Wild Country Ropeman

Advantages: cost, easy to put up, replaceable poles
Disadvantages: outer rips easily, groundsheet wears easily

...This 3 man tent was bought for wild camping expeditions in lowland areas. I had hoped it would withstand being put up and down by enthusiastic teenagers! It can be purchased from Millets for a cost of £49.99. It weighs 4.9 Kg and has a hydrostatic head of 2000mm (most start from about 1500mm). It comes in a good size carry bag (20cm x 66cm) with great handles. The guy ropes are bright fluorescent yellow so not easy to trip over. Ease of use: The tent is really straight forward to put up and took 2 people about 10 minutes. There are 3 poles which are colour coded so that the right pole goes in the right place. It’s a bit fiddly to attach the inner area to the outer sheet and this took the most time. The poles split for folding and go through the loop areas really easily. Durability: I took three of these tents out on a really dry... Read review

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Advantages: Will burn well just about any fuel you can find to use, good at altitude.
Disadvantages: Not as good looking a stove as others in the series! Keep a spares kit.

...! When in a strange and far away country, out of fuel, with little to burn available; This is the stove that turns up trumps with every potential back country fuel you shall meet!!! It can burn just about the full range except nuclear!! Mine even burned pure alcohol, aviation fuel, petrol and more, with minimal adjustments. Lots of small parts though, that do tend to go missing, in the wilds,when you clean it!! So always keep with you the MSR XGK spare parts/maintanance kit to hand for any emergencies!!!! One stove of mine is an original XGK, and the other stove is the better later XGKII improved model. The currently available model is basically the manufacturers up to date XGKII. This is as good as it gets, really!... Read review

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Advantages: Lightweight, robust, colour coded poles, reflective guy ropes
Disadvantages: It's not true 4-season, small cooking area, lack of headroom

...I bought a Tadpole 23 three years ago and use it for wild-country back-packing, rock-climbing and winter mountaineering. It is an ultra-lightweight tent that weighs less than 2kg, designed for two people, in three-season conditions (However, I have used it for winter mountaineering in the UK, which it is fine for if you have a good sleeping bag and air mattress). It does all the standard tent stuff - like keeping the wind and rain off you and your kit whilst allowing you to cook and sleep, but is much more sophisicated than a standard tent. When you first see it up, it looks a bit flimsy, but it is actually very resistant to the wind and The North Face have made every effort to reduce its weight as much as possible without compromising on the strength. It is easy to put up on your own (even in the dark when you're tired) due to the 3... Read review

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