- Time of past OR future Camino
- First one in 2005 from Moissac, France.
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Not 1.7 but 2.5 kilos! Well over twice the cost. Where the benefit?I would be a little suspicious about a “festival” tent from eBay.. it may last not very long.
There are some alternatives on Amazon, at least one can read a feedback on these, like https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0917DXN2X/?tag=casaivar-21
I read 1 person is 1.8kg. I also would consider a possibility that the rain may start in middle of the nightNot 1.7 but 2.5 kilos! Well over twice the cost. Where the benefit?
As we used to say to our girls: "You want to bring it? Then you've got to carry it. All the way!"
I can see your reasoning but would advise you take at least one peg - it need only be a basic skewer type - because I've seen unpegged tents like that bowling across a breezy campsite like a Zorb ball. Otherwise some heavyish stones placed inside the tent in the corners.
Don't forget to take a decent sleep mat - those "yoga" mats aren't worth it and in normal times you'll see them dumped in refugio 'lost and found' boxes as people abandon them. And a decent sleeping bag of course, even in summer you can get some very chilly nights. Take a decent sleep mask too otherwise you'll be waking before dawn as the early morning rays light you up like a Chinese lantern.
Keep an eye on those glass fibre ribs. The cheaper the tent the thinner the tube walls. They can split where they enter the ferrules (the shock cord is very thin and can cut through) or, worse still, the rib cracks as you bend it into place. Have seen them splinted with a chopstick and some heavy duty duct tape (Gorilla or Rhino) which will work in a pinch. Don't tread on them, they're not crushproof.
Personally, for what you need, I would have gone for a British Army surplus gore-tex bivvy bag at not much extra cost.
Be that as it may, good luck and BC!
Missed the bit where you said you were using the trailer! Uptick for the Snugpak bag and the kip mat looks good I have the Berghaus 100mm thick mat - not practical for anything but car camping but soooo comfortable.Thanks Jeff - to me, putting up a tent on a verandah or concrete parking space or maybe in a garden isn't "real camping" ... if all went pear I could just step inside the building or into the doorway of a shop. Though think you and Renshaw are right - will take some pegs.
I am expecting it to be poorly made so will be waterproof spraying it as Chinacat suggested - I do that with all 'waterproof' items I buy and a fab idea to carry chopsticks! I repaired an upright piano with a chopstick once. A key had broken, took it all out and cut and sanded the chopstick to size, glued it in - voila! sorted!
I looked at all sorts of options but freestanding of good quality that are also under 2kilos are pretty rare. I also looked at bivvy bag videos but decided they were just a little too restricted for me - not as supple and agile as I once was.
I almost went for this tent but decided to go cheaper (could be my biggest mistake so far as is £65 vs my £19 which in the scheme of things isn't that much difference!!) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08MTM75GT/?tag=casaivar-21
I have my Snugpak jungle bag (my favourite bag) at 900gms, box shaped so roomy too and can be opened out completely.
They are now £20 more expensive than when I bought mine - https://www.snugpak.com/jungle-bag
and after looking at various sleeping pad options I bought the Alpkit Cloud Base inflatable sleeping mat as it has stunning reviews, weighs 420gms, packs down to small bottle size - plus the drybag air pump so it doesn't go mouldy inside.
Cloud Base Inflatable sleeping mat
A lightweight, inflatable camping mat made from recycled materials and weighing 420g that packs small. 5cm thick air pockets guarantee a good night's sleep. Sleep anywhere and soak up uneven ground.alpkit.com
I wouldn't be doing any of this if I was using a rucksack, but with a trailer it is very different and not a problem to carry some extra kilos. Tent, mat, bag, will be just over 3 kilos in all.
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Hi, I am also going to camp on the camino, I do think it is worth investing in a good tent though. Do you have Decathlon stores? They are all over Europe and they sell good tents. I have an ultralight 1 person at 1.3 kg which is not bad, I paid 99 euros I think. You really don't want it to fail in the middle of the night,Hi all ... so ... dark winter days and have been using this last week to prep for a Camino I hope to take this year (yep, decided, am going back, and with my S-Cargo trailer, not a pack!) .. but who knows when.
I don't want to get into the wild camping debate as this post isn't about that - I want to take a freestanding dome tent, one that can be put up where a tent cannot be pegged down. Plan is to use it whenever I can .. on refugio verandahs or their parking spaces, and gardens, etc, paying refugio price for facilities but sleeping outside - as few packed Covid bunk rooms as possible. Has to be light, under 2kgs, but big enough for me (I am 180cms, 70 inches long).
