Alternative to Tents

[Trailqiest]

If you are fed up with fiddling with tent poles and tent pegs and are looking for a simple alternative you might have a look at the Biker Swag.

bikerswag_1s.jpg (7.29 KiB) Viewed 2571 times

bikerswag_1s.jpg (7.29 KiB) Viewed 2571 times

As always a compromise as it is bulky, but not difficult , to carry on the bike. However, it is fully waterproof, very comfortable with a built in roll mat, and takes about four seconds to set up or dismantle. You can use with or without a sleeping bag which can be carried rolled up inside it. For details follow the Aussie Shop link on www.trailquestadventure.com

[Trailqiest]

Another picture!

bikerswag_2s.jpg (7.09 KiB) Viewed 2571 times

[Alun]

To bivvy or not to bivvy...as we say in Stratford upon Avon.

That's a neat looking bit of kit but why choose canvas when a Goretex (or similar waterproof equivalent man made laminate) is lighter, packs smaller and dries far, far quicker when wet?

We've had big debates on the merits of packing a bivvy as opposed to a tent over on the adventure travel site where it's far more of an issue as you have to carry the weight on your back. But that's a separate thread on its own.

If you talk to a tent manufacturer they'll tell you that the big (only) advantage of canvas over a man made fabric is that canvas will not be weakened and affected over time by UV's. That's why some still make big family style tents out of canvas, always remembering that these type of tents are left out during the day, which bivvis are not.

At £125 the price is competitive with Goretex style bivvis but you can get other brands much cheaper – I bought a Salawa bivy for 20 Euro over in Chamonix and slept overnight in a snow hole up on top of Mt Blanc, and very nice it was too.

bivi_3.jpg (221.39 KiB) Viewed 2571 times

[Scrambler]

Only problem I can see with that Alun is you need to find a rather large snow pile every night!

[Alun]

Have you not heard of refrigerated panniers? Or maybe carry a whippy machine in the top box.

[Jon Y]

What do you guys think of hammocks?

I've been looking at one to replace my tent (which needs replacing if only because it is a Union Jack Eurohike - see pic) and hammocks seem to be great space savers but I have never spent a night in one.

I'm also wondering whether two up hammocks, like the Double Nest from Eagles Nest Outfitters, are any good? I am a fair bit bigger than my girlfriend so would this mean she will just spend the night sleeping on me?

tent_low.jpg (95.86 KiB) Viewed 2571 times

[Alun]

I'd hang onto that tent if I was you Jon, it'll come in handy when you need to do some stealth camping.

Hammocks? I've not had a great deal of experience with them but they are restrictive in use. You also need to be on exceptionally good terms with your sleeping partner in a double.

My view on overnight accommodation in the great outdoors is to pick a tent bigger than you think you need i.e. get a 3 man tent if there are 2 of you. It's just zero fun in a cramped piece of plastic after a day spent out in wet weather – and you're sure to get some of those.

We've loads of tent reviews over on the Adventure Travel website.

[Trailqiest]

The hammock is a useful bit of kit when in the jungle and you need to be off the ground when sleeping. Otherwise I would not advise using them. My most recent experience was with a client who insisted on using one on a course we ran in Wales and he hardly slept at all as he was so cold! Sound advise regarding tents - always by a larger one than the label advises.

[Kev P]

Providing you've got somewhere to hang them up...trees, a couple of land rovers etc. hammocks are fine.

It takes a night or 2 to get used to them but after that there's no going back. With most modern hammocks if put up properly you can sleep however you like, on your side or even on your front.

To stop getting cold you simple use a roll mat underneath you. For some makes of hammock you can even buy "hammock blankets" which you suspend beneath the hammock. I've been using my DD hammock, with a thermarest inside it, for about 6 years in temperatures down to -9.

I've not tried them, but I've heard nothing but bad reports of 2 person hammocks.

When I'm somewhere with no trees I use a hooped bivi by highlander. About £70 and weighs only 1kg, it's completely waterproof but in dry weather you can remove the rain cowl and see the stars but still have protection from the mosies

Kev

[davsato]

ive tried to sleep in a goretex bivvy bag and hated it, it was really claustrophobic and i sweated faster than it could breathe so i got up wetter than if id just slept in the open. no thanks, give me a big tent with cat swinging room anyday.

those aussie swags arent bike specific, i think on the website they seem to be more horsey orientated. im sure Mattcbr600 did a video review of one on HuBB,(a couple of years ago he did some reviews of gear he and his mates were putting together for their big trip, the dehydrated red wine one was classic)