Thanks for the link really enjoyed reading his views....cheers

question about the hammock, I have some pretty bad lower back pain and uhm, yea, will that thing kill me?

What do you guys think of the North Face Rock 22 for a stealth camping use ? That's the one I was planning to buy, and I would like to get some comments on this tent. Any first impressions ? I think it could do the job fine, at a low cost.



https://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/st...berId=12500226

6 lbs is heavy.

Here's a better tent, two pounds lighter, which I can personally recommend (having slept in these many times): https://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/st...uctId=39165952

Totally awesome tent for two people.

If you're solo, this one's a pound lighter and $10 cheaper:
https://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/st...uctId=38172082

You could save another pound and more money by going with tarp + bugscreen, or just save weight with a hammock. But if you really, really, really want a tent per se, you won't go wrong with one of those.

Makes my back feel great. Only way to know what it will to to your back is to put your back into one.

I was worried about ventilation, because one thing that I absolutely HATE is the sunny morgnings, when you wake up in what looks like a oven. So I was attracted by the North Face tent because of the large mesh portion in the roof.

You sleeped in the Sierra tent in summer without any problems ?

Yes. The ventilation in the Sierra designs tent is excellent. The walls have a big mesh panel all the way around, and the "solid part" is breathable nylon. I've spent many comfortable summer nights in a Sierra clip flashlight.

[QUOTE=Chicane]What do you guys think of the North Face Rock 22 for a stealth camping use ? That's the one I was planning to buy, and I would like to get some comments on this tent. Any first impressions ? I think it could do the job fine, at a low cost. QUOTE]

I would buy it. I appreciate you letting me know of it.

How about using basically any good tent... and then over it stretch a green poncho. For me this might be a little pup tent (light, cheap, enough room, can use sticks as poles....) with a $2, works-fine-but-if-it-gets-trashed-it's-no-tragedy, probably needed to carry it for something else anyway (I've never had too many ponchos. Or enough) poncho lean-to'ed over it. Not really "hiding" -- it's just a little extra rain protection that happens to be green, but not being too obvious, either.

Come on guys....

Let's be honest with ourselves - maybe 'stealth' camping doesn't always have to be so furtive and important. The majority of people touring (at least on this forum) seems to be middle-aged men who, unless they work for the CIA or something, probably aren't being hunted while on tour. Discretion is definitely important, but out-and-out hiding from things??? If you try too hard to conceal yourself, you'll probably end up just looking more and more like you've done something wrong.

IMHO, that is.

or never getting found....

My primary concern is to not be bothered by some (perhaps intoxicated) folks at o'two late o'clock am. How/where to set up depends upon a lot of factors.

I recall seeing a photo a solo tourist took in ?Kazakhstan of himself and two folks "who stopped by" a roadside shelter at some awefull late hour (lost the bookmark of the journal). The tourist had stayed in the shelter, rather than pitching his tent, because of a storm. The visitors were also drinking rather heavily. I couldn't imagine that as being a good restfull nites sleep.

Could happen anywhere in the world, the better choice would have been to set up camp well out of view of the shelter.

Some do it to avoid others, some to get "farther away" from it all, some just don't want to be in a regular campground evey night, and some to save $.

Here's a tent that I'm considering for upcoming tours. It's the Coleman Siege 2 and it seems to meet most of my prerequisites: Fly is dark green for when stealth [/I]is[I]a factor. Large vestibule for removing dirty/wet shoes or clothes before entering tent, storing gear, and for undercover cooking during rainstorms. Highly regarded design, similar to the popular Quest Preying Mantis. Decent weight at about 6 lbs. Not a bank breaker at about $130.00 on-line. And I believe the poles break down to 20" so they'll fit into my Arkel GT-54 pole pack.

i realize i'm responding to an old post here, but thought this comment is useful to general readers shopping for gear / planning trips.

peterpan is absolutely correct: the general tendency of outdoors gear manufacturers is to misrepresent the weight of their products, making them appear lighter than actual. my guess is this is also true for bicycle gear.

i took 42 common, popular backpacking/camping items to the local post office after hours over the course of a few weeks and used the fancy digital scale and weighed them, then compared actual weights to specified weights. i'm assuming the scales in our local po get accurately calibrated periodically (i cross checked weights between their 2 scales, looked good).

of those 42 items, 21 had specified/nominal weights (on some items no weight was specified or too old to look up). of the 21 items where comparison was possible, only 1 item was actually lighter than specified, all others were heavier, many by a significant (>10%) amount. tents and packs in particular had high error.

so, 95%+ of this gear is heavier than claimed.

these items include products made by msr, gregory, vasque, sierra designs, rei, campmor, or, leki, thermarest and others between 1990 and 2004. this is almost all "lightweight" gear where weight would be a critical factor in the purchasing decision. i have one pig tent and sleeping pad for lazy camping.

the most erroneous stated weight was low by 33%. the only item which was lighter than spec'ed was a thermarest 30"x77"x3" luxury edition pad which weighs nearly 7 pounds (not used for backpacking).

