If you’re looking for the best motorcycle adventure tent available today, one which you can confidently take around the world on your motorcycle. Then you should take a serious look a the Black Wolf Wasp UL2, I believe it is one of the best motorcycle adventure tents available today. In this blog I will explore why I believe this and explain what I like about this tent. Similarly, there are many web sites telling you they have the five best hiking tents. But to be honest in reality there are hundreds of suitable tents available around the world, but will they serve your needs?
Tested on the road
I recently rode 8000 kilometres solo across Queensland from Townsville to Outback, down to the Gold Coast and back. If you go to my blog post at Outback Motorcycle Tour of Queensland, you can read about my adventure and see how this tent performed.
During my adventure I wild camped on the side of the road, stealth camped in National Parks and I pitched my tent amongst some awesome people in caravan parks. As a result my tent became my home away from home. On a ridge that dropped vertical for 100 metres it rained on the tent all night, beside the ocean looking out over enormous mud flats the wind tried to blow it down. But this little tent withstood all that nature threw at it. Therefore I believe the Black Wolf Wasp UL2 is one of the best motorcycle adventure tents available today and this is why?
What should a motorcycle adventure tent be?
A tent is more than just a piece of fabric to sleep under, it becomes a small home away from home. Consequently, it plays a number of roles and is a key part of your motorcycle adventure. For instance, it may include keeping you and your possessions secure at night and dry when it’s wet outside.
A sanctuary while on the road
The tent is your own personal sanctuary away from the world and a place for you to recharge your mental health battery. Therefore, as a sanctuary you don’t want it pissing you off everyday increasing your stress. For instance when little things crop up such as broken clips or jammed zips, we can easily get distressed. In addition, if the tent is difficult to put back in its bag, it can increase our stress and impact our attitude for the rest of the day. Therefore ensuring you have a tent with good build quality might mean the difference between a memorable adventure and nightmare holiday.
The technical language of tents
I brought my first hiking tent 35 years ago when high tech materials were just starting to find their way into the market, it was fairly simple back then, mostly it was about brand and colour. Today, there’s a whole technical language around tents. Accordingly, this adds complexity to the decision making process. Therefore I have put together a blog post on the language of tents Five things you need to know about tents
Understanding your needs
It amazes me when I see blog posts that state the “Five best hiking tents”, because I know that for my specific needs none of these tents stack up. It is my belief that an motorcycle adventure tent has some specific needs that are not captured in your average hiking tent. I have found that they are either too small, too hot, not tough enough, too expensive or even the wrong colour. It’s a bit like Goldilocks and the three bears. Above all else, its about finding the exact fit for you and your travel plans.
Defining your needs
I found it useful to write down all those things that I absolutely need in a motorcycle adventure tent. These needs were deal breakers. If they were not part of the tent then it got a big red cross. For me these needs included:
- how heavy is it (it needs to fit on my bike so being around that 3.0 kg mark is important)?
- is it easy to put up and pack down?
- is it weather proof including rain and wind?
- how hard is it to get it into the stuff bag?
- can I store my helmet and boots out of the weather?
- does it enable me to stealth camp (orange, red or white colours are out)?
- is there enough room to sit up and stretch out?
How heavy is it?
The Black Wolf Wasp UL2 motorcycle adventure tent weights in at just over three kilograms, 3.02 kg to be precise. However, it’s not light in comparison to some of the hiking tents on the “Best Hiking Tents” list, which seems to be the first criteria.
In saying this, does the best adventure tent in Australia need to be light? It’s understandable that back packers and people carrying all their equipment want light tents. But having the smallest lightest tent on the market may be counter productive when the weather goes bad or you can’t find that flat grassy tent site.
The difference between hiking and adventure tents
There’s a difference between hiking and adventure tents. Sometimes this gets blurred but I think its about context. Hiking tents are usually carried in a pack on your back or on the frame of a mountain bike. In my situation, I was either going to carry it on my motor bike or on my kayak, so while weight is important it’s not the only defining factor. And let’s not forget that less weight means less fabric which means possibly less endurance.
How difficult is it to set and pack up?
The Black Wolf Wasp UL2 motorcycle adventure tent has a seemingly complex pole configuration that enables it to stretch out the side vestibules and provide a square shape to each end, while still maintaining a small pole pack size. All the poles are joined together by a tough elastic cord. When you take the poles out of their bag they try to pull themselves together like some sort of spider transformer.
