There are a lot of alternative ways to conduct a bicycle tour. You’ll be able to camp, keep in accommodations and hostels, or just stick with pals. In the event you’re planning on doing any tenting although, you’re going to want a superb tent. And deciding on the precise tent on your lengthy distance bicycle tour is of high significance.
Your tent is your house out on the street and also you need to be comfy inside your house. For that purpose, you should discover a tent you will be comfy residing in at some stage in your tour. For that reason, I like to recommend that you choose no matter tent goes to make your really feel most at house.
There are a variety of issues to remember when deciding on a tent:
1). To start with, you should hold the dimensions of the tent in thoughts. Earlier than shopping for a tent, make sure that it’s sufficiently small to suit on the again of your bike or inside certainly one of your panniers. My MSR Zoid 2 Two-Particular person Tent
2). Secondly, you should choose a tent that’s light-weight. As with each piece of drugs that you simply convey with you in your lengthy distance bicycle tour, you should discover the lightest devices attainable… and your tent isn’t any completely different. Make sure to take a look at the burden of each tent you examine and do every thing in your energy to make your tent as gentle as it may be.
How do you do this? Nicely, I’ll let you know!
To start with, reduce off all extraneous straps or fabric that you simply don’t or received’t want in your tour. Secondly, depart any further poles or elements at house. Many tents include “extras” that you simply “would possibly” want, and whereas it’s good of the tentmakers to incorporate these further supplies, depart these extraneous elements at house.
The most important and best strategy to take away weight out of your tent is to get rid of as many tent stakes as attainable. For instance: My tent is meant to want a minimal of 9 (9) completely different stakes to be able to perform, however I solely carry 5 (5) stakes with me on my excursions. Right here is how I do this:
Under is a diagram of my tent, exhibiting the place the tent stakes are imagined to be pushed into the bottom. As you’ll be able to see, my tent supposedly wants eight (8) stakes simply to carry it into the bottom, and one (1) extra stake that’s used to mount the rain fly.
The way in which that I get rid of the variety of stakes I carry with me on my tour is by merely not utilizing stakes quantity 3,4,7, or 8. The rationale I don’t want these stakes is as a result of stakes 1,2,5, and 6 are those that actually maintain the tent to the bottom. Stakes 3,4,7, and eight solely assist to make the tent wider, and because of this, I really feel they’re fairly pointless. In case you are utilizing a special tent, chances are you’ll not be capable to use this identical method, nevertheless it’s value wanting into earlier than you permit house, as it is possible for you to to get rid of a small quantity of weight.
Word: Breaking a tent stake is a risk and because of this I like to recommend you carry one (1) further stake with you within the occasion of a break. If, nonetheless, you break a couple of stake, I like to recommend you improvise through the use of a stick or wire… and also you also needs to contemplate training your hammering abilities. By no means use your foot to drive your stakes. This can be a surefire strategy to break or bend your tent stakes. Use a rock, a stick, your Leatherman, or different close by objects to drive your stakes into the bottom. DO NOT convey a hammer with you for the only function of utilizing it to drive your tent stakes at evening!
3). Shade can be essential when deciding on your tent – particularly in case you plan to do any form of stealth tenting. When doing this sort of tenting, you need to do your finest to cover your self amongst your environment, and generally, your environment are going to be a mix of inexperienced and brown colours.
You’ll be aware that the rain fly on my tent is principally brown and I chosen this tent largely given that it might permit me to cover in bushes and branches if that’s the case desired. The picture beneath is an efficient instance of how one can disappear into your environment with using an earth toned tent.
The very last thing to notice concerning the colour of your tent is that you could be need a vivid coloured tent (or not less than a partly vivid coloured tent) in case you get into an emergency scenario and also you need to sign for assist. Whereas I’ve but to discover a tent that’s camouflage on one facet and vivid crimson or orange on the opposite, I’ve resolved this downside by touring with vivid crimson panniers and carrying vivid crimson clothes after which utilizing my brown tent to cover in. This enables me to cover in my tent at evening and when so desired… and if wanted, I may use my vivid coloured panniers and clothes to sign for assist.
4). The ultimate level I need to make about deciding on a tent is that your tent must be effectively ventilated. On my first bicycle tour I purchased a tent for $30 and thought it might do me simply advantageous, however I rapidly discovered that the rationale this tent was so low-cost was as a result of it was completely unventilated – which means there was no means for air to get into or escape from the tent.
The principle downside with having a tent that’s poorly ventilated is that in the course of the evening, condensation builds contained in the tent, and by morning, there might be a considerable amount of water hanging to the highest of your tent. Then, as quickly as you progress or hit the tent’s cloth siding, this condensation will immediately fall onto you and every thing inside your tent – immediately soaking you and your gear.
This can be a dangerous factor as a result of it will get you and your issues moist, nevertheless it’s even worse as a result of it’s merely a horrible strategy to get up each morning. The very last thing you want in your bike tour is to get up and be immediately drenched in your personal condensation – a horrible begin to any day on the street!