Wanted: cheap 2p windproof palace

Enzo

Thru Hiker
I've been looking for a bug net inner for my Hexpeak but am seriously considering buying one of these and selling Hexpeak as Mrs Ho has said she wants to come on one of my trips next year. I know there will be some VAT and duty on it but think sale of Hexpeak and one or two other false start shelters I have will easily cover it. TBH at 6'2" the Hexpeak is a bit small for me.

Yup, I'm tempted too, have so many shelters I should probably move some on first!
 

el manana

Thru Hiker
I've been looking for a bug net inner for my Hexpeak but am seriously considering buying one of these and selling Hexpeak as Mrs Ho has said she wants to come on one of my trips next year. I know there will be some VAT and duty on it but think sale of Hexpeak and one or two other false start shelters I have will easily cover it. TBH at 6'2" the Hexpeak is a bit small for me.

Cant beat an SL3 (or similar) @PhilHo - hopefully these 3F copies are as good, they look decent.
 
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TinTin

Thru Hiker
I also like the look of this Airicxi. It was recommended on another thread as a good option for taller campers. It is a bit lower and narrower than a single pyramid and very good value as well.
 

KVerb

Ultralighter
I also like the look of this Airicxi. It was recommended on another thread as a good option for taller campers. It is a bit lower and narrower than a single pyramid and very good value as well.
Can you link the thread/post please? I'm curious about its behaviour in wind. It also looks like it'd be a tight squeeze to get 2 people with their gear in there, given the lack of vestibule space.
 

TinTin

Thru Hiker
Can you link the thread/post please? I'm curious about its behaviour in wind. It also looks like it'd be a tight squeeze to get 2 people with their gear in there, given the lack of vestibule space.
It was in a post by Rog Tallbloke in this thread about 3/4 of the way down that page, not sure how I link to the actual post.

Someone had posted about this Robens Swift Tarp tent that was about £300 at the time and Rog pointed to the AliExpress cheaper alternative.
 

KVerb

Ultralighter
So do any of you have any experience with the Twin Sisters clone? Looks like a fun design to me... I might also be sturdier in terms of stress on the poles, given that they are not extended to double length? I'm still curious whether it's large enough to fit 2 plus gear...
 

WilliamC

Thru Hiker
We used to have a Shangri La 2, which is very similar (as per Mole, above). Lots of room for gear (though maybe not in the inner, depending on the inner (we got a custom one made). Also very good in wind, especially if you avoided it coming side on. Front loader though, not so good for views and the poles come between you and your partner. The latter could be good or bad, depending on how friendly you and your partner want to be.
 

TinTin

Thru Hiker
If it was a more discrete colour I'd have one on the way. I bought the Hexpeak because I was planning to do a quick, 5 days, first bit of the Pennine Way and figured I would need something that didn't stand out like a sore whatsit for the wild camp nights. In the end I went up to Tyndrum and did the last bit of the WHW. Now I'm planning a trip to Jura next May with Mrs Ho and need some midge protection but I will do the Pennine Way at a later date. I'm also a bit too long for the Hexpeak with an inner.

My dilemma now is; should I buy a double Hexpeak Inner for £85 that I know will be a squeeze or for the same money (plus the VAT lottery on imports) get a shelter that would actually fit me but that would be no good for stealth camping in England.
 

dovidola

Thru Hiker
If it was a more discrete colour I'd have one on the way. I bought the Hexpeak because I was planning to do a quick, 5 days, first bit of the Pennine Way and figured I would need something that didn't stand out like a sore whatsit for the wild camp nights. In the end I went up to Tyndrum and did the last bit of the WHW. Now I'm planning a trip to Jura next May with Mrs Ho and need some midge protection but I will do the Pennine Way at a later date. I'm also a bit too long for the Hexpeak with an inner.

My dilemma now is; should I buy a double Hexpeak Inner for £85 that I know will be a squeeze or for the same money (plus the VAT lottery on imports) get a shelter that would actually fit me but that would be no good for stealth camping in England.

Hexpeak F6? The supplied inner is ideal for two as long as you don't mind a pole between you, and you still have a decent vestibule.
 

TinTin

Thru Hiker
I've just ordered an AliExpress Aricxi (MSR Twin sisters clone) with 4 season inner for £91 I guess I'll be stung for 20% VAT and £8 Royal Mail handling on top of this. I've gone for the grey one.