This tent is free standing, all you have to do is connect four ends of the poles into the four tabs on the tent floor. You then attach eyelets at the centre of the tent to the ends of the cross poles. Once this has been done you can secure it by clipping all the locking clips to the poles. The fly is secured to the cross poles by small eyelets and then pulled down on each corner. There are four clips near the end of each pole, these lock the fly in place. If the wind is strong, each corner can be pegged along with three guide lines on each end of the tent which are extended out and pegged down to secure the tent.
Putting the tent up
Assembling the tent takes about five minutes, it takes about same to pack it all away. Towards the end of my adventure I became quite adept at setting up and packing away my tent. The longest part of this experience was packing my sleeping bag and Heliox stretcher away.
What level of waterproofing does it have?
The waterproof ratings are determined by hydrostatic testing and are categorised as a PU number (PU represents a Polyurethane coating level). They put the fabric under pressure and try and push water through it. This pressure test equates to an amount of water pressure the fabric can sustain.
The PU rating goes from 800 to 10,000mm. The Black Wolf Wasp UL 2 can sustain 2000mm of water pressure on the fly and 5000mm of water pressure on the tent floor. These are good mid range values, very rarely is a tent subjected to 2000mm of water pressure while camping. But PU rating is not the only aspect of weather proofing. See my blog post https://digitalswaggie.com.au/?p=1563 for five things you should know about tents.
Testing on the road
I never had any problems with weather on my recent adventure as a result of the tent, once inside my tent I became oblivious to the weather conditions outside. That was if you ignore the drops of rain landing on the tent and the howling wind in the trees.
However, as I moved north it got hotter and I found myself leaving the vestibules open with only the fly screen as a door. To keep the tent cool I aligned the doors with the direction of the breeze. Alternatively, there are vents at the top of the fly that can be set up to capture the wind and let the hot air out, this also helps to reduce any condensation build up during the night.
What can I store in it?
The tent can easily accommodate two people, but it would be a tight fit if you also wanted to accommodate any of your riding gear in side the tent. I am 6′ 2″ and weight about 110 kg and I found this tent very comfortable due to the squared off ends and its overall head height. The dual vestibules add to the feeling of space and ensure that if two people are in the tent, one does not need to climb over the other in the middle of the night.
The vestibules could easily cover all my riding gear and my Heliox chair and table, although as I was solo camping I tended to keep all my gear next to me in the tent.
Is it any good for stealth or wild camping?
The difference between stealth and wild camping is similar to the difference between hiking tents and adventure tents. Wild camping is where you camp without permission or where there is no formal camping area i.e. on the side of the road in a rest area.
Stealth camping takes this concept of wild camping a little further by ensuring that you can’t be seen by using camouflage or through careful site selection. If I’m camping some where I probably shouldn’t, I try to make my camp site as stealthy as I can. I wrote a blog post on wild camping and my philosophy on it. You can check it out at this link https://digitalswaggie.com.au/?p=157
The Black Wolf Wasp UL2 is not specifically designed to be a stealth camping tent, it is bright green and sits fairly high (1.2 metres). Black Wolf do produce a two person tent that is lower, and uses a firmer Polyester fly which comes in camouflaged colours.
However, in certain conditions such as camping on grassy areas (see below) I have been able to make it stealthy by careful selection of my camp site and arrangement of trees or shrubs around it. I also carry a camouflage tarp for my bike which I cover at night, the combination of which makes for a fairly conservative profile.
Adventure tents have more head room, can I sit up?
A lot of hiking tents and single person bike packing tents that are designed for stealth camping tend to be quite low, in order to reduce weight, bulk or provide a lower profile in the bush. However, motorcycle adventure tents tend to allow more head room. Sitting up in a tent at my ages is like doing one hundred crunches, not impossible but a little stressful.
The Black Wolf has 120 cm of head height which is more than enough to sit up or crouch in. This head hight has both costs and benefits.
Costs and benefits of an increase in height
The costs are an increase in weight and a reduced ability to stealth camp (or at least more work required to camouflage the tent). It also adds to the weight, more height means more fabric. This is where the type of fabric for the fly comes into play. A Polyester fabric will be heavier as it tends to be a thicker fabric. The Black Wolf Wasp UL2 has a light tough Nylon fly.