Anyone else planning to take a freestanding light tent to do the same?? (Has to be freestanding!).
I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to pay megabucks on a designer tent, lack the funds anyway - just a cheap one that does the job. This one has doors each side (double - mesh and closed) and was £18.95 delivered, about 25 us dollars, 35 Aus dollars .... and weighs 1.7 kilos, will be less when I take the pegs and guy ropes out. Probably has waterproofing similar to a hamster but will be going in summer.
This one - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324523908228?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
View attachment 116785
what fun! Buen Camino!!!
The wooden chopsticks that come "free" with a meal in Asian restaurants remind me of giant toothpicks and I see them breaking in a wind storm if used as stakes. Besides, who says you can eat with them...they test my patience beyond the max and I always give up!Chopsticks - as @good_old_shoes say, multifunctional - you can even eat with them!
actually, look for cloth cpap mask and hose... that might do it...hhmmm ... thinks ... that would be a fun project .. attach a hose to a mask in some way ........
I haven't found any lightweight free standing tents on the Decathlon websites, at any price, sadly .... the army mosquito tents are great but do come in at about 4 kilos and to be fair, I have never noticed mossies on the Frances and it is privacy I want really.
condensation inside single skin tents? True - but it comes from our breathing .. what we need is a soft mask with a hose that goes outside the tent!! But as they don't exist plan is to leave both doors slightly down but the insect nets up, hoping that this will reduce any condensation but still give privacy - less problem in hot weather of course.
hhmmm ... thinks ... that would be a fun project .. attach a hose to a mask in some way ........
bought the Alpkit Cloud Base inflatable sleeping mat
blanket?Excellent choice!
As is your Snugpack … I have the blanket - very cosy
blanket?
The Snugpak jungle bag zips open fully to become a blanket - I think she means that?
Is fab as I have hot feet so can just unzip the foot edge!
Wouldn't use them for a wilderness hike but for camping in gardens or campsites within civilization in good weather conditions they're ok. They're so lightweight you can bring a few more as backup in case one breaks. For a free standing tent on an albergue porch pegs are not really needed anyway.The wooden chopsticks that come "free" with a meal in Asian restaurants remind me of giant toothpicks and I see them breaking in a wind storm if used as stakes.
Oh Crissy! You're obviously not eating in the right kind of restaurantsThe wooden chopsticks that come "free" with a meal in Asian restaurants remind me of giant toothpicks and I see them breaking in a wind storm if used as stakes. Besides, who says you can eat with them...they test my patience beyond the max and I always give up!
An opportunity for an entrepreneur to start up yoga sessions!By the way , talking about sleeping mats , the albergue Los Paradores has 4 or 5 cupboards FULL of mats discarded by Pilgrims - hundreds of them!
Like the lady seen walking down our high street wearing a covid mask with a hole in it . . . so she could puff away on her cigarette!I haven't found any lightweight free standing tents on the Decathlon websites, at any price, sadly .... the army mosquito tents are great but do come in at about 4 kilos and to be fair, I have never noticed mossies on the Frances and it is privacy I want really.
condensation inside single skin tents? True - but it comes from our breathing .. what we need is a soft mask with a hose that goes outside the tent!! But as they don't exist plan is to leave both doors slightly down but the insect nets up, hoping that this will reduce any condensation but still give privacy - less problem in hot weather of course.
hhmmm ... thinks ... that would be a fun project .. attach a hose to a mask in some way ........
A cheaper version would be the "Woobie" poncho liner but not the MIL TECH produced ones.As yours, but no zip
Cheaper … though more expensive than used to be.
Useful for stashing in the car during winter
Jungle Blanket WGTE
Based on sleeping bag technology, an Insulated camping or emergency blanket for just in case. The Jungle Blanket WGTE is a warm, lightweight, less bulky alternative to your quilt at home, ideal for extra warmth while camping, emergencies or even to wrap around you on a chilly night while you...www.snugpak.com
And spray the exterior with Scotchguard as you may get caught out a time or two.
A cheaper version would be the "Woobie" poncho liner but not the MIL TECH produced ones.
Buen Camino David, sounds amazing!!!!I have a similar tent and paid about $20 for it some years ago. It's also a dome tent, can be pitched anywhere and weighs about 1.5kg. Your idea is a good one to pitch outside the refugios yet use their facilities. But be aware it will not be waterproof but for summertime use will be perfect.
