Are small British tent companies any good? For example Trekkertent, Terra Nova, and Lightwave.

fqjiopjq28fq

Ultralighter
It seems British tent brands aren't that popular on here. US or foreign brands seem to be favoured even with import costs, shipping times and less focus on local conditions. Chinese makes like 3F UL and even Aricxi seem to get more attention.

Apart from Lightwave a million years ago I've not owners a British 'cottage industry' tent. Lightwave are Crux I believe and seem very small I believe. Trekkertent a 1-man outfit, prices seem good, DCF and silpoly options, but up to an 8 week lead time. Terra Nova have been around ages, have lots of models, but again don't seem to get much love relatively speaking.

Why is this? Are we just not good at making tents for our own islands? Crap at dealing with East Asian suppliers?

Or am I in fact wrong about all this and making an assumption without any market information (which I don't have).
 
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Mole

Thru Hiker
You are on a niche ultralight forum?

Terra Nova ( and Wild Country) are pretty popular with UK backpackers and mountain marathoners as a whole. Maybe less so these days due to other brands becoming more known and available.
I see their tents a lot. On TGOs, National Trails and the Hills in general.

Edit. I suspect a fair proportion of older members have owned or used a TN tent at some time.



Light wave are smallish, but also more expensive and less well known. Their tents are quality, but on the lightweight scale rather than ultralight. Apart from the sigma series which are expensive and niche.

Trekkertent are tiny. Have an atrocitious website, and the company's delivery and communication is documentedly erratic. So wouldn't expect to see huge amounts of their gear about.
 
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Mole

Thru Hiker
For me, it's the designs that don't attract. Or the designs that do are too heavy.

I had a TN Laser photon for a while. ( Fancied a green tent and it was pretty light.)
For similar weight .
I find the Tarptent Notch or Moment roomier, less flappy, easier to get a decent pitch and more robust materials/build.And better condensation management.
 

Ed the Ted

Ultralighter
My bad-weather 2 person tent is wild country which is sheffield based I think, but not sheffield made. I feel like I have seen wild country and terra nova (they seem to be the same outfit) on campsites and about in Wales quite commonly.

I would say that crux, lightwave, terra nova are very well represented in the mountaineering worlds, they all seems to specialise in these bombproof geodesic tents that people take up high to a basecamp but are much too heavy for long distance hiking.

Trekkertent look great to me and there is a trekkertent stealth owners thread and a facebook group I believe, so they are out there. I would really like a stealth 2 one day. Lead times, communication and bad websites (I don't think its that bad actually) seems a common subject with US based cottage companies too.

I think the ultralight market is basically located almost exclusively in the US for now, a huge population with disposable incomes where long distance hiking is relatively accessible, seems to support the wide array of small cottage companies that design and make ultralight gear, including tents. So the new, shiny, and sometimes innovative stuff is happening over there, and this forum has a lot of dedicated folk willing to spend the extra pennies to get it.

Maybe theres a bias of pics we see of fancy DCF tents at a sunrise on a hilltop looking epic. Not quite the same effect can be achieved when you're sleeping in a soggy vango banshee (insert equivalent wild country tent) in a ditch.
 

JKM

Thru Hiker
Maybe theres a bias of pics we see of fancy DCF tents at a sunrise on a hilltop looking epic. Not quite the same effect can be achieved when you're sleeping in a soggy vango banshee (insert equivalent wild country tent) in a ditch.
:hilarious:



Vango are still a Scottish brand as well I believe (VanGo=Govan) and surely the Banshee is the quintessential British tent.

Time for them to release the DCF Hyper-Banshee on the world.
 

fqjiopjq28fq

Ultralighter
Er, Vango, I had one of their cheap lightweight ish sleeping bags which fell apart on me on the Camino.

And their terrible website. Bad websites are a common problem. I can excuse the Trekkertent site (which I actually think is good) because 1 man but not Vango. The likes of Zpacks and HMG do a great job on their sites.

If I didn't have a DD Xmid 1 I'd get a Trekkertent 1.5 in silpoly. And wait 6 months for it to maybe arrive.
 

