Vango Blade 100

The umming and ahhing continues. A cycling buddy 'pitched' an idea to me about tents and now I have had sleepless nights, tossing and turning, unable to resolve my dilemma - weight vs soakage.  After thorough research I have come back almost to square one: the Vango Blade 100 - buyable at £79.99




This seems to incorporate all the needs of the sensibly budget conscious: good materials - high hydrostatic whatnot = low soakage; low weight - 1.72kg, not too claustrophobic with a max height of 95cm and a metre wide inner tent; and it is double skin. There is also a porch for honking shoes, steamy underwear...
The Banshee I currently have is 64 cm wider indoors though the same height and a few cm longer. So, for a kilo less I will lose .6sqm of floorspace.

Compared with the Jamet Shelter - 90cm wide and only 75cm high - the blade is roomier and the porch is much handier. The Jamet is very cute at 1.5 kg but can get hot and clammy.

Of course, other tents are available and if you have stacks of cash - get a Vaude, MSR or Terra Nova or go stay in a Hilton!

Tentage madness

Am I going looby-loo? Anyone who has passed by my blog before may know that I have a perfectly good tent. It is a fantastically roomy rent, with enough space for a DFS leather lounge suit, domestics' quarters and a 25m pool. Putting my country-pile-style tent up is a joy, once planning permission has been obtained. However, it is a wee bit on the heavy side, weighing in at 2.5kg. This summer's jaunt will involve severe gradients and, what with squeezing in my beginner's oil painting kit for some breathtaking alpine vistas, some comforts may have to be removed from 'the list'.

Should I chuck the tent and calf-skin lined sleeping bag and go...

bivi? at 340g

or just go daft with a...

dome tent? at 1.3kg and just 8 pegs

The main risk involved with these drastic measures is the weather. I really don't fancy squelching about in a bivi or mopping out a single skin dome tent. But, say the weather looked peachy a week before and I could well go for the bivi. Trouble is there is no space for the domestics. Actually there is no space for anything.