Heading off camping for the first time on the motorbike and wondering which tent to buy? I’m sure there’s lots of you out there in this predicament at this time of year so hope you find the information below useful.
Tents vary hugely in price from under £20 to as much as you’re prepared to spend, it doesn’t necessarily follow though that the more you spend the better the quality you get. The important factors to take into consideration when looking for a tent to go on the back of your motorbike is that it is lightweight and packs down to a small size.
The new biker tent from Outdoor, is an extremely light 2 man tent at only 2.6kg and packs down reasonably small to 67×17 cm. Making it small enough to fit on the back of the bike, it has 120cms headroom and is priced at around £45.
The second offering from Outdoor is their 3 man tunnel tent priced at around £90. This tent is heavier, at 5kg, but again does pack down small to 20×60cm, making it ideal to fit on the back of the bike. It also has slightly more head height at 135cm, with the sleeping area being 200×220cm.
The smallest packed tent I have found without spending a fortune, at around £65, is the Nordkap Lite double walled tent, which packs down to just 20×36cm and weighs just 2.8kg. Arguably making this the best lightweight tent for use on a motorbike holiday.
The coleman 2 man beach tent is a value option, priced at around £25. Coleman have been manufacturing tents for years, and generally their tents have a very good reputation. This particular tent weighs in at 3.1kg, has 130cm headroom and packs down to 65×28cms.
The ridge X2 tent, also from coleman is the lightest I have found at just 960grams. It packs down to just 53×20cm, but is not for those with claustrophobic tendencies with headroom of just 68cm. Again it is reasonably priced at just over £60.
The small dreamer tent from Robens Adventure Range comes in at 2.8kg and packs down to 40×17cm. It has a maximum sleeping area of 170×220cm and maximum headroom of 105cm, and can be bought for less than £100. I haven’t managed to find a review for this particular tent, but other small Robens tents have received very positive feedback from users.
Vango is another company which have been manufacturing good quality tents for a number of years, and their Vango 200 is marketed as being ideal for motorcycle campers. Again, it is a nice light 2 man tent, weighing in at just 2.75kg and packs down to 50×16cm, again ideal to fit on the back of your motorbike. Again, this tent is at the cheaper end of the range and can be bought for under £30.
Finally, the Gelert Eiger 3 man tent which has received a positive review from a fellow biker “this is the first tent I’ve ever bought took it on the back of my motorbike which it fitted nicely, set it up very easy had rain in the night with heavy winds. The tent was bone dry inside and no sign of any condensation. I am very pleased with the eiger 3 and putting it away into the bag was not a big squeeze. For it to survive lakeside rain its got to be good !!” This tent weighs in at 3.6kg, and packs down to 58×15cm. It can be purchased for around £40.
Of course if you’re feeling really adventurous and going camping somewhere with plenty of trees then you could opt to take a hammock rather than tent, the smallest and most lightweight option, and arguably more comfortable than the floor of a tent.
I hope you find this article useful when deciding which lightweight tent to use on your motorbike holiday.