UKC

I'm looking to purchase a 2 person mountain tent and so far I've been looking at the Terra Nova Quasar and the Mountain Equipment Hielo 2 tent. I want a lightweight, spacious and good quality tent for all weather conditions in UK and abroad.

Can anyone offer any advice regarding the above tents or similar size and quality tents?

In reply to Scouse007:

Vango Hurricane 200. I'm really pleasd with mine. Good build quality and great value.

In reply to Scouse007:

Been done a few times on here and ends up a shootout between fans of WC Quasar vs Hilleberg Nallo vs Macpac Minaret vs Crux X2.

I'm in the Crux camp.

In reply to Paul F:

Quasar

In reply to Scouse007: I have the ultra quasar but the outer definately has a tendency to touch the inner and cause condensation to run down it. There is a way of pitching it to reduce the chance of this ocuring but you can't eliminate it completely.

In reply to CurlyStevo:

Mine are both ordinary mountain quasars and I've never had this - there seems to be heaps of clearance between the skins all the way round.

I did think that the groundsheets had got flimsier since Terra Nova took over from W.C. though

In reply to JJL: Its a well know issue on the ultra quasar well it was around 6 years ago. I have never got wet from it but seeing large sections of the inner damp and touching the outer is not a good thing. I know they have tweaked the inner again so maybe the problem has been addressed now.

In reply to Scouse007: It's been said before, but: cheap, light, robust - choose any two. What's your budget, as you seem to be prioritising light and robust?

T.

Thank you all for your comments.

It would seem that I should first think about weight, which would mean buying two tents; one for backpacking around 1.5/2.5k and one for putting in the boot of my car 2.5/3.5k, which is why I was thinking of the Mountain Equipment Hielo 2 tent. I’ve also looked at the ME Ultralite Hielo 2 tent but not liking the reviews.

Does anyone know about the pros and cons between Mountain Equipment Hielo 2 (NOT Ultralite) and Terra Nova Quasar? That said, I’ve just looked at the Crux X2, which I also like, especially the 2.5k.

My budget is around £400ish, which I should first focus on “car camping” and look for a cheaper backpacking tent later.

These are some of the tents that I’ve been looking at:

Car camping:
Mountain Equipment Hielo 2
Terra Nova Quasar
Crux X2
Hilleberg Nallo

Back packing:
Hilleberg Akto
Vaude Hogan
Terra Nova Laser Competition

In reply to Scouse007:

Why would you use any of these top of the range no question asked mountain tents for car camping? Pretty much any tent in the world will do for car camping.

3-4 Kg isn't a heavy for back packing as the weight of the tent gets divided between two.

The problem with superlight tents is they use very light groundsheets that let water in.

I've had a Macpac Olympus tent for around six years. I've used it all over and have been very happy with it. It has a very good ground sheet and pitches outer first, which I think is a big advantage for UK camping.

HTH.

In reply to Tom Ripley: Yeah, for car camping, if envisaging bad Scottish winter weather use, why not buy an old skool Vango Mk4 or 5 in cotton?

In reply to Tom Ripley:

Tom - I've been trying to find a shop that has one of these near me so I can take a look, so far no joy.

Is yours the older model with two porches / entrances or just one? (I;m not sure when they changed).

If its the single porch version, how much stuff can you get in it and still use it for cooking etc?

I'm after a larger tent than my Crux X2 that will still put up with some strong winds and crap weather. Major consideration is a good sized, usable porch.

Thanks in advance (and sorry to the OP for the hijack!)

Si

In reply to Scouse007:I have the Vaude Taurus ultralight and love it. Plenty of room, stable unless in very high winds and then I just have to put my rucksack at bottom to give it that extra support. Maybe not as good as the Quasar and Hillebergs of this world but it can be had for around £230ish so a bargain in my mind.

In reply to Tom Ripley: I'm with Tom on this - why buy a fully featured mtn tent for car camping?

Unless you want a decent, free-standing geodesic for high mountain use (Quasar/Crux/Trango) then it seems like overkill. Personally I wouldn't spend that much money unless I had clear plans/aspirations to get into expedition type climbing.

