Choosing a tent for bike touring

Perhaps it’s an age thing, but when choosing a tent for bike touring, our first prerequisite was space, closely followed by weight, and not forgetting budget. Our old faithful Fairydown 2 person tent that we bought in New Zealand in 2001 has served us well, but after taking a hammering in the winds of Patagonia last year we have had to retire her to sunnier climes and car boot camping only.

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Our tent selection criteria

Space – we now want a tent that has comfortable space for the two of us, plus has the capacity to store our bike panniers inside the tent.

Size & weight – we want a tent compact and lightweight enough to carry on the bike, and with the option to use it for backpacking trips too.

Durability – we want it to be at least a three season tent to withstand wet and cold weather as well as summer conditions.

Budget – and we want all of the above features without having to spend a fortune!

Meet Olive

It took a bit of shopping around, but we eventually found “Olive” who fitted the bill perfectly!

Weighing in at less than 3.5kg with a pack size of only 50 x 20cm, Olive is a Vaude Terra Space 3 person tent. The upgrade from 2 person to 3 person means we have slightly more space inside the dome, especially useful on wet weather days! And there is enough room in there for our panniers and bike gear.

We each have our own entrance and good sized porch making it easy to get in and out without climbing over each other. And all for 180 quid which we feel is good value considering the price range of a tent suitable for bike touring was averaging between £200-£500!

How she performs remains to be seen as today (our 20th wedding anniversary!) was only a practice pitch in the garden and the naming ceremony!  The christening has yet to come…

Stay tuned for the adventures of Olive!

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