Jack Wolfskin Pocket Hotel Tent test

Jack Wolfskin Pocket Hotel tent.

Cyclecampers are lucky in that backpacking tents, which are widely available, are ideal for the
cycletourist. There are many such tents on the market but below a certain weight they tend to be of
the "canvas coffin" shape. The problem is that although similar in some respects the average
cyclecamper has different priorities to a backpacker. The first of these is that though weight is
important, it is not THAT important. All tents are compromises and so real lightweights are S-M-A-
L-L inside. I for one am happy to carry an extra kilo on my bike for the sake of comfort. If a tent
doesn't offer sitting up room then I'm not interested... It's also got to go up quickly, and be capable
of withstanding rough weather. This last requirement is only up to the point at which I would be in a
hotel, or failing that the campsite toilet block... Few cyclecampers are to be found on windswept
mountaintops, so why pay the penalty in weight and room?

Enter the Jack Wolfsking "Pocket Hotel". This is a superb little tent, goes up inner first, and so has a
taught inner, pitches with six pegs and praise be, has ample sitting up room. It uses two hoops for
support and the inner is free standing for really hot nights. The inner is 8 foot long and 4 foot wide
so there is plenty of room for two, though the bell end is small. All this for 2.6 kgs - not bad.
Construction is from polyester, which has the advantage of not stretching when wet, with decent
alloy poles and YKK zips. The pole sections are short so the whole thing is very compact and would
fit in a pannier. In all a great package, and at a very low price. Disadvantages? The small bell end
I've mentioned, and even guyed out I wouldn't trust it in force 8+ Gales, though personally I'd be
tucked up in a hotel room at the first sign of this! The outer is not ripstop, and so after a few months
continuous use the weakening of the fabric by sunlight does make it prone to tears, but for most
users this would represent several years use. 

Overall

This is a good quality, light compact tent, with bags of room, reasonable stability in bad weather at a
very low price. I use them at Breton Bikes as a hire tent and so think very highly of them    8/10

©Geoff Husband