What To Look For In A Bike Touring Tent
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- Опубліковано 3 сер 2024
- In this video I go through the features you should look for when choosing a bike touring tent.
Tents featured in the video: Naturehike Cloud Up 2 - amzn.to/3lEhsbB
Bergans Trysil 2
I get asked all the time "What tent do you recomend for bike touring?". In this video I go through the features you should look for when choosing a bike touring tent. I compare my own 2-man tents: the Naturehike Cloud Up 2 and the Bergans Trysil 2 and talk about why a free-standing tent is to prefer.
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I realized I forgot to explain why the free-standing tent is difficult to pitch in the rain. That is due to the fact that you have to pitch the inner tent first (which you want to stay dry). And once you've pitched the inner you can put on the rain fly. This means that the inner is going to get wet if it rains. When pitching the tunnel tent, you pitch the outer tent first so the inner never gets exposed to the rain. Thanks for pointing this out Thijs van de Mortel!
Actually you can pitch the NH tent outer first. The tent floor has grommet openings at the corners to put the tent pole in.
Lay the floor, setup the pole, and install the outer layer. After that, you can wipe dry the floor mat, and then install the inner tent safely.
Some free standing tent especially those of single wall or those as mentioned with given floor mat can be pitched dry in the rain. We could set up under a small tarp then move into position. The tarp can even be used as the floor mat.
i have that brand tent, the 2 person one, you can put up the outer shell first by using a Footprint, and once under it, you can clip on the inner part from underneath
you can also use it on its own as a rain shelter
same with inner, use on its own = breezey without being buggy
@@brycemartin7670 hilleberg - for extreme conditions only because they are crazy expensive, over a grand £
Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks for the high quality comparison!
Thank you for your kind word Victor! I'm going to have to check out your new channel.
Best man Brother! Thank u alot for this Video and the vibes! U won a sub and a Like. Love from Germany ❤️
Thank you Benjamin! Glad you liked it.
I enjoy your videos. I appreciate that you are not waving your hands constantly like other UA-camrs. Excellent measured speech. I'm looking forward to learning more videos.
Thank you Mick! Glad to hear this. Always appreciate constructive feedback. Maybe the fact that English is not my native language means that I don't speak as fast as some other people on UA-cam.
A lot of great info, thanks
Thank you Scott!
Good video Mike. I agree with taking a little bit of a weight penalty for comfort and/or space.
Very nice reviews and a lot of good points. Comfort off the bike is so important after a long day of cycling. Take care and stay safe, Al
Yeah, many people tent to go as ultralight as possible, but forget to enjoy their time out there.
Mike, good review. I own the Naturehike Cloud Up 2. A really good lightweight tenant and as you said on clear nights leave the fly off and watch the stars. A new sub from me 👍
The "Every man's right to roam" law is one the US should adopt as there are too many restrictions. Your review was great.
Hi Mike , thanks for the info , really feel like going on a camping trip now 😁
Thanks for the kind words! Hope you are able to go on a trip real soon.
I just bought the tent I will be using it heavy but it’s 4 season and it’s comfortable I’m old I want comfortable LOL
Thanks Mike...I'm with you on the side entrance, which also put the vestibule on the side as well. I use really low budget tents have entrances and vestibules on both sides, using one for storage and cooking (if necessary) and the other can remain clear to get in and out. The one downside to my budget freindly tents is the weight, you sacrifice a lb or two, but they both suit me. Thanks again Mikael, another great video!
Take a look at the Lanshan ultra light tent. It’s light, cheap and people are raving about it.
It’s available on Aliexpress and maybe Amazon. There are tons of reviews on UA-cam.
kudos for the great review
your info is very precious , thanks a lot friend , please make more videos
Great video, thanks 🙏
Glad you liked it Tony!
A great video giving showing the differences between the two different tent designs. I use the freestanding tent motorcycle camping in Canada for the very reason that it is easy to erect at the end of a long day and being able to move it around testing for a suitable flat spot to sleep. I like the idea of the warmer tunnel tent but not at the cost of more condensation and a fixed location. A good quality sleeping bag might be the answer to offset the colder nights you get from a freestanding tent. There were some differences between the two designs I never considered until seeing your video. Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed the video.