MikeinDorset

Ultralighter
We're a tiny market compared to the US and on the whole somewhat less gear-obsessed. @Mole is right - this is a *very* niche forum. So the starting point is that fewer people focus on the UK ultralight shelter market, and the market - us - is happy to look globally to source what it buys.

I think making the step from one-person enterprise to cottage business with a handful of employees is the difficult one in this country - it's hard to achieve that scale without significant exports being part of your business model in this niche - and so I wonder that you get a few outcomes as a result: the customer service experience some people encounter, and designs that aren't sufficiently attractive or which don't seem to evolve in response to feedback. Both of which might also be cultural as well as due to the market.

It's also unusual/hard to combine all the attributes needed to succeed. (I say this as someone who's been self-employed in a niche market for years and who's never found an attractive option for expansion.) Let's also add the fun of sourcing top-quality materials, which seem to have to come from abroad.
 

Bmblbzzz

Thru Hiker
I didn't realize Terra Nova were either British or small, and that's despite owning one (well, one of their Wild Country sub-brand). A glance at their website says "All products are designed in the UK with the most specialist tents also manufactured at our Derbyshire base," so they are indeed British. Something had made me think they were American, I don't know why. Whether they're a small company is subjective, of course, but they seem quite popular and widely available (think I got mine at Cotswold Outdoor, for instance). It (the one I have) is far from ultralight (but there are plenty heavier), which would be one reason for it not to appear on this particular forum.

I also have a Trekkertent, which is much lighter and packs up far smaller – but I've yet to use it properly, due to the pandemic... :(
 

OwenM

Thru Hiker
I've a Trekkertent Phreeranger and a Tarptent Notch. I've not used the Notch since I got the Phreeranger. Cost wise there wasn't much between them, can't remember exactly how much now. The Notch doesn't have a pole the Phreeranger does, the weight difference is mostly the weight of the pole. The Phreeranger has much more usable room and far better layout.
 

Shewie

Chief Slackpacker
Staff member
I quite liked my Laser Comp, didn’t really get the condensation problems people mention but it was used on the coast quite a lot. Bought it for £100 in Field & Trek shop in Leeds, sold it for £275 on eBay a couple of years ago :)

No one fancy the Vango Hydrogen then? Price is right up there so bragging rights included.
My first backpacking tent was a Vango Micro single hoop thing, had some great trips in the Lakes with it.
 

Taz38

Thru Hiker
I've got a Trekkertent Stealth 2, which I love and use a lot. Would happily buy another Trekkertent again.
I've also got an old TN Solar which is "heavy" but well made. The TN Pioneer and Southern Cross look good and many use the Voyager or Quasar on the hills.
I can't justify the cost of importing a tent from the USA atm.
 

Mole

Thru Hiker
I've a Trekkertent Phreeranger and a Tarptent Notch. I've not used the Notch since I got the Phreeranger. Cost wise there wasn't much between them, can't remember exactly how much now. The Notch doesn't have a pole the Phreeranger does, the weight difference is mostly the weight of the pole. The Phreeranger has much more usable room and far better layout.

The Phreeranger is the one Trekkertent model I'd still be interested in. Something I lusted after 30+ years ago but couldn't afford at the time.

(The Notch inner door arrangement is it's worse feature to me.)

I'm just loath to deal with Trekkertent again. Apart from my own experience, I have read of seen or been told of directly too many customers who like myself whilst mostly happy with their shelters ( if they ever got them), had such poor comms and multiple fob-offs/bs about what was going on. For months. With never an apology, just excuses.

I find it hard to let go of the experience ( can you tell;)) when I hear of others getting the same over and over. It's just not worth the hassle of repeating.
 

SteG

Thru Hiker
I had recently considered trekker tent but decided I did not want to take the gamble on delayed delivery, ect.
I don't think terra nova, vaude ect come out with anything truly innovative these days. "Terra Nova quality is not the same these days" is something you will come across often, regarding Quasars and Voyagers over last ten years. ie standeds dropped overall in general.
Not sure they really listen to customers recommendations in improvements on current models either.
They don't seem to be designed/made by outdoorsy people that use their own products.
The small 'cottage' firms do innovate, do make good improvements on current lines and seem to be driven by customer feedback and made by people who love the outdoors.
 

