In praise of Quechua T2 ultralight pro tent

Just back from a soggy Snowdonia and wanted to praise the Quechua T2 Ultralight Pro tent we used.

Camping at Llyn Cwellyn on the western side of Snowdon there was a lot of very blustery heavy rain, wet ground but we stayed completely dry. Last year it also stayed dry in a torrential storm in the Shropshire hills. 

It's 2kg and big enough for two and ..... £50 from Decathlon last year!  £60 now I think.

I'm always struck that Quechua rarely gets mentioned when those "which tent should  I buy" threads appear. 

Good call.

I think theres a stigma wrongly attached to 'cheap' products. Sometimes, for all the right reasons the 'cheap' products are really good, finding them is the problem.

I found a great product last year in the shape of a 3 man tunnel tent. I bought two, and recommended them to friends. £30 each!! An outdoor pursuit centre bought two, and a friend of mine bought one. Both have wanted to buy more because they work so well.

They're similar to a Hilleberg Keron GT. My friend who has a Keron wants another of these cheap tents, but they're not available now and he's kicking himself.. The materials won't be as good, the pegs not as light (for sure) but they stand up to a Hoolie, keep you dry, and you don't need a footprint to protect the groundsheet.

If anybody asks me for a recommendation for a 2 man tent I'll pass on your suggestion about the Quechua. It's true that away from the mainstream 'label' equipment great products do exist.

Unfortunately, the opposite is true too. I bought a Karrimor tent thinking it might be suitable in providing a bit more space for a cycling trip, but it was the worst tent I've ever used.

Saw this: 'Outbound Cobles Snow Peak-2' tent

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170306875291&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNASIF:GB:1123

My appologies as I've posted this elsewhere too.. a 2 man tent 'similar' to the Quechua for less than £20.

If I didn't already have 2 Robert Saunders tents of this type, then I'd buy one of these, just to find out if it's a bargain.

Stuart Bowman wrote (see)

I'm always struck that Quechua rarely gets mentioned when those "which tent should  I buy" threads appear. 

Bog Trotter wrote (see)

Saw this: 'Outbound Cobles Snow Peak-2' tent

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170306875291&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNASIF:GB:1123

My appologies as I've posted this elsewhere too.. a 2 man tent 'similar' to the Quechua for less than £20.

If I didn't already have 2 Robert Saunders tents of this type, then I'd buy one of these, just to find out if it's a bargain.

Simon Barry wrote (see)

But....3kg for a two man tent?

My solo tent weighs about 1700g (TN Laser) and cost £250

The tent above works at at 1500g/£10 each

The weight of my Laser went up when I replaced the pegs, I'd guess the weight of the above tent would come down if the pegs were replaced.

That 3kg is a bit sketchy, it says approx. so you don't really know if it's more or less.. Judging from where it's being sold though, I don't think that attention to those sorts of details might be high in the priority list.

£20 with a lifetime warranty as well ! Disposable at that price..

Mike fae Dundee wrote (see)

The £20 tent is described as breathable single skin with a flysheet?

I agree that cheaper tents can sometimes be a bargain though. One of my mates bought a £9.99 tent from Tesco about 5/6 years ago and it's still going strong. It was a square 'dome' shape with 2 crossing poles and it has stood up to some bad weather on mountain pitches. No idea of the weight of the thing though.

It needs to be remembered that the highest performance tents are (a) well up into the Very Steep Bit on the curve of Diminishing Returns, and (b) designed for conditions that, frankly, not many folk expose them to.  A Keron as mentioned above should be usable off the shelf for a reliable night's camping with complete confidence at the North pole (assuming it hasn't melted, that is...), and you do pay a lot for that sort of reliability.

People like me will buy the likes of the Keron in part because we're terminally sad gear junkies, rather than it's necessarily a smart value for money call. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only such case around here...

You also pay a premium for lightnes.  The comparison for the Laser as a solo tent is a bit bogus as it's tecnhically a twin (even reasonably so now it's got a second door).  You can certainly get two man tents a lot lighter than 3 Kg, but only if you're carrying it that far is that necessarily an issue.

I can think of a lot of uses where the Quechua would be an excellent purchase, even in direct comparison to a far more expensive tent.  Expesnive is only good if the money's gone on something you really need.

Pete.

Peter Clinch wrote (see)

People like me will buy the likes of the Keron in part because we're terminally sad gear junkies, rather than it's necessarily a smart value for money call. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only such case around here...

Nope you're not alone, I've bought stuff that I'll never take even remotely close to it's limits, justification? I wanted it.

Peter Clinch wrote (see)

You also pay a premium for lightnes.  The comparison for the Laser as a solo tent is a bit bogus as it's tecnhically a twin (even reasonably so now it's got a second door). 

Technically a twin?

TN claim that it's a 2 man, but it can't take 2 standard width mats side by side without overlap. My other solo tent has a bigger footprint but was classed as a 1+

You could probably squeeze 3 into the £20 cheapie '2' man considering that it's 150cm wide and a standard mat is about 50cm wide.

That equates to 1kg/£7 per person.

Really the point I'm making isn't that a 2 person tent 3kg/£20 is as good as a  2kg/£400 one, what I'm getting at is that between 2 people there's a worthwhile money saving to be had and that money can be spent on lightweight gear that can't be split between 2, sleeping bags/mat/etc. 1.5kg isn't an unreasonable weight for one as countless Laser/Akto owners, myself included will testify.

Does anybody have experience with the  'outbound Cobles Snow Peak-2' ? or the other one from the same company 'Janus' ?

Is there enough space on the porche for two backpacks?

How is the ventilation?

etc. etc.

Thanks,

P G 4 wrote (see)

Is there enough space on the porche for two backpacks?

AAA,

S? D?

Next to each other on the keyboard?

Anyway, does anyone know how these tents are? I found nothing about the Cobles Outdoor Snow peak, or the 'Janus'

Only thing I found was that the 'Janus' looks a lot like Outbounds ' Raptor'.

I use an ultralight Vaude tent but on reading this, I think I can create use for a cheaper but larger tent for those times when I am camping next to the car!

What would folk recommend for this? As weight would not be an issue, appearance is (it should look good!) but also space for one human and a dog and a porch bir enough to cook in without fear. Oh, joy, something new to research!

EB - I use a 4man Dome ProAction from Argos for next to the van... cost me 22 quid and has lasted a fair while now. Lots of space, well made. Can't beat it really.