Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Recently purchased S2S ultralight insulated mat regular size, im impressed considering i,m a 110kg 6'2" side sleeper,packs down smaller than 1.25 drink bottle amd 400ish grams,got it on ebay for 130ish i think

New single person shelter option from Tarptent, the Notch Li [Cuban fibre]. Weighs in a claimed 565 grams. Would need poles but.

Aushiker wrote:New single person shelter option from Tarptent, the Notch Li [Cuban fibre]. Weighs in a claimed 565 grams. Would need poles but.

Seems a little mean spirited of certain tent manufacturers not to offer up the complete weights of their tents.

Whilst perhaps some people are interested in purchasing special custom poles/ropes/pegs, most of us use what comes with the tent until we lose an item or two....
Don't they?

rifraf wrote:

Aushiker wrote:New single person shelter option from Tarptent, the Notch Li [Cuban fibre]. Weighs in a claimed 565 grams. Would need poles but.

Seems a little mean spirited of certain tent manufacturers not to offer up the complete weights of their tents.

Whilst perhaps some people are interested in purchasing special custom poles/ropes/pegs, most of us use what comes with the tent until we lose an item or two....
Don't they?

The tent is designed for use with trekking poles. You supply the trekking poles and their weight is variable depending on the poles.

RonK wrote:

rifraf wrote:

Aushiker wrote:New single person shelter option from Tarptent, the Notch Li [Cuban fibre]. Weighs in a claimed 565 grams. Would need poles but.

Seems a little mean spirited of certain tent manufacturers not to offer up the complete weights of their tents.

Whilst perhaps some people are interested in purchasing special custom poles/ropes/pegs, most of us use what comes with the tent until we lose an item or two....
Don't they?

The tent is designed for use with trekking poles. You supply the trekking poles and their weight is variable depending on the poles.

The tent is designed for people who use trekking pole/s for their walking. As such the pole is already carried and could be of various weights depending on what is selected. So the 'complete weight of the tent is accurate IF you already carry the trekking pole anyway.

Warin wrote:
The tent is designed for people who use trekking pole/s for their walking. As such the pole is already carried and could be of various weights depending on what is selected. So the 'complete weight of the tent is accurate IF you already carry the trekking pole anyway.

RonK wrote: The tent is designed for use with trekking poles. You supply the trekking poles and their weight is variable depending on the poles.

There might just be enough enlightenment in here to reach Nirvana.

Thanks guys.

rifraf wrote:
There might just be enough enlightenment in here to reach Nirvana.

Thanks guys.

Gracious as always.

Interesting thread over at the Bushwalking Australia forums looking at an Exped mat failure.

Aushiker wrote:New single person shelter option from Tarptent, the Notch Li [Cuban fibre]. Weighs in a claimed 565 grams. Would need poles but.

I took the plunge on a Notch Li; didn't fancy paying the Gerry Harvey Tax. Will post a report after I've used it a bit.

dalai47 wrote:Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1

I bought one of those a few years ago. On its first outing, someone moved it with gear inside (to give shade to someone who'd suffered a suspected spinal injury) and the poles bent. Within a few uses it started de-laminating and within a year or two of extremely light use the mesh started perishing.

With the help of video starring a materials engineer mate who explained what had happened I got a full refund from the Canadian retailer, but after a number of disappointing results from ultralight and other hi-tech materials, I'm migrating back to heavier, more natural materials.

Thanks

Putting together a bikepacking camping set up. Would appreciate some advice regarding what I plan on getting. Altogether the tent, mat, sleeping bag and pillow comes to around 3.5 kg and I hope to fit it all into a relavate terrapin saddle bag. I'm trying to keep to a bit of a budget as well. A lot of the gear i've seen listed here looks great but not in my price range.

https://www.snowys.com.au/ridgeline-2p-hiking-tent
https://www.snowys.com.au/camp-mat-si-s ... at#details
https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/b ... packer-100
https://www.paddypallin.com.au/sea-to-s ... illow.html

lewie15 wrote: Altogether the tent, mat, sleeping bag and pillow comes to around 3.5 kg

Bit heavy.

lewie15 wrote: I'm trying to keep to a bit of a budget as well. A lot of the gear i've seen listed here looks great but not in my price range.

Arr.. cost.

Pillow $2.08 https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Double-Side ... 7kGnINdIfg
But you'll be better off with $8.54 Naturehike https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Naturehike- ... 0005.m1851

Sleeping bag .. humm +8 C .. that is not a good cold weather bag. You would like to get 0 C ... think about where your going to camp .. if it is away from the coast or winter .. you will want 0 C at least. Better to spend some more money here or go second hand.

