Aldi dome tents 21st May

Animella

Total camping novice. I need my own tent for an upcoming scout trip. Is the dome tent for €29.99 tomorrow any good for occasional use? And would you go for the self inflating sleeping mat or the fold up camping bed?
Thanks!
https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/thur-21-may/

novarapid

id say it will be the best tent you can get for €30 euro, just check if it has a seperate flysheet. Would do find for campsite use, wouldnt stand up to a gale on the side of a mountain.
Air mat would be easier to transport so id go for that.
enjoy

Animella

Thanks a million, will go for it so :-)

Teferi

One bit of rain and this thing will be soaked through. It's a false economy. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

You can normally pick up a Vango tent from the outdoor stores in town for about €60. Very good brand that will stand up to a lot of abuse.

Animella

Saw this too late and had bought it . It's just to use for two nights in June so fingers crossed regarding the rain.

unkel

Teferi wrote: »

One bit of rain and this thing will be soaked through. It's a false economy. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Surely that's exaggerated? Don't worry, Animella, you'll be fine.

markc2951

I had a tent with a hh of 2000mm for a good while used in all sorts of weather with no hassle.

liamofT

Animella wrote: »

Total camping noit ce. I need my own tent for an upcoming scout trip. Is the dome tent for €29.99 tomorrow any good for occasional use? And would you go for the self inflating sleeping mat or the fold up camping bed?

I have just spent the night in the aldi hiking tent that was also on sale last Thursday and has same spec as yours ie 2000 hh so is probably same material. Got some light showers of rain and tent held up fine no leaks. Seems reasonably well made in terms of stitching and drape considering the price. Unless it was really milling down I 'd have no problems using it again.
I also got the self inflating mat and its excellent really comfortable and warm.

my3cents

Does this have a full all round down to ground flysheet? By design having a flysheet makes a massive difference to how waterproof a tent is even if the materials are poor.

Those that get wet in cheap tents often don't even put them up correctly then blame the tent when it fails to keep them dry. Moral - put it up in good conditions before you use it for camping. Check you have enough pegs and get more if necessary, a couple spare are no harm. Note also you can reduce the weight of many of the cheaper tents just by replacing the tent pegs with aluminium ones, again test before going out.

Another classic fail is to fill the tent with so much stuff its all pushing against the tent walls, and the inner against the outer. Ventilate well condensation on inside is not water coming through the the tent its your breathing. Touching the sides of a tent full of condensation can give you a good wetting. Keep gear in large survival bags outside if there is no room inside.

I know most of you know all that but new users often give up because a perfectly usable tent (and subsequently camping as a whole) has been condemned because of lack of knowledge of the basics.

I'm hopeing some has bought the one man tent and can do a quick review?

Thargor

What do people think of the one man tents?

https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/thur-21-may/products-detail-page/ps/p/hiking-tent/

I bought one but haven't put it up yet, wasnt planning on buying it but when I was in there and felt the weight of it I thought it would be a great thing to throw in a bag some day this Summer and walk from Bray to the Sally Gap with and maybe camp on Lugalla or somewhere up there, it weighs next to nothing in your hand.

unkel

Had it in my hand this evening. Like you say it feels very light. Says 1.5kg on the pack. Was tempted to buy it but chances are I wouldn't use it. Not that cheap (in Aldi terms) at €26. If camping overnight during a hike (not in winter), would you plan on just bringing a light self inflatable mat or would you bring a sleeping bag too?

Pat Mustard

unkel wrote: »

If camping overnight during a hike (not in winter), would you plan on just bringing a light self inflatable mat or would you bring a sleeping bag too?

If camping overnight, I'd always bring a mat and sleeping bag.

davycc

nice video review here of the aldi hiking tent, i still didnt get time to open mine yet :

BarryD

The weakness in tents like these as far as I can see is usually the poles. They're normally some sort of fiberglass with metal ferrules and will bend and break too easily, rendering the tent pretty useless. You'd want to take care to pitch them carefully, ensuring all joints in the poles are well made and the load evenly distributed, good flat place, shelter from wind direction etc. Give a bit of support with extra guylines. Even then a strong wind will buckle and break them.

Bottom line is that they are for fair weather camping. And in Ireland, can you ever rely on the weather??

Tigerandahalf

What is the hydrostatic like in that tent? When I read the label it was only 2000mm for the outer layer but didn't see anything for the groundsheet.
I wonder if heavy rain would be too much for it.
Groundsheets normally seem to be about 10,000mm.