interior room, weather/bug protection, speed/ease of set-up/take-down, and versatility - it's like having the best features of a double-walled tent and a simple tarp, yet with some unique advantages over either. I recommend SixMoonDesigns and MountainLaurelDesigns.

(Also own a BA Fly Creek UL2 - haven't used it since.)
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Old 05-28-17, 01:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
You should decide if you want a tent or a bivy sack?

Once you decide that and if you want a tent, you should decide if you want self supporting or not?

If I was approaching this from a pure minimalist perspective and it sounds like you are doing that, I would look at something like the ones from Six Moons Designs. They not self supporting so some would rule them out. They are designed for backpacking with trekking poles, so you would need to add poles to your shopping list if you go that route.

My last two trips were with a different brand of trekking pole tent (mine is larger and heavier than you are interested in), and I was pretty happy with the lighter weight and simplicity of the newer trekking pole style shelters. The only thing I did not like in my last two trips was that one campsite was on a wooden platform in the Everglades and my non-self supporting tent did not work so well where I could not put in stakes.
My last trip and so far only made it pretty clear i want a tent, and would prefer a self supporting one.

Originally Posted by wgscott
I just got this. It is on sale until the end of tomorrow, fwiw:

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/11...me-1-tent.html
Looks good but im located in Europe and have no USA travels planned in the near future so shopping at REI is not doable right now.

Originally Posted by GAJett
Sounds like you want to either protect the bike, or to use the bike as a support for your shelter. While the Big Agnes (an other free-standing tents) are easy to set up, and don't require help from the bike, providing protection for your bike might take some more research.

Simple answer -- a TARP. For solo 3-season backpacking I haven't used a tent in over 40 years! Break out the tarp.
Advantages:
* Weight: My kit weighs about a pound,
* Packed size. Would probably fit into a quart bottle. Could probably jam into your frame bag.
* Can sleep two, especially with the sides pulled up and out.

Siliconized nylon is lightweight but spendy. Urethane coated nylon is cheaper but heavier and more bulky. To experiment you might start out with a simple blue tarp from you local big-box hardware store, cheapest but really bulky. 10 x 8 or 12 x 10. Either way you will want to start with about 50 feet of 1/8-inch nylon cord and about a dozen tent stakes.

Procedure is much more complex than a free-standing tent but....
* Find at least one tree or post, or have a companion with a second bike, or carry something like a trekking pole (Lash to seatstay, top tube?).
* Away from the tree, about the length of the tarp plus 3 to 5 feet, use a length of cord to fasten your bike in an upright position. This will become the peak of the tent at one end.
* Drape the center of the tarp end over the bike, as far forward or back as you wish for bike protection, and tie the center to the bike.
* Stake the corners at that end to the ground. Use 2 to 3-foot lengths of cord to allow for adjustments rather than simply staking the corners down.
* From the center point at the other end use another length of cord to tie the peak to the tree / post. (I won't go in to using a trekking pole/ stick as that add a little more complexity.) Pull snug.
* Tie out the corners at that end and you have a simple lightweight shelter.
* For more comfort, tie out the bottom at grommets along both sides.

There are several further variations like using tie-off points away from the edges to pull the tarp up and out, giving more room.

Disadvantages:
* Definitely 3-seasons, and with little wind.
* No insect protection. It's just a basic shelter.
* Complexity of setup. (I can set up in under 10 minutes.
* Knowledge of knots. At least bowline, taught-line hitch, and clove hitch. (Any Boy Scout could show you.)
From the little experience i have i think i want the "protection" a tent provides, especially protection from bugs that are pretty horrible during summer where i am at.
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Old 05-28-17, 02:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Fritzov
My last trip and so far only made it pretty clear i want a tent, and would prefer a self supporting one.



Looks good but im located in Europe and have no USA travels planned in the near future so shopping at REI is not doable right now.



From the little experience i have i think i want the "protection" a tent provides, especially protection from bugs that are pretty horrible during summer where i am at.
The tents available in Europe and in USA are generally from very different manufacturers. And most people on this board are in USA.

Last summer when I was in Iceland, several Europeans I met were very happy with their Hillberg tents, but they are quiet expensive.
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Old 05-28-17, 03:11 PM
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I use a Tarptent Rainbow and I'm happy with it. The Bowfin is similar but with two doors and freestanding.
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Old 05-28-17, 03:16 PM
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Like the sleeping bag & pad inside a bivy bag?, just add a tarp (poncho) over you ..