U should have more love,likes,subscribers,everithyng my dad was inspired by ur vids and we finally maked our first bike tour so thank you for helpin
I'm really glad to hear this! Thanks for taking the time to write a nice comment Michal.
I like my free standing MSR elixir 2 man tent as I like loads of room and don't mind carrying the extra weight. Plus it fits perfect on my tubus Evo rack in between my panniers. Plus it has two doors for good ventilation.
Looks like a really nice tent! I like the idea of having two side doors, if you were to use it for two people sometime. Having to climb over each other seems troublesome, so I guess it's nice having two doors.
Thanks! Kind of an asmr too!
The Cloud-Up 2 is a fantastic tent but I've ordered a second Naturehike tent: the Cloud-Peak 2. Even more room, free standing, and pitches all-in-one so fine to pitch in the rain.
Very helpful, Mike. Thanks. Joe. UK
Great tent talk appreciate the deferences...like the idea having separate entrances as myself and wife tour together makes good sense...time to rethink tent set up and design...more important, who gets to carry tent in there penneir😏... 👋🇨🇦🎥👍
I think our blue Norwegian tent will have to do for us for a couple of more years, since I don't think my wife would appreciate me buying yet another tent. I think I'm up to 5 at the moment. But having two entraces really speaks to me. I can't think how many times we have spent crawling over each other to be able to get out of the tent. And it's especially nice for those nighly times when nature calls. :-)
I've used a macpac microlite for around 10 years. is a side entry style. It has a massive wind and water repellent capacity, likely unbeatable on the market in the 3 to 4 season category, a very tough all but waterproof floor built in, has an inner and outer pitch capacity, is billed as 1 person but can take 2 x183cm males for a week at a pinch. max weight
Very helpful.. BikePacking on a budget is important.. I agree side entrance is key... Vestibule is good... Thanks...
I will add another advantage of the free standing tent is that you can tent dance with it. I used to camp with friends up in berry patch areas where we would pick a kind of blueberry which is good for pies. We'd drink beers at night. The first night, we'd set up out tents and then see better places for them so if you had a free standing tent, you could pick it up and move it to that spot. One time, we moved tents all around and sometimes more than once, and that became known as tent dancing. Alcohol helps to make the dance more fun. Unfortunately, my backpacking tent is still in excellent condition and is not free standing but would be the one I would use because it is paid for.
Haha, I can envision that dancing scene. I guess it's all fun and games until someone stumbles and falls on their tent. .-)
Thank you. Very helpful. I am new to your channel and am interested in bike touring so I am glad I found it. I am jealous of Sweden's 'every man's right to roam' law! When we lived in the UK we enjoyed being able to walk around any field in the countryside under a similiar law. Wish the US had more laws like that.
Great tips
Thank you Chris!
Thank you!
You're welcome LaSan. Glad you liked it.
Thanks Mike from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺🇸🇪
Cheers Eugene!
also test your tent in the rain.
i had a tent i used for many years and one day i was sleeping in winter while there was freezing rain failing and i felt the rain spraying on my face thru the exterior fabric. the rain fly was still looking good, but the rain could spray thru the material and go inside. tent material get damaged by the sun and with age they cannot stop water anymore.
Thanks mate
Interesting recommendation on the YKK zipper...I've never heard of these before, but my last tent had the world's most infuriating zipper, it used to drive me absolutely crazy! Especially after a few beers 😁
I like teepee tents with half inner. Nice thing is you can for example combine a Lanshan 1 inner with a 160cm high Aricxi outer tent. Then you'll have a huge vestibule. Real palace if you put a fleece picnic with waterproof back blanket in it. And still well under 2 kilo including pole.
But for wild camping in tight spaces a small free standing tent is the better option. Especially if you go stealth you may have to move it around a bit in the dark.
Nice information 👍
Thank you! Glad you liked it.
Thanks.
I thought you got into the cloud2 tent without difficulty, I have had 2 side entry tents and I don't find them much easier than how yours looked. I think the freestanding one looks great on a design and practical point of view. Im not keen on the colour though, that is all
Nice guidelines Mike! I'm thinking between naturehike spider or mongar models. Agree about side entrance.