I'm with seeker333 on this - be cautious about what tent you buy for cycle-touring, especially the published weights.

I'm trying to ditch a Mountain-HardWear Hammerhead 3 that I bought for car-camping because it's just too damn big for cycle-touring at nearly 10lbs and the size of a howitzer when packed.

Before you go with that Coleman (they list the packed weight around SEVEN pounds here: https://www.coleman.com/coleman/colem...tegoryid=11070), check this one out:
Eureka Backcountry 1 - https://www.arkatents.com/03bc1joc.html
It's about 4lbs packed and while not perfect, it's very stealthy and can be had for $100 online if price IS an object (it is to me too BTW)

Some other tents I'm considering...
- MSR Hubba (3lbs7oz - reddish fly though...better for fall use or Australian outback)
- North Face Particle 13 - red, again https://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/st...uctId=39165086
- North Face Vector 22 - big-cousin of the Particle 13 https://www.backcountry.com/store/TNF...-3-Season.html
- LaserLite (sub-3lbs) https://www.terra-nova.co.uk/terra/lightweight.shtml
- Sierra Designs Lightning https://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/st...berId=12500226 (roomy but over 4lbs)

Mountain HardWear PCT 1, Waypoint 1, Airjet - love the quality of these tents - Waypoint 1 is WAY stealthy and about 2.5lbs (I think it's single wall though) https://www.mountainhardwear.com/Tent...&cat=3&level=1
Marmot EOS 1P - https://www.marmot.com/products/produ...style_id=G2711


A bunch of tents are listed here: https://www.litebackpacker.com/ultral...nts/index.html

Tent colours can be a bit OTT but basicaly stay out of site and no on cares. I have free camped for many years and only been moved on may be three times. Basicaly find a spot where you cannot be seen. Move in late, move out early.

Go for the smallest thing you can slide into. You want to ride the bike not haul luggage. Had this wee tent for a bit great tent. Putting it up in Uganda one night and was near the musungo (white fellar) trail as I wanted to see grollilars. So there is this Australian lass watching me put up my tent. After it was up she stood there with her hands on hipp and her comment was "S*** you could not do it doggy in there coud you" ah Australian woman hood at its most sensitive.

Oh she was wrong by the way.

Get a small one, go light go fast, just bloody go.

I just received the '07 version of this tent. I used a Kelty Teton 2 last year and was not happy with it. Who has used a North Face Rock 22 on tour? how did it work out for you? It seems a bit LARGE when packed in the stuff sack!

Likes: well ventilated tent.... real simple to set up. Fairly good size without being too large.

Dislikes: The fly... it's large for a tent that size and I wish it was a darker color fly. Also kills all ventilation if you use the fly.

I would check at the local military surplus store. I intend to use one of the newer army tents on my next tour. It's quite small when stored, comfortably fits 1 person or more and has a large fully covered vestebule. Best of all the entire thing is ACU style (sometimes called "digital") Camoflauge.

[whoops, didn't see this was an ancient thread resurrected]
>Anyone actualy weigh those tents? They never used to come close to making weight.

Very interesting thought. I've just weighed my 1.8 kg 2 man (but really 1 man and 1 woman, if you know what I mean...) McKinley tent and it's...1817g (exactly 4 pounds). Definitely 2 season (full mesh inside) and pretty small, but big enough for all my gear and me if going solo. With a partner and two hiking packs it's not really possible to get them both inside, but two sets of panniers - maybe.

In bright blue it's not too "stealth" though: https://picasaweb.google.com/Stevage/...43702660366354

A 4 season tent lighter than 1.8 kgs sounds pretty amazing. Wonder how much it cost?

Steve

see if you can find a north face rock 22 tent that was made in either 2005 or 2006 when they were green and not whitish grey. definitely more suited for stealth camping.