View Full Version : Looking for a tent which I can take an an 18 day trip to Alaska on motorcycle.
Hello Everyone,
I’m looking for a tent that is ideal for a motorcycle trip: My requirements are:
Packed small.
I’m not concern about weight.
Tent needs to have enough room to fit two slim people.
I have REI 5 miles from my house and I been looking at Nemo OBI P2. What do you recommend? Cost is not the object.
swjohnsey
03-03-2012, 11:42
I used a Eureka Backcountry I for my motorcycle trip to Alaska. For two the Backcountry II would work better. Relatively cheap, very sturdy, short pack length, free standing.
I looked into Eureka, but it's not sold at REI. Since, I have a Christmas Gift card for REI, I would like to purchase the new tent from REI.
Nylon tarp, bungee cords and one or two collapsible trekking poles and a few tent pegs. Make a lean-to with the mc as a back. Duel purpose. Tarp to cover mc when parked. Don't have to worry about someone messing with your bike when you sleep. Parked and set up so exhaust doesn't come into lean-to and you have a stove to heat water when you wake up (depends on type mc, works with my Harley).
greginmi
03-03-2012, 13:25
I'd look at the REI quarterdome tents. Simple, well made, aluminum poles and easy to pitch. Just pick the size you want...
Feral Bill
03-03-2012, 13:43
Nylon tarp, bungee cords and one or two collapsible trekking poles and a few tent pegs. Make a lean-to with the mc as a back. Duel purpose. Tarp to cover mc when parked. Don't have to worry about someone messing with your bike when you sleep. Parked and set up so exhaust doesn't come into lean-to and you have a stove to heat water when you wake up (depends on type mc, works with my Harley). Apparently you are not familiar with Alaska and Yukon mosquitoes.
I like REI tents, but they have long poles. When looking at REI site, most of the REI 2 person tents have 20 inch poles. Nemo OBI 2P has 17 inch pole.
I wonder if the REI info is correct, does the REI Quarter Dome 2 really have 20 inch poles?
:-) I like your idea, but I need a true tent. I own a Yamaha FJR.
I used a Eureka Backcountry I for my motorcycle trip to Alaska. For two the Backcountry II would work better. Relatively cheap, very sturdy, short pack length, free standing.
swjohnsey
03-03-2012, 14:27
The Eureka Backcountry is a true tent. You will see lotsa rain and brutal mosquitoes. The Backcountry will handle both. I was on a KLR and went to Dawson Creek, Top of the World Highway, Prudoe Bay, Whittier, Valdez, Hyder on the Cassiar Highway.
Check out Hubba Hubba, Big Agnes Seedhouse 2 (Not completely free standing)
Bug domes work fine under tarps and they are kinda cheap ($50 to $100).
ChinMusic
03-03-2012, 14:39
I’m not concern about weight.
Tent needs to have enough room to fit two slim people.
I have REI 5 miles from my house and I been looking at Nemo OBI P2. What do you recommend? Cost is not the object.
The Obi 2P is VERY small for two folks that don't want to cuddle. It is a minimalist tent. If you are over 5'10", forget it.
A better NEMO tent is the Losi 2P for what you are describing.
I personally have the Losi 3P and it is a palace for two people. It is easy to set up and is about as bomb proof as they come for a 3-season tent.
ChinMusic,
What features made you pick the Losi 2P, not the Obi 2P? According to REI site, the OBI 2P has shorter poles.
90% of the time, I will use the tent solo, the other 10% with my wife. I need it to pack small, so I can fit it in my motorcycle pannier.
The Obi 2P is VERY small for two folks that don't want to cuddle. It is a minimalist tent. If you are over 5'10", forget it.
A better NEMO tent is the Losi 2P for what you are describing.
I personally have the Losi 3P and it is a palace for two people. It is easy to set up and is about as bomb proof as they come for a 3-season tent.
ChinMusic
03-03-2012, 15:02
ChinMusic,
What features made you pick the Losi 2P, not the Obi 2P? According to REI site, the OBI 2P has shorter poles.