I don't know much about the Spider. The Mongar looks nice though.
@@BikeTouringMike spider is this model also called cycling tent. ua-cam.com/video/esyhM6TBKTQ/v-deo.html
What you need is an outer with pre fitted poles that you can just pop up to keep the rain off and then an inner that just quickly clips onto it so that so you can move it and with a couple of quick pegs on the base it's fixed down. Especially handy if there is some cover and then you can carry the tent out. Some of the old geodesic tents used to do this, pity it's not a more widely supported style.
silicone spray lubricant works very well for zippers
Funnily enough I have given up on tents as weather factors have become the main point as I get older and lazier. I now use a combination on Rab Rigid Raider and a DD hammocks light 3x3 tarp.
The advantage of two side opening doors is your tent partner does not have to crawl over you in the middle of the night to pee. I'm rethinking tents. One of the tents that I have not used in years is a 1980's North Face octagon tent which is basically a 7 foot 2.14meters diameter circle from the early 1980's. It sleeps 3 and weights 5 pounds 2.7. K. It pack small for bike touring. There is one center pole 5 feet, 1.52 M high, with plenty of headroom. Basically a Tee Pee. Since it is a single wall tent It is a fast set up in the rain, and very roomy with 365 mosquito netting ventilation and a roof vent for two biker's and their gear. At 5 pounds That figures to 2.5 pounds per person. All your gear is in the tent. Easy enter and exit without steeping over your tent mate. There is something to be said about a one pole tent. They set up fast. but once set up you can't pick them up and move them. The downside is they need to be staked out, which goes really fast and the 7x 7 foot print requires a harder to find space than a rectangle. In the 1970's I used a number of center pole tents and forgot how easy they are to set up and get in and out of.
Some great tips Mike , I wish my free standing Alpkit soloist was just a little bigger like the cloud up 2 . I always put a groundsheet down to stop being spiked from the undergrowth like you . If your quick you can erect the free standing one before too much rain soaks the inner then just chuck the fly sheet over . atb Dave
My Vango Banshee tent pitches all in one, inner and outer together, and folds up the same way. Certainly I would like to be able to move it around a little after setting it up, but getting into a dry inner tent is worth the extra trouble of being careful where it is before pegging down. Also, from the moment of getting that first peg in the ground, it isn't going to blow away.
Thank you for your videos, Mike. They are helpful and informative.... and, if I may say so, you come across as a really nice guy. Please stay safe in these difficult times...
... and all you OTHER nice guys, and gals, you do the same, d'you hear?
Yeah, you have to be really quick. I experienced that during my time in Provence last year. I think I had to pitch it twice in heavy rain. And exposing the inner for much more than one minute would have been disasterous. Lucky for me I've probably pitched the teant about 50 times, so I know what I'm doing.
My Norwegian tent (the blue one) also pitches all in one, and I always check the weather before I go on a weekend tour. If it's going to rain a lot I'll probably choose that one over the free-standing tent.
I have a Companion Pro Hiker 2. Not the lightest tent around, but it has plenty of room, 2 x side entrances and very waterproof and durable. It's free standing so I can set up anywhere.
The tub floor is a must. Try shade cloth rather than a tarp as a foot print 👍
Just watched a review of it. Seems like a really nice tent. Looks like you can fit 2 persons in there pretty easily. Nice with two side doors!
@@BikeTouringMike yes, it is definately a 2 man tent. I'm a large person and you can easily fit 2 of my size in it.
Really good video, Mike. Covered everything, just like a good tent, in fact. 😎
Haha! Glad you liked it!
Agree on the side entrance, but I would say height is more important. And yes, a two-man tent is just a proper sized one-man tent.
I use a housng (wrap) product called Tyvek. It is cheap and you can order just what you need as a foot pring.. Builders use it to wrap a new house to keep out moisture. And it is made by Dupont.
...the basic green tent in Decathlon is as good as any tent. It really is. And in wet and stormy conditions, too. I used one (And am currently) all over Europe in Summer, Autumn and Winter last and now (Spring) this year. And I'm 6 ft 2...
