Looking for a new tent..any recommendations?

[.....]

I'm after a new tent after the BBQ, I've got the Vango Tempest 200 but can't get on with the lack of headroom.

I like the look of the Vango Ark but it has fibreglass poles, what are they like?

[Silver_Fox]

Personally I thought the Vango Ark 200+ was excellent. The quality is a definite step up from the red Eurohike tent I linked on the previous page (that I brought to the BBQ). However I couldn't justify the price differential in the end. Vango £130, Eurohike £47.

My only real bone of contention is the Eurohike has a slightly flat porch roof where water can sit if it rains. The Vango has V shaped poles to avoid this. The materials feel slightly better too, but only slightly. In the end it all comes down to price. The Eurohike is still a good tent with a great sized porch for kit (or getting changed)
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CBR600 F3 FV
CG125

[lingeringstin...]

Was just reviewing this thread and here's a couple of personal findings.

Where you intend to camp makes all the difference. This winter I'll be camping in some wild and wonderful places in the Lake District and into Scotland and what I'm NOT tenting in is the usual rally gear. Roomy dome tents are great for two or three nights in a field of other tents where the bar and food are close by, but if you're out in the sticks you want something sturdier and warmer.

Having experienced random foul weather while camping I have discovered that the best tent I currently have for that sort of thing is a small canvas French army 2-man tent from the 1980's. It's only really big enough to sit up in the middle of it but the ground sheet is really tough and the low profile "A" shape is good in strong winds and lashing sideways rain.

Initially it was a canvas tent with an outer nylon waterproofed flysheet, which was perished when I got it, but I've modified it by painting the canvas with a waterproofing solution (basically silicone dissolved in white spirit and applied with a brush) and I have a couple of silnylon army tarps.

The army tarps weigh very little and are big enough to use as a flysheet and a porch area to hang out and cook in. The tent is very strong and waterproof now and if need be I can use the tarps to totally cover it in a waterproof tarp shell pegged to the ground so it's extra dry and extra windproof in bad weather.

The downside is that this small tent is now VERY heavy and there's really only room for one body and some gear. I tried it once with a camp bed which was very comfortable but it was so cramped I could hardly move so now I just sleep on the floor. I prefer to sleep lightly covered in a warm tent than bundled up in an arctic sleeping bag in a cold tent. Less stuff to carry. Breathing in a frozen tent creates a lot of condensation too.

It's dark and cramped inside but I don't think a roomy dome tent would stand up to harsh conditions and the canvas tent retains heat a lot better. I do have a homemade metal "hotbox" thing that I cook with and serves as a way to heat my tent if needed but that's another story.

It might be small and heavy and cramped but just one frozen night in an unsuitable, thin rally tent is such a misery I don't mind the extra weight and bulk of the French army tent to make sure I'll be comfortable 50 miles from the nearest pub with werewolves, giant spiders and Picts lurking around in the dark.

[Tracey Suntan-King]

What about one of these?

So simple.....a woman can put it together
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