Anyone also do tent camping?

[worraps]

Hi,

I am pretty new of Auckland,
looking for buying a tent in New Zealand to start explore North island,

does anyone know some kind of camping forums ?
so i can check on people's experiences on brands in New Zealand.

Thanks

[JimO]

have a look on www.trademe.co.nz

[tri boy]

Welcome worraps:sunny:
Put a post in the adventure riding thread. Most of the crew in there camp out quite often, and will be a wealth of info as to what works with bike loading etc.
I do a bit of camping with them, but moan n bitch if I have to put my own tent up, so I'm not much help.
Clint n Rosie do heaps of camping, I suggest you PM them.:yes:
http://www.kiwicamping.co.nz/ is quite a good company.

[kevfromcoro]

heaps of good tents about....
get something light and waterproof....
you will need a bit of gear to keep you warm at night........
as said.. have a bit of a search about.........

[CookMySock]

get something [a tent thats] light and waterproof....
you will need a bit of gear to keep you warm at night......Yes, a 2/3 person tent is heaps and heaps for yourself and a maybe a pillion.

As long as you have a warm sleeping bag, you will stay perfectly warm in your Cordura. Use your boots for a pillow, and just get used to sleeping on the ground, or use a mat (not much better than the ground.)

It's great fun being out and about with a bike and a tent.


Steve

[kevfromcoro]

Yes, a 2/3 person tent is heaps and heaps for yourself and a maybe a pillion.

As long as you have a warm sleeping bag, you will stay perfectly warm in your Cordura. Use your boots for a pillow, and just get used to sleeping on the ground, or use a mat (not much better than the ground.)

It's great fun being out and about with a bike and a tent.


Steve

i normally use a wine cask bladder for a pillow.
real comfy..
even if its half full.. you can wake up and have a bit of a slurp....
nature at its best................

[Mom]

Welcome to KB. Can you please give us a bit more information about your bike? I have been around for a bit and that breed is a new one on me. GAINT.

I know when I started out on here I also had a weird deviant of transport, so dont be shy, share :D

[Winston001]

Excellent question. You can buy a tent from $50 - $1200 so working out the differences can be hard. Like most things in life, you do get what you pay for. It can be difficult at first glance to see why two similar tents are hundreds of dollars apart in price. Finding the right tent becomes a matter of balancing your intentions with your budget.

The very best tents have at least three/four titanium poles supporting a dome structure and are self supporting. No guy ropes. They are designed for alpine conditions and are made of 3000 plu (rain-proof) fabric which is rip-stop. Essentially they are very light, strong, and storm proof. The zips are heavy duty and don't jam. Here is a good example although it's too big for one person. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Sports/Camping-outdoors/Tents/3-4-person-tents/auction-278477362.htm

You won't see this type of tent much at motorcycle rallies but to be fair rallies are usually on sheltered sites with bonfires and......er....chaps who fall over.......

As for size, in my experience a 3 person tent only has just enough room for 2 people plus gear. Motorcycling involves bulky stuff once you disrobe - boots, helmets, panniers, so my advice is to get a larger tent than you'd expect to need. If it's raining, having a roomy tent is worth its weight in gold.

You also need to decide if the tent is for multi-use. A large cheap tent will do the job for rallies and general travel. However if you want to go into the backblocks or go tramping then the high quality tents are the best longterm choice. I have an excellent Fairydown (now Macpac) alpine tent which I acquired as a factory second. Its supposed to hold 2 people but with my own gear there's no spare room. :D http://www.macpac.co.nz/shop/en_nz/gear-and-clothing/tents/tents-mountain/plateau.html

[CookMySock]

i normally use a wine cask bladder for a pillow.
real comfy.. even if its half full.. you can wake up and have a bit of a slurp.... nature at its best................LOL thats very good! Will swipe the next one!

Steve

[Hitcher]

If god had meant for us to live in tents, then he wouldn't have created Sky TV or spa pools.

[munster]

I use a Hennesy Hammock when hunting, been in some terrible storms and stayed pefectly dry. Only thing is you need trees to tie it up to. Still it's another option. Lighter than most tents and in my opinion, way more comfy. http://hennessyhammock.com/

[CookMySock]

http://hennessyhammock.com/Nice. What do you do about the mozzies?

Steve

[BMWST?]

Nice. What do you do about the mozzies?

Steve
.......
"All Hennessy Hammocks include attached mosquito netting".....

[quickbuck]

Welcome to KB. Can you please give us a bit more information about your bike? I have been around for a bit and that breed is a new one on me. GAINT.

