Although the Robens Arch 2 tent is the heaviest in this year’s round-up of budget tents, it has a few qualities that elevate it above the competition. I often think that Robens gear hits an attractive sweet spot between performance and price, and the Arch 2 fits that formula perfectly.
Alex Roddie Recommends
Overall, this is a durable, stable tent that can handle bad weather. I’d even suggest that it’s capable as a “starter” winter backpacking tent if on a budget. £180.99 really is excellent value.- Durable materials
- Weather resistant
- Quick pitching
- Great value
- Decent living space
- Difficult to repack
- Weight
- Poor pegs
| Quick specs | |
|---|---|
| Price: £180.99 Weight: 2.5kg Pitching: inner and fly together Flysheet: 75D polyester 190T HydroTex Core 3,000mm HH Inner: 68D polyester 190T Groundsheet: 75D polyester Taffeta 185T PU 6,000mm HH Poles: 8.5mm aluminium #7001 T6 Pegs: 14x alloy wire pegs Porches: 1 Inner Dimensions: 120x220x95cm robens.de |
The design is a tried-and-true tunnel with no surprises. Burly, well-specced materials feel reassuring in bad weather; this tent has the thickest, most waterproof groundsheet out of any tents in the test, and I never saw a hint of water ingress. There is a decent bathtub floor (great for boggy conditions).
It has a solid inner with only small mesh panels. This makes it a good choice for cold, windy conditions where a solid inner helps to cut out sneaky breezes. Ventilation is still ok in warm weather thanks to generous fly vents.
Pitching couldn’t be simpler. The whole thing goes up in one go, slide the poles into the sleeves, and peg out. It’s one of the quickest tents to pitch of those tested – a major advantage in filthy weather. The tunnel design is stable if pitched tail to wind, and when all the guys are pegged out it will handle moderate gusts (Robens test it up to a maximum of 150km/h, although I wouldn’t want to push it that far).
Overall, this is a durable, stable tent that can handle bad weather. I’d even suggest that it’s capable as a “starter” winter backpacking tent if on a budget. £180.99 really is excellent value for what you get, and at this price the small downsides are easy to forgive. The weight is high thanks to the burly materials, the included pegs are extremely basic, and it’s difficult to squeeze back into its stuffsack. But it should last well and will handle most British mountain conditions
