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Im thinking of buying a cheap (ish) 2 person tent just for biking trips. Ive got a big Vango tent for family trips , but Its so big Its not practical for biking. Has anyone used any of the Decathlon Quechea range ?. Any good , they look a breeze to set up .
I have one and is OK, just use more substantial pegs then they come with and it will be fine
Easy to set up. Have fun folding them away! 1st time took me ages - but once you know how it's OK.
I have a Decathlon 3 man 2 Second one
Easy to put up and take down [as expected]
Not tried it properly yet though, but I'll tell you more after Selkirk Marathon this weekend
One thing to note for biking trips though, they pack into a disc shape about 800mm across rather than a traditional cylindrical shape
Yeah, setting them up is fine but the trick is getting them away again.
My tip is to hide so that somebody else has to do it.
bit bulky when packed though no? maybe i've only seen cheap ones.
Setting up is a breeze, as is packing it away again. Here's what works for me for the latter: Open car boot. Pick up tent. Attempt to fold it as small as possible whilst holding tight against your body so as not to allow the tent to sproing open aggressively into your face. Carefully place "folded" tent into car boot whilst still compressing both sides to prevent sproinging. Now for the tricky bit...simultaneously release hold on tent and slam boot lid shut before tent sproings out of boot. Job done. Just remember to stand back when you open the boot at home.
Stupid bloody things.
My son has a [url= http://www.gelert.com/products/tents/tent_style/quick_pitch/quickpitch_single_skin_compact_tent ]Gelert pop up tent[/url]: I'm happy to set it up which involves throwing it in the air but the wife has to put it away as I really can't figure the damn thing out 😳
I'd have thought the packed size is a bit big for biking - as said above a 80cm disc.
Traditional cheap dome tent would pack better, I've never had a problem putting 2 poles into a tent - hardly rocket science.
We've had a Quechua XL III for a few years now, for festivals and a few weeks of car-camping. It's worked great for us, unless it's very windy we just throw it open, put four pegs into the ground and put our stuff in. Never had a leak, not had anything on it break. Has enough of a porch for camping chairs, stove, muddy boots, etc.
Putting it away is fine if you have the knack - it's hard to describe so the instructions can be confusing, but watch this to get the idea:
Only drawback is that the smallest it folds to is still quite a big disc so no way to use it for walking/biking - strictly car-based only.
used this during the month of June. As above, takes some getting used to putting away, but now have it down in no time.
http://tente.quechua.com/en/tent/r-9,a-63,sejour-base-seconds-xl.html
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Folds to 900mm diameter x 150mm deep pack and weighs about 15Kg so not for back packing 🙂
Too big for your needs but in principal I was astounded at the value for money of the Quechua range given the attention to detail and the excellent build quality.
As mentioned, it is the pack size that is probably the biggest issue with these quick pitch tents.
I've used a Khyam tent before and they're not bad, bit weighty but do the job and pack size it a bit more normal. Currently have a small Gelert tunnel type two man tent, pitches in a few minutes, needs a little more thought than the quick pitch types but relatively cheap (£40ish from ebay). Isn't a 4 season tent, but then neither are the quick pitch type tent.
Paul I've got a 2 man quecha popup if you want to borrow it and try it out ... will probably forget to check back here so email me if you do.
It's very very good too. I bought it about 4 years ago and the novelty still hasn't worn off 🙂
Edit: I have never cycled with it and don't think I would due to it's strange shape. But for car camping it's great
The first two I bought i left at the campsite as I ran out of patience/time/intelligence when dismantling it. For some reason I bought another, but have managed to sneak off whist asking friends for help when packing it away!
i've have a bell tent for sale, which is perfect for cycling, if you are interested? Only weighs 16 kgs