I hauled more gear than you may want to ..

a Hoop style non freestanding tent, but 1 I could put it up in a stiff breeze, and not lose things in the wind.

Freestanding tents , Id look at ones with the rainfly integrated not separate.

IDK what European outdoor stores you like, you choose.. Hilleberg tents, Sweden, are well regarded..

Bike packing style? to fit across your handle bar, pack the poles separately, say, strapped to a frame tube.









....

Last edited by fietsbob; 05-28-17 at 04:10 PM.
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Old 05-28-17, 03:33 PM
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My current favorite tent for solo bike camping is the Eureka Spitfire-1. Plenty of room for me and my gear and it has enough headroom to sit up inside for reading or changing clothes and it's pretty light at 3.0 lbs. The poles would make it too long to strap between your handlebars, but the tent and fly would fit ok if you separate the poles and strap them alongside the top or seat tube of your bike. Eureka also makes a solo tent with shorter pole sections called the Solitaire which could be strapped to the bars. But it has much less headroom and is less convenient to get in and out of (also some users report problems with the fiberglass poles breaking - the Spitfire poles are aluminum).
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Old 05-28-17, 06:02 PM
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Another shout out for Tarptent.
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Old 05-28-17, 07:08 PM
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Originally Posted by reppans
I'm into ultra-light/ultra-compact - my favorite are floorless pryamid 'mid' tents with inner nest for best combination of weight, pack size, interior room, weather/bug protection, speed/ease of set-up/take-down, and versatility - it's like having the best features of a double-walled tent and a simple tarp, yet with some unique advantages over either. I recommend SixMoonDesigns and MountainLaurelDesigns.

(Also own a BA Fly Creek UL2 - haven't used it since.)
Seems futzy. A traditional tent has all the elements of your system with better integration. A Fly Creek UL2 weighs about the same as the ones you are recommending but would be much easier to set up. The cost seems to be about the same or slightly better.
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Old 05-28-17, 09:21 PM
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The recommendation depends upon your bikepacking locations. If in Scotland or similar environments, you will need a shelter than can handle extreme winds with rain. The pyramid type designs mentioned by rappans work very well for these conditions.

If you plan to be in warm/hot humid environments, a shelter with good airflow would be helpful. Tarptent has been mentioned and do ship to Europe. Their Saddle 2 tent seems to offer good wind protection and good ventilation. However, if in very strong winds, the MLD trailstar tarp or a pyramid shelter would be better.

It may be that you need two tents depending upon the conditions you may face on various trips; shelters designed for extreme wind tend not to have good ventilation for warm temperature with high humidity conditions.
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Old 05-28-17, 09:41 PM
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Originally Posted by cyccommute
Seems futzy. A traditional tent has all the elements of your system with better integration. A Fly Creek UL2 weighs about the same as the ones you are recommending but would be much easier to set up. The cost seems to be about the same or slightly better.
Owning both, I find the mid out performs on every measure except for pitching on manmade surfaces (not free standing). Here's both (same sq ft) with poles, stakes and footprint, 1lb 15 oz vs 2lb 15 oz (BA fibs on their weight). Mid doesn't even need pole, a fallen branch will do - save 3 more oz. and space.



Yes, the end game of both can be the same, but it is actually the lack integration, or rather component modularity/independence, that gives the mid the advantage. For example, I can: set-up/take-down the nest while dry under the cover of the fly; collapse the nest and fold back the footprint to leave shoes on inside, create a large indoor kitchen, even dig a cat hole latrine (wild camping); raise/lower pitch height for ventilation, interior room, or stormy weather.

Even makes a unique bug haven with nest collapsed & door latched open - 80% enclosed keeps 80% of the bugs out, the 20% that do enter seem to just try and find their way out (not bothersome). I now find fixed floors and doors, are better at keeping me out, than the bugs out - I usually only set-up my inner nest when I'm ready to sleep.

YMMV of course..
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Old 05-29-17, 06:02 AM
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The ultralight tents are delicate and do not last very long. In super bad weather they are also not totally reliable. I speak from experience. You should look at the kind of materials that are used and compare/contrast before you decide. The link is a very reliable tent that will keep you totally dry for years.

Exped Mira I

It's an american company so may be cheaper there.
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Old 05-29-17, 03:43 PM
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Just ran across this from last month on the Bike Touring News website: The Best Shelter for Bikepacking: Three Opinions

As the OP says a frame bag is being used, this might be some food for thought.
Cheers!
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