New Quechua "Fresh & Black" Tents

[Gnomicide]

On Tuesday, February 09, 2016 at 8:31 PM, Woffy said:

All of you wearing your 'eyemasks'!

Really.

It's a game changer. 

[stuartbert two hats]

5 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

It's a game changer. 

I can't get on with them, just find them too uncomfortable. This blackout tent is going to be my game changer, I can tell.

Edited February 28, 2016 by stuartbert two hats

[Woffy]

I just blackout. Hopefully having made it back to my tent.

[eastynh]

1 hour ago, Woffy said:

I just blackout. Hopefully having made it back to my tent.

Haha I am exactly the same. A tent has never really managed to beat my comatosed state yet.

I am in the market for a new tent for this year's festival so this one may be a goer.

[kaytee...]

Are the quechua pop ups any good then? Whenever i think of pop up tents now I just remember waking up with rain pouring through

[dooke10]

6 minutes ago, kaytee... said:

Are the quechua pop ups any good then? Whenever i think of pop up tents now I just remember waking up with rain pouring through

They are good, two skin so no leakage. Had mine for about 7 years, although regretted not getting the 3 man instead of the 2 man.

[FrankieX]

24 minutes ago, kaytee... said:

Are the quechua pop ups any good then? Whenever i think of pop up tents now I just remember waking up with rain pouring through

Yeah, they have a very good reputation, and deservedly so as far as I can tell. My 3-man Quechua popup tent is also almost 7 years old and has been great (apart from the morning light and heat of course, but every other tent suffers from this) over that time.

They're also good value for money. Decathlon's standard 3-man popup tent costs £55, whereas a similar 3-man Vango tent (the double skinned version) has an RRP of £100 and doesn't seem to available for less than £60. On top of this Decathlon's newer tents have the 'Easy' system of packing them away, and of course now there's also this new Fresh & Black range which no one else has yet.

There are a lot of cheap poor-quality popups (and also regular tents) around. Generally speaking, the things to look out for are the waterproofness of the fabric (Avoid tents whch say "water resistant", "showerproof" or quote a Hydrostatic Head (HH) value of less than 2000mm), no separate inner bedroom made from a 'breathable' material (otherwise, condensation from your breath & sweat forms on the inside of your tent and runs down to the groundsheet) and taped seams (because it doesn't matter how waterproof the tent material is if water comes in the bits where it's sewn together).

[dondo]

I am sorely tempted by one of these Fresh & Black ones- not that I really need a new tent! But as will be on recycling crew with potentially early starts the thought of having a tent where can have an afternoon kip in a tent that isn't a furnace is most appealing!

[sisco]

21 minutes ago, FrankieX said:

Yeah, they have a very good reputation, and deservedly so as far as I can tell. My 3-man Quechua popup tent is also almost 7 years old and has been great (apart from the morning light and heat of course, but every other tent suffers from this) over that time.

They're also good value for money. Decathlon's standard 3-man popup tent costs £55, whereas a similar 3-man Vango tent (the double skinned version) has an RRP of £100 and doesn't seem to available for less than £60. On top of this Decathlon's newer tents have the 'Easy' system of packing them away, and of course now there's also this new Fresh & Black range which no one else has yet.

There are a lot of cheap poor-quality popups (and also regular tents) around. Generally speaking, the things to look out for are the waterproofness of the fabric (Avoid tents whch say "water resistant", "showerproof" or quote a Hydrostatic Head (HH) value of less than 2000mm), no separate inner bedroom made from a 'breathable' material (otherwise, condensation from your breath & sweat forms on the inside of your tent and runs down to the groundsheet) and taped seams (because it doesn't matter how waterproof the tent material is if water comes in the bits where it's sewn together).

Sold

[Tranquility of Solitude]

The foil blankets they hand out at the end of a marathon are ideal. Draped over your tent they act as insulation at night and in the morning reflect sunlight, thereby reducing temperatures.

 Tip: save yourself the trouble of running a marathon by purchasing them in Poundland 

[incident]

41 minutes ago, Tranquility of Solitude said:

The foil blankets they hand out at the end of a marathon are ideal. Draped over your tent they act as insulation at night and in the morning reflect sunlight, thereby reducing temperatures.

 Tip: save yourself the trouble of running a marathon by purchasing them in Poundland 

Trouble is, they're a bugger to secure, and are noisy as anything in even the slightest bit of wind. Much rather a solution that's integrated in the tent.

[Lubic]

On 09/02/2016 at 3:45 PM, stuartbert two hats said:

I know, even a tiny one for muddy boots would make a massive difference.

The Quechua Air XL ii which I own has a small porch which I can keep my muddy stuff in. Not sure if the new 'fresh and black' equivalent has the same?

Edited February 29, 2016 by Lubic87

[Lithoniel]

On 29/02/2016 at 0:47 PM, incident said:

Trouble is, they're a bugger to secure, and are noisy as anything in even the slightest bit of wind. Much rather a solution that's integrated in the tent.

Bulldog clips and duct tape, although it does sound like living in a crisp packet for a week.

 

[Tranquility of Solitude]

21 minutes ago, Lithoniel said:

Bulldog clips and duct tape, although it does sound like living in a crisp packet for a week.

 

Agreed, but when you're camped near Arcadia sometimes crisp packets don't sound too bad.