Do you remember its name?
Decathlon has a lot of tents.
@@Minecraftrok999 Actually, it basically the cheapest one at around €25
Quecha MH100 2Man.
@@davideldred.campingwilder6481 but the poles are fiberglass, so for the weight is heavy.
good info
Thank you! After doing this video and the great response I got from it I realized I'm going to do a whole series in the same fashion. How to plan your tour, how to pack, what gear and so on. The first episode should be finished in a week or two.
@@BikeTouringMike I got lost in all the tent options. there are so many..
your simple video helped me to choose between a selfstanding and a tunnel. :) ty
Hi Mike... can you tell me if you think a solar charger is a useful tool, or just extra weight? I am planning a tour in Western France in April/May next year (Covid willing)... thoughts?
Apparently I march to a different drummer. I have a couple tents but my preferred camping item is a good Jungle Hammock. Small , light weight compared to a tent and easy to pack either backpacking or Biking. No matter what the weather is like the 1st thing up and the last thing down is the rain fly. Then the Hammock and camp is ready. Everything strays dry except for the rain fly so it's the only wet item to pack and it's packed separate. A Silpoly or Cuben ( Dyneema ) fiber rain fly respells most if not all the water.
Well with a tent it's also the last thing down, so everything else is dry. Most of us can also march, you know.
Good stuff Mike. I like to use free standing double wall tent and like you, 2 man tent for extra space. It is worth it on a long trip. Hilleberg is my new favourite tents. And by the way, are you able to move around the country now. Thanks Mike.
Yes Hilleberg is a great brand of tent if you have those funds to spend. Yes, we are allowed to travel anywhere within the country as of next weekend. I'm hopefully going on my first multi day tour really soon.
The information is definitely useful Mike. We are searching for a tent for three people. My wife, me and my son of 11 year. Do you have any suggestions for me? It’s for bicycle tour camping.
I'm not that versed in big tents for bike tuoring. But my guess would be to go for a 4-man tent if your child is 11 years old. I have a 12 year old myself and ha proabably takes up as much space as his mother. MSR has a 4 man tent called Elixir. Another option could be to have two smaller tents instead of a big one.
If you ‘top and tail’ in a tent you get a bit more space, as long as nobody has smelly feet.
Two small tent is definitely a option, because I want touring also by myself than is a two person tent ideal. Thank you for your idea. 👍
Ed Laws thanks 😊😷
Great info, I have a Nature hike Monger, not the lightest, but a great tent. You can pitch it flysheet first, but it's a bit fiddly.
I didn't know you did synchronised swimming, that was a fine maneuver. If you do camp in a stream, is it best to attach an anchor to the tent?
Off to Vilhelmina soon?
Take care, Ed
Hi Ed! Just saw on the telly that they opened the Vildmarksvägen yesterday. Looked like the snow was about 2-3 meter high on each side.
www.svtplay.se/video/26847541/aktuellt/aktuellt-7-juni-21-00?start=auto
Next weekend they will lift the travel baan here in Sweden so we're allowed to travel freely withing the country. I'm planning on doing a 3 day tour starting Friday. I will probably go back to the Vindel River and complete the tour I had to abondon last year.
I was really impressed over my flexibility when I was editing the video. Although there were several old man sound I had to edit out :-)
@@BikeTouringMike Haha, wait till you get to my age!
We had some snow this weekend 😨
What? Snow in England in June? Must be some kind of record. Around here it's not uncommon that we get some snow in June, although never more than 15-30 minutes. Just watch Darren's trip to Nordkapp. We had a miserable April and beginning of May, and this weekend was really wet, but the coming 10 days look really promising
@@BikeTouringMike Was about 26 degrees last week. Now we have arctic winds, only about 2 flakes but definitely snow. You looked very tanned in your video.
Malin has me building a new patio at the moment. I was out for 3-4 days in the blazing sun last weekend, so that's probably the reason. We also had temperatures around 25C. I'm hoping to finish it before I leave on Friday.