I know when I started out on here I also had a weird deviant of transport, so dont be shy, share :D

Good point Mom,
I just noticed....

I could be wrong, but I think our friend is actually after a site like this :http://www.bikenz.org.nz (http://www.bikenz.org.nz/front/front.aspx?ID=628)

[NighthawkNZ]

Sizing for tents is a confusing thing... the way they are worked out is, if the are classed as 3 man tent, then the are comfortable for 2 people with a 3rd person in an emergency, 4 person = 3 people comfortable with a 4th in an emergency and etc...

I recommend a tent with a water proof rating of 1500mm (others say 1000mm) fly water head rating and 3000mm for the floor (min) or more for NZ conditions. Good site to what to look for in a tent http://www.nzcampsite.co.nz/What_to_Look_for.124.0.html

Check zips, Sealed seems are good, quality of poles and pegs...

[Headbanger]

I went into Hunting and Fishing a while back, Priced up a sweet tent that rolled up tiny, a sweet sleeping bag that rolled up tiny, a sweet self-inflating mattress that rolled up tiny.

All up it came to $400, I said sweet as, I'll be back later.






Then I spent that $400 on some damn fine motels.

[cheshirecat]

Hi.

These days I use soft paniers because I can get them right forward behind my kness to center the weight plus I can still get through traffic. Also got a semi ridgid tankbag and for long journeys a topbox comes in very handy. This is used to keep stuff dry and keep the day food for easy access. Night food and cooking stuff goes in the paniers keeping the weight low. Dry bags are also well worth considering. On tents I like ones with a reasonable vestibule where one can cook and keep the inner tent for dry grear. Tend to have three zones - dry zone in the inner tent, semi dry one side of the innner and soaking stuff in the outer. I'm very carefull about keepung areas dry as once wet things stay that way. I also use a H D polythene ground sheet doubled up. The surplus comes in very handy sometimes. Don't let this sheet portrude from under the tent or you will be sleeping in 3 inches of water. You will need plastic bags for everything especially biking as water has an amazing capacity to get to those places mortals can't reach. Insect stuff consists of HD rub on from hunting shops and scented candles. One big candle is really good as there is nothing quite like a reaf flame in the evenings, especially the one which burns the tent down!
Quite a few campsites have excellant drying facilities so I use them to dry out and clean up, but avoid putting your helmet in the spin driyers.[

[duckonin]

I went into Hunting and Fishing a while back, Priced up a sweet tent that rolled up tiny, a sweet sleeping bag that rolled up tiny, a sweet self-inflating mattress that rolled up tiny.

All up it came to $400, I said sweet as, I'll be back later




Then I spent that $400 on some damn fine motels.

$400 that would be only three nights accomodation, my tent is my motel been that way over the years for many nights, total saved over motel costs maybe around $10,000 and yep I still own my tent and other gear, in the trailer (bike trailer) and gone park most any where we want...

[Headbanger]

Meh, The comfort of that motel was worth the $400.

Besides, I have a "luxery" caravan that I tow behind my Hilux when I want to rough it.

Lmfao.

Double bed, bunks, Full kitchen, toilet,shower, hot water, fridge, lights, heater.....







Though I still intend to pick up the tent for solo excursions on the bike.

[kevfromcoro]

$400 that would be only three nights accomodation, my tent is my motel been that way over the years for many nights, total saved over motel costs maybe around $10,000 and yep I still own my tent and other gear, in the trailer (bike trailer) and gone park most any where we want...

iam with him..dont like motels..
TV and all the stuff.......
might as well stay at home....
nothing like camping by a river. or beach....

[JimO]

Hi,

I am pretty new of Auckland,
looking for buying a tent in New Zealand to start explore North island,

does anyone know some kind of camping forums ?
so i can check on people's experiences on brands in New Zealand.

Thanks

the old start a thread and never come back trick.....im reasonably sure a Giant is a pushbike

[Hitcher]

the old start a thread and never come back trick

Bless him. We need more like him to start new and imaginative threads so us regulars can wack on about something we know fuck all about.

[munster]

Nice. What do you do about the mozzies?Steve

......."All Hennessy Hammocks include attached mosquito netting".....

They sure do. And a very large fly as well. I've never been wet or bitten in it. I also have the snake skins and the winter insulation pad (SUPERSHELTER 4 SEASON INSULATION SYSTEM #2). Being 6 foot 3 inches I have the EXPLORER DELUXE A-SYM model.