Tents

While many two-person backpacking tents have a price tag of between £500 and 600, you don’t need to break your a bank account to purchase this offering from Regatta. The Regatta Halin 2 is £110, which is a fifth of the price of some of the comparable competitors with similar dimensions and capacity. Indeed, the Halin 2 makes backpacking and camping affordable and accessible to just about everyone. The Halin 2 is part of Regatta’s Point 214 range, which was created to provide fellwalkers and hikers with robust gear that can withstand windy and wet [...]

For 40 years Vango has remained one of the leading designers and manufacturers of high-quality tents with durability and reliability that has made the brand highly popular. They are one of the most forward-thinking designers of camping equipment with innovations such as the TBS Banding System which adds stability to their tents. The company actually started out as canvas makers called Andrew Mitchell & Co, owned by the Moodie family from west Scotland from 1898. In 1963 they acquired the services of a tentmaker from James McIllwraith & Co based in the town of Govan [...]

Features Due to its light weight of only 1810g, the Wild Country Zephyros 2 tent is very to use on backpacking trips. The outer is pitched first and there is a long porch along one of the sides of the tent that provides an entrance. There is a second door on the opposite side in the back to provide another entry point. Another impressive feature at this price is the flysheet that is made out of PU-coated polyester ripstop material. 5/5 Design There is only one main pole that pitches the Wild Country Zephyros 2. [...]

Being as lightweight as possible while providing plenty of living space are the hallmarks of the MSR Elixir 2. Unlike a majority of backpacking tents, the Elixir 2 comes with two spacious porches and two decent-sized entrants. There is good headroom throughout the interior of the tent and not simply underneath the poles. The tent's outer is made out of ripstop polyester that has a PU coating. 5/5 Design The MSR Elixir 2 comes with two main poles along with a shorter third cross-pole. The tent is pitched inner-first and the poles are coloured coded, [...]

It is important to take the weight of your tent into consideration when you are backpacking. The FlyLite weighs just 904g, which makes it the the lightest full shelter that has ever been produced by MSR, yet still provides plenty of space to comfortably sleep two campers. The FlyLite has been designed for hikers on trails like the USA's Pacific Crest Trail. However, it can be useful for walkers in the UK as well who want to travel light in favourable weather. The manufacturer states that this tent weighs 710g. However, the sample that was [...]

While the latest and greatest technological advancements have led to some truly impressive products in the market for super-lightweight tents for backpacking, ever-rising prices risk freezing out the budget-minded buyer. This is one reason that Coleman has started offering backpacking tents in a price range between £130 and £200. This undercuts the top of the line superlights by 50 per cent or more. How much quality can one expect from a half-price tent, though? Light weight and compact stowage are the top priorities for Coleman's new backpacking tents, but the manufacturer is also trying to [...]

For such a generous living space, the Jack Wolfskin Exolight II weighs only 1986g. The extra space all comes from a very creative use of its pole system. This tent's poles have been shock-corded together to form the external skeleton that the flysheet attaches to. The inner is attached already to the flysheet, or it can be added later in order to keep it dry while pitching out in the rain. The Exolight II's pole system was designed to be able to withstand winds of up to 80 km/h. However, it is very quick to [...]

This is the most recent version of the Hubba Hubba from MSR. The Next Generation (NX) is made with lighter materials and has a weight of right under 1795g. That is pretty remarkable given the fact that this tent has a very large porch with entrances on both sides. It has an inner-first pitch, so the inner might get wet when pitched while it is raining. The skeleton of poles form a frame with the inner suspended from it. The fly overs over the top and the narrow webbing has ladder-lock adjusters which helps to [...]

The Helium Carbon 200 weighs only 1061g, making it the most lightweight two-person tent offered by Vango. It comes with titanium wire pegs and Yunan Carbon X-Lite tent poles. According to Vango, these poles are 48 per cent lighter compared to alloy poles. It packs down very small as well. This tent is pitched with its main pole sliding into a transverse sleeve, with a vertical pole at both the foot and head areas. There are very small wire titanium pegs, which can be easily lost in my experience, so I would prefer having heavier [...]