The tent is a bit heavy .. but should be rugged enough. Your young and strong .. go with it. Same with the sleeping pad.

Warin wrote:

lewie15 wrote: Altogether the tent, mat, sleeping bag and pillow comes to around 3.5 kg

Bit heavy.

lewie15 wrote: I'm trying to keep to a bit of a budget as well. A lot of the gear i've seen listed here looks great but not in my price range.

Arr.. cost.


Sleeping bag .. humm +8 C .. that is not a good cold weather bag. You would like to get 0 C ... think about where your going to camp .. if it is away from the coast or winter .. you will want 0 C at least. Better to spend some more money here or go second hand.

I'm with Warin on this.

Dont skimp on your sleeping bag or tent as "what price a decent sleep".

If you skimp, you'll only have to buy twice, making for a bigger outlay until you get it right.

Cold weather can be unseasonal and you need some redundancy in your gears ability to keep you warm and dry.

Thanks for the advice. I've upgraded the sleeping bag to a warmer and lighter (albeit more expensive one). I'm tossing up between the two tents below. One is 1.7 kg and the other is 2.3. Any advice appreciated.
https://www.blackwolf.com.au/store/tent ... ture-tent/ https://www.snowys.com.au/ridgeline-2p-hiking-tent

Tents:
The Coleman is 1.5kg and $135
The Blackwolf is 2.3kg and $440

The Coleman is not as high.. but lots cheaper and lighter. I'd go with the Coleman just on price and weight.
If you want to spend more money than the Coleman and get a lighter tent ..that is possible. But on a cost basis the Coleman is ok, and it is not too heavy.
The Blackwolf is not worth that increase in weight .. nor price .. to me. It would have to be cheaper than the Coleman to be tempting.

Warin wrote:Tents:
The Coleman is 1.5kg and $135
The Blackwolf is 2.3kg and $440

The Coleman is not as high.. but lots cheaper and lighter. I'd go with the Coleman just on price and weight.
If you want to spend more money than the Coleman and get a lighter tent ..that is possible. But on a cost basis the Coleman is ok, and it is not too heavy.
The Blackwolf is not worth that increase in weight .. nor price .. to me. It would have to be cheaper than the Coleman to be tempting.

Thanks Warin. I was thinking along similar lines. I can get the Blackwolf on special for $234, but I still think the weight of the Coleman tips it over the edge.

The main problem here is not the price, weight or performance of the tent, bag and mat but how on earth are you going to fit it all into a single saddle bag?
Have you seen the packed dimensions of each item? I don't think it's possible to squeeze all that stuff into the Revelate Terrapin bag.

Tim wrote:The main problem here is not the price, weight or performance of the tent, bag and mat but how on earth are you going to fit it all into a single saddle bag?
Have you seen the packed dimensions of each item? I don't think it's possible to squeeze all that stuff into the Revelate Terrapin bag.

All of the items pack down really small, but I agree I may have to get a handlebar roll as well. The Terrapin is quite a large bag with a 14 litre capacity. My tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mate and pillow come to about 3.4 kg and the tent is the largest item with the dimensions 44 cm x 15 cm x 15 cm. The sleeping bag would be scrunched up at the base of the saddle bag. I also have a frame bag and top tube bag for other items. I would prefer to not have to get a handlebar bag, but will wait and see how everything fits first.

Fair enough and good on you for taking up the touring experience.
I'm just a grumpy old grouch, time to be nice.
Anything that gets you out there is good.
I'm just repeating old lines I've used before but taking up bike touring was one of the best life decisions I've ever made. Touring, camping, camaraderie, solo tranquility (and torment ), it's all good and meets with my thorough approval.
Some of the best fun is in the planning.

Tim wrote:Fair enough and good on you for taking up the touring experience.
I'm just a grumpy old grouch, time to be nice.
Anything that gets you out there is good.
I'm just repeating old lines I've used before but taking up bike touring was one of the best life decisions I've ever made. Touring, camping, camaraderie, solo tranquility (and torment ), it's all good and meets with my thorough approval.
Some of the best fun is in the planning.