90% of the time, I will use the tent solo, the other 10% with my wife. I need it to pack small, so I can fit it in my motorcycle pannier.
Since I originally had the Obi 2P and returned it for the Losi 3P, I am in a good position to answer. First let me state my intended use. I was taking my adult daughter on a trip to Yosemite. I was looking for a "free-standing" tent to have as a solo and a 2-person on occasion (the same needs as you). I took the Obi 2P on a solo trip on the AT to try it out. I am 5'10" and unless I was just about centered in the tent the side walls bothered my feet. The sides slope in significantly on the Obi. On the Losi the side walls are more upright. After the AT trip I realized that my daughter would not appreciate the cramped space. I couldn't put her through that nightmare.....lol
The Obi 2P is a nice solo tent IMO. If you are not too tall it may work as a 2P with your wife. Just know that it is cramped. Maybe it will be that sweet spot, where you get by as a 2P and then have a sweet solo for other trips. It just wasn't gonna work for me.
I looked at the Losi 2P and realized I would NEVER take that on a solo trip, too big. Since I had given up on that idea, I went with the Losi 3P so that two people could have a palace (about one pound penalty). And what a palace the Losi 3P is. It is one sweet tent.
I still don't have a solo free-standing tent but my current solo is close.
ChinMusic,
Thank for all the info. I’m also looking at the Bi Agnes Copper Spur UL2 tent, it’s very similar to Losi 2P, where the sides done “fall-in” as much. http://www.rei.com/product/827913/big-agnes-copper-spur-ul2-tent
I just don’t want a large tent. I’m 5’10 168LB and my wife is 5’4 125LB.
On a separate topic, has anyone used these?
http://www.rei.com/product/637736/rei-candle-lantern-ready-kit-aluminum
Since I originally had the Obi 2P and returned it for the Losi 3P, I am in a good position to answer. First let me state my intended use. I was taking my adult daughter on a trip to Yosemite. I was looking for a "free-standing" tent to have as a solo and a 2-person on occasion (the same needs as you). I took the Obi 2P on a solo trip on the AT to try it out. I am 5'10" and unless I was just about centered in the tent the side walls bothered my feet. The sides slope in significantly on the Obi. On the Losi the side walls are more upright. After the AT trip I realized that my daughter would not appreciate the cramped space. I couldn't put her through that nightmare.....lol
The Obi 2P is a nice solo tent IMO. If you are not too tall it may work as a 2P with your wife. Just know that it is cramped. Maybe it will be that sweet spot, where you get by as a 2P and then have a sweet solo for other trips. It just wasn't gonna work for me.
I looked at the Losi 2P and realized I would NEVER take that on a solo trip, too big. Since I had given up on that idea, I went with the Losi 3P so that two people could have a palace (about one pound penalty). And what a palace the Losi 3P is. It is one sweet tent.
I still don't have a solo free-standing tent but my current solo is close.
ChinMusic
03-03-2012, 15:16
I just don’t want a large tent. I’m 5’10 168LB and my wife is 5’4 125LB.
With that info the Obi 2P may work out perfectly for you. A bit of cramped may not be much of a concern for husband/wife. If you were going with a buddy.........no freaking way.
I will wait till REI 20% coupon comes out this month and will order the tent then.
Thanks for all the info.
With that info the Obi 2P may work out perfectly for you. A bit of cramped may not be much of a concern for husband/wife. If you were going with a buddy.........no freaking way.
Wise Old Owl
03-03-2012, 15:29
I think your choice is fine - but you didn't say when you were going.... Alaska isn't 3 season its more Windy & Wet. Its more about wind reduction. I found this in the same price range - its appears larger and on closeout. Its bomb proof. If you buy it on line you avoid state taxes.
If it arrives - and you hate it - you have the ultimate return policy.
http://www.rei.com/product/833075/marmot-nusku-2p-tent-2011-closeout
(This is a FOUR Season Tent)
(http://www.rei.com/product/833075/marmot-nusku-2p-tent-2011-closeout)
Wise Old Owl
03-03-2012, 15:36
We talk about summers being warm or cool, wet or dry. In practice, this is generally in comparison to what we perceive as normal for our particular locality. Precisely defining a "normal" summer, however, is a bit more complex: the one thing we can be sure of is that any particular summer will not be exactly normal.
