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Previously I have always stopped in B&B's or hotels when cycle touring.
However this year I plan to do some solo wild camping.
I think I would prefer a tent rather than a bivi. I have been looking at the Alpkit Ordos 2 as it fits my criteria of lightweight, reasonably spacious and is within budget.
Would you recommend this tent? Are there any other tents I should be looking at for around £250?
Decathlon quickhiker ultralight range are fantastic. I've got 3 man which has plenty of room for 2 plus kit. Fresh and Black looks good but much heavier.
EDit: It has also been durable over lots of use, no leaking etc, and very easy to put up/take down etc. No issues at all. Have a lighter AliExpress bargain for £40 which hasn't lasted well so I wouldn't trust it.
I have an MSR hubba tour 1 for just this and think it's great. Very large porch that is big enough to sit up and cook in with all your gear around you too. At night your bike (wheels off) can be stowed in the porch easily. Personally a one man inner with loads of porch is much better than a 2 man for solo travel - your bedding area stays nice and dry (and is small so warm at night) but there is space to sit sheltered in wet weather kit. Unlike the standard hubba it also pitches outer first (or with the inner pre clipped in) which is excellent for wetter locations.
I managed to pick it up for £299 (plus a bit more for a footprint) but that took a bit of waiting for to find.
Thanks for the replies.
We have a Decathlon nearby so i will pop in to have a look. Ideally i would prefer a tent that is around 1.5kg or less but i guess it makes very little difference.
The MSR Hubba Tour 1 looks a great choice but the cheapest i can find it is £350 which is over my budget.
Have you used the Hubba Tour in rain at all? I was interested and looking into them a while ago, but there seemed to be a lot of reports of the outer being utterly useless at keeping water on the outside
+1 for Decathlon ones, got one 2 years ago, been ace & it's light.
Yep - used in some pretty appauling weather in the Cairngorms- big wind and big rain.
It’s not the best ventilated outer and can suffer from a bit of condensation though.
alpkit ordos 1 or 2. i have a 2. up in 5 minutes. good size for a huge bloke.
I use one of these: https://www.snugpak.com/outdoor/tents-shelters/ionosphere
Can be bought cheaper if you search Amazon; light and strong single person tent, I’m 6’1” and there’s more than enough room.
SMD Lunar Solo +1.
I've got a vango blade 100 which has been great.
Luxe Mini peak 2, loads of room,Even dragged the bike into the tent some nights , packs small and its light enough to go bike packing
That Ionosphere thing looks awful for extended use. No porch to keep wet kit or cook, can't sit up and relatively heavy. I suspect it may also suffer badly from condensation given the design.
Thanks for the recommendations. I think i will still get the Alpkit.
Tents are a compromise between weight, usable space and price. The usual "pick two" rule applies. For example to get more usable space you need either a geodesic or semi-geodesic type design but these tend to be more expensive.
They are quite a big investment so it's worth figuring out what's important to you and often it's only when you've used a tent for a while you see any shortcomings. We've a Vango Spirit 200+ which is a sturdy (3kg) tent that's pretty much bombproof but it's only one entrance and in humid weather suffers badly from condensation, to the point you'd think the tent was leaking. Hence the comment about the design of the Ionosphere by @Spin.
The Ordos isn't bad but for a single person it's a bit heavy - the SMD Lunar Solo mentioned by @Scotroutes and @Metalheart is half the weight for example. The Lunar Solo is quite popular amongst bikepackers as it's pretty UK weatherproof. Should note that the Lunar Solo is intended for use with a trekking pole so no pole is included so you'd need to budget for that. Stu at Bearbones sells carbon fibre poles in sections as long as you want to aid packing. http://www.bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/shop/?product=shelter-specific-poles
If you live near one of the Alpkit stores they often have one or more of their tents erected in-store so you might be able to have a look before you buy.
I had a quick look at the Jaran for a two man (well man and wife) tent for bikepacking. In the end we went with a Big Agnes Copper Spur which worked out at nearly 400g lighter (actually it's lighter than the Ordos 2) and had a bit more headroom that lets me at 1m80 tall sit up without touching the ceiling. The Copper Spur, MSR Hubbas and the Jaran are all very similar two door designs. @PostieRich has a one man Hubba.
Remember that you've got to pack and carry the tent on your bike so lighter, less bulky and more packable will help there. Usually it's the poles that prove problematic, enough that Big Agnes now have a bikepacking version of the Copper Spur that has shorter section poles.
For solo use my preferences, in order, would be: Lunar Solo; one of the MSR/Big Agnes one person tents; Alpkit Ordos.
If i was touring as in panniers and racks touring rather than the dream of soft luggage and carrying nothing.
I'd just drop a 2 man tent on the deck of the rack - done like this poles rarely present an issue
I have a tent with an extended porch and would be reluctant to go back. When its raining you can get under cover in the porch and remove your waterproofs before getting in to the inner. Its a huge plus. Adds around 300 grammes
Thanks for the recommendations. I think i will still get the Alpkit.
good choice. if it is comfy for someone my size, it will be ace for someone smaller built.
and it packs small and is pretty light. oh and it dries very quickly.
alpkit ordos 1 or 2
I don't think there is an Ordos 1, just a 2 and 3.
apologies, I have the 2, which is the smaller of them both.
There's a Big Agnes Copper Spur UL 1 (this one https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/equipment-c3/tents-shelters-c25/all-tents-c148/copper-spur-hv-ul-1-tent-p6727) for sale on facebook marketplace/outdoor gear exchange for £290.
Seller looks to be based near Accrington
We've done a few trips in a Jaran 2 and found it to be good for two, so would give you plenty of room for one. There's a bit more room to sit up, which is what swung it compared to the Ordos in the end (everything else was a lot more expensive at the time).
It would probably show its limitations more if you had a week of gopping weather and had to do more sheltering, and more particularly cooking, in it though. I've had one of the doors pegged right out and carefully used a stove in the lee of that, with me inside, but it's not great. That caveat aside, it's been absolutely great for the price/weight/space compromise.
(it's not as light as some of the suggestions here though)