Thanks Tim, I appreciate the comments and advice. I've done a bit of bike touring myself, but always packed really light and stayed in hotels along the way. I recently bought a gravel bike, which will allow me to take some different roads and get to some more remote spots. I have lots of great camping areas near me in the Flinders Rangers, so looking forward to doing a bit of camping.

lewie15 wrote:All of the items pack down really small, but I agree I may have to get a handlebar roll as well. The Terrapin is quite a large bag with a 14 litre capacity. My tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mate and pillow come to about 3.4 kg and the tent is the largest item with the dimensions 44 cm x 15 cm x 15 cm. The sleeping bag would be scrunched up at the base of the saddle bag. I also have a frame bag and top tube bag for other items. I would prefer to not have to get a handlebar bag, but will wait and see how everything fits first.

Option: use the tent as the handle bar bag. It will want a more durable cover but might ft well there? Alternative is to use a stuff sack of the right dimensions as a bar bag.

Kinda curious here - what constitutes "natural" materials in the context of tents? Waxed cotton? Tree bark? Animal hide?

BobtheBuilder wrote:

dalai47 wrote:Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1

I bought one of those a few years ago. On its first outing, someone moved it with gear inside (to give shade to someone who'd suffered a suspected spinal injury) and the poles bent. Within a few uses it started de-laminating and within a year or two of extremely light use the mesh started perishing.

With the help of video starring a materials engineer mate who explained what had happened I got a full refund from the Canadian retailer, but after a number of disappointing results from ultralight and other hi-tech materials, I'm migrating back to heavier, more natural materials.

I used the Notch Li on a bikepacking overnighter a few months ago (the Swift Campout to coincide with the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere).

Here we had constant drizzle overnight and quite a bit of dew in the morning. I had some condensation on the inside of the fly but none made its way into the inner. Glad I went with the partial solid inner even if just for privacy - I would describe the dcf fly as translucent rather than solid.

The inner is a little claustrophobic compared to my Scarp 1; to be expected I guess being a true solo shelter and coming to a point rather than ~1m wide box at each end. On the upside the inner is quite long so moving down is an option to give more room above and around your head while lying down. Sitting up there is plenty of headroom and space to change clothes etc.

To answer the first post, I'll run through what I've used over the years. My philosphy is to use what you have until you can justify upgrading to what you really need. Back ground I've been bushwalking and bicycle touring since teens.

0; ground sheet. it is one of those coated fabric ones from somewhere. ggood to stop damp rising when you sleep on the ground and to put under tent floor to stop damage from sticks, rocks etc. can also be drapped over bike and stuff should you need to shelter in inclement weather. Has eyelets in corner for erection as fly/cover.

1; sleeping mats. a) hip hole. b) that firm foam yellow mat(forget brands) you could get from camping shops c) thermarest.

2: tents; a) Paddy Pallin walled japara tent. Requires two collapsible poles, one on each end and you could pitch it as a tent or erect one side horizontal to enjoy the view.
b) forgotten the name and model, but it is a snow camping tent that comes to a point at each end and is held up by end pegs(minimum) and three fibreglass poles as hoops. Inner is mesh, which can be erected by itself for summer. The pointed ends provide a vestible to jettison wet stuff or use stove in inclement weather. Only failing was if a very strong wind suddenly changed to the side the hoop would go S shaped and you'd have a split segment of fibreglass in the morning. I learned to carry spares.

Sleeping bags; a)_ was awfull kapok(?) stuffed one. the sort that suck up moisture badly.
B) was a paddly Pallin hooded down. Very compressible, especially with both feet into panniers. I think it was three seasons rating and you just wore thermals and clothes overnight during snow trips. Before thermals you wore cord pants.
C) Was some brand filled with "Dacron hollowfill' A synthetic that holds air and doesn't hold water. Bit bulkier than down, but still compressible into the panniers or the bottom of the bushwalking pack.

Bag liner was just 4m length of cotton sewn into an inner sheet, and also made a whole pile of draw string bag of various sizes for other stuff.

Racks and pannier started with the old school case rack and a set of junk shop saddle bags(very colourful in yellow and blue but zips, zips, and zips and small pockets. Next was a complete set of Karrimor racks and bags. Various racks replaced the Karrimor racks as these had a tendancy to sag for the back one and was small on the front. I've also made my own sets of panniers & saddle bags over the years from "SuperDux" (8oz nylon cotton canvas). I loath zips and prefer straps and metal buckles. I prefer to purchase handle bar bags as making them is very fiddly.


Natural fibres:: the only natural fibres that I've used are cotton in the japara tent and sleeping bag which was stuffed with duck down. Oh, the ridge rope in the japara tent is cotton and I prefer cotton or sisal ropes where needed.