The grey tent I showed in my earlier post is a Robens Black Shrimp. They don't make it any more, but we replaced it with this Robens Voyager 2Ex - similar but smaller, with the advantage of a front opening flap as well as a side opening. Excellent, less bulky to carry and a tad lighter. But whoever thought red guys was a good idea has never had to negotiate them at dusk. They disappear against the green of the grass.
The Voyager 3Ex is the same design as the green 2ex above, but larger - about the same size as the black shrimp in the first images. Condensation is never a problem - yes the inside of any synthetic fly gets damp, but the airflow and mesh inner work together to keep the inner bone dry. It has stood up well up to all weathers. The green makes wild camping less noticeable, although the presence of a motorbike with reflective strips may negate that advantage ! It is very difficult to see at night, even in car headlights, so I tend to park the bike alongside a sutiable distance away and either surround the area with light stones or tie bits of white cloth to the guylines if we are on a commercial campsite like the one above. Or - hijack one of the picnic tables and put that on the opening side of the tent and the bike on the other side. Easy to pitch - even solo - and can be done flysheet first - a must have for English weather, although when camping we tend to stay put if it is raining, and move on when we can pack it away dry. That means we can leave inner and outer linked together and pitch it all on one.
All synthetic tents 'grow' when they get wet. They pitch perfectly in the dry, with hardly a wrinkle to be seen. The wrinkles on the tent in the photo are due to morning dew. The black bottom of this tent has a draw cord which allows the bottom of the fly to be raised to give more ventilation for the hot days.
Like most modern groundsheets - they are not waterproof !! The Robens claim 10,000 Hydrostatic head - which is much better than most - but the damp still seeps through under the bit you lie on. Hence the PVC groundsheets cut to size to prevent ground damp from rising. One for under the tent's groundsheet - you have to make sure that it is tucked under the tent's groundsheet, otherwise when it rains it collects the rain water and you end up with a pool underneath you !! The other PVC sheet is for the opening - a dry place to take off boots and gear before entering the tent proper. Plenty of room to stow gear, and enough ventilation to run the parrafin MSR Dragonfly stove. Brilliant burner (also works on petrol) - very rapid - similar principle to the old primus stoves - but with design refinements.
Robens website:
Tents - buy your tent from Robens here
My partner reckons that 'we' are too old for camping these days, so I very reluctantly gave the green tent to my granddaughter who is growing up enjoying outdoor life and activities.
'I' am still only 21 of course, and reckon that there is at least one long camping tour left in me. It'd be a solo one though. Whatever, I'd go for the same tent again. And take a chair.
Edit - I didn't answer
@MidLife's other questions:
Still stock shock or swapped to carry that load?
Stock shock. We are just on the limit of maximum load. Pre-load set almost to the maximum, and damping set to avoid the boing-boing. It handles well after the first mile. The first mile is me getting used to the riding position with the tank bag, and the extra stopping distance. After that, I'm tuned in to the extra weight. Most of our mileage is done like this anyway - which might be why I get only 5,000 miles from my rear tyre.
Did you find a way to open the panniers with the stuff bags strapped on?
I try to avoid having to, but it is possible. Since the tent is strapped tight to the grab rail, there isn't much weight on the pannier itself and there is enough lift available to get the key in and open the handle - but it's more awkward than I would like, so anything that we need to have handy goes into the top box. There is an amazing amount of space in the lid of the top box after the bottom part is filled level to the top of the grey plastic. So plenty of room for spare jackets, bags etc.
Where do you keep your electronics (or are you disconnecting while on the go?)?
I take a phone and usually have my ipad. I have a 2 Amp charger in the carpet floor of the top box, the bottom half of which protrudes into the deep groove under the carpet. That allows me to charge phones and ipad on the move if I want. The power comes from the bike's battery, turned on by relay when the key is set to ignition (not accessories). Power is fed from a cable that emerges from the front lower part of the top box and plugs in under the pillion seat. Its crude and untidy - but its exactly the same way that the Honda Spoiler tail/brake light gets its power.
I also keep a spare cheap phone with no SIM card in the top box - but apparently it works for emergency services without one. I wish it was possible to have PAYG SIM cards that do not expire if you don't top up - like they used to. But I can swap the SIM card over if my normal phone gets broken. If I can get to it.
Satnavs, heated gear, video cameras and charger are all wired in to come on with ignition.
He's filling a water bottle.