Tents Moto Camping.

Interested to see your opinions and tents used while out touring.

Gone are the days of my trusty NAAFI bivi that could wrap the sleeping bag/mat, cover with a black bin liner and strap to the bike. Happy days and many miles with that.

I spend enough time in hotels and B&Bs, both for work and if I'm travelling with the missus. She had some bad experiences with giant mozzies in her dim past so refuses to sleep under canvas. For me camping is still part of the freedom of the road, but I am erring towards more comfort as my bones get older.

My first tent was one of those Coleman ridge tents. It served me and my brother well, but got blown to rags on a trip to Snowdonia.

This blue thing, can't remember the make was useful in the desert. It kept out snakes and scorpions. (I had a couple of close call with Italian scorpions in the bivi). I didn't camp in Norway as we had a boat, and could convince herself to "camp" in that. Plus the mozzies in Norway are huge!

Most recently I bought a Vango Soul 200 as it was small enough packed to fit in my Givi bag. But I am too tall for it and touch cloth at both ends. I have used up to last year when camping out with my brother, but as he is registered blind now he cannot ride. I will donate the Vango to my niece for festivals.

I just bought a Eurohike Cairns 2 DLX Nightfall Tent for the upcoming trip. The new tent packs up larger but I'm hoping for a better nights sleep in it. I have packed all my camping gear into a waterproof holdall to throw over the pillion pad.

I really would love the Wingman Goose but cannot spring that much cash at the moment:
https://wingmanoftheroad.com

What do you use?
What do you consider when selecting a tent and camping gear?
What do you think of the Goose?

 

..with a garage no less

 

OK used the Cairns in Skye for a few days. It was a comfortable sleep, I used a cheap but thick air mattress pumped up with a cool little pump.
Porch was large enough to stow some gear and brew a coffee in the morning. Plenty of room for stuff inside too and was able to sit up.
The blackout was medium effective but kept the worst of what sun there was out...and no wee beasties got into the liner. Though a couple made their way under the fly sheet.

I was racing the rain when I packed up so struggled to get it all in the bag for the home trip. I stuffed it into a heavy duty bin bag, (always carry a couple) and strapped it to the top of the holdall. Once I got home and dried it out it packed away in the bag no problem.

 

With the storms rolling in and snow on the horizon I gave cleaned, greased up and double bagged the ride and other than perhaps a few bright weekend rides I don't expect any trips out until the thaw. So thoughts come back to the year of camping and equipment choices going on.

Since my first post I have used my current set up in Scotland (including Highland and Islands), The Lakes, Wales and the West Country. I had planned to revisit Europe this summer past but ill health in the family kept me close to home.

So I must consider the equipment I have in the context of their use and considerations for the future. Everything is a compromise, so my conditions may not be yours and the final choices I make are my own. But I thought may be of interest to others making the same decisions and, most importantly, I may prompt you to share your experience so that I/we may learn from you.

Context:
UK weather is known to be changeable so I need to be able to account for warm weather and rain during summer trips. Despite the hype we didn't see the heights of '76 but it was close and we are certainly seeing similar rain to '76 so far this year. Notwithstanding the outliers it is often said of British weather that if you don't like it just wait 20 minutes.

Value. My budget is not unlimited and as a gen Xer I have always been of the "buy good quality and use until it falls apart" persuasion. Not an advocate of unbridled consumerism as the current culture and was recycling before it was trendy. That being said, despite all efforts I still have bought items that have not met expectations or my experience has garnered new knowledge that changes the conditions.

Travelling Light. I've always tried to travel light. I am getting older and I feel the rough ground more than I did so need some creature comforts so don't pack like I'm going on an SAS training course. In the old days it was a ridge tent with no groundsheet (did use a NAAFI bivi a couple of times), a roll mat and sleeping bag, rolled up and strapped to the pillion. Over time I have increased the size and complexity of the tent, erred towards thicker sleeping options and most recently started carrying a seat. One thing I have been guilty of though is overpacking bike gear (tools, spares etc) and first aid. My other foible is having a minimum of two cooking options and that I like cooking real food rather than pre-made cr@p (see consumerism and waste above). I also demand real coffee. There's no need to live like a Neanderthal now.

