Camping is often considered a cheap option when it comes to planning a holiday – here the outdoors types at specialist insurers Bikesure pitch in with some great motorcycle touring tents on the market.
But be warned, motorcycle touring tents range in price considerably and the old adage “you get what you pay for” tends to hold true.
Here we recommend some of the better budget motorcycle touring tents on offer and one or too from the top end of the market, less camping, more “glamping”.
Whichever end of the market you shop, a two-person motorcycle touring tent is the most sensible choice – but space will be at a premium so you’ll have to be on good terms with your pillion passenger.
When choosing what to buy, the main consideration will probably be size and weight of the motorcycle touring tent when it is packed. Will it fit on your back or in your panniers or top box, and will it throw your bike off balance?
Some touring tents for motorcyclists
- At the budget end of the market Tesco does a compact two-man tent with porch for £15. It’s pretty basic and only suitable for summer use but if your budget is tight it’ll make a very cheap and cosy canvas pied a terre.
- Decathlon has a wide selection of light-weight durable two-man tents to choose from
- The Vango Soul is another good tent, a fairly reasonable option at £55. With a simple two pole design it can be fully erected in just seven minutes and packed away just as quickly if time is tight.
- Gelert’s Apex 2 is worth consideration. It has won many awards and features lightweight aluminium poles and pegs, packs down to 54 x 15 x 15cm and is easy to pitch. Surplus and Outdoors carries this tent for only £100.
- If you want something a bit more substantial then go for the Vaude Taurus 1, coming in at about £145 at Life for the Outdoors. This is a neat, compact tent, easy to pitch, with a porch and you can just about sit up at the front of it. Pack size is pretty standard but its extra light weighing in at just 2.5kg.
- Money to spend? Then check out the Solar Photon 2 from Terra Nova. At £480 this really is the Rolls Royce of two-person tents. It pitches in just five minutes and it is free-standing, that mean’s no guy ropes to trip over when you are dashing to the loo when you wake the following morning.
Got your motorcycle touring tent? Don’t forget …
Whichever motorcycle touring tent you opt for practice pitching, taking down and packing the tent at home several times before you set off. There’s nothing worse than driving for hours to find your perfect spot only to be tired and irritable and having to read instructions to find out what pole goes where.
It’s also a good idea to take some spare, good quality tent pegs – pegs have a habit of bending when the ground is hard and they are easy to lose. Don’t forget a sturdy mallet to hammer them in with too.
We would also recommend you take some good quality, wide cloth duct tape just in case you have a little accident with the fabrics your new “canvas” tent is made from.
