Bushwalk Australia

Hi I was wondering if anyone could suggest a light weight 2 person tent. I am taking myself and 3 children to walk the Overland track in April 2017. We are new to this and I am confused by all the reviews. Would like to keep price from $300 to 400 and weight down as much as possible as my son and I will carry the tents.
Any information would be awesome.

For that price, without doubt, the Tarptent Double Rainbow.
Single skin
great ventilation
pole sleeved
multiple configurations
1.2kg or thereabouts.
takes significant snow load and strong winds
easy pitch and take down
check out tarptent website. http://www.tarptent.com/double-rainbow.html

Thank you. I will have a look.

It's a mine field......for the five of us 2A and 3C we went with One Plant Goondi 2 and Goondi 3, a little above your budget and around 2kg, I also like to support Aussies if there isn't much in it. . The thing that sold us was we could go touch and see it and put it up and pack it up prior to purchase. Oh they are self standing which appealed to us.

We did consider the double rainbow.

Thank you. Appreciate your comments. I will have a look at it.

My suggestion is to select say 3 or 4 of the most important criteria to you and apply to the many options that are out there including those offered here. Draw up a spreadsheet. For example, you have price and weight already. What would another be? Self-standing? (Makes it easier to pitch on tent platforms as you only need to "peg" it down to stop from blowing away when you are not in it) Double skin? (Better for controlling the inevitable condensation). Double doors and vestibules? (Is more convenient). Also, depending on how big the children are, you might be able to get away with a 4-person tent and save weight and money.

Also consider hiring a tent if you cannot work out which one/s to get. Bogong Melbourne hire tents, including "try before you buy". Other places hire tents too. Or buy one tent and hire one tent. Just some ideas/options.

Thank you everyone for your comments. It is great to hear everyone's suggestions. Knowing what to buy is really difficult so I am enjoying your comments. Thanks

Don't even consider a single skin tent - they aren't suited for Tassie, you will be wet before you know it.

I'd check out some of the Black Wolf range. They are polyester fly tents, rated reasonably high for a low-mid budget tent. I think their 3 person weighs 3.1kg, which is pretty standard for a tent of this quality. You can get much lighter tents by looking at a nylon fly (ie One Planet, Wilderness Equipment, Mont), but bear in mind that the price usually doubles for these.

What about a Mid, One planet make one suitable for 4 with the optional bath tub floor. Hits your price point and is a very sound shelter for two and will do 4 at a pinch, light weight and functional.

https://www.oneplanet.com.au/product/te ... able-tent/


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Pyramid and other trekking pole supported tents can be hard to pitch on platforms, which you will use a lot on the OT.

You don't need (heavy) free-standing tents. Single arch and tunnel tents are very easy to pitch on platforms.

I'd suggest the following:

Tarptent Double Moment
Tarptent Scarp
Tarptent Double Rainbow (single skin - will have to deal with condensation)

Tarptent offer an excellent balance between price, weight, structural strength and livability. They do have minor issues that you should fix (like changing guy lines) before you head out, so when you pick your tent ask around here about what you need to do.

Thank you for the information. I will do some research .

I took a tarp tent ss2 on the overland track at 1.3kg it was an excellent option and we had no issues with using trekking poles on the platforms. I'd also look at the tarp tent hog, it's a 3 / 4 person tent at 1.8kg.

Whatever tent you go with take some screw in hooks for the playforms as the cables etc don't always match where you need them.

Thanks for your suggestions. I am researching everyone's advice.

Tarps or mids are very useful shelters for a family to sit under when eating lunch and dinner etc.

Alternatively you may like to buy tent an "Outer Pitch First Tent", where the poles go into the Fly of the tent. This way you could pitch the tent with out the inner. This could be used instead of a tarp to eat your lunch in.

Or perhaps you could get the best of both worlds and buy an Outer Pitch tent with a large vestibule.

Keeping in mind your budget, you should consider Vango tents. They have a few tents that feature a high quality design and are match with fairly standard fabrics to keep the price down. Overall they ate pretty good value

Bravo 3 - Under $200, about 4kg http://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/vango-b ... te-br300-k
Sabre 3 - $220 - 3.6 kg http://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/vango-s ... TE-SA300-H
Pulsar 3 - $330 - Enormous vestibule 3.6kg http://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/vango-p ... TE-PU300-K
Pulsar 2 - $320 - Enormous vestibule, 3.2kg http://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/vango-p ... te-pu200-k


As for Tarptents, they are good value and lots of people love them. I'd be cautious using them with children. I don't think you'd have enough space for all four of you. Consequently, I envisage the fabrics being ripped due to rough usage. But if you did want one then I'd suggest the Cloudburst 3 or the Hogback 4.

I've been looking at this lightweight cheapie (well from snowys it's cheap) - the black wolf mantis 2. One of the reviews talks about using 2 of them for a party of 4 on the overland track. Might be an option for you? I've never used one but would be interested to hear from someone who has.
http://www.snowys.com.au/product-page.a ... c=4&id=154

dagsands wrote:I've been looking at this lightweight cheapie (well from snowys it's cheap) - the black wolf mantis 2. One of the reviews talks about using 2 of them for a party of 4 on the overland track. Might be an option for you? I've never used one but would be interested to hear from someone who has.
http://www.snowys.com.au/product-page.a ... c=4&id=154

Ive had a Mantis 2 for many years and it has served me well in many conditions. I didnt take it on the one OLT trip I've done, and instead opted for a Vango Spectre 200 (for the space mostly) and the fact that the Vango is a fly pitch tent which meant that i could pitch in rain if needed without getting the inner wet. You can do that with the Mantis, but it takes some planning and you have to make sure you pack the tent up to allow it to be pitched that way.
The mantis is smallish, I'm 180cm tall, and its got enough space head to toe, but the head slope is pretty tight at that end, so if you need to use all the length,and you use any sort of pillow, you may touch the inner.
All of that being said, the mantis has seen me through some very rough SEQ rainstorms and kept me very dry. It has a good tub floor, and the fly is super tough, the double doors are awesome, but the vestibules are smallish. I can only just sit in the tent and cook, but I have to be careful to keep the jetboil close to the tent and away from the fly.
It pitches neatly though, but needs 14-16 pegs to pitch fully with guylines, but, it pulls close to the ground and the profile allows the wind to shoot straight over it, you get little to no buffeting, even in strong wind.
I'd be hesitant to try and put two adults in this tent. you wont get two thermarests side by side...

Thank you. I will research the tents you mention.