Link

If you are wondering what made my mind up it was was what was said in this review about the colour.

Top Quality, more than i Every had expected!!!! i am very happy about the real Colour: the white-grey ist more soft Olive Green and i appreciate this much moren (its hard to catch it on a Foto). Before, i couldnt finde a UL Tent like this in a Green-Wood-Harmony Colour. I Love ist :)

Great Tent, really great Quality!!! The Color „grey-white“ is more a light Olive-Militär-Green and i am very happy about it. Its better for beeing in the Woods :) thank you very much for your friendly and fast Communication and Delivery!!! 5 Stars!!!
 

dovidola

Thru Hiker
You should be OK - I've had several items from AliExpress around the £100 mark and never been charged tax or duty or handling yet.

Interesting tent, not noticed it before. Let us know how you get on!
 

Enzo

Thru Hiker
Yup, never been charged for anything off Ali. I've got a gazillion knot shelters and always get the grey. Its not a bad colour, though I hear the yellow makes even overcast claggy days look cheery.
 

TinTin

Thru Hiker
My AliExpress Aricxi (MSR Twin sisters clone) with 4 season inner has arrived 11 days from ordering and no VAT or import charges. The brilliant news is that the colours are much better than pictured on the Aliexpress site. The attached pic is something like but on my screen if anything the fly is a bit more olive green than it appears on my screen the floor of the inner is the dark mustard colour of the stuff sack in my pic. The door and walls of the inner are white and the inner fly screend door is a very fine mesh that looks like it will be midge proof. The reinforced sections of the fly and the zip cover/storm flap are the dark mustard colour. I'll try and make time to pitch it in the garden on Friday and take some pics. So far I'm very happy with the colours, material and the stitching that I've had a close look at. There doesn't seem to be any obvious rip stop weave in the material of the fly however. The inner has a thicker thread in a 3 or 4mm pattern.

It came with extra guys, some cheap shepherds crook pegs and 3 tubes of silicone sealant for seam sealing.

Weights. Including stuff sacks but excluding pegs and extra guy line, as delivered un-seam-sealed.

Fly 600g

4 season (solid) inner 760g

These figures match with those claimed on Aliexpress since the stuff sacks account for the difference.

It will need a tyvek or polycro footprint because the ground sheet is 20d silnylon think.
colour.jpg


Link to Ali page

First pitch. The camera just will not capture the colour of the tent as perceived by the eye. Very odd. Also notice one of the tie out tabs is at a different height to the rest. It's no Zpacks or MLD but it'll do for the price.

tent1.jpg

tent2.jpg
 
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Stuart

Section Hiker
Looks good, but how much space is there in the vestibule? If I could get a large pack in it and still be able to cook inside the vestibule I'd be very tempted to get one of these.
 

TinTin

Thru Hiker
Looks good, but how much space is there in the vestibule? If I could get a large pack in it and still be able to cook inside the vestibule I'd be very tempted to get one of these.
The vestibule isn't massive and I think that the geometry would be against you getting a large pack in there. I'm planning to put mine alongside my sleeping pad and just put boots in vestibule. There's a few pics here with dimensions. Also note that the inner floor is 2.5m long, so you should have room inside at the end for gear.
 

Stuart

Section Hiker
I was hoping this thread might help me find what I'm looking for but I haven't quite got there yet. Can anyone suggest something for 2 people that fits this bill:

- easy entrance and exit for two that doesn't involve one person clambering over the other
- porch big enough to cook in and store 50l pack (not necessarily at the same time)
- has an inner and flysheet
- room for someone 6' 2"
- enough width to sleep two adults comfortably
- less than 2kg (I will sometimes have to carry the tent on my own along with other gear for two people and will sometimes use it solo as I can't really justify buying a separate 1 person tent)

Of the cheaper Ali type tents the Nature Hike Cloud Up 2 seems the closest but might be a bit small inside. Maybe worth going up to a 3 person version but then the weight is also going up. The Asta "supermid" with a two person inner could work but only if the inner has two doors as the 4 person one does, it's not clear to me whether this is the case.

The Strat 2 achieves all of these but at a cost especially after factoring in postage and customs. Couple of the Trekkertent ones as well. Given the amount of use it will get I'm not sure that I can justify the cost, but maybe I can...
 
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