All, your comments has brought me down to reality. Typically of me, I tend to go OTT when looking for a good quality item without considering its purpose

I was looking at a 2 person tent, as they are more spacious for 1 person plus climbing gear, etc. I guess I don’t need a mountain tent just a good quality tent for when I go rock climbing. I guess should look more at good quality a backpacking tent. I THINK!!!!

In reply to Scouse007: Some good points already made here. Seems to me that you're after first a 'base camp' tent which will mostly be pitched from the car and can stand up to the weather you could reasonably expect to find in the valley but that can, should the inclination take you, be dragged up a hill for a night or two without incurring too much of a weight penalty; and then a backpacking tent (one or two person?) that is lighter weight but which you might not expect to be as robust.

If that's so, then you could increase the weight of the 'base camp' tent a little. There are many options depending on your budget and your height, as taller people just won't be as comfortable in some tents. You'll be looking for things such as ease of pitching (outer first or 'as one' definitely scores in the UK), twin porches to make cooking out of the wind easier and allow greater options for storing kit, convenience of use and so on. There's always a tendency for people to defend their own choices; I've got one of these so you should get one too. Nothing wrong with that as such, and a happy customer is a good thing, but all such replies lack a certain objectivity. The recommendation may indeed be a fine, fine product but it might not suit you. Have a look around; the kit reviews in various magazines (the often-mocked Trail and its website is as good a place to start as anywhere) and the Outdoors Magic website would be good. Don't ignore brands that aren't the 'new black'; Vango tents don't get reviewed very often, but they're a good brand offering tents that are frequently cheaper and just as good as the other manufacturers.

It all adds to the research, but that's not a bad thing. Try too to see the tents you're interested in before committing to a purchase; a number of shops have displays and you can always ask if one can be put up for you. You may find that what is advertised as a feature is for you a complete pain in the arse, or that the pockets on the inside of the tent are too small/big/absent, that you must have/can't be doing with a gear loft, that a footprint seems like a good idea/is a waste of time and money, and similar.

Hope this helps, and good luck searching. The perfect tent will be out there...

T.

In reply to SCC:

I've got the old one I'm afraid.

I never used the new one so I don't know how it compares. I believe it still has two doors, but only one porch. I believe that the porch is bigger that the porch is bigger than the porch on original Olympus.

One of the cool things about the old Olympus, which you should be able to do on the new one, is temporarily increase the size of the porch by unclipping the inner. This is dead useful when cooking as you can massively increase your working area

Two porches are really useful though. It's a shame they changed the design.

Needle Sports stock the Olympus.

HTH

In reply to Scouse007:
For car camping, I recommend a tent you can stand up in, or at least kneel up in. This will make the tent a lot more "liveable," though the extra height will mean it is not as warm.

I had a Lichfield tent for over a decade (with fibreglass poles), until the mice got it. It withstood all manner of foul weather including gales in Arran that knocked lots of tents flat, and a winter weekend in the Dead Squirrel, again with some grim weather. Good pitching and lots of guyropes made it strong. Almost impossible to pitch solo, though.

In reply to Tom Ripley:

Cheers Tom.

I'm probably up in the Lakes this weekend so was going to try and get in there to take a look.

Sadly noboady seems to stock them down here in the Southeast!

Si

In reply to Scouse007:

For all weathers and easy pitching ?

Macpac Minaret for lightness and functionality.

Mountain Hardware Trango for the best you can get !

In reply to Pursued by a bear:

Thanks T, your comments are exactly how I am thinking and what I am looking for

I'm really interested in the Mountain Equipment Hielo 2 (Not the ultralite version), but I can't find any reviews other that what is put out by Mountain Equipment. This I find strange as it seems to suit all my needs or maybe I should say "nice to have's".......

Has anyone got or had a Mountain Equipment Hielo 2 that they can share their reviews?

My other choices are: Hilleberg Nallo 2 and Terra Nova Quasar but I'll leave those and wait to see if anyone has any pros/cons regarding the Hielo 2......

