Time to think about tents!

[thewayiam]

On 1/8/2017 at 9:52 PM, bexj said:

Oh, and those pop up jobs might be a doddle to pitch but they are an absolute bastard to put away!  

Not necessarily, I have a Vango Dart 300DXL and once you get the hang of it it's fine. it's defo better that a fold up job although getting the tent in the bag in the dark can be a challenge. You know you're bending the poles the correct way as if you aren't they make a crunch sound lol but that's easy to put right by just reversing it. Only got me £50 from Ebay from a place that sell refurbished gear but it was spotless when it came, originally a £120/130 tent.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

On 08/01/2017 at 9:52 PM, bexj said:

Oh, and those pop up jobs might be a doddle to pitch but they are an absolute bastard to put away!  

When I first used my pop up tent it was indeed a bastard to put away. So much so that I really couldn't get it back in to it's carrying case properly at all. I managed to walk with it a fair distance but then it just burst out of it's case and erected itself as it is designd to do. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get it to fit the case right. Then, after a few exursions with it it just clicked in to place and I was able to fit it in the bag no problem. The problem is - will I still remember how to do it this summer. One could get a pop up tent anxiety attack if you thought about it for too long.

By the way - there are videos on Youtube which show you how to re-pack many pop up tents. That said, I think the new pop up tents have draw strings which do th job for you. Very clever.

[OBface]

2 hours ago, Kalcius said:

 

Ok, you've got me, the hidden geek within is drawn to the novelty of the inflatable haha!

 

We bought a fresh and black inflatable tent last year for festivals where there's likely to be a bit of a walk. No complaints whatsoever - can highly recommend. 

[incident]

19 minutes ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

By the way - there are videos on Youtube which show you how to re-pack many pop up tents. That said, I think the new pop up tents have draw strings which do th job for you. Very clever.

As far as I've seen, the draw string feature is only on the ones sold by Decathlon. It does make it far easier to pack away than any other tent. Had one like that last year and had it down and in the bag in less than 2 minutes.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

34 minutes ago, incident said:

As far as I've seen, the draw string feature is only on the ones sold by Decathlon.

Thanks incident as I hadn't known that. Do you know if the draw string ones sold by Decathalon are all from the same manufacturer? Just wondering if one company has the patent on this design which others haven't been able to copy / mimic.

[incident]

No idea what level of patent / protection they've got - but like a lot of the stuff sold in Decathlon it's under one of their own brands - in this case Quechua, so it's quite possible they have some degree of ownership on the concept.

Don't let the own/unknown brand put you off though. The quality is really high.

[Gnomicide]

Probably going to treat myself to one of these this year. 3 man tent you can stand up in and a very good sized porch, only thing putting me off is the weight (12kg).

 

[Crazyfool01]

3 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

Probably going to treat myself to one of these this year. 3 man tent you can stand up in and a very good sized porch, only thing putting me off is the weight (12kg).

 

our friends had this one which we foolishly agreed to carry in as we were the first arrivals and yes its ridiculously heavy the poles are stupidly large and weighty !!

[Gnomicide]

But standing up!

 

[Gnomicide]

6 minutes ago, Scruffylovemonster said:

You can get tents that weigh far less that you can stand up in.

Yep, still hunting but most are 4 man plus (which would be taking the piss if I'm not sharing) or opening the front flaps would let all the rain in. I've not yet found one that better fits what I'm looking for but would be grateful for any suggestions. 

[Hotchilidog]

If I do indeed end up going on my own, I'm thinking of investing a decent but small pop-up. I'll be getting the coach and I traditionally arrive late afternoon early evening on the wednesday so I'd like to think I'd have a greater chance of squeezing my self into a small pitch in Hawkswell. I really only just sleep in my tent at Glastonbury, once I'm out for the day I'm out, just need a place to crash and store a few clothes.

I do have a bigger tent which is fine for the likes of Pylon etc but I just fancy camping in a different spot so may modify my accomodation choice.

[The Nal]

10 hours ago, Gnomicide said:

But standing up!

 

Mine is 11kg and yeah, standing up is essential.

11-12kg isn't that much to carry.

Unless you have a shitload of cans or something stupid like that with you. 

Edited January 11, 2017 by The Nal

[Gnomicide]

2 minutes ago, The Nal said:

Mine is 11kg and yeah, standing up is essential.

11-12kg isn't that much to carry.

Unless you have a shitload of cans or something stupid like that with you. 

Normally I'd have a trolley of some description (I know) so not an issue but I'm getting the coach this year. That also means no cans though so despite my feeble arms, I shoyld be ok.

[The Nal]

8 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

Normally I'd have a trolley of some description (I know) so not an issue but I'm getting the coach this year. That also means no cans though so despite my feeble arms, I shoyld be ok.