I have the same Snugpack as you, bought it maybe 5 years ago. (There were only one colour option, mine is red outside and black on the inside.) I have used it maybe about 6-8 weeks every year, totally love it! Best things about it? Weight and that you can unzip the foot edge separately.The Snugpak jungle bag zips open fully to become a blanket - I think she means that?
Is fab as I have hot feet so can just unzip the foot edge!
Sorry to catch on here after purchase but there are a couple things on the down side, only one I have seen mentioned, that would be the tent not being waterproof. On that, there ad of the tent re few places to pitch a tent under to protect from the rain.
Over arching, though we hear of some who camp out / wild camp, the Camino does have a ruling that it is not allowed. Not judging, just mentioning.
Next, though a plastic reinforced tarp is not free standing, a single line between two trees or other supports can make you a tent with floor in short nic. Also much lighter to carry. One end of the ten can be butt against one vertical support or tree. An adjustable hiking pole can be used to prop up one end. And looking thru the internet, one can find many ways of using a tarp to make several tent variations, as options to support it will vary. The advantage, besides weight and versatility is that it is waterproof, like, "wake up with a puddle all around you," kind of waterproof. That happened to me once.
Finally, if you need free standing, you already have the tent. Take a tarp too to provide rain protection. Get one long enough to use as a ground sheet first and then pull it over the tent and down the other side, staking down two corners. If taking any stakes, use plastic only. Stanstead Airport TSA confiscated my steel ones, even though the tips were blunted.
Hope this helps.
I would much rather camp than share with a bunch of snoring and wind breaking pilgrims. Seriously I am a ridiculously light sleeper.Michelle, hi, and thanks. I was being tongue in cheek re how waterproofed it is - sorry.
It is a double skin tent, freestanding dome, sewn in groundsheet, with a reverse silver coated fly with a pole that goes front to rear to make two door 'covers' and it is waterproof - but at that price not waterproof in the way an expensive tent is, cheaper material and so on. I will be spray proofing it as well, which I do with all waterproof items I buy.
Were I to take only the inner tent it would be 1.07 kilos and with the fly and extension pole, 1.39, which to me is a really light tent - and is quite spacious too.
My reasons for using a tent with mesh screens rather than a tarp or bivvi bag (or hammock) is privacy and also exclusion of creepy crawlies - I don't like the thought of things crawling over me at night.
My post is specifically not about wild camping, though, there are no Camino rules re camping, rather general Province laws ... it is not legal. But, I have been visiting Camino since 2005 and have met many wild campers over the years, some with dogs, and not one of them had ever had any problems with police or locals or farmers - I am not recommending wild camping, merely offering what I know and I won't be doing that.
It isn't for every night, only when suitable, and I know of plenty of refugios that have gardens, some have campsites, plenty with verandahs, concrete parking aprons, etc - there is a bar/cafe in Rabanal that uses the field opposite. It has toilets and a couple of large marquees with mattresses, pilgrims just sleep in there, but what is really interesting is that there are always lots of single tents also pitched, which has always made me wonder just how many pilgrims do quietly carry tents.
If I were more like you, Michelle, I would just take a lightweight bivvi bag and a super-light tarp and sleep easy but I am city grown and like very much to keep 'nature' separate from me when I sleep - my fail.
Sounds perfect for your needs this yearHi all ... so ... dark winter days and have been using this last week to prep for a Camino I hope to take this year (yep, decided, am going back, and with my S-Cargo trailer, not a pack!) .. but who knows when.
I don't want to get into the wild camping debate as this post isn't about that - I want to take a freestanding dome tent, one that can be put up where a tent cannot be pegged down. Plan is to use it whenever I can .. on refugio verandahs or their parking spaces, and gardens, etc, paying refugio price for facilities but sleeping outside - as few packed Covid bunk rooms as possible. Has to be light, under 2kgs, but big enough for me (I am 180cms, 70 inches long).
Anyone else planning to take a freestanding light tent to do the same?? (Has to be freestanding!).
I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to pay megabucks on a designer tent, lack the funds anyway - just a cheap one that does the job. This one has doors each side (double - mesh and closed) and was £18.95 delivered, about 25 us dollars, 35 Aus dollars .... and weighs 1.7 kilos, will be less when I take the pegs and guy ropes out. Probably has waterproofing similar to a hamster but will be going in summer.
