Hot country, Barcelona in May/June, tent and bed/sleeping

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Not a cycling question TBH, but weight is really important so is the same as a cycling question.

I'm camping near Barcelona end of May, start of June for a couple of weeks. According to https://www.holiday-weather.com/barcelona/averages/ May low is 14C, high 22C and June is low 18C, high 26C.

Tent
I was going to get a smart quite expensive tent (a 1.2kg one) but now I'm thinking of a cheap one, Mountain Warehouse Festival Fun 2 Man Tent (that tent on Amazon), 1.75kg, which is only one layer so not very water proof but good ventilation. Sounds reasonable, adequate? Good tent not really required for Spain in May/June?

Bed/sleeping
I've got a "self inflating" (it ain't at all, you have to blow it up?!) mattress (an OEX Traverse 3/4 mat) but I'm wondering about the sheet/blanket/what (not sleeping bag surely?). Want it to be light at least, and maybe double for using on the beach to lie/sit on. Any suggestions what to get? Maybe just a thin largish blanket?

Thanks.

 

[Jameshow]

I don't know about a single skin tent, when we have been to Spain / Majorca in May we have had some really wet weather.

Look at a Vango soul 100/200.

Take a light weight bag and some layers but I'm not expert!

Hobbies / Sallar are your men!

 

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OK, I'll have a look, thanks.

 

[Alex321]

Really needs to be a sleeping bag - lightweight one for that climate.

The blow up mattress is not like a normal household mattress in a bed, which will keep sheets in place when tucked under the edges. The sheets would come loose, and ruck up under you, becoming quite uncomfortable.

Modern single layer tents are actually quite waterproof. It isn't like the old days of canvas tents, where if you touch the skin of the tent when it is raining, it would promptly start leaking through there.

 

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I completely realise "The blow up mattress is not like a normal household mattress in a bed, which will keep sheets in place when tucked under the edges." -- I was thinking of a largish sheet/thin-blanket/something and wrapping it round me several times, but I'm not at all sure, that's what I was thinking when I wrote sheet/blanket. Anyway, will look into lightweight sleeping bag, thanks.

The reviews suggest that tent isn't very waterproof at all, I was thinking that might not be too much of a problem for where and when I'm going though, maybe. But it does look like it rains there in May.

Thanks.

 

[MontyVeda]

Unless you want to be roasted out of the tent very early in the morning on a sunny day, get one with two doors so you can enjoy a through draft. Tents can be stifling in the heat and the lack of insulation works both ways

 

[chriswoody]

I use an Alpkit Soloist tent which is a double skinned tent and self standing, so if you know it will be a dry night you can just pitch the inner. The inner also has a lot of mesh panels so improving ventilation. The tent retails for about 100 pounds in the UK, but is real premium quality for that price.

For sleeping, I use a combination of a two season down sleeping from Mountain Equipment along with a silk liner. When the night time temperatures are over twenty degrees I just sleep in the liner, below that I'm in the bag as well.

The above combination has served me well in a range of temperatures from low single figures to well over twenty degrees night time temperatures.

 

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That's exactly the tent I wanted, the expensive one I was considering getting. They're not 100 pounds, they're 140, plus not available from Alpkit at the mo. Plus I was thinking it'd be good, because of its price, to get away with the Mountain Warehouse one I mentioned -- if that'd suffice for for what I'm going to use it for.

"two season down sleeping from Mountain Equipment along with a silk liner" -- sounds a bit pricey?, but will look into that, great, thanks for the advice.

 

[chriswoody]

They're not 100 pounds, they're 140

Apologies, I can't access the UK site from Germany, so I wasn't aware the price had gone up.

I suppose it depends on how tight funds are, the Mountain Warehouse tent will not have a long life in respect to the Alpkit one. The poles are fibreglass, which along with being heavy can be brittle and prone to snapping. A single skin festival tent will also be limited in where it can be used, but if it's really only needed for this one trip, then it would be hard to justify spending more for a quality tent like the Alpkit one.