 

Tent:
As you can see from previous posts I have made good use of the new tent here's what I have learned.
1. Comfortable and roomy tent. Black-out works and it keeps out the wee beasties. Porch usable but, as it leans in, can let in water when opening and closing the door.
2. Can handle storm winds and torrential rain.
3. Fits in the provided bag when dry, just a wee bitty longer than the pannier so goes in diagonal, requires creative packing, that takes time, OK if it's not sheeting it down. Takes up 1/2 the pannier.
4. Fly sheet up first so good to set up in the rain, except:
5. Takes three poles that are fiddly to run through the luffs/tubes provided on the tent. awkward to insert or remove when wet. not a simple job when breaking camp and either its already raining or you can see the storm rolling in any minute.
6. Can be a pain to get into bag if wet.

So I'm keeping it for other camping (in the car) or for when I know I'm going to be staying in one place for extended time.

One addition I want to try is rigging a small tarp or poncho over the porch to make that area more usable.

I am now looking at a bivi tarp combo option for more mobile trips, these tend to be more like my usual trips. so far I am looking at the OEX Salamander and either the OEX 2.5m basha or my current poncho that is slightly smaller. The pack up space of all three is smaller and more flexible than the current set up.

I always carry a walking pole, sometimes I use a normal one with a handle. other times I have a shooting stick with a V on the top that I hook my thumb onto when walking or I mount a camera or monocular on as a monopod. Both make excellent poles for the tarp. I always carry extra pegs and lines.

I like the Bivi as it has a small hoop that raises the top off you when sleeping, has good ventilation but is storm proof, and has a mozzy net built in.

I tested it out yesterday at the shop and it can accommodate my large frame. The only issue, and this comes up in the reviews, is it can sag a little and the top touch you as you sleep. The problem being condensation can then wick into the sleeping bag. Though some creative rigging would sort that and I would combine with an over tarp to create some extra protection and a porch area.

 

So the answer to this is it depends. My ideal is what you see, panniers only. Though I do have a waterproof 15ltr tail bag that rolls up to stow and doubles as a rucksack for walking.

That being said here is me way over laden as I had to carry a load of work gear, that I then parcel-posted home to enjoy the rest of the trip.

 

Handlebar mounted gear.
So I have gone through some configurations on this.
In the old days I would having nothing but since riding through the desert have got into the habit of carrying a drinks holder. On the HD I had a dedicated one mounted on the front of the rear pannier but here I have a Molle (love Molle) one hanging off the right bar. It's big enough to carry a water bottle or pepsi bottle and swings out of the way when turning right so is no hindrance. I'm either wearing an open face or flip front, so can reach in a take a drink at stops. Not to be used as you ride.

GoPro, I had this mounted on a clamp. Used to be a pain removing, but now have it on a claw so the whole thing can be dismounted and locked away or carried with. I have re-purposed stainless scuba tether on it in case it comes loose.

Phone case. It's an MTB case. I had the same Samsung phone for years and this held it out of the rain and had space for the disc lock and some spare earplugs. The side stand puck wouldn't fit so I carried that in the water bottle holder.

This set up has now changed. I have a new phone and am looking at the quadlock. I have a small molle pouch on the midbar that now contains the disk lock, spare earplugs and the puck. It can double up as a bag for gear being charged (like handwarmer, powerpack, gopro, torches etc) on the ride with the disk lock going into the pannier, though this is less convenient if stopping at cafes etc. It also has velcro on the front for patches. currently have a poppy and my bloodtype there.

 

GPS.
I grew up with maps. I know how to use them. but time moves on.

My wife who is a little younger than me cannot spell map. She just bought a Tom-Tom and I have tried it out, my dad has been a user of them for years on the bike and in the car. I'm not sold on it.
I did have a Garmin that I used as both a GPS and a plotter my changing the maps. It became useless when they changed the GPS protocol.

So far I have been happy with google maps, the routes are fine, it tells you real time data like the current traffic conditions etc. I know the TomTom will do this but you have to connect to your phone. Why carry 2 bits of kit? The only advantage I can see from a GPS is that it has the map if you are out of signal. As I found out in Skye. But I had become complacent and not properly planned or carried even a small map with me. I also know there are other apps out there that will keep the map. So I am not getting an extra bit of expensive kit when its not needed.

Also for my own well being. My wife is no dummy, she has two degrees and a masters, but I have tried weening her off the GPS and she gets lost even in our home town. I don't want to be that dependent on tech that can fail.