Pitching a tent

[Sundayjumper]

IIRC someone on here recently bought a whizzo inflatable tent ?

We’re camping right now and it turns out our tent leaks a bit

It’s old and was cheap second hand several years ago so I can justify buying something new and whizzy for next time

The Berghaus 6XL from Blacks looks good value at the moment but Vango sound like better quality. Or wait until the autumn and scour the sales ? And/or eBay for “only used once because we liked the sound of camping but actually hated it” bargains ?

[Carlos]

We have a Vango air awning and it's taken 3 days of 50+mph winds and some serious rain this week, it's bombproof.

[Gavin]

I have a couple of Vango tents, one bought 20+ years ago that has done Scout camps, kid camps and all sorts and is still in good nick. Their stuff is still well regarded but it is expensive, if you are not planning to camp again you might pick up your once used bargain. Decathlon stuff is also good and the airbeam equivalent is solid but not as good as Vango. Probably half he price though.

[jamcg]

I have one of these



It’s large inside and really easy to put up, can be put up by me alone with no help. Only things people aren’t to keen on is it can be quite bright inside, solved by an eye mask and it’s well ventilated so can get a bit chilly on a night, but I don’t like it too warm to sleep so it suits me.

On the airbeam tents some aren’t too great to put up, all they save is installing poles- if it’s a tunnel tent for instance you still have all the problems of holding the poles up whilst pegging out- any tent you decide on should have videos on YouTube of it been put up, watch those and decide how easy it will be. Tent assembly causes more arguments than you might believe and it’s not worth the stress for not doing research.

[V8Granite]

We have a Kampa Croyde 6 pro air tent and its wonderful. We have an extension aswell so we can cook even when it’s raining.

Much easier to put up and take down by yourself, harder to pack into the bag if you are a flid though.

We waterproofed it only yesterday with Fabsil but it never leaked in the first place. Even 50mph winds last week were fine.

Dave!

[Barry]

Work colleague recently bought a Coleman air tent, he was very impressed. I always buy Vango, they just work and don't leak.

[dinny_g]

Yeah another vote for Vango kit - far better quality (generally) then the price suggests. Their TBS was a brilliant design 20 years ago and hasn’t been bettered at that price point really...

Mind you, do they have/need tensioning in an Air Tent??

[V8Granite]

Ours takes 7psi in each air chamber, once the base is pegged at 4 corners it’s pretty stable. Once all the guy ropes are set out it’s very solid but when pushed too far flexes and instantly recovers. I was sceptical but we needed a big tent the wife could put up on her own and this was perfect.

To me the only annoyance is the size of the bag.

Dave!

[Sundayjumper]

...we needed a big tent the wife could put up on her own and this was perfect.

To me the only annoyance is the size of the bag.

Is that why you make her do all the work ???

But seriously, that tent is just what I had in mind, good to hear a first hand review.

[V8Granite]

The issue we had was we love camping but with 2 boys and a dog, if it was raining a lot we needed space inside to feel comfortable. With the extra awning on it makes a big difference to the useable space. She would have to erect it by herself which with a pole tent, especially a sprung one can be an absolute ball ache.

We can have the tent up in 10 minutes with just one person, so the kids can go in and it can be fully set up in about 20.

Ours was 1100 with a tent carpet 2 years ago so there must be offers on by now.

Dave!

[dinny_g]

A carpet makes such a difference... Well worth the investment.

An Air Tent is just a stretch too far for me though - I just can't justify the price difference really. I could pitch ours fully, on my own, in 20 minutes.

£1100 Air Tent vs £350 Pole Tent is too big a price difference for me for the ease of use.

[Simon]

^^ But how do you nail the gripper rods into the ground?

[V8Granite]

A carpet makes such a difference... Well worth the investment.

An Air Tent is just a stretch too far for me though - I just can't justify the price difference really. I could pitch ours fully, on my own, in 20 minutes.

£1100 Air Tent vs £350 Pole Tent is too big a price difference for me for the ease of use.

What pole tent do you have ?

Dave!

[dinny_g]

Carefully...

Edit - @Dave - Fibreglass - always Fibreglass. Never ever ever buy a tent with fixed aluminium poles....

I'm in the market for a new tent but just can't find one with the right design. There's only 3 of us so I want a 4 person tent but with as big a awning space as possible and all of it undercover.

Lots of designs now have a smaller "Covered" awning and an "Open Awning at the end "for cooking" etc. Somewhat like this...



I just want the whole lot under cover. I cook in the tent because, well, I'm not an idiot so there's Zero Risk. I don't need an "open" space to cook but most / all designs now have that.

this was the one we had which needs replacing - Vango Tigris 400 DLX. It was awesome and absolutely perfect design for us.

[JonMad]

IIRC someone on here recently bought a whizzo inflatable tent ?

We’re camping right now and it turns out our tent leaks a bit

Can you get a new one delivered to the campsite using Amazon Prime?

[V8Granite]

We wanted zip in bedroom partitions or the kids would just crawl in with us each night, a lot just use toggles.

Also a mesh screen on the door as Flash likes to keep lookout all night.

All that and a big size proved hard to find. The best thing is to see a load of them erected as some things can really grate and it's not a cheap purchase you can just throw away. We loved teepee tents till we tried one for example.

Dave!

[Sundayjumper]

this was the one we had which needs replacing - Vango Tigris 400 DLX.

That's a small tent

Our current - leaky - tent is a SunCamp Global 600, and there's no chuffin' way you could put it up in 20 mins single handed ! I usually reckon on an hour (whilst also having a beer).



Calling it a six berth is a bit cheeky IMO as it's comprised of two three-person bedrooms, so more like a very generous four berth. Loads of space.

Croyde looks very nice. I really like the tape guy ropes. But then it's barely any more for the Studland which is noticeably bigger.

How do we feel about polycotton ? A lot more money but will last longer ? Size & weight is not too much of a problem, we have large vehicles !

[dinny_g]

Nice - but wrong poles... (<- Not being racist - some of my best friends are Poles... )

[DeskJockey]

...we needed a big tent the wife could put up on her own and this was perfect.

To me the only annoyance is the size of the bag.

Is that why you make her do all the work ???

But seriously, that tent is just what I had in mind, good to hear a first hand review.

We have a Vango Taiga 600XL Airbeam for the same reasons. Can't fault it.

[dinny_g]

Vango Taiga 600XL

That would be perfect...

...if the did away with the middle door/wall and just ran the floor to the outer door. One Giant space...