As you say the Silk Liner/Down bag is a little pricey, I should have mentioned that. I brought it up more because I would look at a sleeping bag liner/sleeping bag combo for the situation you describe. I've had a number of times where the day time temperature has been in the low thirties and then at night it's dropped low enough that a sleeping bag liner wasn't sufficient on it's own. Having a thin sleeping bag/liner combo options up a lot of different options for keeping warm.

In the past when I was on more of a budget, I had a cheap cotton liner and a cheap synthetic one season bag that was also a great combination in hot climates. I only swapped because they were heavier/bulkier than the silk/down combination.

 

[Oldhippy]

Calling @HobbesOnTour

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Tent
I was going to get a smart quite expensive tent (a 1.2kg one) but now I'm thinking of a cheap one, Mountain Warehouse Festival Fun 2 Man Tent (that tent on Amazon), 1.75kg, which is only one layer

It's not clear to me....
Are you looking to buy a tent for a two week stay in a campsite near Barcelona or are you going to be moving from place to place?

In either case, my advice wouldn't be to buy a tent for two weeks. Any tent should last a hell of a lot longer than that! I'd suggest having a think about how else you (or perhaps family) would use a tent and choose one based on what comes up.

I'm a fan of Decathlon. They have a 2 person trekking tent for about 120. (Probably cheaper in Spain ) Spares are possible (theoretically) and stores are everywhere in the event of a problem.
In any case, lots of discussion previously on tents if you do a search.

There's nothing wrong with a lot of cheap tents, per se, but the design (one door, two door, all-in-one vs inner first, free-standing vs not) can really determine how well you get on with it. In fact, in Spain, a lot of pitches are on surfaces where pegging out is difficult. Consider some kind of tarp for underneath and free standing design might be best.

And if you really want to get a tent just for two weeks there are no shortage of options for 20 or 30 quid. I wouldn't be paying much more.

But..

Unless you want to be roasted out of the tent very early in the morning on a sunny day, get one with two doors

That's a very good observation. Irrespective of the temperature the sun can scorch.

I've got a "self inflating" (it ain't at all, you have to blow it up?!) mattress (an OEX Traverse 3/4 mat) but I'm wondering about the sheet/blanket/what (not sleeping bag surely?). Want it to be light at least, and maybe double for using on the beach to lie/sit on. Any suggestions what to get? Maybe just a thin largish blanket?

This depends a lot on if you're moving or staying put. There's a few mountains near Barcelona and if you're up there at night, even in May, it can be cool.
A sleeping bag would be my suggestion, coupled with a silk liner. Too warm? Sleep in the liner with bag as optional duvet. Sleep is important. If you're not sleeping well you won't be enjoying yourself too much.
I wouldn't be using either on the beach.

Modern single layer tents are actually quite waterproof. It isn't like the old days of canvas tents, where if you touch the skin of the tent when it is raining, it would promptly start leaking through there.

Are you talking about ones without an inner?
I wouldn't use one in most circumstances. Ventilation means bugs and no ventilation means condensation.

 

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Not moving from place to place. One campsite.

Oh, yeah, I might do more of this in the future, but right now, this trip is it. I haven't camped for years and years, but may do this more often now possibly, but might not, really not sure. It's possible I will.

There's a few mountains near Barcelona and if you're up there at night, even in May, it can be cool.

That's a really good point. Just looked, it's a bit less than 200m above sea level where the campsite is.

From Google, "With every 100 metres, the temperature drops by an average of 0.65°C." That's not too much.


Yup, great, thanks for all that, very helpful.

 

[RobinS]

The thing with that area in May /June is that it doesn't rain very often, but when it does it REALLY rains! Think two to three inches in an hour rain. Tents needs to be properly waterproof with good raised inner tent groundsheets, or you have a lot of drying out to do!

 

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Right, I see. Thanks.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

The thing with that area in May /June is that it doesn't rain very often, but when it does it REALLY rains! Think two to three inches in an hour rain. Tents needs to be properly waterproof with good raised inner tent groundsheets, or you have a lot of drying out to do!

That's very, very true!
And last year, in August I barely missed a hailstone shower with stones the size of golfballs. They did quite a bit of damage to cars parked outside the bar I was sheltering in and killed a young girl in a town a bit aways.

That's not to put you off, just to make you aware