This one - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324523908228?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
View attachment 116785
what fun! Buen Camino!!!
I sometimes sleep in my tent to give other pilgrims a chance of peace and quiet. Unfortunately I am one of those perpetrators that you mention.I would much rather camp than share with a bunch of snoring and wind breaking pilgrims. Seriously I am a ridiculously light sleeper.
and after looking at various sleeping pad options I bought the Alpkit Cloud Base inflatable sleeping mat as it has stunning reviews, weighs 420gms, packs down to small bottle size
The Municipal refugio on the west side of Molinaseca used to have army style tent they used as an overspill area, not sure if they allow own tents though.Apart from camping in the gardens, sometimes it's possible to sleep outdoors in fresh air without a tent, but still with a roof over your head.
In Vilar de Mazarife, albergue de Jesus, for example. There are 'official' matresses outside on the wooden balcony. With a roof over your head.
I also slept on another balcony unofficially once... Just moved my stuff outside after everyone else had gone to bed. Of course I had booked into the albergue paying for a bed.
Would be nice to have more 'open air dormitorios' during covid times.
Does anyone know other albergues that officially have outdoor beds?
I do have an ultralight, Contrail TarpTent. Without pegs, which I usually make on site, it weighs just 1 ib., uses a walking pole for support. No longer manufactured.Michelle, hi, and thanks. I was being tongue in cheek re how waterproofed it is - sorry.
It is a double skin tent, freestanding dome, sewn in groundsheet, with a reverse silver coated fly with a pole that goes front to rear to make two door 'covers' and it is waterproof - but at that price not waterproof in the way an expensive tent is, cheaper material and so on. I will be spray proofing it as well, which I do with all waterproof items I buy.
The fly is 180T silver coated polyester so the waterproofing will only be about 1000mm head I should think. Enough for light rain but not for serious weather, but I am going in summer this year and although I might wake up in rain I won't be pitching in horrid weather.
Were I to take only the inner tent it would be 1.07 kilos and with the fly and extension pole, 1.39, which to me is a really light tent - and is quite spacious too.
My reasons for using a tent with mesh screens rather than a tarp or bivvi bag (or hammock) is privacy and also exclusion of creepy crawlies - I don't like the thought of things crawling over me at night. I was tick-bit on Camino once and developed Lyme's disease.
My post is specifically not about wild camping, though, there are no Camino rules re wild camping, rather general Province laws ... it is not legal but it is common. (Go to the riverbanks in any Spanish city and you will see many tents with immigrants living in them, left alone by the police). But, I have been visiting Camino since 2005 and have met many wild campers over the years, some with dogs, and not one of them had ever had any problems with police or locals or farmers - I am not recommending wild camping, merely offering what I know and I won't be doing that. If I were I certainly wouldn't be taking a bright orange tent!
It isn't for every night, only when suitable, and I know of plenty of refugios that have gardens, some have campsites, plenty with verandahs, concrete parking aprons, etc - there is a bar/cafe in Rabanal that uses the field opposite. It has toilets and a couple of large marquees with mattresses, pilgrims just sleep in there, but what is really interesting is that there are always lots of single tents also pitched, which has always made me wonder just how many pilgrims do quietly carry tents.
If I were more like you, Michelle, I would just take a lightweight bivvi bag and a super-light tarp and sleep easy but I am city grown and like very much to keep 'nature' separate from me when I sleep - my fail.
Though - your tarp idea .. it could be worth taking a real waterproof light tarp to use over it in poor weather - not a bad thought, thanks.
I think most of the advice not to bring a tent is due to some fundamental differences between being on the Camino and on a hiking trail. Hiking trails tend to be from campsite to campsite. Caminos tend to be from village to village. That creates a different kind of experience. With indoor accommodations specifically aimed at pilgrims readily available, the thinking isn't "camping is bad" but rather "why separate yourself from the community of fellow pilgrims and not avail yourself of the infrastructure provided especially for you, and carry extra weight in order to do so?".I think most advice to not bring a tent is given by those who are usually non campers, trying to not use the tent they brought whenever possible. Often combined with too cold sleeping bag, uncomfortable mat and not waterproof tent and/or condensation issues. Then of course you'll almost never use it, and it is dead, useless weight in your pack.
