Tents

Thanks for the replies guys. Im leaning more toward the BD tent,the tadpole is a bit small but will certainly have a look at the cool mountain extreem before making a decision. Sounds like a bit of a bargain there

As with most things budget is important. I have an MSR Hubba Hubba specifically to enable lightweight tenting - it weighs in at 1.9kg and folds to about a two liter Coke bottle size, is larger than the tadpole, meshed inner but have had no problems ito cold - in fact it is suprisingly warm. It is rated as three season but I've had it withstand the mother of all storms on the edge of the Tugela falls without problems. They are quite pricey and when I bought (2008) the local agents had run out so I brought it in from the states. Not sure of price now but it is pricey but IMHO worth it. MSR gear has a solid repuntation and I'm happy with all of the MSR gooides I have.

Posting a bit late, but better late than never.

We have the mountain hardware hammerhead 2 tent - looks a bit like a ufo - we've used it for the past 2 years in the berg in several weather conditions and it stood up very well. We're very happy with it. And we love the convertible roof panel/skylight that opens to reveal the stars, though we only opened it on the contour path when it was still warm, it was awesome!

Our hiking buddy has a k-way treklite II, and it too held its own, but not as warm or as strong against the hectic berg winds. One of the poles snapped.

We also recently bought the 360 degrees lightweight 2 tent, as an extra tent for friends to use when joining us. Its water column isn't as good as the hammerhead, its a bit smaller, but a bit lighter. We'll be testing it out on the amphitheatre over the September long weekend and see how it does.

I have been reading this thread with interest as I have been looking for a decent hiking tent for some time now. It struck me that most of you guys don't necessarily bother with the high-end stuff and that the 'lesser' brands seem to deliver the goods too. Perhaps you could offer some insight...

My tent of choice would have been the E3 Element Summit but it's really heavy (4,5kg) and rather cramped inside. For 1 person it might be fine but then the weight would be killer. Choosing between all the other brands is rather difficult, mainly because there is no guarantee that extra bucks will bring extra satisfaction. I probably won 't hit any mountain peaks anytime soon but should I want then I want then how can I be sure that my purchase will hold up?

The 360 Degree Cool Mountain II has been mentioned to me so many times and gotten good reviews so I went and had a look at it and was pretty impressed! Its big brother the summit three is even better ie it is very roomy with super specs.

The Treklite II is also on the shortlist. Just as roomy inside as the Makalu but far lighter. Does that mean it's rubbish?

So far the to biggest enemies I have encountered with regards to tents are wind and fynbos. So any tent I buy must be durable and should outlast strong wind. What advice can you offer me? Must I spend 6000+ grand or can I get away with less? Where does prudence end and overkill start?

NB: I have noticed that locally made technical tents (K-way, E3 and 360 Degrees) are generally made of thicker material than imported ones. Is this done to allow them to cope with the fynbos? IMO imported tents would be ripped to shreds...

All tents wear out eventually. Its good to bear this in mind. If you end up in a huge storm in the berg you are likely to end up with irrepairable damage no matter what type of tent you have. This could be expensive! You can buy four 360 deg tents for one BD tent!

Yes I agree the local stuff is tougher, but they could improve in a few areas. Stitching is the most impotant factor for me. Doesnt matter how big the water collumn is, if you end up with a hole you will get wet!

I have found that cheaper tents sometimes do very will in high wind situations while others fancy tear drops die. When I was at school our "game" tent survived 80km/hr + winds the whole night, while others tents died? 'Game" tents are more single use though!

I still believe that bivy bags are the ultimate, esp if you not too concearned about space.

On the Fynbos side, when do you end up trashing them? I hike with my tent in my backpack,with ropes, Cams, MSR's, etc on the outside. We do hike very very light though.

One last word, roomy often means heavy and poor performance in high wind.

i have been using a Treklite II for 3 years now,Had a Makalu but was way too heavy. cant complain,tents been through storms,wind etc.Partner and i were stuck in there for 24 hours in driving rain...although its not so spacious,we were comfortable enough.We hike VERY light so all the gear was also in the tent. we did the cooking in the bell....nice tent if you have tight budget

Thanks Frosty Ice. I had a look once at bivy bags but its not really an option since my wife usually joins me (try tell her she must sleep in a bag) or if not her then my son. So a tent it is. It's true also that even the most expensive tents will be damaged if pushed too hard/too long. Ultimately it'll have to be 2 man that's durable/windproof/waterproof/light within reasonable limits of course - I don't expect the impossible. I'm basically looking for decent balance between price and specs. Any specific suggestions?

I should have mentioned in my first post that so far our hikes have all been in the western cape and mainly along the coast. We have our baby mountains here too. That'll be the kind of enviroment we'll be hiking in (year round).

@ Herman: 3 years!! Wow! That one is on my shortlist definitely.

Funny how some people swear by K-Way while others have only negative stuff to say... who knows for sure...

As far as budget goes I can't afford an R8000 tent, R2500 pack, R2000 boots, etc. And even if I could I rather spend half that and the rest on my kids.