In practice, a "normal" summer would be one in which the temperature and precipitation for each day corresponded to the average values for that date over a number of years. It would be a dreary season, with a little rain every day, and no very hot or cold days. Such an imaginary summer, however, makes a useful ideal for comparing summers across Alaska, or for looking at how a particular summer differs from the normal a given place. Here at the Geophysical Institute, we have charted these precipitation and temperature averages for a number of Alaskan stations.
You might think that the farther north you go, the colder the summer. This, however, is only part of the story. Oceans store cold from the previous winter, and warm up only slowly. Thus the warmest summer temperatures, with average daily highs in July around 70 degrees and records approaching 100 degrees, are found in the Interior, well north of the southernmost -- and more oceanic -- parts of the state. The coldest summer temperatures are found on the Arctic coast, where a day with a 50 degree high is warm, and 70 degrees has a good chance of setting a record. Seventy degrees could set a record much farther south, in the Aleutians, too, though the average high is warmer. The Southeastern islands and the Southcentral coast are warmer, but still rarely approach the warmth of the Interior. One additional difference between coastal and inland stations is that inland areas are warmest around late June and early July, while coastal areas are likely to be at their warmest in August.
Precipitation changes with the seasons in Alaska, too. For most of the state north of the Alaska Range, April is the driest month of the year. Thunderstorms start bringing rain to the Interior in May and more strongly in June, while the larger frontal storms begin affecting the area north of the Range in July. Almost all stations in these parts of Alaska are wettest in August, but the average daily precipitation during this wet season is still only about four to seven one-hundredths of an inch a day. In practice, this is likely to mean one or two days a week with a few tenths of an inch of rain. By September the precipitation is starting to decrease, and occasional freezing temperatures are widespread. Between the Alaska Range and the Coast Range complex, the greatest precipitation occurs in late August or even September, and the amount is a little greater -- around nine one-hundredths of an inch a day in Anchorage in September, for instance.
The amount and timing of precipitation south of the Coast Range complex is quite different. The driest month in most Southcentral, Aleutian, and southeastern stations is in June or even July, but in most southern areas these months are still wetter than they are in the Interior. Ketchikan, for instance, averages about a quarter of an inch a day in its driest month, June. At Kodiak and in the Aleutians, the precipitation seasons are not very pronounced, though the wettest months tend to be in the fall. Southcentral and Southeastern stations, however, remain "dry" through mid-August, when the precipitation begins to climb very rapidly. The wettest month in these areas is usually October, when precipitation in some parts of Southeast exceeds an inch a day on the average.
I'll be leaving Chicago on June 29th.
I think your choice is fine - but you didn't say when you were going.... Alaska isn't 3 season its more well 2 season (cold and colder.) Its more about wind reduction. I found this in the same price range - its appears larger and on closeout. Its bomb proof. If you buy it on line you avoid state taxes.
If it arrives - and you hate it - you have the ultimate return policy.
http://www.rei.com/product/833075/marmot-nusku-2p-tent-2011-closeout
(This is a FOUR Season Tent)
(http://www.rei.com/product/833075/marmot-nusku-2p-tent-2011-closeout)
ChinMusic
03-03-2012, 16:15
I'll be leaving Chicago on June 29th.
The daughter I mentioned lives in Chicago.
You will not need a 4-season tent for your itinerary. The Obi is a strong 3-season tent.
Wise Old Owl
03-03-2012, 18:55
Yea I agree - with Chin - but the 4 is cheaper, larger, stronger, etc. etc. etc. etc.... go with your heart. Great question-awesome thread....
Oh... wait maybe I was drooling.....
Features
2-in-1 Guy System
Bathtub Groundsheet
DAC Featherlite NSL Poles
Fast Storm Pitch
Front and Rear Adjustable Air Flow Vents
Optional Footprint Available
Spacious Semi Geodesic
Weather Protected Inner Door