Does 14 years in a garden shed ruin a tent?

[@TheWalkingKev]

I got a second Pro Action Hike Lite 1 for just £10, brand new from Facebook Marketplace. Is this my best bargain tent yet?

[@garymartin557]

got to be a winner.

[@TheWalkingKev]

@@garymartin557 can't go wrong for £10!

[@garymartin557]

@@TheWalkingKev i would have to agree, even if it's for children to play in,or get there first camp in the back garden.

[@TheWalkingKev]

@@garymartin557 I'll take it up a mountain soon and see how it fairs. Should be OK if the weather isn't too dramatic!

[@garymartin557]

@@TheWalkingKev sure it will be fine.

[@joinmeoutdoors]

£10 for a waterproof tent would be a true steal. In fact, I'm calling the police on you if it keeps the rain out! 🤣 My 1990s Vango Hurricane Alpha had been in storage for about 25 years when I used it again 3 years ago. No mould or discolouration 😊

[@TheWalkingKev]

And aluminium poles, and the Nordisk Svalbard design! I shall take it out in the rain for a test at some point!

[@soggz4246]

I can beat that,Kev. A few months ago,I put up a tent that I bought from Argos in the late 80’s,when they opened up a shop in my town. It’s a Outbound Rocky 3 man tent. It was £49.99. I originally bought it for a camping trip to Cornwall many years ago. The last time I used it was around 1993. The year after that,I bought a vw camper van. Took it out of the bag in June and it was as good as new apart from the rubber peg hoops which were a bit perished,but never broke when I pegged it out. Still a great tent and looking at the inside of it,by todays standards it’s a 4 season tent as the only mesh in it is a tiny bit around the top in the inner. I would be interested in a give away,Kev,as my youngest would like to start wild camping with me. He’s 13 soon. All the best.

[@TheWalkingKev]

Cheers for taking the time to share that! Seems that tents kept out of sunlight age well. I'll certainly look into doing some giveaways in the future.

[@soggz4246]

@@TheWalkingKev By the way… I still have the Argos catalogue with it featured in from the same time. It was only around 60 pages thick back then!🤣🤣😉

[@NorwayHikesTrails]

Nice review of a nice looking tent. Even after 14 years in the shed, still looks cracking. Thank you for sharing. Wishing you a great week.

[@TheWalkingKev]

Thanks for watching and commenting as always. Have a great week.

[@thebarleymow]

That’s a great job. It would be great to see it used again!

[@TheWalkingKev]

I'll try and take it out soon. It'll form part of my cheapest setup yet - all you need to camp for just £64.99!

[@MoreThanJustaCleaner]

That's lasted well. The waterproof test will be interesting 😁

[@TheWalkingKev]

I did give it a cheeky spray with the hosepipe after I'd stopped filming and water beaded and ran off fine. I shall have to take it out for a proper rain test though...

[@damedavidfrith55]

Thanks for another cracking vlog ,yep think some sort of give away may swell your figures even more as to how print off list of names then get a friend to pick a name at random ,

[@TheWalkingKev]

I'll certainly plan something in the coming months. Thanks for the feedback, appreciated.

[@captainlandslide9874]

I must say these are cracking little tents! I’ve had mine for 18yrs and still use it! So they did 2 versions of this, the earlier one was called the “Tiger Paws”, with a green flysheet. They were sold through argos in the early-mid ‘00’s for £29.99. The backpackers club raved about them! Then they went out of production but argos soon learned of their popularity, so they brought out what you have- the Hike Lite. Basically exactly the same except for the now orange flysheet, and an increased price tag of £49.99. For the money you just cannot fault them. Mine has stood up to some brutal weather and not budged. Personally I think yours will be fine, maybe give it a coat of nikwax to be sure. Happy camping!

[@TheWalkingKev]

Thanks for sharing that information! Really interesting to know the history of the tent. I'll definitely take it camping soon, and I'm more confident now that it can handle a bit of weather thanks to your experiences.

[@captainlandslide9874]

No problem! I should add that they only reintroduced the tent for a couple of seasons then they went out of production forever! Keep us posted on how you get on with it in anger!