The benefits are that it has more air space and it gives you a feeling of openness. It definitely reduces that feeling of being in a closed in space. This is enabled by the use of Nylon, which enables more surface area while reducing overall weight.
Can I put it back in its stuff bag?
Not being able to get a tent into a tent bag has been one of my biggest frustration. This always seemed like a major design fault. I have noticed over the past five years that bags are getting bigger. The Black Wolf motorcycle adventure tent comes with a generous compression stuff sack. If the tent wasn’t folded exactly right, (by an origami master) it can be compressed once in the bag.
Packing the bag onto the bike did caused some frustrations at first. However, I found if I took the poles out and stored them separately it was much easier. This enabled me to stuff the rest of the tent and pegs into even smaller spaces in my panniers than I could previously.
What is the build quality for adventure tents?
The attention to detail in the manufacturing process gives a good indication of the overall quality of the product. It also provides reassurance that it will be a good long term investment.
In my opinion the build quality of the Black Wolf Wasp UL2, is shown in how the seams have been prepared, an even seam that is straight is one of the first indicators.
Indicators of good build quality include parts like the aluminium poles which must be strong enough to handle all sorts of weather conditions, yet small enough to reduce both volume and weight. They must lock in together without any play or movement and each segment must be firm. Likewise, I look for consistency in the application of waterproof coating on the fly of the tent to ensure the seam tape is firmly overlapping the material base.
Finally, I look at all the tent fittings and zips, which should be made out of aluminium or a solid plastic. The zips must work effectively without locking up on the fabric.
Build quality summary
The Black Wolf Wasp UL 2 looks like a quality product, it is well made and there doesn’t appear to be any stress on its component parts when the tent is assembled. The attention to detail is very good and the materials are all light weight, even though they are heavy duty. All materials are rip stop which prevents any scratch or hole in the fabric from increasing in size and totally destroying the tent. Rip stop fabric is another method used to improve the strength of the tent while reducing weight.
Is the Black Wolf Wasp UL2 the best motorcycle adventure tent available today?
The hiking tent market has a variety of tents to chose from at an equally varied level of pricing. I had a $500.00 plus price point. Even though I had a budget of the higher level of tent. It became clear from my research that I needed specific feature in a tent and that paying more didn’t really give me those features. In making my decision I put together a list of five adventure style tents. My evaluation of the Black Wolf Wasp UL 2 is shown below with my list of tent features.
Weight
With an overall weight 3.02 kg. When you consider the height of the tent, the amount of fabric in the fly and the solidness of the tent during windy days it is well within acceptable weight limits. However, if I was carrying this tent on my back as a hiking tent it would be a different story.
Price
I bought this tent for $350.00. At the time this was in the middle of the adventure tent price range. I believe you get a lot of tent for this amount of money. I understand this tent can be bought if on special for about $250.00. At that price the tent is an absolute bargain.
Weather Proofing
The Black Wolf Wasp UL 2 is a four season adventure tent. It has a 2000 PU Ripstop Nylon fly and a 5000 PU polyester floor. The bucket floor is a good 180mm off the ground so even if you were near a swamp and the water ran under your tent, you wouldn’t get wet. The fly has six extra tie down points to really secure the tent for high wind and each corner can also be tied down to increase this weather proofing even more.
Many tents have a higher PU rating, which means more coating on the fabric. Some tent manufacturers use a. high PU rating to improve wear resistance as any PU rating over 2000mm adds little value in terms of water resistance. More importantly is the material selection and the thickness of that material i.e. having Nylon instead of Polyester fly or having thicker material for better wear should also be considered. A high PU rating of say 10,000 only accounts for the coating on the material and not the thickness of the material. A high PU rating on the tent is not necessarily as good as a thicker Denier material for wear and toughness. The following blog post helps to explain the relationship https://digitalswaggie.com.au/?p=1563
Easy of use
It is easy to set up and pull down. Once I have my sleeping gear out of it I can get it back on the bike within 10 minutes. The same goes for setting it up, although after practicing for 30 days I have been able to set the whole tent up in 5 minutes. This tent is stress free to set up and pull down.
