I bought a supermarket tent for my first tour. I'd never been inside a tent, let alone owned one. I was quite impressed with mine but the only experience I have sleeping in it was the test-run night spent outside in the rain; and by putting newspaper on the floor inside and turning the sprinkler on. It cost $12.50 - on sale from $25!

The weather was much colder than I had anticipated and I ended-up sleeping in abandoned buildings & using the tent to wrap around my sleeping bag to keep warm So I really wouldn't know the difference; except to say that if you haven't toured before you'll probably end-up getting the cheap tent, getting your money's worth from it, realising its limitations and then buying something high quality for the second tour.

Mine *seems* to be reasonably good quality and waterproof. But as for durability and use in the field, I cannot say. It weighs about 1.5kg, but it's the bulk/size (about 24 inches long, 5 inches wide & deep) that I cannot accept. I wouldn't tour with it again for that reason. Too big, too heavy. There is probably a good argument for buying a good tent in the first place. In my case, perhaps some lessons need to be learnt the hard way!