Once again, thank you all for your comments

In reply to Scouse007:

I am told that vango Force ten Baltoro is good ,never had one, but with bathtub feature & HH of 8000 & 5000 respectivly sounds ok.
Seen them on Nwt at between £140 & £180

In reply to A . collins: the baltoros are great little tents. We use a couple at uni, last time we went backpacking one of the guys just put the whole lot in his rucksack with the rest of his stuff, carried it all weekend no worries. We've have one out in the winter in Glencoe as well with absolutely no problems. Some of the guys here prefer them to the quasar, its that little bit easier to pitch.

In reply to Scouse007: Iv got an MSR Fury which has been a fantastic tent. Been through some vicious storms and its been solid. Reasonably light.

Get the foot print and some extra ground hog pegs with it.

In reply to Adam Coles: Happy to see some good feedback for the Fury, as I have just splashed out on one. Still yet to try it out, but will be pitching it up above the snowline in Switzerland soon enough!

Was toying with the idea of getting the Asgard as a door at either end would have been good, but didnt like the idea of extra weight.

In reply to Scouse007: The Hilleberg are outstanding tents but expensive.
No one has mentioned the Marmot Grid which you can pick up pretty cheaply and is an outstanding all round tent.
For a good weight/room compromise think about Vaude Taraus if your not over 5'10!
But my personal fav is a Terra nova solar 1 or 2, loads of space, I've used them year round in all weather conditions and they are spot on. Nice and light and truck loads of room.
Crux look very solid but a bit pricey too.

In reply to Scouse007:
Anyone know whats happening with the ALPKIT tent range? They were looking promising..

In reply to Scouse007:

I can recommend the Vango Spirit 200+ as a budget option that works well. The design is very similar to the Hilleberg Nallo GT and the fly sheet is silicon coated (cheaper tents use PU coating). It's light weight, has a huge porch for cooking/changing/storage and is surprisingly stable in strong wind. I used it for two weeks in an expedition in Pamir mountains and some very wild weather in Scotland. Last week when I pitched it on Ben Eighe it was so gusty that I kept being knocked over when walking but the tent survived the night without much wobbling inside. The internal bracing system really worked.

The Spirit 200 is the version without porch and is even cheaper and lighter. However I found a big porch to be very useful in bad weather as you can effectively separate wet and dry stuff and cook comfortably inside it.

The main weakness with tunnel tents like the Spirit/Nallo is that their structural strength relies on tensions created by the tent pegs. On rocky ground/tarmac you might struggle to keep the flysheet tight. However on the mountains this type of designs provide arguable the best strength to weight ratio.

In reply to Scouse007:

TNF Westwind takes a lot of beating

In reply to jamestheyip:

Another vote for the Spirit 200+. As you say, it has a large porch so you can get all your kit in out of the weather without having to bring it in to the actual tent. It's a bit claustrophobic inside but then it's not a large geodesic. It weighs under 2Kg (I think - can't remember) and is quite portable especially between two people.

To the OP:

One problem with asking this sort of question about high value items is that very few people have experience of more than a couple of models so you'll tend to get a lot of very positive or very negative replies. I've had just two 2-man tents in 25 years as a case in point.

ALC

I agree with others that the whole point of a 400 pound mountiain tent is that you're going to be a hell of a long way away from the car or any other shelter when the perfect storm moves in.
I've had a Crux for seven years and it's still going strong. The 2.8kg is fine for backbacking. Colour is not great for blending in to the environment though...

In reply to jamestheyip:

In my experience, Vango tents are fine so long as you look after them. My Vango Alpha 200 (about £25) lasted 25 separate pitches before one of the poles snapped, and kept the rain out with no problems. I've also used some of their middle-range tents in high altitude conditions. As soon as I took one on an actual adventure though, where we pitched it on a 30-ish degrees ledge in a violent storm, the thing started to suffer badly and I'd have been glad for something much more robust (or a bivi).

In reply to Scouse007:

I wouldn't personally recommend terra nova tents although I have had several from back in the wild country days.
They have an issue with the performance of the zips on the inner - mine failed after only four days use, following a repair (which they made me pay for)!
More importantly perhaps, they also seem to have an issue with customer service, as they gave me a fobbing-off reply when I contacted them about it.

In reply to Scouse007: I don't know what's been said before, but for car camping, why not just use a pop up tent from Decathlon?

Will