1

Hi

don't know what conditions you will face (no experience) but I suspect a minimum of 3 season tent will be needed. Finding a suitable tent under 4kg is no problem but with a budget of £200 the options are more limited. Without looking at those listed I thought a Wild Country Helios 2 would be a good choice. A quick search on google suggests it is available for £108. For a heavier and sturdier tent within budget consider the WC Trisar. A disadvantage for two people who might spend some time in them is the single entrance and limited porch size. From the same company, a Terra Nova Voyager XL solves this problem but is over budget.

There is nothing wrong with Vango tents, they are a good budget option but they are probably on the heavy side but possibly roomier...

Terra Nova

scoodly

2

Thanks for your reply. I might see if we can up the budget by another £100 as if we spend more nights camping than originally planned, it will help offset the cost, plus the tent will hopefully be comfier if we spend a bit extra!

3

It's a good idea to crawl round tents to see how usable they are; GoOutdoors often have a few Vangos set up. If not, ask them, or other shops, to set up the ones you are interested in. Going in March means you can wait for a sales bargain - fieldandtrek.com sometimes have Tera Niva bargains.

scoodly

4

If you're planning to do a lot more hiking with this tent, you should target a tent weighing less than 2 kg. Even 1.5 kg available today for 2 people.
For Patagonia, it must also be good quality, against rain and wind.

5

In my opinion those tents are either too heavy or not strong enough. Try these:

http://www.cave-crag.co.uk/vango-spirit-200-tent

http://www.jackson-sports.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=8231&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_name=UnitedKingdom

6

Not sure about the availability of these tents in the UK or what their prices would be but have a look at this link-

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Backpacking-Tent-Reviews

They are all two-person tents and most come in under six lbs. (3 kg). I'd say you should aim at that as a maximum weight. Between the two of you that would be no more than 3 pounds each, although 2.5 would be even better!

Perhaps the way to rationalize your spending is to think of this as an investment as opposed to sheer consumption. You are buying a piece of gear that will hopefully go on your adventures over the next ten years. You may as well get something really good and light instead of something pretty good and a bit heavy!

I got the Big agnes Fly Creek 1 which weighs 2.5 lbs with the ground sheet. It is definitely not a mountaineering tent! I made a real effort at all my campsites on the TDP to find sheltered places to put it up.

In the end it is a compromise- inexpensive, light, and rock solid in heavy winds do not all come in one tent!

Here's a shot of my Fly Creek held down on the rocky ground of TDP at the Grey Refugio camp site-

http://albinger.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/dsc03296-1.jpg

have fun deciding!

7

Too bad you cant afford a Hilleberg

8

Last year I actually trekked the 'W' route in March....the tent I used was my old Vango Tempest 200. It cost £100, sleeps 2 people, has a porch, and best of all it stood up to the howling wind and pouring rain! Bearing in mind that it was already an old tent and had been used for many, many camping trips prior to Patagonia, it still did a fantastic job.

Have a great trip!

9

Oh and I forgot to add, it takes me only 5 minutes to put it up.