Introduction
The Spartan 2 Hiking Tent from Explore Planet Earth is a workhorse of adventure tents. This post is for the adventurer who wants to buy a new hiking or compact adventure tent. It will help you fight through all the technical specifications and marketing hype. The tent industry has a myriad of options for what is a very simple product. Prices vary from under one hundred dollars to almost two thousand dollars. And while one may think the two thousand dollar tent is the premium purchase, in reality, there is often very little that differentiates them.
If you peel away all the hype and focus on what you actually need, rather than what you think you need, the purchase decision becomes much easier. At its core, a tent keeps you dry, provides some protection from the weather and gives you a sense of security.
Needs vs Wants
Premium tents have a lot of features and quality fittings that make them desirable products, and I would in no way discourage you from looking at them. But if you’re looking for a workhorse tent, then you can’t go past the Spartan 2 for functionality. It’s like the Kawasaki KLR650 of tents, not flash, but functional, reliable and it will get you where you need to go.
I was lucky enough to review the Explore Planet Earth – Spartan 2 tent when my son and his girlfriend returned to Australia after camping with it in both China and Japan. When my son was looking for a compact hiking tent at a reasonable price, I suggested he look at a Spartan 2. This tent had been on my radar for the past five years, ever since I had to discard my much-loved and trusted one-person “Eureka Bike and Hike” tent of 30 years.
Tested in the field
The Spartan 2 is well tested in the field, and throughout my 30,000 kilometre travels around Queensland, I have come across many people who have used them. I had watched with admiration while Rozalyn Veersma travelled around Australia on her CRF250. She took with her a Spartan 2 and had very favourable comments about it. To view the gear she used, click on the following link: Roz Moto Adventure Ride.
Unfortunately, due to supply issues, I was not able to secure one and purchased the Black Wolf Mantis UL2 instead. This has been a great tent, and I have camped in all sorts of strange places with it and been very comfortable. Click on the following link if you would like to read my review of the Black Wolf Mantis UL2 tent. Black Wolf Mantis UL2
What is a hiking tent vs a motorcycle touring tent?
There is very little difference between a hiking tent and a motorcycle touring tent. However, if you would like to park your motorcycle undercover, there are tents designed for motorcycle touring that have breeze ways. A breeze way is a covered areas next to where you sleep where you can park your motorcycle. The tent fly extends over the breeze way. Personally, I use a small 3m * 3m tarp to cover my bike to keep the dew off of it, but each to their own.
If you’re carrying a tent in your hiking pack, you may want to consider the weight as a defining characteristic. One kilogram may not be much while you’re on flat ground, but start climbing a mountain, and suddenly you’ll be wishing for a lighter tent. For example, the Black Wolf Mantis UL2 weighs 3.4 kilograms, while the Spartan weighs 2.4 kilograms. One kilogram might not seem like an extra burden until you climb the last five hundred metres to a summit.
Defining your needs
A tent is a little home away from home, it’s where you hide from the elements. It also provides a small degree of separation and security from anything like snakes or bugs or other campers. It’s also a place to store your gear and equipment out of the prying eyes of fellow travellers. Before buying a tent it pays to define exactly what you want from the purchase. The following are a few things you might want to consider:
- Is it going to rain a lot (much)?
- Is there a chance of strong winds?
- Will I need to stealth camp?
- Will it be hot and humid or will it snow on me?
- Do I want to store my riding/hiking gear in the tent?
- Will I need to cook outside during bad weather?
- How many people are sleeping in the tent?
- Is weight an issue?
The following features of the Spartan 2 can be used to determine if this tent is right fit for you:
Fly: Polyester 4000 PU
PU is the measure of hydrostatic testing, thinking of it like having a tube four metres long full of water with the tent material at stretched at the bottom. Four metres of water is a lot of water, so realistically 4000 PU is a good rating.
Tent: Polyester 5000 PU
This is the rating of the floor material and not the inner section of the tent. It should be noted here that some tent manufacturers have high PU ratings. This is often due to the polyurethane coating and not the material thickness. For this reason with thinner material, it is always good to have a footprint under the floor to protect the tent from rocks or stones.
Weight: 2.4 kg
There are not many hiking tents under 2.0 kilograms, 2.4 kilograms is a reasonable weight, and on the lighter side for a two-person-tent.
