I needed something to strap on the rack of my gravel bike, as I wanted to start doing solo tours around my home state (MI) and slowly expanding to other states if I enjoyed it after my first few outings. I wasn't about to spend half the price of my bike buying a tent, though. The nice thing about bikepacking over backpacking is the weight isn't as important on the bike; you have two wheels to help spread the weight distribution around. As I prefer "groomed" trails like the numerous rails-to-trails around us, I'm not hitting soft sand or mud much at all, so I decided to go for "best bang for the buck" equipment to start out, and upgrade to lighter stuff next year if needed.After watching tons of YT vids on the "best" tents to buy for this type of trekking, I came across a couple of vids which has decent things to say about Forceatt tents. I read up some more online and found that what everyone reported as pros and cons made a lot of sense, and for the price I decided the pros added up quite well on paper. I opted for the larger 3-person tent, as I was looking to stash my pannier bags and other items inside; MI has been quite a mix of rain and sun the past month, and October looks to be more of the same. Better to be dry and cold than wet and anything else!I come from decades of camping with a family of four, and before I was married I toted around early dome-style tents for years while camping and canoeing with friends. The build quality of larger and/or older tents is quite different from these newer double-wall tents. I feel like newer tents are made more for handling ease-of-assembly issues and ventilation, where older tents are made to handle unknowns better (such as rain). Maybe that's me, just an opinion. :)With that in mind, some thoughts:1) This tent has a much thinner floor/pan than older tents. Make sure you get an under-floor or tarp to help protect it!2) The Forceatt tent went up very easily, and didn't require instructions at all (but they are there! Look in the large bag, they should be printed on a big tag sewn inside). Hints on setup below.3) It's possible to leave the fly/outer wall off, if you're certain you'll have no rain AND if the air is quite dry. Remember that once the sun goes down, the moisture in the air can drop almost like a fine rain (especially in the fall in the Midwest US states!), so you don't want everything in your tent to get damp before you even get in!4) I had this up in the rain the other night, which was light but steady and lasted almost six hours. Not a drop inside the pan, but the fly underside was quite damp to the touch. I'll be adding some Nikwax waterproofing to the fly this week while I have it up again, just to make sure I stay dry as possible.5) The vestibules at either door are. barely vestibules. If you're going to use them to put your boots/shoes outside the tent proper (or anything else for that matter), bring along a light-weight kitchen garbage bag to protect anything you leave in those areas. I found each morning that the grass I pitched on was damp under those areas because of the gap around the entire fly area (it's not designed to be touching the ground because of airflow).6) The 3-person tent has a ton of room for two people to be comfy. For one person, it's close to luxurious! One of my pics shows my Klymit Insulated Static-V Luxe (30" W) in the center of the pan, and there is a ton of space around all sides. If two people had 24" W pads or smaller, they'd fit fine. Probably would have room at their heads for stuff, too.7) 3-season description is accurate, but untested by me. Two nights ago I slept in it with a regular old-school synthetic filled sleeping bag (waiting for my new UGQ quilt to be built). It got down to 39F on a very clear night. The tent was perfectly dry inside, very wet outside from condensation drop, but it was not windy at all (so I can't guarantee it'll stand up to 30+MPH winds yet). It was quite cold in the tent all night, and I think some of that comes from the large amount of airflow in the overall design of newer tents in general. The thinking now is: it's better to be cold and dry than damp and cool. This tent is good for cold/dry, for sure. Make certain your sleeping bag/quilt and pad can handle the cold you're going to see! Bring extra clothes or a wool blanket if you have doubts.For those looking for help setting it up, it's actually a very simple tent to raise compared to many I've owned. I followed the instructions and had no problems:Leave the floor unstaked when putting the metal ribs in place, then you can slide it around to get perfect placement. Stake the four corners, put the cover in place, clasp it to the corners, then put the other stakes in place. At the doors, zip them up before staking, and only stake the left side (why there's a loop on both side of each door, I dunno). There's supposed to be a couple-inch gap for air flow, it's OK. Finally, make sure to let out the small vents once everything's staked down (the points with the little velcro 4" pieces); that's important for letting out condensation from occupants breathing while sleeping.The thickness of the polyester fabric is quite nice, but only time will tell if it's actually durable. Again, I didn't buy this for ultralight backpacking trips, nor to do camping trips out in the heavy woods, so my needs are not necessarily yours. But from what I've seen, you could do far worse than this Forceatt tent for light-to-medium use or as a "feeler" tent to see if you like camping/bikepacking. It's fairly heavy but worth a good look!
ο»Ώ
6 Pcs Reflective Bands: High Visibility Running Gear For Women Men - Safety Straps Bracelets For Running, Cycling & Walking
46 Review
Portzon Women'S Waist Trainer: Weight Loss, Sweat Belt, Sauna Trimmer, Tummy Toner, Lumbar Support
47 Review
Smart bracelet Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 CN, black
50 Review
Segmented Beaded Kids Jump Rope For Exercise And Outdoor Activities - Durable And Shatterproof - Easily Adjustable And Light Weight Skipping Rope For Kids
48 Review