A little moan about the latest issue #22.

[almar]

Still waiting for mine :S

[Oop North John]

Still awaiting delivery of my subscribed copy, & we've not even had the vote on the Independence yet :dry:

Got mine today in Aberdeenshire

[hotbulb]

Still awaiting delivery of my subscribed copy, & we've not even had the vote on the Independence yet :dry:

Got mine today in Aberdeenshire

It crossed Offa's Dyke without problems ..... got mine yesterday (or was it Tuesday?).
Only had a quick flick-through so far, but looks good: keep up the good work, Nathan (thumbs)

[Bernard Smith]

And I agree Nathan's doing a great job especially as he has to deliver all them letters each day in his other job :whistle:

Now do I get the job as tent reviewer

Give him a break guys and gals - he sticks a brush where it don't shine so he can clean the office floor as well while he's walking. He does the toilets in his 'spare' time..........

It ain't an internationally funded and staffed mag with loadsa bodies.............

[nathanthepostman]

What is it with you guys and tents, erections and toilet brushes? Bunch of perverts.

Give it a few more days on absent subs issues and if still no show email at nathan at adventurebikerider.com

[Simon_100]

What is it with you guys and tents, erections and toilet brushes? Bunch of perverts.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Well joking apart it did get me to read the mag on-line - for the first time in months! - and then spent half the evening reading through

About the tent article; I think both points of view are valid. On the one hand there are too many tents on the market to have a genuine comparative test in the space available, and as Elle says there are specialist magazines and web sites that will do this. And I liked the 'qualitative' views on the tents, it read more like discussing the topic with a mate in the pub than a 'Which Tent' feature that would have tons of facts that you might not know how to interpret.

But on the down side this wasn't put into context. One of the things I used to like about older ABR reviews was that the introduction spelled out what were the most important factors in choosing a piece of kit, be it a tent, crash helmet, multi-tools, or whatever, and then tested the items against these benchmark criteria - so it wasn't just a case of the best being the most expensive, even discounting value-for-money measures or budget considerations.

But judging from this one issue these seem to have gone by the wayside: Paul Jennings' article on leather trousers (Hi Paul!) described the advantages and disadvantages of leather troos per se, but didn't set out any criteria against which each pair of threads was measured.

In both cases the views and opinions gave useful insights into what to look out for in making your own purchase but nevertheless left these a bit confusing and mixed up - just like after an evening in the pub with your mates!

I think there was a test feature in one of the very early ABR Mags*, lent to me by Barcelona Pat (thanks Pat!), that spelled out the important features a tent needed to be useful for bikers; weight for example being a fairly low priority against pack size, 'porch' space being as important as inside tent space, to name but two.

This was really useful to me a few years ago as I was fairly new to camping and definitely a novice at touring a bike and camping. This was worse for me in particular as here in Spain there really isn't a 'camping culture' as such resulting in very little on the marketplace that you can see in the shops and/or ask for advice: we've got Decathlon at one end of the scale and the kind of shops that supply Everest expeditions at the other and nothing whatsoever in between!

So, I think the gripe stands: good as they are for the reasons above ABR Mag reviews don't seem to be what they used to be. Or maybe I'm just getting to be a grumpy old git :laugh:

Regs

Simon

* of course I gave Pat his mags back, well some of them :whistle: but I can't find the issue I think I was referring to on the on-line browser as issues 1-7 aren't set out to choose from thumbnails, instead you just get issue one and plough on from there - so that is a gripe!

[Diesel Pete]

Mine was waiting for me coming home last night and I had a flick through....

I must admit I was getting bored a bit with previous issues and I dont think I have read the last issue as I saw another GS on the cover and chucked it in a corner and forget about it (no disrespect to GS owners or the mag meant there, each to their own and all that) but after reading this thread I was looking forward to seeing the mag and I have to say I think its the best issue yet.

11 years on the road? - Fabulous
Sidecar? - I doubt I will have one myself but loved reading about it.
Tent reviews? - I thought it was a well balanced range of tents and certainly as good a range as a mag like "Ride" would have come up with. Yes, pack size is the first thing I look for but I am sure that will be in the next review and it isnt hard to google that bit this time.

So... top job ABR mag people imho (thumbs)

I do miss the survival articles though :whistle:

[Tim Cullis]

Agree the tent article missed the point somewhat.

Unlike some other readers I am quite prepared to pay £300 for a tent as it's key to emergency or wild camping. You tend to get what you pay for with Exped, Big Agnes, MSR, Vaude, etc., with quality tent pegs, lightweight components, thoughtful design and durable materials.

Most important for me is whether the tent is freestanding (i.e. can be pitched in loose sand, hard rock or on the roof of a hotel without needing tent pegs to get it to stand upright). The MSR Hubba Hubba is free standing, as is the Exped Mira II (video below). Not sure about the others reviewed in the magazine.

Then I really need to know whether it's rated as a summer festival tent, three season or four season. Although you didn't actually say the words, your review of the MSR Hubba Hubba NX implied it's a good four season tent. In fact the Hubba Hubba HP is the four season tent and is being maintained in the range for that purpose, the NX is an excellent upgrade of the previous Hubba Hubba (none HP).

I'm not so concerned with weight as it tends to be commensurate with pack size which I definitely want to know. The manufacturer's pack size isn't that helpful. What I want to know is the length and diameter of the poles quoted separately from the dimensions of the rest of the tent. The article says the Hubba Hubba NX will easily fit in your panniers, yet the poles are 48cm long, so they won't fit easily in mine unless they are placed diagonally and maybe even at an angle.

If you want to find proper lightweight tents, don't look in bike magazines, buy one aimed at hikers or adventure walkers (or whatever they're called now)

Couldn't agree more, one of my favourite sites for tent porn is UltraLight Outdoor Gear.

My mini-review of the Exped Mira II

Exped Mira II.

[wwdph02]

Decided to subscribe end of Jan to get issue 21 and things were less than expected. As it took 2 failed deliveries before a 3rd attempt, first class delivery arrived 26th march I must admit last week seeing the webpage update on issue 22 being available at shops I did wonder if I should have stayed loyal to WHSmith. Issue 22 through the door wed and my faith in the system restored. Next issue I assume will be a few days again after the homepage update,good enough I think.
As far as tents etc I have just purchased, following on from earlier travel reports, a cheap tent as a back-up for a planned trip to europe. If weather reasonable, tent, if poor then hotel, B&B, under a roof. No point for me spending £300 for even 10 days away, better spend that on lodgings. Also considered if it gets removed from bike, lost, damaged then I could still replace it at the time. Saw a report where Tesco tents were reasonable and got their Gelert Lunar 2-Man Dome Tent reduced from £30/35 to £11.
Better still,5 weeks later, when unpacking to check everything one of the elastic inserts snapped so Tesco on line fully refunded the purchase as they could not supply replacements. I did email Gelert but "they only deal with companies, not public in general" ( customer service?) Cost me £1.59 to replace the elastic cord - anyone beat that price for a new tent?
Obviously for a longer duration trips and for all climates the reports in issue 22 would be more relevant.

[Old Git Ray]

........ I saw another GS on the cover.....

It does get a bit tedious doesn't it.