Karrimor Beta 2 man tent review.

The Karrimor Beta tent, kindly supplied by Millets for review, has been around for quite sometime and has evolved slowly over the years. I had the chance to review it at the Duddon Valley Fell Race in June 2011)

Karrimor beta 2 man tent. (Photo 1)

As delivered including bags and small repair kit the tent weight is 3.269 kg. (Photo 2)

Opening the bag was a nice surprise as the kit was neatly packaged. There was no forcing of the parts into the smallest space possible. There was also an instruction aid to pitching and a small repair kit.

Contents of the bag, poles and pegs in the centre of the tent bundle. (Photo 3)

Pitching.

I read the instructions once prior to pitching and they are clear and easy to understand.

This tent pitches inner first. Unroll the inner and assemble the 3 poles, a nice touch is that the 3 poles have coloured ends which match the colour on the tent sleeves. 

2 red for the inner and 1 blue for the flysheet. Slide the 2 red tipped poles through the mesh sleeves and locate into the relevant eyelets.

Inner poles showing red sleeve hem and pole tip. (Photo 4)

 End View (Photo 5)

Front View (Photo 6)

Locate the flysheet over the inner ensuring that the pole sleeve is central over the inner and positioned front to back.

Flysheet in position and showing the 1/3 mesh inner door. (Photo 7)

Locate the 4 eyelet ribbons on the fly and position the inner pole tips into the eyelets. Then pass the remaining pole through the sleeve and into the eyelet ribbon. 

You will find a long ribbon attached to the base of the groundsheet with a clasp on it, this locates at the bottom of the outer crossing pole and is repeated on the other side.

Complete pitch. (Photo 8)

 All that is left to do is peg it down at the corners and in the centre of the flysheet panels and also 2 guying points, 1 at each end.

We found this was a simple tent to erect and it took about 5 minutes to achieve.

Features.
This tent has 2 doors, which is a bonus, meaning that you don’t have to scramble over your partner to get out.
The inner door has a 1/3 mesh/nylon option for visibility, ventilation and to stop bugs entering. (Photo 7)

 (Photo 9) showing the inner storage space 3 pockets at ground level, 1 in the roof and 1 mid point.

 This is repeated at the other end also.

A roof light is located 1 each side. (Photo 10)

Ventilation and stay located at each end. (Photo 11)

 Enough room for 2 and with 2 porches there is good space for gear. (Photo 12)

Adequate head height of both doorways and internal. (Photo 13)

Specification, as per Millets webpage.

Tent Type	2 Person
Weight Kilos	3.03          (Actual as delivered, on my scales 3.269kg)
Tent Height 1 cm	105
Tent Height 2 cm	100
Pack Length	46
Pack Width	21
Sleeps	2
Fly Sheet	190T Polyester PU, Water Resistant, 3000mm
Inner Material	170T Polyester, Breathable, Water Resistant
Groundsheet	190T Nylon PU, Water Resistant
No of Compartments	1
No of Doors	2
Colour Coded Poles	Yes
Hydrostatic Head	3000
Poles	Alloy
Tent Design	Semi-geodesic

Summary.

Packaging excellent.

Pitching very easy.

Quality of materials and stitching:- Flysheet very good, lots of untrimmed stitching on the inner side walls and doors made it look a bit cheap which it isn’t.

Groundsheet excellent.

Floor space good.

Head height good.

Space at shoulder height a little disappointing. (see photo 5)

Ventilation could be improved by increasing the mesh to solid ratio on the inner door or by having the option of mesh or solid twin zip.

Poles, not the best but adequate.

Pegs. Poor and very heavy for a backpacking tent. Improvements can be made here quite cheaply.

Price £149.99.

Millets market this tent as for backpacking and trekking where weight is crucial. The tent does split down well between 2 people but i feel that at 1.7kg per person, that is right at the top end of what i consider backpacking or trekking weight. 

Ideal for cycle touring, canoeing, motorcycling etc, without a doubt.