thoughts on this tent
 

folks what your thoughts on this tent,
i'm after a lightish tent thats pretty good quality ,i like the look of this .
i would be using it for touring moving on each day .

Blacks Apex Octane 2 Tunnel Tent

anto

thoughts on this tent
 

Got another link? "No item found"

Edit: found it at Millets:
http://m.millets.co.uk/tents-camping/107640-blacks-apex-octane-2-tunnel-tent.html

Looks like a good tent. 2.4 kg is fine for 2-man tent. My Hilleberg Soulu (1.5 man) comes in at 2.2kg (and costs three times as much!)

The yellow one is £110... but... well it's bright yellow! ;)

Thanks imi cant afford a hilleberg i had the akto but sold it.long story:(

Since it's a British importer sourced brand , in generic terms.

As a Type , Tunnel tents are OK.. I have one of that type. stake out one end , say into the wind,

then Put the arched poles in while it lays flat, then you can pull and stake out the Door end in some Pretty stiff breezes ..

No chasing a loose rainfly as you try to put a freestanding tent together with a separate Fly . and have it ripped out of your hands.

i've pretty much moved on to free-standing tents.

and although i had nothing bad to say about my first (now ancient) Sierra Designs tube tent, it was small enough, and the poles were short enough and it was light enough to work well as a tube tent, i've found that as tube tents get larger, the design, especially the two poled tube tents, simply can't handle the weight. the stakes can't take the load. an example is the Sierra Designs Flashlight II. i tossed it out after too many nights in poor weather trying to hold it together from the inside. :lol:

even some free standing tents (example the North Face Tadpole 2, oddly enough with 3 :twitchy: poles, are becoming so large that they only suffice, IME, as a light use, good weather tent.

that being said, i doubt very much that that tent would materially affect an overall camping experience in any negative way.

I have two tents of that hoop style, one a one person and one is a two person. But, mine are a different brand and were made over 10 years ago, so I can only comment on generalities.

I like the design, good in wind. I carried a similar tent on my Pacific coast trip. I could have carried a lighter tent, but I wanted one big enough to hold all my gear without being too crowded and that was my best option for that criteria for that trip.

In USA, it is rare for people to cook under the tent vestibule, but I have noticed that Europeans are more willing to cook in a small vestibule area of a tent. The vestibule in that tent looks a bit small, if you planned to cook under it you might want to actually sit in the tent and assess the size of the vestibule before you buy. Can you look at it before you buy? Did you plan to cook under the vestibule?

I like self supporting tents, but if I am going somewhere that is windy, I will put a higher premium on wind protection than on convenience of self supporting.

As another commenter said, it's not free standing. I've camped where the ground was so hard that stakes were impossible.

Also, end entry tents are harder to get in and out of and when laying in them all you see is tent.

I think the best tent design is a rectangular dome with doors on both sides.

There's a lot of 2 person tents out there that weigh 1/2 as much.

Looks like a standard design popular in Europe. I would look for a lightweight single walled tent for 3 season touring.

thanks everyone :thumb:

That thing weighs a ton. Nothing light about it 5+ pounds for a two person tent is crazy. Also the original price isn't that exciting when you can get a better tent for around the same amount that weighs about 3 pounds less. That tent of course is the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2.

I am unsure why you sold the Aktos but those come highly recommended from Barry at Sea to Summit who is probably one of the best reps and wealths of gear knowledge you will find. I am still considering getting one at some point though am leaning a bit more towards the BA tents.

But what about the condensation issue? Carbon fiber tent poles are available instead of hiking poles, by the way.
Right now I'm willing to suffer the 1lb or so of wt. for the extra space inside a Copper spur 2. I'ld love to see one in person.

I'm not seeing any pictures without the rain fly. Many places I've camped (hiking?) are private enough that I'd rather just have open mosquito netting.

I also prefer self-supporting tents. I rarely take tent stakes with me. If I need one for something, I'll use a twig or rock. I suppose it shouldn't make a big difference one way or the other.

you plan a head a bit .. Bring a few fabric bags with a cord on them , fill the bag with Rocks or Dirt
then Tie them onto the stake Loops ..

Ive camped on disused paved Old route tight curves that were left from Road Improvements (thank you down filled Air-mattress)

Outside smoother less tight curve, that way (southern Norwegian Coast)


BTW there are similar type using a Much Lighter fabric , that wont weigh as Much Because of the more expensive fabric.

If you are looking for a decent tent to start out with this would be fine. I like the fact that it has aluminum poles at this price point.
Keep in mind that with just 1 meter of room in the front you can put a full set of paniers in there but not two.

Since prices are British Pounds I am assuming you are in the UK so definitely do get a double walled tent. The humidity and rain make a double walled tent a definite plus.
The only exception is when you use a tarp and bivybag but that is more of an UL thing.

When and where are you planning to use it?

Some alternate suggestions:
- Vango Mirage 200 Slightly heavier, much more windproof.
... that's pretty much all I've got. If you want anything lighter or roomier you will probably need to spend twice as much at least.

Also, keep in mind that there is a big difference in mindset between European tent makers (and often users) and North American tent makers (and often users). ;)
But I will save that for another post.

Looks fine to me. I don't mind tunnel type tents, and still have a Sierra Lightyear 1. They do generally pack smaller for the size than free standing tents. I like that the rain fly is pitched first. That's a handy feature to have when it's raining.

It's rare to not be able to stake a tent, even in southern california where I live. I can't imagine it will ever be an issue in the UK.

If your in the UK, get a tent suitable for the local conditions.
Many from the US would start building an ark if they experienced UK weather.
When I spent some time living in the UK, I used Macpac gear from New Zealand where it also knows how to rain.

i could not get on with the akto
hated the thing good for keeping the chickens in but not this kid.
big agnus tent looks awfull worth about 30 euro imho.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh46ZSU8mV0
sorry just not for me.

It is a high quality tent made by a respected manufacturer of tents. It gets good reviews and a lot of backpackers I know have used it or the 1p version. I don't know much about that video or the reviewer but when you start off saying the wrong name I am not super impressed.

I think it is a good tent for the weight and money and comes from a quality brand who is big into backpacking and lightweight adventures.

ok thanks maybe i should take a better look at it the vid kinda put me off.

Youtube is a fine time waster but anyone can post anything (pretty much) so I would take reviews with a grain of salt and always look at a bunch of reviews on different sites and look at the facts and figures and you will have a better time figuring out what to do. Plus some people on youtube just rub me the wrong way, I am sure they are giving good facts or funny entertainment or whatever but they just aren't for me. I have a friend who did youtube videos and he is a great guy but they were so monotone whatever good stuff he was saying was unwatchable for me.

I worked in outdoor retail for almost 4 years (and hope to jump back in very soon) so I saw a lot of tents and did some testing and talked with a lot of co-workers who were highly experienced as well as reps from various companies and the Fly Creek kept coming out on top in most categories.

Yeah but it's expensive ,have u any idea where the best place to buy it is. i have a son in Sanfrancisco so if i can get it for a very good price he can buy it post it to me here in ireland.
do they come up on craiglist or is that a bit dodgy.
thanks again for advice im no tent expert i know what i like but they havent made it yet lol