Iain – the guy I stayed with in Deal before setting off for the continent along the Eurovelo 5 – has been busy advising me on Reggie’s refit (thanks for that Iain – very useful). He’s also emailed with a question about tents;

Hello Andrew, a quick question for you about your tent. How did you get on with it? Would you recommend it to anyone? I’m looking for a lighter one man tent for myself and had picked that out as good weight and design and affordable at £150. I’m planning on a week in Switzerland at end of September hopefully it won’t be too cold then!

I did a lot of research about tents (click here for all the posts tagged with “tent”) before I eventually plumped for the Vango Helium 100 (which is currently, incidentally, screwed up and on top of the wardrobe in the spare room). Would I recommend it? Yes, I think I would; it was very easy to put up, very light to carry, kept me dry, didn’t break, dried quickly… Can’t really fault it apart from the vertical height. I had read about this being an issue before I left for the trek across Europe and occasionally, when it was pouring with rain, I did look jealously at the people (some of them cyclists) who had packed a bigger tent. But it was never more than a fleeting regret.

The competition was the (appropriately-named) Laser Competition – the one that the hard-core long-distance cyclists like Mark Beaumont use – but that was much more than £150. I think the Helium was about £150, certainly not more than £200. So yes, I’d say go for the Helium. There is a slightly larger version available – the Helium 200 (mine is a 100) – which may be better if you have persuaded Carly to go with you to Switzerland…..