Let’s talk about tents…
A popular thing in the outdoor community is something called wild camping. Wild camping is a relatively simple concept to understand. You get all your gear in one large pack (including your tent), head out for a hike, and camp.
The most important rule of wild camping is to leave no trace. Everything in wild camping is a personal preference. Apart from this one thing… Leave No Trace. Wherever you are ever you take with you on the camp, it must return home and leave the area you camped in like there was never anyone there.
When packing for a wild camp, the weight and size of your pack are huge factors. You want it to be as lightweight and small as possible, obviously with all the correct gear. There are many ways to reduce the size and weight, such as the tent you pick. Having a lightweight tent that packs away small is best.
Anyway, this post isn’t about wild camping. It’s about finding a tent perfect for you when wild camping.
In this post, I will go over three tents with you at three price points: a budget, a medium cost, and a high-end one. We will compare the three and hopefully help you decide on the right tent.
One significant factor of weather and location comes into play when choosing the right tent. If you are going out in harsh conditions, you may need a heavier tent that will be able to take the temperature. Alternatively, the tent you take may not matter as much in perfect weather, so take the lightest, smallest tent you can get. (Be wary if, like me, you are in the UK. The weather can change, so don’t go too cheap).
The Tents
The names of the tiers don’t necessarily represent the quality of the tent talked about, just the price point of said tent. You have to choose the tent for what you are going to do—going to a campsite or wild camping in good weather? The cheap ones for you. Out in harsher conditions and more of a keen camper, maybe investing in a more sturdy tent is what you need—heading terrible conditions? Don’t risk it, but if you do, perhaps the top tier is for you.
Bottom Tier
For the bottom tier, I am going with the Vango Nova 200. Coming in at £130, there are cheaper ones on the market, but I use this tent and think it is a decent one at this price point. This is a perfect lightweight all-around tent. It is easy to put up and down, making it ideal for wild camping and campsites. The green colour also helps it blend in well with its surroundings.
The double skin of this tent ensures waterproofing to a very high level. I don’t have anything leaning on the side of it. Wind, on the other hand… This lightweight tent and relatively cheap nature mean the poles aren’t the strongest or highest quality. This implies in stronger winds, it won’t (and doesn’t) feel the most sturdy. This means that in strong winds, camping won’t work unless you have good cover. Trust me, I hiked up Kinder for a camp to turn around as I felt it was too windy for this little tent and being on my own, I didn’t want to risk it.
To read more about its features please visit this link to Millets.
Middle Tier
For my mid-tier tent, I am going to choose MSR Elixir 2. There is another great one from MSR, the Hubba Hubba NX, but at £495, I thought it was too close to the price of the North Face one, so I went slightly cheaper with the Elixir 2 at £300
The Elixir range is a great size. It is small enough to pack down and takes up minimal space. Yet it’s a good-sized spacious due to its exciting and unique pole set-up. In the main sleeping area, you get just over a metre of headroom to sit up, cook, move about and generally live in, while two spacious porch areas can house your kit. Two porch areas lead into two separate doors, especially if you need to get up at night and don’t want to wake your partner up.
A unique pole setup means this tent is completely freestanding and quick to set up. The inner lies flat while the frame is constructed above; the internal clips to the poles, and the outer sits over the top of the bars, ready to be pegged down. The main benefit of a freestanding tent is that it doesn’t require any guy ropes. Therefore it can be set up on a rock or other areas.
Two different setup options are available; standard (2.1kg) and fast and light (1.61kg). This allows you to control the weight and pack size of the tent depending on your chosen activity.
Two different setup options are available; standard (2.1kg) and fast and light (1.61kg). This allows you to control the weight and pack size of the tent depending on your chosen activity.
Top Tier
For the top tier, there is no other to choose from. It has to be The North Face Summit Series, Mountain 25 2-Person Tent. Coming in at £650, this tent is quite expensive.
There is a lot with this tent that is ideal if you are in a hostile environment. You have five strong poles that will help keep your tent standing in the harsh winds. Along with solid bars, it’s made from durable nylon with a ripstop weave in the canopy and a water-resistant finish on the fly and floor. It also has glow-in-the-dark zippers (which makes them easier to locate at night).
Colour-coded zip pulls glow in the dark, and the high-strength guy lines are reflective so you can find your way home after a long day on the wall. Pitching in the snow is not a problem as four snow stakes are included, and if winds turn gale force, there are welded reinforcements at critical points in the flysheet. This tent also has dual entry, such as the MSR does. In the case of this tent, however, North Face says it’s for ease of use if snow drifts form on one side. This tells you the type of conditions and environment in which this tent is intended.
The Comparison
The bottom tier is the most valuable for the money (talking as a camper in the UK). If you are in harsh conditions, the Vango wouldn’t be enough. I think that the Vango is the right choice for most people. However, the MSR would be ideal if you have more budget. Then can go out in harsher conditions. Alternatively, you can be more confident that your tent will hold up if the weather changes.
Overall, the bottom or middle tier will be ideal in the UK. They also won’t break the bank. It’s up to your and your budget. If you have to spend £600-£700 on a tend, why not go for The North Face, but I know I couldn’t afford that. My only advice is to ensure it’s double-skinned (has an inner and outer layer). With the MSR and The North Face tents, you have more options on where to pitch it (such as rock), whereas the Vango tent won’t allow this because it is not freestanding.