Pack size: 46cm*14cm*14cm
The pack size is very reasonable, if you want it to take up less room, remove the poles and pegs, store these separately and use the compression straps to compress the tent.
Poles: Aluminium T7000
Super strong almost unbreakable
Internal size: 245cm *220 cm
Good internal dimensions, long enough for the 6′ 2″ biker giant and small enough to not waste space.
Best price: $189.95
Dual Vestibules
The vestibules are not overly big, they will fit a full size backpackers pack in each one, but not much else. Still good to have two of them.
Head height: 1.10m
The head height is not overly high and taller people might find it a bit annoying at times, but consider that extra material means extra weight. A smaller tent has a lower profile, enabling more stealth camping.
Set up
The Spartan 2 Hiking Tent from Explore Planet Earth is easy and simple to set up and peg out. The colour coded poles and coloured peg out straps make the setup intuitive. If you’re setting up on rocky ground, I highly recommend you put a tarp or footprint under before erecting.
Packing
The Spartan 2 Hiking tent by Explore Planet Earth is easily packed and comes with bags that are exactly the right size. It weighs 2.4 kilograms and packs up easily, even when wet. I usually pack my poles and pegs in separate bags, keeping the tent in my saddlebag and the poles and pegs in my back bag. This enables me to compress my tent and keep my poles straight.
Build quality
Cons
The build quality might be a big concern for some people, I personally look carefully at things like the zips, stitching and material quality. On the Spartan 2, I reviewed is not the highest quality tent I have seen. There are small imperfections in the material of the inner tent, the seams haven’t been finished properly and there seems to be loose stands of material along the edges. Although I don’t feel this is a problem, it is an indication of build quality and attention to detail. It isn’t a structural problem because the seems are double sewn.
There was no seam tape along the inside tent to waterproof it or to finish it off, not that the inner needs to be water proofed at all. The only exception to this is the floor seams that must be water resistant. Some tent manufacturers go to a lot of trouble to finish their tents on both the fly and the tent inner. The tie down tape on the outside of the fly looks cheap. But in reality they are sufficient for their purpose. More expensive tents tend to have rope ties that can be replaced. But this is a minor critcism.
Comparisons
My Black Wolf Mantis UL 2 has a separate opaque inner screen for privacy, for privacy when camping without the fly attached. The opaque screen can be fully unzipped to allow for airflow through a second screen door. The Spartan doesn’t have this feature meaning you are exposed if you decide not to put the fly on.
Pros
There are many great positives to this tent and considering the price the tent is remarkably well put together. The fly and inner material is Polyester with a ripstop pattern, meaning if it gets a small cut, it’s not likely to rip the whole tent apart and it is easily fixed with a patch.
The Polyester material is very strong rigid and light. However, unlike Nylon it won’t stretch meaning it doesn’t add strength to the tent structure for high wind or harsh conditions. The tent tie downs are colour coded to match the poles, so it’s easy to align the fly. I also like the pole design. It’s simple, the poles are effectively straight and colour coded. The poles are made of super strong T7000 aircraft quality aluminium alloy.
The pole cross over design is very simple and well-thought-out, it helps to pull the tent out and maximise the inside measurements.
Recommendations and final thoughts
The Spartan 2 Hiking Tent by Explore Planet Earth is a versatile all round adventure/hiking tent. It is built for the budget adventurer, the money conscious traveller. It has all the feature of more expensive tents. These features are in all the right areas such as pole design, rip stop material and a relatively strong inner tent.
The tent’s profile and earthy green colour make it the ideal tent for stealth camping, with the pole layout there is enough space for two people and cover for their gear in the vestibules. This tent allows two occupants to exit without crossing over each othr. If you are exposed to the wind you can access the leeward side for wind-free outside cooking.
Recommendations
As I said in the introduction, I considered buying the Spartan 2 by Explore Planet Earth tent before I bought my Black Wolf Mantis UL2. I still think it’s a great tent. It is definitely value for money, and I’m sure it will last for many years of tought treatment. If I need to replace my current tent, I will definitely consider a Spartan 2 from Explore Planet Earth.
I have traveled solo by motorcycle 30,000 kilometres around Queensland, If you would like to read about my adventures grap a copy of my books; Gun Fights, Ghosts and Goannas and/or Red Dust and Rainforests.
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