Build quality
This is a quality tent, the seams and stitching are well done, they are straight and sealed. The locking clips, zips and tent poles look like they have been well made with quality materials. I did not have any problems with any part of the tent during my 30 days on the road.
Comparative adventure tents
In my search for the best motorcycle adventure tent available today, I seriously looked at four other tents. Consequently, each of the tents below represents good value for money. I would have been happy with either of them, but in the end it came down to two things. One, availability within my limited time frame and two, having the best fabric for the conditions I was going to camp in. The Black Wolf company provide a life time warranty on their products, this combined with the build quality tipped me over the edge on this decision. In conclusion I suggest using my five things you must know about tents to review the selection below, you may make a different choice to me. As I said at the beginning “It all depends on your specific needs”
Lone Rider
Fly: 210T Ripstop Polyester with 10,000 PU waterproofing (23D)
Floor: 190T Ripstop Nylon with 10,000 PU waterproofing (21D)
Weight: 3.35 Kg
Poles: T6 Aluminium
Internal size: 203 cm * 122 cm * 95 cm
Current Price: $561.00
Black Wolf Wasp UL2
Fly: 40D Ripstop Nylon 2000 PU (240T)
Floor: 70D Polyester 5000PU
Weight: 2.85 Kg
Pack size: 17cm *54cm
Poles: T6 Aluminium
Internal Size: 225 cm * 140 cm * 120 cm
Current Price: $250.00
Dual vestibule
Head height: 1.20 metres
Zempire 2 Person Hiking Tent (Orange)
Fly: 75D Polyester Rip Stop 5000 PU
Floor: 150D Polyester (Poly-Oxford) 10,000 PU
Weight: 2.57 Kg
Pack size: 58*16*16cm
Poles: T7 Aluminium
Internal Size: 228 cm * 118 cm (Tapered from 138cm at the head) * 110 cm
Current Price: $299.00
Dual vestibule
Head height: 1.10 metres
Planet Earth Spartan 2 person Hiking Tent
Fly: Polyester 4000 PU
Tent: Polyester 5000 PU
Weight: 2.4 kg
Pack size: 46cm*14cm*14cm
Poles: Aluminium
Internal size: 245cm *220 cm
Current price: $189.95
Dual Vestibules
Head height: 1.0m
Howqua 2 Person Tent
Fly: 75D (210T) Ripstop Polyester 3000 PU
Tent: 150D Polyester – Oxford 5000 PU
Weight: 2.6 kg
Pack size: 46cm*16cm
Poles: T7100 Aluminium
Internal size: 225cm *132 cm (The tent profile is mummy shaped it is wider at the top than the bottom and may not fit two people comfortably)
Current price: $179.95
Twin Vestibules
Head height: 1.05m
Where can I buy the tent?
This tent can be purchased through Amazon at the link provided below. If you purchase through this link I will receive a small commission. This does not in anyway influence my comments or criticism of the tent. I believe in trying to be objective so that you can rely on my evaluation when making a purchase.
Hi There,
I saw your post on one of the adventure bike pages on stalkerbook and have just finished reading a few of your blogs.
We share a LOT of common interests which is pretty cool.
Anyhoo I note you made reference to the helinox cot / stretcher and I’m currently interviewing the idea of one myself – I’m 183cm / 95kg’s so will fit all of them.
That said I like as much comfort as possible these days so am looking at the largest one as it offers the most width but maybe I don’t need too much??
Which one have you gone with and what do you feel are it’s pro’s and con’s?
Regards,
Mark
Hi Mark
I’m 6’2 and 120 kg. I went with the Heliox One Cot, this is rated to 150 kg. It has three leg posts which are very solid. It’s a great bit of gear. To be honest in the beginning it was the only one I could get for the extra weight. But I’m really happy with it even considering the price. Cheers Gary
Mate, really enjoy your blog. Can I ask what sleeping pad and sleeping bag you use with the tent and how you find them/recommendations?
Hi Mark, thanks for the comments. I use a Sea to Summit Light XT sleeping pad and a Revelation Down Quilt made by Enlightened in the US. I’ve tried a range of sleeping bags, but the quilt is so much better. It’s rated to =6 degrees Celsius.
I recommend the quilt, I’m still trying to get the pad how I like it, if I move around when I sleep it makes a bit of noise. I’m going to try putting a sleeping bag liner over it.