Camping: Quechua 2 seconds III tent review

Ever since Beer-Festival-Mike sent me some video footage of their pop-up tent I’ve been anxious to get my hands on one. Back then no Decathlon stores were delivering to our area and I couldn’t face driving for hours just to buy a tent. So I put the desire in a drawer and forgot about it.

Flash forward a few months and Nev and I are having conversations about single-night camping. We adore our Vango Orchy 500 and Wild Country Duolite Tourer but neither tent is particularly quick to pitch. We’d felt the irritation of spending over an hour setting up camp when it was going to be taken down less than 24 hrs later. When we’re just away for one night the less time spent pitching and packing up the better. For one night escapades comfort and space isn’t a priority and if we’re taking the car weight isn’t an issue either. So what we needed was a quick to pitch, pack, and dry tent.

I checked the web and found a Decathlon store willing to deliver to us! Woot Woot. Tent ordered and delivered in a flash. These tents aren’t expensive and the Quechua set me back £50 including postage and packing. We went for a 3 person tent as they say that’s comfortable for 2 people.

This is how simple they are to put up. Be careful not to hit anyone when you pop them, Nev managed to get me and Dogface his first time.

We took the tent away with us for one night at Forgewood earlier this month and the results were…

• Super easy to pitch. Took about 5 minutes as we didn’t bother with the guy ropes. Just threw it on the ground, moved it to the right spot, and shoved in some tent pegs. We did use some lightweight alloy tent pegs rather than the cheapy ones that come with the tent.
• It’s warm as toast as it’s small. Perfect for Spring/Autumn breaks.
• There’s no real porch to speak of, just a small space for shoes.
• Ventilation isn’t great but it was perfectly adequate for us for one night and you could unzip the inner tent to get more fresh air. The inner has small mesh ventilation panels on both the door and the back. (See above pic.) Quechua also do have a more expensive version with flip up side ventilation panels.
• It’s super short! Nev is 5’8″ and I’m 5’6″ so we’re not tall and it was JUST long enough. Width was fine for two and a dog and a few bags.
• Inside there are hanging pockets on both sides for bits and bobs.
• It’s obviously not an expensive tent but it seemed fairly robust. Didn’t get a chance to test it’s waterproofing.
• Packing away is very easy. However I’d forgotten how to do it and misinformed Nev. Luckily a kind fellow camper came over to show us the trick.

In summary we’re very happy with Chicken Tent (easier to pronounce than Quechua). Perfect for overnight camps with a car when you just want to chuck down the tent and get on with the serious business of relaxing. I’d also recommend it for kids as it would be loads of fun for camping out in a backgarden or as a playhouse.

The Quechua is available in the UK at Decathlon stores.