Mole

Thru Hiker
I think these look interesting.

British Backpacker.

https://www.turnerlightweighttents.com/product-category/tents/



Wildstone-ULW-tent1.jpg


Ridgegate-2P-3.jpg

torside-lightweight-tent-open-doors.jpg

hawksmoor-lightweight-tent-aluminium-pole.jpg
 

WilliamC

Thru Hiker
I'm just loath to deal with Trekkertent again. Apart from my own experience, I have read of seen or been told of directly too many customers who like myself whilst mostly happy with their shelters ( if they ever got them), had such poor comms and multiple fob-offs/bs about what was going on. For months. With never an apology, just excuses.
I might have mentioned this before. I ordered a Stealth 2 inner from Trekkertent. I needed it shipping to arrive while I was back in the UK so asked Marc if he could get it to me by a certain day), which was actually several days before I left the UK. The Friday before, I got a phone call from Marc saying that he'd given the groundsheet a coating of silicone but it was still a bit tacky. If I absolutely needed it, he could send it that day but if I could wait, he'd prefer to leave it until the Monday. I agreed to wait and he posted it on Monday.
So in my case, communication was ok and delivery was pretty much on time. This was some years ago and I may have been lucky but with all the negative stories out there, I thought I should post my experience.
 

TinTin

Thru Hiker
There's a whole world out there for you to find the best weight to value shelter that suits your needs why would you limit yourself to UK manufacturers that are behind the curve on design/weight/price when there's better out there?

My thoughts are that this whole lightweight/ultralight thing is a journey of realisation that the less weight you carry on your back the happier you will be provided you have a tent that keeps you safe and dry and a sleep system that keeps you warm and comfortable. So once you realise that you start thinking about where you are going to go and what your shelter needs to be to provide you with safety and dryness in those conditions and what else you want/need in terms of space traded off against weight.

And then, in my case, you buy a Trailstar.

And then you think I wouldn't mind something different for summer use so you order a Cricket.
 

Mole

Thru Hiker
I might have mentioned this before. I ordered a Stealth 2 inner from Trekkertent. I needed it shipping to arrive while I was back in the UK so asked Marc if he could get it to me by a certain day), which was actually several days before I left the UK. The Friday before, I got a phone call from Marc saying that he'd given the groundsheet a coating of silicone but it was still a bit tacky. If I absolutely needed it, he could send it that day but if I could wait, he'd prefer to leave it until the Monday. I agreed to wait and he posted it on Monday.
So in my case, communication was ok and delivery was pretty much on time. This was some years ago and I may have been lucky but with all the negative stories out there, I thought I should post my experience.
That's good. Probably the poor experiences are a minority.
I'm sure his heart is in the right place.

He's just a bit muddled in his priorities and obligations. ( And fond of bs excuses in stead of apologies).
 

tom

Thru Hiker
I'm not sure its fair to lump "cottage industry" makers into one single group? I buy my gear based on design, build quality, value for money and intended use / purpose. Shipping costs or taxes are just one of many equatioms. Short transport distances are obviously an important ecological factor but with something like UL equipment - too much of a luxury....
 

Mole

Thru Hiker
Hoping my final resting place is nicer than the bottom two, they should have gone full innovation and added a lid

Not my types either.

The bottom one is very Similar to the Trekkertent Stealth ( better inner) which seems popular with some.

Or the old Saunders Jetpacker .

I like the first design, but it looks a bit short for my tastes. Ok if under 6' I'd think.
 

Charlie83

Thru Hiker
Not my types either.

The bottom one is very Similar to the Trekkertent Stealth ( better inner) which seems popular with some.

Or the old Saunders Jetpacker .

I like the first design, but it looks a bit short for my tastes. Ok if under 6' I'd think.

Without actually clicking the link, the top one probably would be my choice if backed into a corner, Tarptent end struts would fix it:D

Nae doot 3 & 4 suit a lot of folk, 25 years ago I would have looked at both as pure luxury, these days I actually do want luxury rather than a funeral rehearsal.
 
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