[@davidwellden1881]

Bought mine about 10 years ago for £17.50 Argos sale! Used for trips to Sky and in lakes and stayed dry, ground sheet leaked in corners but easy cured, dump the original bag and put it in a light dry bag to save weight. Still good.

[@TheWalkingKev]

So it was a good value tent back then? Thanks for sharing, I'll bear that in mind with regards to the corners potentially leaking... I will take it out for a camp soon.

[@davidwellden1881]

Argos had originally had them up for about £65. Just had a weekend away in a 40 year old 3 man canvas Force10, stayed dry inside through last Saturday nights Scottish rain. My tents stored in a nice dry insulated wooden shed/ garage.

[@davidwellden1881]

Definitely at that price, used it until 2017, then not been out lightweight since but perfectly capable for a few days expedition in UK, as long as you can get it pegged out, as its not self supporting.

[@anniemac3075]

£10, it's a gift for that, especially brand new. I'd expect a strong smell of shed with the 14 years sitting sadly waiting to be used tent, be very interested to hear how waterproof it is. Nice shape & height. You've got me looking at old tents on the Internet though we can't go camping any more due to a certain amount of familial decrepitude!

[@TheWalkingKev]

I did give it a quick spray with the hosepipe after I'd put the camera away and water beaded and ran off straight away, so I have high hopes for it. I'll take it out in the rain soon.

[@anniemac3075]

@@TheWalkingKev Sounds promising, good luck. I like your idea to do a give away, it's a really nice thing to do, I'm sure someone fit will be delighted to receive it.

[@constantinossavvides8243]

Great tent and what a bargain. I tried to buy a coleman cobra from ebay the other day. That had been stored for 10 years but looked in great condition. Great video

[@TheWalkingKev]

Cheers for watching and commenting. I've now bought tents from the '70s that have been great in the rain, so I'm happy to buy most things now to try out!

[@mootpointjones8488]

I bought mine in 2005 from Argos but in green (£25.00). As I do with all my tents I used brush on Fabsil for the outer plus the ground sheet. I use it for motorcycle camping. The height does catch wind if side on to the direction it is blowing from. I prefer it to a Terra Nova I own. I have never had any problems with it. Thanks for another interesting upload 👍

[@TheWalkingKev]

Thanks for sharing. It seems a decent price when new as it seems well made and decent aluminium poles etc. I'll try and take it out soon and I'll try and setup a giveaway for the new one at some point.

[@Useaname]

I bought a pro action tent from Argos also, in 2007. It was an end of line, only one left. But it was Jeep branded. I put it up once and it was a really well made tent. Looks like the Jeep branded ones were top of the line. I still have it in the bag. Too heavy to carry whilst hiking.

[@Jqteadventures1659]

Yes give aways are awesome! And I need a tent to start wild camping but just haven’t got the funds at the mo so I enter all comps for a tent lol

[@TheWalkingKev]

Ha ha. Well I'll definitely sort something out in the next couple of months. Thanks.

[@thevalleywalker]

My lad had a 4 man pro action tent we got him from Argos to do a weekend years ago. It was a decent tent but couldnt stanfd up to a boys festival weekend..lol. Give aways for sure... great idea. atb Al

[@TheWalkingKev]

It takes a robust tent to survive that kind of weekend!

[@Rlea67]

I’ve not done any wild camping yet, love the design of this tent tho, I’d not seen one like this before, I’ll be on the lookout for one 👍

[@TheWalkingKev]

I'll be doing a giveaway of my new one at some point!

[@scottroberts7875]

hey Kev, use a random comment generator, a few others KZbinrs do this, cracking tent i would love it being 6 '4 looks plenty roomy... On the older tent subject , i still use a part of a Marachel J2, Bought from Alpine sports in 77... i use the old groundsheet as a footprint . Keep um coming Kev, ATVB . Scott Somerset

[@TheWalkingKev]

Thanks Scott. I shall perhaps do this when I hit 50 videos.

[@markalanshaw4950]

Hi, I have this tent it is a great value product, all you need is too put some proofing spray on it, with a different brand name probably £120 tent. Mark Shaw.

