Anyone got a Terra Nova Ultra Quasar Tent?

Q. Have been using a semi-geodesic Terra Nova Voyager for last two years and is a fantastic tent.

Have recently been thinking of upgrading to a Terra Nova Ultra Quasar - has anyone got any experiences of using one in high altitude situations or extremely foul weather as it is an expensive purchase and would love to hear of any real life experiences of the tent before purchasing one.

Martin Birhal, Horshame

A. James Stringer - I'm not sure how old this post is but are you still selling your Quasar tent? thanks, Dave

David Miles, Newcastle

A. Brilliant tent, I've had mine for about 15 years - still going strong, even if the flysheet is starting to look a bit tired now. Totally bombproof. Make sure you connect the poles carefully, that'll keep them going for a lot longer - some people seem to enjoy just letting the shock cording do the work for them, can't imagine how long those poles last! I use the little Laser a lot now for backpacking - that's an amazing piece of kit, too.

Mark Wylie, Cornwall

A. Our club has had four of them for the past five years. Only ever been two problems. Its easy to push the poles through the sides of the mesh sleeves and in extreme wet weather, being pitch inner first, the inner tent including the groudsheet gets soaked. But we can't find anything better for the weight so we are just about to buy two more. Martin

Martin Jones, Canterbury

A. The Ultra Quasar has been around for some time. The early one was a Quasar with a lighter flysheet whereas the new one (which has been around for about 3 years) is a complete re-design as far as I know. I have had one of the earlier type for about 7 years and it is bombproof!

Jeff Wilton, Wimborne

A. My partner and I have not had such a great experience with the Ultra Quaser. We bought one last year to replace my partners old Quaser (one he'd had for 8+ years and had survived through everything). We took our new Ultra Quaser out in Snowdonia over Easter and our poles bent. The tent was caving in on us and we retreated at 3am to the car! This same weekend we also met a chap with the same tent whose poles had actually broken. Fraid it is just not as strong as the old Quaser. It is very light, but be careful where you use it. P.S The "Ultra Quaser" has only been around for approx 3 years so most of the comments above probably refer to the good old simple "Quaser"

Joanna, Reading

A. Hi I've been using an Ultra Quasar for the last eight years and it's still going strong, in fact I'm using it this weekend.

We've used it on campsites and on high ground in the Lake District and Scotland, it's been in hot weather and also used at minus 12°C in the Cairngorms.

It is my best bit of kit I've ever bought and when it's dead I'll buy another.

Enough said.

Alan Maw, Sunderland

A. Hi Martin - it's a fantastic tent - you can't buy better!

I have one for sale - it was my dream tent that I bought last year, only to be told my the missus that she'd never go camping again!

It's still got a label on with the price of £399.00, but I will sell for £275 plus postage.

If you're interested then please drop me a line.

Many thanks

James Stringer, Derbyshire

A. I agree with James. It's a fantastic tent and one that seen me through most of what Mother Nature could throw at me.

Mine's not for sale though.

Hugh Evans, Southport

A. Hi I've been using an ultra quasar for the last eight years and it's still going strong, in fact i'm using it this weekend.

We've used it on campsites and on high ground in the Lake District and Scotland, it's been in hot weather and also used at minus 12 degrees C in The Cairngorms.

It is the best bit of kit I've ever bought and when it is dead I'll buy another.

Enough said.

Alan Maw, Sunderland

A. If you think a Quaser is good try a Hyperspace even better!!!!

Paul Wylie, Walton-on-Thames

A. Wild Camping and The Law in England, Scotland and Wales.

Tents cannot be pitched just anywhere because every piece of Britain is owned by some individual or some organisation and according to the strict letter of the law permission must be obtained prior to pitching tent and camping.

In practice however, this is often impractical and wild camping is usually tolerated in the more remote areas - typically, more than half a day's walk from an official campsite or other accommodation providing you:

Keep groups small
Camp as unobtrusively as possible
Leave camp as you found it
Remove all litter (even other people's)
Carry out everything you carried in
Carry out tampons and sanitary towels (burying them doesn't work as animals dig them up again)
Choose a dry pitch rather than digging drainage ditches around a tent or moving boulders
Toilet duties should be performed 30m (100ft) from water and the results buried using a trowel
At all time, help preserve the environment
And if you are in any doubt about what you're doing, find out more

In Scotland, the current access legislation (which came into effect in early 2005) is explicit about your right to wild camp on hill land. However, there are exceptions. Since March 2011 you are not permitted to wild camp between Dryman and Rowardennan on the shore of Loch Lomond. See Loch Lomond Wild Camping Ban for more information.

There appears to be an exception to this with respect to camping in Dartmoor National Park where the right to wild camping is actually enshrined in the National Parks & Access to the Countryside Act, 1949 amendment Dartmoor Commons Act, 1985 - see Wild Camping in the UK for more details.

For the definitive answer with respect to wild camping in Scotland see the answer supplied by the Scottish Natural Heritage

For a few (tongue in cheek) tips on wild camping see Some Wild Camping Tips.

NB. go4awalk.com cannot offer any advice on suitable locations for wild camping - but click here for walks from exisiting campsites.

Hope this helps

Mike (Editor)

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