One-person tent for carrying in a plane, and cooking

Not necessarily relevant anymore, but 20 years ago MSR made great stuff. Never had their tent, but loads of other stuff. It still works, even if it has taken its share of abuse.

@Peter, what you need is a swag. I still have one from my Australian days, used it extensively while out in the bush, or Outback, as it’s called Down Under.

Here’s what that looks like in a more modern version: https://www.overstock.com/Sports-Toys/Ranger-2-Pro-Bedroll/22798080/product.html?option=37940527

Ready in seconds, roll it out under the wing and you’re good to snooze!

Hi Peter,

I’d discount the Vaude tent. It’s very expensive and doesn’t seem to offer anything over the MSR Hubba NX1.

And in any case I think you’ll be totally disappointed with a one man tent. You just won’t have enough room for a comfortable evening.

Likewise I think you’ll dump 172drivers suggestion if you get it. That sort of tent has a purpose. It’s for people who have no space (eg an open cockpit aircraft, or on a bike) or someone hiking and doesn’t want to carry weight. But it won’t work for you. You can’t sit up and follow the forum. You can’t work on your flight plan for the next day or review weather/notams. That’s not so bad if the weather is nice and you can sit outside, but terrible if it’s raining or you’ve loads of bugs around! You need some space inside.

For the same reason I’d recommend you disregards the two MSR 1 versions above. They are 1 man tents which won’t suit your purpose well.

MSR are a quality company. They make very good equipment and generally offer excellent warranties, and I can’t image that you’d be disappointed with anything you buy from them. The two MSR two person tents you mention are good and will suit your purpose well.

They both will give you reasonable room, will be easy and quick to put up. The Elixir 2 is about 1kg heavier than the Bubba NX2 which is relevant if you plan to do a long walk/hike after landing. If you do plan that, then go with Hubba Hubba NX2. The compromise with the Hubba is that it’s made from less durable materials but saves a lot of weight. Looking at the design I think the Hubba will also be a bit tighter horizontally at head height. Both will be fine if you’re not camping on rocky ground :) You will be happy with either.

The only other thing I’d say is that these designs are so good that the Chinese copy them in the truck load Forgo the MSR badge and a tiny bit of weight and you can have almost the same product for half the price.
For example this one is almost the same design as the Hubba NX2 weights just 150grms more and costs half the price.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32799042669.html

Regarding the 5cm mattress that you use for Greece, you might regret that if it’s cold outside! A mattress provides more than just physical comfort. A cheap mattress provides little in terms of heat insulation (measured in r values for camping mattresses…the bigger the better). Nothing will put you off camping faster than a night where you’re too cold to sleep well! A sleeping bag can’t really make up for a poor insulating mattress. A sleeping back insulates by its material expanding and trapping tiny pockets of air which you warm up. The part of the sleeping back that you’re resting on is crushed by your weight and as such provides little in terms of insulation under you. So you need the mattress to do that job.

I have – and love – the Terra Nova Jupiter Bivouac tent which is very similar to the picture that you posted, Peter.

They differ from other tents because they are made of Gore-Tex or similar, rather than having an outer and inner lining. You have a single collapsible pole and perhaps 6 pegs, so they’re very quick to put up and down. I used it for cycle camping where you are sleeping somewhere different each night. They’re also quite warm and it’s probably easier to keep the inside dry than when you are packing the inner tent next to a damp outer tent.

They are however an acquired taste. These days when we go camping I take my 7 year old son along and he sleeps by himself in it. He asked me whether it was my favourite tent when I was little, too, and collapsed into laughter when I said I bought it when I was already grown up.

If I had an aircraft with an enclosed cockpit I might consider one on the basis that I could spend rainy days inside. But the truth is that I am also starting to find the gymnastics involved in getting in and out, not quite as easy as they were when I was in my early 20s.

I’m a side sleeper and while not the most comfy, these bedrolls work for that. Mind, that’s sleeping only, no room for other activities ;-))

Everytime I have been camping, that ended up with other campers on the trip having not enjoyed it, was because they were under equipped.
Either space, waterproofness, and not always from above. (Your fabric may keep the rain off but if the base can’t handle the flood/puddle you end up in)
or lack of equipment was the cause.

I can’t survive without a tea or coffee 1st thing when waking up. On a sunny morning before everything is open, a snack and drink go a long way to adding to the comfort of camping.
Add that kit, to your valuables, change of clothes, washup/shower stuff, and perhaps an accomplice, and you’ll quickly need space.
Adding space doesn’t mean your tent is going to be an anvil.
But as I mentioned and others have too, it comes down to deciding if you’re intending to
A) ’Backpack ’ (weight critical) or
B) Camp at a site travelling by Taxis or at fields by the aircraft (weight no issue).
Generally weight of kit in the aircraft is trivial unless trying to go 4 up.

Have done half a dozen trips 4 up in the DR400 over the years and it always included a BBQ od some sort too.
If you’re sure of your plans, get a good quality tent and it’ll last for literally 20 years or more (mine have)
If you’re not convinced, buy a mid range one, it’ll still last 5-10 years or more.
My Vango alone (£80) is nearly 30 years and 60+ trips old. Probably approaching 120 nights in it now.
Blimey, I’ve just surprised myself with that, now I’ve added it all up.

dublinpilot wrote:

You mention not wanting to mess around with rods/poles. The tents without them are called popup tents. Don’t go there. They are really for giving some privacy to drunk/stoned festival goers who are too out of it to experience discomfort! They really will give you no great protection if the wind picks up during the night and are likely to leak if it rains anyway heavily. Not what you want.

Hear hear to that! Fine for good weather, but in that case you probably don’t need a tent. I have done a lot of camping and after a bad experience, one will go looking for the best one can afford.

I camped last summer next to the plane on an island-hopping trip around Denmark. The wx was mostly good but it did rain heavily on two days & nights. There were about 5-6 aircraft tenting, and everyone was over at my tent checking it out because I was the only one with a dry tent and a decent mattress. In one case, even a frog took shelter from the rain in one of the washed-out tents.

Almost forgot. The new outdoor trend in Norway now is this:

Don’t know the English word. Not any good for hiking in the mountains with no trees, but in the woods it is OK, maybe possible to rig one between two C-185s How you can sleep in such a thing is beyond my imagination. But it is indeed light weight, take no space, easy to set up, mosquito/rain/wind proof. Also it is cheap, € 30 typically, but I have seen types costing 10x that amount.

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