[@TheWalkingKev]

It's pretty much identical to the Nordisk Svalbard, albeit the Svalbard has better ratings and more guylines. A solid design.

[@craigsey3765]

I had a Pro Action 4 person dome tent for several years. Mainly festival and campsite use, but it lasted so long, I became quite attached. By the look of things, it’s a sold-by-Argos brand, although I seem to remember buying it from a camping shop. Anyway, thanks for the video.

[@TheWalkingKev]

Cheers Craig. They sound decent value and it makes sense that Argos would sell them.

[@Anybloke]

I have a 2 man ridge tent bought in 1983. It's been kept in my shed and hasn't been used in 20 years. Must get it out and check it over. I dread to think !

[@TheWalkingKev]

Let me know how you get on with it!

[@Anybloke]

@@TheWalkingKev I've just taken a look at it thanks to you. I was expecting it to be rotten and / or mouldy but it's surprisingly ok. Ground and fly sheets seem as good as I remember. Poles and pegs intact. I'd sleep in it in my garden but I'd be wary of anything remotely inclement.

[@TheWalkingKev]

@@Anybloke nice! Pitch it in the garden when some bad weather is forecast a d see how it handles it...

[@lindsayshaw5091]

I came across your channel recently and find it very good viewing. You have inspired me to get my tent out of the garage and let it see the light of day again. I normally hike using b and b's but with the price of accommodation now I think I may use the old tent after what must be about 35 years. it's an Ultimate phazordome two man tent, which I seem to remember was a bit of a state of the art tent in it's day. Have you a review vlog on one of these?

[@TheWalkingKev]

I've never even heard of that tent. Sounds interesting though! Thanks for the kind words, if I ever see one of those tents for sale I'll try and buy it to try it.

[@dontfencemein.6125]

Hi Kev Looks spacious but I wouldn't want to go out without a silicone spray first mate.

[@TheWalkingKev]

I did give it a quick sprinkle with the hose after I put the camera away and water beaded and run off well, so I think it could be OK...

[@johnfiler6448]

Great video Kev. I am new to camping and find all your video's very informative. I use a Eurohike Backpacking 2 man tunnel tent, which I find OK. I just load my push bike up and head for the hills. I am learning about camping all the time. I am very interested in second hand camping gear. I do hope you can fix your car. Thank you and Stay Safe.

[@TheWalkingKev]

Thanks John, much appreciated. Car is back on the road, needed a new starter motor so an expensive job sadly!

[@garymartin557]

i have an old north face west wind, shall have to get it out.

[@TheWalkingKev]

How long has that been packed away?

[@garymartin557]

@@TheWalkingKev good god, got to be 10 years+ last time it got used i lent it to a work mate.

[@quiddity1977]

This video just popped up on my feed & it's the tent I love|! I got it in 2006 from Argos for just £15! It was my first tent (after my DoE Coleman from 1988 with wooden poles!) & I loved it so much going to festivals that I got the older green version new off eBay for £10 also! Still going strong but the groundsheet does need reproofing after my last use. Do I just brush fabsil on?

[@TheWalkingKev]

Fabsil would probably work. It's always good to hear from a fellow owner. I've sold one of these now, but still have one. I've used it on a mountain camp and it looked great: kzbin.info/www/bejne/in_Mi4ecbMRrrdksi=BdN28_KlSyyfbDvj

[@DaveCollierCamping]

Very interesting

[@TheWalkingKev]

Cheers Dave, appreciate the comment as always.

[@TwoShot.]

Incredible bargain. We never have anything worthwhile on sale at my end lol

[@TheWalkingKev]

I've had a good run lately on bargain tents! If it continues I'll run out of space in the house to keep them all.

[@LuisCortes-MCvblog]

I would like a give away, all the tents i buy from ebay or amazon are rubbish, really dont want to spend hundreds on a decent one, as i would only use it once or twice a year.

[@TheWalkingKev]

I'll set something up in the next couple of months.

[@LuisCortes-MCvblog]

@@TheWalkingKev ok. Ill be stalking...I mean following you lol Keep up the good work, great info.