Quechua Arpenaz 2 Tent Review

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If you want quality but cheap camping tent then you might be interested in reading this review I made on the tent I bought through the help of #Upfundme here in steemit.

Finding the right tent for backpacking or hiking that can survive any uninvited natural events such as heavy rainfall or strong winds is crucial especially if you have limited budget in hand. There are so many cheap tents for sale in the market but if not durable enough to withstand even a few minutes of rainfall then it is most likely a waste of money. There are also so many durable tents in the market that can withstand heavy rainfall or strong winds BUT are way expensive than what your budget has to offer.

Good thing is, I found a cheap tent that has the durability of an expensive ones. The Arpenaz 2 tent of Quechua. Quechua is a mountain sports brand from France that offers cheap but quality products for sports enthusiasts. Their product covers different kinds of sports including hiking and climbing.

I started my upfundme project last April 23, 2018 and it ran on my blog for 20 consecutive days. The idea is to post one item on your wishlist that you want realized through the help of Hive account@upfundme. It is an upvote crowdfunding project that helps steemians achieve their dream item or goal by creating a post daily while tagging #upfundme first in line. During my 20 days upfundme project, I was able to raise $15.98 SBD which amounting to $39 USD and 1,989.00 in our currency which is in Philippine Peso. Although it fell off short on my target amount, I am still so thankful because I was still able to buy the item I was really hoping to buy.

So, let’s review the Arpenaz 2 tent from Quechua that I bought at decathlon.ph for only P1,480.00 including the shipping fee.

Quechua’s Arpenaz 2 tent, categorized as a standalone tent, has the flexibility you need for easy assemble and easy dismantle. It has a collapsible fiberglass poles that fits on the metal rings at the bottom of the tent for easy pitching. The fabric used for groundsheet is Polyethylene and both the inner and outer flysheet is Polyester. One(1) ventilation on the back portion of the tent and spaces between the inner flysheet and the outer flysheet for better circulation of the air while limiting the condensation.

The total weight of the bag with all the items in is at 2.2kg.

Metal rings to be connected to the end of the fiberglass pole for easy pitching.

Hook type assembly for faster pitching and dismantling

Outer ply features knots on the poles inside and hooks on all ends for more stability.

The Arpenaz 2 has six(6) pegs and four(4) guy lines to help stabilize the tent during strong winds and heavy downpour.

The Arpenaz 2 tent without the outer plysheet.

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EASY ASSEMBLY / DISMANTLING	Free-standing structure Simple pole installation
CAPACITY	Bedroom 120 X 200 cm. Max useful height: 105 cm
COMPACT DESIGN	Dimensions of the cover: 57x12x11 cm/7.5 L. Weight: 2.2 kg.
HEAT REDUCTION	Flysheet and ventilation at the rear of the tent
DURABILITY	Withstands 40 km/h winds (Force 5): validated in wind tunnels on rotating plate
WATERPROOF	Tested under a shower at 200 mm water/hour/sqm (tropical rain) and field tests.

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ASSEMBLY/DISASSEMBLY	Standard dome assembly: set-up of the poles with the bedroom, then subsequent fastening of the double roof above the rest. Reverse procedure when dismantling.
VENTILATION	1 high rear ventilation point, space between the flysheet and the floor all around the tent: to allow the air to circulate between the sleeping area and the flysheet, to refresh the air and limit as much as possible the natural phenomenon of condensation.
PROTECTION FROM THE SUN	The fabric flysheet filters UV rays with a SPF of 30. Please note: a large amount of UV can pass through a simple open door: protect your skin.
WATERPROOFING	All Quechua tents are laboratory tested (entire tent under 200 L/sqm/h for 4 hours) as well as field tested. (Polyester 2000mm PU-coated flysheet, polyethylene groundsheet 120 g/m², all seams sealed with heat-bonded strips). The presence of a breathable polyester sleeping area under the flysheet prevents contact with the condensation water droplets that can settle on the inside of the flysheet.
WIND RESISTANCE	We test all our tents in a wind tunnel on a turntable to expose each side of the tent to the wind. A well-assembled tent with all the guy ropes properly deployed around the tent should remain habitable with a wind speed measured at 40 km/h near the ground (Force 5).

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NO. OF PEOPLE	Two(2) people
ASSEMBLY	Poles (Fiberglass)
FOLDED SIZE	57x12x11 cm/7.5 L
WEIGHT	2.2 KG

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Pole : 100.0% Glass - Fibre (FG) Groundsheet : 100.0% Polyethylene (PE) Inner fabric : 100.0% Polyester (PES) Outer fabric : 85.0% Polyester (PES), Outer fabric : 15.0% Polyurethane (PU) Carry bag : 85.0% Polyester (PES), Carry bag : 15.0% Polyurethane (PU)

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PROS

Pretty cheap tent
Sturdy and can withstand heavy downpour
Easy to pitch and to dismantle
Compact bag. Easy to fit after use

CONS

Limited space inside. For this 2 person tent, the space inside will only be enough for a two person sleeping in. No enough space for your bags or other things.
No vestibule - You will have to bring all of your things inside the tent including your dirty shoes unless you will let it be stolen outside.

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This pretty cheap but sturdy tent from Quechua and Decathlon is really a bang for the bucks. I tested it three(3) times before making this post for me to give an honest review based on my personal account using the tent. On those 3 times, I experienced heavy rainfall, heavy fog and a sunny day. We were on the beach when I first tried out the tent. Unluckily, it rained for more than hour. We have 5 tents that time and only 2 tents were able to resist the downpour. Mine and the other branded tent. 2nd was when we are at Datu Salumay for our Brigada. Datu Salumay always fog heavily during night time and when it fogs, it moist. My tent was able to protect me and my wife from coldness though there are mists on the outer flysheet but we are left warm and dry the whole night. The 3rd one was on the beach(again) but this time, it's a sunny day. The weather is really hot but when we are inside of our tent, the temperature is not that hot unlike most of the cheap tents(believe me I have 2 cheap tents that is a failure from the three(3) situations above).

Overall, I would most likely recommend this tent for those hikers, campers, or beach goers who want a durable tent that can be trusted in times of unpredictable weather. And also, Quechua's line of products are highly recommended too.

Link to item in DECATHLON.PH (click me)

All images in this post are mine unless otherwise stated.

I would like to say THANK YOU to the founder of Hive account@upfundme, Hive account@dynamicgreentk Hive account@dynamicrypto and Hive account@hansdewet because if not for them I will not be able to provide this cheap but sturdy tent which I can use on my travels. Thank you so much.

Hive account@surpassinggoogle is such a generous person and has a very big heart for all of us here. Please support him as a witness by voting him at https://steemit.com/~witnesses and type in "steemgigs" at the first search box.

If you want to give him witness voting decisions on your behalf, visit https://steemit.com/~witnesses again and type in "surpassinggoogle" in the second box as a proxy.