Bring some hard booze instead. Easier to carry!

The coach is great for making you bring less and making you realise that you actually need fuck all too.

[Gnomicide]

3 hours ago, The Nal said:

Bring some hard booze instead. Easier to carry!

The coach is great for making you bring less and making you realise that you actually need fuck all too.

The usual load for coach years is bags of wine. 

3 hours ago, Scruffylovemonster said:

Always a problem!

 

I knew I could rely on you. 

[cerv]

4 hours ago, Scruffylovemonster said:

You can get tents that weigh far less that you can stand up in.

Can you share links to some? For me the holy grail of tents is the one you can stand up in, has some porch area (doesn't need to be huge, just some) and comes in under 10 kg. And less than £200 if poss. Ideally around the £100-150 mark. It's not that easy!

[Spindles]

4 hours ago, The Nal said:

Bring some hard booze instead. Easier to carry!

The coach is great for making you bring less and making you realise that you actually need fuck all too.

This every time for me now.  No more spending the first 2 days recovering from the aching hell of carrying too much shit onsite or Sunday being under a cloud of knowing you have to drag it all back out again in the morning.

A tip a mate gave is that a plastic jar of squeezy honey goes well with fruit juice and dark spirits to make a tasty bottle of mix to pass around.

[The Nal]

26 minutes ago, Spindles said:

This every time for me now.  No more spending the first 2 days recovering from the aching hell of carrying too much shit onsite or Sunday being under a cloud of knowing you have to drag it all back out again in the morning.

A tip a mate gave is that a plastic jar of squeezy honey goes well with fruit juice and dark spirits to make a tasty bottle of mix to pass around.

Was 2010 I think when I twigged it. Brought way too much.

Up at Shit O'Clock, queued for 3 hours to get in, pitched the tent, made a trip back to the car for booze, then played the Efests footie match, then another trip to the car and then at 8pmish a final trip to carpark in what felt like Aberdeen to get a mates 12 man tent and pitched that for him as they weren't arriving until Thursday. Was 11pm before I had a drink. 

These days I stay as close as possible the night before, get up at 8am for the coach and if it doesn't fit in the rucksack it doesn't come with us.

[CaledonianGonzo]

I'm exactly the same, albeit I'll concede that I'm fortunate in that I can afford to buy food and drink onsite rather than having to lug it all in with me.

[Quark]

On 1/8/2017 at 11:29 PM, zero000 said:

Not sure inflatable tents are a great idea for festivals. One hole and you're fucked.

 

I suspect this chap may have been fucked regardless of tent quality.  Or even owning a tent.

[The Nal]

48 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

I'm exactly the same, albeit I'll concede that I'm fortunate in that I can afford to buy food and drink onsite rather than having to lug it all in with me.

Hmmm. Putting my ignorant middle class hat on for a moment, I'd argue that the majority of people who can afford a ticket, travel etc can cobble together 200-ish quid or so for food and booze on site over the course of 9 months if they really try. I get that its more difficult to do this for lots of people. 

The Glasto ticket itself is a huge stretch of course but I doubt every one of the 50 or 60 thousand people I see every year pumping sweat with sore backs and struggling with trolleys choc full of shit are all in a position where they absolutely have no choice but to break their backs.

If anything, I see the opposite. People bring all sorts of mad shit in. Picnic sets, BBQs, chests of ice, bags of firewood, huge gazebos, space blankets, fancy dress costumes, inflatable furniture, selfie sticks, battery chargers, nos canisters, signs, flags, vuvuzelas and so on. 

Its very rare these days that you see someone on the breadline at the festival. Apart from students but those c**ts are always broke.  

Spoke to a few Efesters over the years (ex Efesters and Glasto goers now), great people, who cited the trips back to the car etc as a big reason to stop going. "Its too big now, too much hassle, too difficult" and so on. Nothing to do with money. 

[Matt - Ed Banger Records]

I can afford to eat and drink onsite to be fair, but it's always nice to have a decent stash of booze for drinking at the tent, or for having about your person when in crowds etc, I tend to take 40ish cans of beer with me, but I think I will reduce this down and take boxed wine and some spirits this year.

Anyway, back to tents, I don't need one for Glastonbury but will be in the market for a new one for other festivals this summer, so I shall keep a keen eye on the recommendations.

[shuttlep]

On 1/8/2017 at 3:29 PM, stuartbert two hats said:

Quick question, how tall are you? And do you care about being able to stand up?

you so sound like a tent sales men, 

 

 

[CaledonianGonzo]

He needs the extra headroom to accommodate his hats.

[CaledonianGonzo]

That's what the cider's for.