[stuartbert two hats]

More info, slightly conflicting with what the Decathlon man told me:

http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2015/10/24/take-a-look-behind-the-scenes-as-outdoors-retailer-decathlon-continues-uk-expansion?printview=1

Quote

 

The 2 Seconds tents are just some of those that will benefit from the addition of this year’s innovation from Quechua: Fresh and Black. This consists of a four-layer construction using polyester, a titanium reflector layer, a black layer and finally an aluminium isolation layer.

Ms Bordez says the innovation is the result of customers saying they want something that will stop them being woken too early by bright light and heat – I suspect UK campers weren’t complaining bitterly about the latter. Fresh and Black created in tests a 17C difference in temperature inside the tent when the outside heat rises to 30C. And with an ambient exterior brightness of 100,000 lux – ie bright sunshine – the reading inside the tent was just 2 lux.

 

If that's true, then there is only one sensible response:

 

[jparx]

That's incredible if true. Definitely worth the investment. Good job with the info gathering!

[stuartbert two hats]

43 minutes ago, jparx said:

That's incredible if true. Definitely worth the investment. Good job with the info gathering!

It is.  I'm more inclined to believe the 7C figure to be honest.  Still, given the similarity in the figures, I think the 7C reduction would be at 30C. 

[sloseph]

That's incredible if it's true, even if it's just the 7 degree difference that's still going to be a valuable difference when you're looking down the barrel of a crippling comedown

It'll make a massive difference to how drinkable your cider is come Sunday too, mine was still pretty cool last year and that was just the white reflective material, adding that extra black layer is going to make it even better 

[Filthy]

Just put cider under the tent and it will be colder still

[stuartbert two hats]

On 28/02/2016 at 11:09 PM, Gnomicide said:

Gnomicide said nothing. I can't delete quotes.

 

55 minutes ago, sloseph said:

That's incredible if it's true, even if it's just the 7 degree difference that's still going to be a valuable difference when you're looking down the barrel of a crippling comedown

It'll make a massive difference to how drinkable your cider is come Sunday too, mine was still pretty cool last year and that was just the white reflective material, adding that extra black layer is going to make it even better 

It's the darkness that really appeals to me. Last time, I kept being woken up by the sunlight at 4 or 5 before the heat kicked in. 

[kingbadger]

Looking to invest in one of these, primarily because I'll be doing NOS Alive in Lisbon after Glastonbury, so the idea of reducing the heat so much is extremely tempting, given the hell I've had camping at Benicassim previously. Has anyone bitten the bullet yet and got one? The only downside for me is the complete lack of a porch, which won't be an issue at Lisbon, but would be pretty bad at Glastonbury, assuming it will be muddy at some point.

[VolumetricFox]

I have picked up one of these, it was a sight to behold inflating it in the meeting room at work when it was delivered.  I'll be trying it outside this weekend, but first impressions on the 3XL version.

• Inflated in under 1 minute - barely 20 pumps, I'll also time adding the guide ropes this weekend.
• Putting away was also quicker not having to thread poles out - about 5 minutes.
• Inside of the brightly  lit room it was almost pitch black inside
• When the tubes are inflated they are rock solid, you'd have a hard job thinking they were not poles - partly because you're pumping them up to a pretty heft 7 PSI.
• Great height in the centre.  I'm 6'2" and its about chest height, so will still be folded over getting dressed but don't have to do the worm to put trousers on.
• Need to deflate a bit more carefully next time, unscrewed the cap a bit too quickly and sounded like a gunshot!
• The pump they show isn't included, so you'll need to supply your own (make sure it goes to 7PSI)

Will be pretty hard to figure out the temperature difference as it only gets to 10C during the day at the moment and the suns barely out.

There is a puncture repair patch included, but I'll be taking duct tape just in case.

[stuartbert two hats]

My local Decathlon said the tents would be on display today.  I  think I'll pop down tomorrow, give them another day to make sure it's all ready.

[incident]

53 minutes ago, nodolphie said:

I have picked up one of these, it was a sight to behold inflating it in the meeting room at work when it was delivered.  I'll be trying it outside this weekend, but first impressions on the 3XL version.

• Inflated in under 1 minute - barely 20 pumps, I'll also time adding the guide ropes this weekend.
• Putting away was also quicker not having to thread poles out - about 5 minutes.
• Inside of the brightly  lit room it was almost pitch black inside
• When the tubes are inflated they are rock solid, you'd have a hard job thinking they were not poles - partly because you're pumping them up to a pretty heft 7 PSI.
• Great height in the centre.  I'm 6'2" and its about chest height, so will still be folded over getting dressed but don't have to do the worm to put trousers on.
• Need to deflate a bit more carefully next time, unscrewed the cap a bit too quickly and sounded like a gunshot!
• The pump they show isn't included, so you'll need to supply your own (make sure it goes to 7PSI)

Will be pretty hard to figure out the temperature difference as it only gets to 10C during the day at the moment and the suns barely out.

There is a puncture repair patch included, but I'll be taking duct tape just in case.

In terms of the inflatable range, I have a question - one of my big concerns about them (about inflatable tents in general really) was about how easy it'd be for some joker to release the valve in the middle of the night - do you have any thoughts / observations on that aspect?

I'm extremely tempted to head down to my local Decathlon at lunchtime today and take a look. Though can't afford to spend any money this month with the deposit payment coming up.

[jparx]

Great to hear some positive feedback. This tent could be a life saver and it seems as though it's living up to its potential! I'll check one out this weekend.

'Life saver' is probably a bit over dramatic mind.