Is it very difficult to put up the Naturehike Cloud II tent without the inner tent getting wet in rainy conditions?
great comparison unfortunately my current cheap tent is more like your blue one. i'll use it a few times this summer, i hope and then invest in a better one. one point you didn't mention that i think is important and sadly, is not true of my current tent is to make sure you can open the fly to get in without rain soaking the inner.
Good point. The blue one passes that test since the door of the outer tent is on the side. But the grey tent isn't that great for those situations.
Once you try a side entry tent, there is no going back to an end entry. {much more natural) Just like a bed. You get off a bed from the side, when was the last time that you got off from a bed from an end?
Mike let me know if we can do a video chat someday,that would be so cool.
Hopefully I'll at least do a live stream some time soon.
A question for you Mike: how tall are you, and is the nature hike cloudup2 long enough for you to stretch out? The one-person model is definitely narrower, as you say, but online it looks about 6 inches longer. I’m trying to decide which one to get.
I am 6'2 (188 cm). I can just about lie stretched out without my feet touching the tent wall. I think the difference in dimensions is due to their different shapes. While the inner of the CU2 has a rectangle shape, the CU1 has sort of a arrow shape on the foot end. So if you compare the two, you can see that those extra inches are just in the pointy edge of the Cloud Up 1. Otherwise my guess would be that they are the same lenght. A benefit of having the CU2 is that you can position your sleeping mat diagonally and in that way make up a couple of extra inches.
Bike Touring Mike Thank you for responding. I am 6’1 so if you fit, I will fit. I think I will get the cu2!
I have 3 different tent from Naturehike they're awesome better and least expensive than Norhe Face or MSR ...
I really like my Cloud Up 2 as well. If it had a side entrance and a more camouflage color it would be the ultimate bike camping tent for me.
Hello Mike,
The drawback you mention off the MSR tent, pitching it in the rain is a hoge drawback for me. Certainly on a longer tour you don’t know what weather to expect.
I don’t think that it is clear from your video wat causes the drawback so a beginner might not understand that it is due to the fact that you pitch the inner tent first and put the rain fly over later on and the other one can be pitched at the same time. Perhaps you could make that more clear.
Thanks for the constructive feedback! Totally forgot about that. I'm going to make a comment about that right away.
I use to tour with a tent. Now i tour with a hammock. I sleep much better in a hammock. Would be hard for me to go back to a tent.
I think I'm going to try a hammack in the future. There are certainly not a lack of trees around here in Sweden. :-)
Desert touring is out then. LoL.
In the military we had non-freestanding tents, and used them on all surfaces! If the ground was too hard we'd just drill holes for the pegs with a big, gasoline-powered drill.
On a more serious note, those heavy military tents with their not too good waterproofing taught me one thing: Perfect tension! Every wrinkle, every crease, every saggyness was a place where the tent would leak if it started to rain. Spending some time increasing and evening out tension in those guylines was time very well spent, should it start raining. My current tent is a Hilleberg Unna and it's a freestanding tent with a great rain fly, but I'm still just as anal with tension as I was with those old military tents.
By the way, the Unna is a pretty oddball concept. It's a one person tent with no vestibule, and instead of a vestibule it has enough space to fit all gear inside. OK, the bike or the kayak doesn't fit but... Main reason why you would want all your gear inside the tent is if you carry some expensive stuff, I sometimes bring really expensive camera gear with me and I prefer having it really close when I sleep. On the downside it's heavy, about 2 kg for a one person tent. Of course inner and outer tent go up at the same time.
I always bring almost all my things into the inner tent. I think the main reason is that it's less damp in the inner than out in the vestibule, and I hate when things get soggy in the morning. I only leave a water bottle and my shoes out there. But then again my vestibule is pretty minimal.
Never mentioned weight no?
Don't get a tent with fibre glass poles! Alloy far better, preferably DAC, much lighter, stronger and more durable.
Been there, done that. The blue tent has fibre glass and it failed on me a year ago. However I was winter camping at freezing temperatures at the time, so I guess I can only blame myself.
neither tents tipi is the best
Far too heavy.
@@garymitchell5899 hats wrong with heavy
First
Don’t stare so intensely into the camera I thought you were plotting my demise 😨😨😨