That’s a snappy title isn’t it?. Very apt and on-topic too for this little backpacking item.
It’s about the perceived requirements for space in a tent relative to the length of the trip. I’ve read quite a few forum posts and blog entries which mention this in passing, and they go something like these:-
…This tent is ok for one night but too small for extended use…
…The Akto is fine for very short trips but I really appreciate the extra space of the Nallo for longer backpacks…
I read these and sit there scratching my head and wondering what they’re on about. For me it’s a simple binary case: either the tent is big enough for me and my gear, or it isn’t. Period. If it’s fine for one night, it’s fine for two, or three, or five… What has time got to do with it? (unless you’re off into a vast wilderness for several weeks where you need a mule to carry the huge volume of food and space to store it).
I have visions of people waking each morning to discover their gear mysteriously grows every night when they’re not looking…
6 Comments
I’ve often had the same thought when reading those kind of comments.
The only justification I’ve come across is that on longer trips you may end up with a rest day or two, or even be stuck in the tent due to a blizzard in which case having the extra room to move about is welcome.
But even then I’m not sure I’d want the extra weight personally.
Something Chris Townsend wrote that’s related to this, is that he much prefers a tent that you can sit up in generally, but on longer he thinks it’s essential. In case of rest days etc.
Personally I’m not likely to convert to tarping in the UK (and my girlfriend even less so!) and I’d always want a tent that I could sit up in so I can’t see it coming to a choice between the two for me.
Guilty as charged m’Lud!
I abandoned my 10 year old Akto for my LEJOG walk for a larger tent - a Stephensons Warmlite 2C. This tent by comparison is huge: The width at the front pole is 5 feet and between the rear pole 4 feet. (Empirical measurements - sorry)
I realised that I would be on the walk for four months and would be spending quite a while in the tent in perhaps quite foul weather. As I was intending to blog as I walked I wanted enough room in the tent to be able to sit comfortably, cook and blog with my mini computer, all without knocking stuff over and staying nice and dry - with room to dry out kit inside the tent even in foul weather.
There is no way I could have done this in comfort in the Akto - the headroom is barely adequate in the centre of the tent, wheras the Warmlite has plenty.
The nail in the coffin for the Akto was it’s weight - The Warmlite weighed in at 1205 grams all in, compared to the 1575grams for the Akto.
So it did come down to choosing a tent that was suitable for the the probable bad weather and still remaining comfortable and carrying out all the ‘jobs’ every day in comfort. I do see the difference - if I was going on a walk for a week, then I would put up with the Akto for space - but when you realise that the Akto is heavier as well, well it’s a no-brainer for me!
Ah… well if it’s lighter then yes - no-brainer! I’d been making the obvious assumption of a corresponding increase in weight with the size
I think that it goes without saying that a very small tent (or indeed micro tarp/ bivvy
combi) is going to be less luxurious than a more palatial tent (dissregarding the weight
carried during the day of course), so I think the point is that you might be prepared to
suffer a little disscomfort or inconvenience for one or two nights but not much longer -
As Alan Sloman said, he wanted space to write up his blog, which I’m sure would have been
possible in the Akto - just not as convenient, but you might be prepared to put up with this
inconvenience for a short period of time if it means you can get away with a smaller and thus
lighter tent (I know the Akto actually is heavier in this case - but you know what I mean!)
Actually I never thought about those very low tents, I was assuming that the tent was a reasonable size, certainly tall enough to sit up in!.
Evidently the idea is natural to some people, but the amount of space I need is constant for any number of nights, within the limits imposed by the amount of food I can carry. Even if I was stuck inside the tent the entire day sitting out a storm, I wouldn’t need or want any more. The Akto has more space than I need, quite extravagant compared to half a TN Voyager.
Speaking of which, I wonder why none of the manufacturers offer tents in more than one size?. Sleeping bags for instance are sometimes made in regular and long lengths, even to custom specs, so why not tents?. I could do with the Akto being at least a foot shorter which would save a useful amount of weight.
Alan - I imagine your thoughts on the matter have been shaped rather differently by a walk of that monstrous length with rest days and a backpacking mini-office to write up your journal!.
I think about this a little differently. For me I mainly tend to choose which tent to use based on time of year, type of trip and expected weather.
Firstly, I prefer to use a larger tent in winter than in summer, for the simple reason that the nights are long so I’ll be spending longer in the tent. Bad weather is more likely too, another reason for spending longer in the tent.
Conversely, in the middle of summer the nights are so short that I spend very little time in the tent, so it doesn’t matter if it’s small, and again, bad weather is less likely. In fact, if dry weather is expected I may take a bivi and not bother with a tent at all.
Of course, weather can be bad in summer and good in winter, so those are not hard and fast rules.
Sometimes the weather takes priority. I prefer to take a smaller tent when it’s really windy because it’s more streamlined and handles the wind better. Sometimes I like to go out camping in the rain so I take a big tent because I actually plan to spend a lot of time in it.
Which brings me to the type of trip. As a photographer I tend to do a lot of base camping trips rather than backpacking, which will often involve sitting around in the tent waiting for good light, so naturally I prefer a more spacious one. I also carry a lot more gear when base camping since I don’t walk so far.
When backpacking though, I prefer a smaller tent because I like to travel as light as possible, especially if it’s a longer trip since weight will be more critical.
There’s also the factor of pitching to consider. A larger tent needs more space so it’s harder to find a suitable place to pitch it (in the wild). A small tent is better for fitting into nooks and crannies, so I’ll often choose small if I’m unfamiliar with an area.
I must admit that I do tend to feel a bit claustrophibic if I have to spend too long in a small tent, even if there is technically enough room, but in practice my Terra Nova and Pro Action 1 (Argos tent) get a lot more use than my Nallo 2, although that’s probably because I’ve done hardly any winter camping in recent years.