Advice please - I can't make up my mind!!

I am trying to decide on a second tent to buy and simply cannot make up my mind.... 

I own a large Coleman Bispace 500 which I use for car camping which is fine when I am in one place for longer than a couple of nights as it is big and a bit of a pain to pitch.

 I am now looking to buy something which I can pitch quickly and easily, take on the back of my bike (divided up if necessary with a friend) and use for winter camping as well as summer.  i have narrowed it down to four: Robens Thunderdome, Robens Osprey 3 EX, North Face Fortress 23 and Force Ten Spindrift 300.  These all match my basic needs re size and so on.

 I suspect that I am veering towards either the Thunderdome or the Spindrift as my favourites, being geodesic with a small porch which I could cook in in an emergency, but I really am not sure about a few things:

 does anyone know if the Thunderdome has full access from BOTH ends or is the rear entrance only into the storage area and not into the inner?

How important are snow valances or other things to make sure that the fly comes right down to the ground as it doesn't look as tho it does on either of the robens tents - any ideas?

the Thunderdome pitches inner first - in principle does anyone know whether in an emergency rain situation it would be possible to wack up the poles and put the flysheet over them and then clip on the inner from within that shelter?  If that isn't possible what the hell are you meant to do with a ten that pitches inner first in wet weather??

 Any comments about any of these tents or answers to these questions would be really helpful - thanks in advance!

a few things first..... we know you want something for summer as well as winter, that packs up reasonably small for the bike, prefer a geodesic and a porch to cook in....

in addition what is your budget and what size tent do you want (1man, 2 man, 3 man etc?)

sorry - 3 man as I think 2 man a little tight for me personally!!

Well the upper limit really would be around 300 as an absolute max but I'd rather pay less obviously!!  I kind of fell in love with the Ortik Jetstream 3 but really can't afford it so.......

so, potentially:

a three man tent

300£ max

packs up small

winter/summer capability

probably fly first pitch (but not definitely)

porch

possibly 2 entrances

easy to pitch

weight reasonable but not necessarily uber light since it will travel on a bike not backpacking??

I am sure you will have a few suggestions shortly...in the meantime depending on whether you want a stand-up-in tent or not.....Vango spirit 300+ springs to mind as a first off

Imperial Dave wrote (see)

Vango spirit 300+ springs to mind as a first off

Sig's are a waste of bandwidth...

Snow valances only necessary in, errr, snow.  And not even then.

A fly right down to the ground can be a Feature as well as a Bug.  On the plus side, ventilation will be quite a bit better so condensation less of an issue.  On the minus side, not as warm in winter.  You choose, you lose...  

I prefer a fly right to the ground as it's easier to deal with a bit of condensation than just feeling too cold IMH, but plenty of folk use tents with a gap at the bottom with no particular problems.  More a preference thing than a Deal Breaker, I'd say.

Pete.

Mr Sworld wrote (see)

Imperial Dave wrote (see)

Vango spirit 300+ springs to mind as a first off

I'll second that. Great tent for the price and you'd be able to store two bikes in the porch.

Thirded.  I have one for solo car camping although it's absolutely palatial for one.

It pitches tautly, the porch is huge and the tent handles rain and condensation superbly.

padstowe wrote (see)

sorry to hijack the thread!

how does the spirit stand up to wind?

cheers

I've never tested mine in a real blow but it is very stable in moderate winds.  You do need to guy it out properly as it is a tunnet tent.

The Spirit tents have a Tension Band System, which consists of webbing straps that connect the apex of the flysheet to the bottom and provide additional lateral stability in strong winds.  I've never had to use it on my Spirit but it seems a good idea in theory.  

oh yes and what about tents that pitch inner first??

 In the rain you still (normally) pitch the inner first - the inners don't melt when they get wet!

In light rain the inner should barely get damp (usually the inner can be pitched in 2 - 3 minutes, the outer then covers it while finishing pitching).

 In heavy rain the outside of the inner will get wet, but is unlikely to get wet inside (even if the inner is mostly mesh).

  In very heavy rain it may also get wet inside the inner, in which case you give it a quick wipe with a cloth (the same one you have for mopping minor spills or condensation).

 You can try and hide the inner under the fly when pitching, but this often makes it takes so much longer that things get wetter than just getting on with it.

All my previous tents have been inner first, and for me inner/outer first is a non issue.