I think most of the advice not to bring a tent is due to some fundamental differences between the Camino and on a hiking trail. Hiking trails tend to be from campsite to campsite. Caminos tend to be from village to village. That creates a different kind of experience. With indoor accommodations specifically aimed at pilgrims readily available, the thinking isn't "camping is bad" but rather "why separate yourself from the community of fellow pilgrims and not avail yourself of the infrastructure provided especially for you, and carry extra weight in order to do so?".
True true. But I think most advice not to bring a tent is from previous to the pandemic. I'm not saying that using a tent is wrong, just what I think has been behind people advising against it. I could be wrong but that has been my sense of the force of the arguments.hhmmmm ... I think that a global plague with five million dead can have the knock on side effect of changing how people think and also make tenting more acceptable to hospitelaros.
Refugios might also be desperate for any income they can get.
Also, tenting at refugios is no different from being in refugios except at sleeping time - the same connection with other pilgrims, the same fraternities, the same sharing of kitchens and meals, the same putting back into the local economy - what is missing?
Well - missing is - being in a closed airless room with ten or more others farting and groaning and sweating. Being in that same room when early lunatics get up in the dark and start packing their rucksacks and wearing headlamps. Being in a bathroom rush queue. Trying to sort gear closely surrounded by other people. The chance of someone taking your footwear/poles/phone by mistake.
The benefits?
Using refugios and sharing with other pilgrims.
Having privacy.
Fresh air comfortable peaceful sleep.
All your gear with you, safe.
Get up when you want, go to the bathroom/breakfast after the rush.
no fears about not getting a bed so no rushing.
What's not to like??????
True true. But I think most advice not to bring a tent is from previous to the pandemic. I'm not saying that using a tent is wrong, just what I think has been behind people advising against it. I could be wrong but that has been my sense of the force of the arguments.
Probably wouldn't work for me though.
But I have just bought a 20,000 kWh power bank!!!!
SanchoSombra, that is a really good tent! Great price for a 3000mm waterproof tent and long inside too. I see that the inner is opaque on the bottom half and mesh only at the top. If the forecast is dry June and July you could possibly leave the flysheet behind, would save a little weight. But 1.8k is a good weight for a proper tent. Carry less water? Sounds like a great Camino coming up!!Hi Peregrines, I am taking a tent this year in June on the Camino Norte just because I feel more free and hope to enjoy more of the camino spirit. Probably I will stay at campsites, or outside rural albergues. In bigger towns I probably go for pensions. Wild camping is no option for me. Am a bit worried about the weight, and I hope not to exceed 10kg of backpag weight, which could be ok for my physics. And if not it will be donated on the go. One reason why I did not buy ultralight and ultra expensive equipment. My tent is sold for 59E at amazon, it gives me a good feeling, it is freestanding and solid and hopefully waterresistant, but with 1.8kg not ultralight.
what one or both?I sometimes sleep in my tent to give other pilgrims a chance of peace and quiet. Unfortunately I am one of those perpetrators that you mention.
Wow! What kind of chopsticks are these?Chopsticks surely make nice pegs for garden ground! And they weigh next to nothing. I drilled small holes in to add loops for easy removal, and heated them over a candle to make more robust.
Just cheap ones that came with some takeaway sushi for free...Wow! What kind of chopsticks are these?
Hi @David ; off topic, but when are you going? I start from Pamplona on March 30th, heading for SdC. Hope to see you again on the Way.
So sorry to hear this, @David. If not on foot, how about possibly an E-bike with an S-cargo conversion to pull it behind the bike.Ah, have fun, enjoy it all - I have had to postpone ... few problems here so not sure now if/when I will get out there, if ever on foot!
So sorry to hear this, @David. If not on foot, how about possibly an E-bike with an S-cargo conversion to pull it behind the bike.
And you held them over fire? How did that work? And you drilled the holes with an electric drill? I ask because I want to do this, it sounds like a great trick!Just cheap ones that came with some takeaway sushi for free...
And you held them over fire? How did that work? And you drilled the holes with an electric drill? I ask because I want to do this, it sounds like a great trick!
Thank you!I just moved the peg in and out of the flame to not let it burn completely. The pegs also did soak up some of the wax which I hope helps so that they don't soak up much water from wet ground and/or rain. I'm not even sure it's necessary to do this, but I heard the fire/heat treatment will make it more sturdy. Anyhow, even if it's useless, I do like the look and it was fun making them and cost nothing!
The holes were drilled with an electric drill same way you'd drill a hole in normal wood.
The string is waxed string usually used for sewing leather but any lightweight string will do I guess. It's just to make it easier to pull them out of the ground.
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