Reply With QuoteThis was our setup a couple weekends ago. Our first outing in the new tent and first camping trip for our two 2 year olds.
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Looking to invest in a tent for 2 adults and 2 children, I haven’t been camping since my late teens and went into a local GoOutdoors today and have to admit these modern tents look impressive but maybe a little complex to erect. I do like the idea of the inflatable tent though they are pricey, seriously how hard can it be to erect a good sized tent nowadays lol...
This was our setup a couple weekends ago. Our first outing in the new tent and first camping trip for our two 2 year olds.
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Camping at the minute in Wales. I have an Outwell Montana 6. Awesome tent.
Photos just taken. :) (View isn't bad either)!
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All the cool kids have Bell Tents ⛺️ 👍🏻
Reading this with interest
I too have been looking at tents, I was an avid scout in my younger days and camped all over the UK, and would love to take my Daughter camping although to say my wife is not keen would be the understatement of the year
I have been looking at the inflatable tents, but really I would like a bigger tent for less money but cant imagine my wife being much help putting it up, so I’m a bit stuck just now
I have nightmares just thinking about putting up a frame tent from the 80s......
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It might be worth keeping an eye on gum tree for people who thought they may like it but don't and sell off all their kit cheap. Don't buy everything you think you need invest in a decent tent, self inflating sleeping matts and appropriate sleeping bags. Good view that gavbaz, know the area well...
I like that, similar to ones I’ve seen today, is it inflatable? How long to put up please?Originally Posted by Taylor
This was our setup a couple weekends ago. Our first outing in the new tent and first camping trip for our two 2 year olds.
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Great view that, is the Outwell inflatable?Camping at the minute in Wales. I have an Outwell Montana 6. Awesome tent.
Photos just taken. :) (View isn't bad either)!
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Last edited by Martylaa; 4th June 2018 at 19:31.
My dilemma as well tbh, hence thinking about the inflatable way, just the price is harsh...
Are these new modern pole tents really as easy as the guides say I.e pitch time 25 mins when they advertise them for sale?
No. I believe they make one though.
To be fair it takes hardly anytime to put up, it's pegging the thing!
30 mins up & done after a couple of practice runs.
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Me too, wife will only wants 5* hotels but I know the kids would love a camping trip.
We went camping thursday to sunday last week and the weather was sublime. Its great to just go for a little last minute few nights away from time to time. We always do last minute booking so we know the weather is going to be good. Doubt i would ever go if the weather looks a bit naff, were only fair weather campers.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/High-Peak-A.../dp/B00OOXIU2OI bought us this a couple of years back. its ample room for us and i got it pretty cheap around £350 with 150D polyester fabric and 5000mm water column. The storm that it with stood on thursday night proved it to be a decent tent. Goes up pretty fast and were all set up in 30 mins easy.
I would avoid a bell tent unless you want to spend all day sitting outside it as there is hardly any room inside to stand up, especially when there are a few of you in there.
They are very pretty though.
I would recommend something with a decent sized porch so you can sit outside but with a little bit of shelter. My last few tents have had this and it's great to be able have somewhere to sit in a little privacy or take off wet gear
Here is my modestly sized 2 person set up (Outwell Florida 5) . Unsurprisingly everyone wants to abandon their children and come round to ours in the evenings so that space does get used.
We only take this for 5days and over as its heavy and takes longer to pitch.
The other side of the coin, a hilleberg 'condensation coffin's in one of my favourite camp spots
My tarptent stratosphere
And my 1/2 person set up for 1-3 days car camping, Outwell Arizona. Great little tent that I can stand up in to get changed, space to sit at a table if necessary and I can put it up in 10 minutes on my own even in foul weather.
I have several more buy you probably realise by now that I rather like camping....
Last edited by jmitch; 4th June 2018 at 22:48.
Yep I had to get an inflatable one as I couldn't stand the thought of messing with poles in the rain and having arguments to start the holiday off.
It took me about 20 minutes to set up on my own.
It's the Berghaus air 6 XL
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Haven't got a pic of our tent up but modern tents are really easy. Ours has two bedrooms, living room bit and porch, takes about 15-20mins Max to put up. First time takes a bit longer as you have to put all the inner bits up, but after that you can leave them in. It's harder getting it down and back in the bag, then drying it out!
I've got young kids and we've big groups of friends with kids the same age, as a group we've had so much fun and good memories camping in the British countryside. Beers & marshmallows round the fire, bbq's, exploring the forests and streams with the kids. Just go for it mate once you get the knack you'll love it (good excuse to invest in a new field watch too!).
Thanks for all the pics and pointers, please keep them coming, in my own mind I’d like an inflatable tent with ideally 3 bedrooms and a porch. Just so the kids could have a room each.
Question may sound a little daft, if I got one with two bedrooms can you still sleep inside the tent but not in one of the bedrooms providing it’s big enough?
I have the Berghaus Air 8 (4 bedrooms). That looks like the latest version Bergaus Air 6XL and would have 3 bedrooms. The Air 8 is entered into from either side into the middle. I prefer the tunnel style of the Air 6XL as more usable. And yes you can sleep in the porch if needed.
Blacks and Millets often do discount promotions in this range of tents.
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I love camping.
My short and sweet advice is this: -
* Go for a tent that sleeps about double the number you plan to put in it otherwise you'll end up like sardines.
* Get a 'Pitch outer first tent - otherwise if it pees down the inside of your tent will be wet before you've started.
* Get a tent you can actually stand up in - It's no fun stooping all week - I know this through bitter experience when it rained all week in France.
* Dome based tents are inherently more stable and therefore less faff to erect than tunnels.
* Integral groundsheets are good
I have a dome with bedroom off the main dome. It works a treat and we've had many happy holidays in the UK and Europe in it, even managed to get the Eurostar summer service train from St Pancras to Marseille and had a lovely week in the south of France taking only what we could carry.
Our tent has fibreglass colour co-ordinated poles and we can pitch it and peg it out in around 15 - 20 minutes comfortably.
Whilst I do not know the make, something similar to this looks good: -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B9BZU...282&th=1&psc=1
Hope this helps.
Good luck and enjoy.
Good advice!
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Any experienced camper will tell you the easiest way to get your tent up:
1. Lay the tent out in the desired place.
2. Place a case of beer in front of the tent.
3. Wait for other campers to come and help.
Seriously though, modern tunnel tents are the proverbial piece of. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD213swtbkA
If at all possible, practice in your garden first. One of the most entertaining things when camping, is watching other people pitching their tents. The pressure of having other people watching you doesn't make the job any easier. Don't be afraid to ask for help either.
Final advice; consider upgrading the tent pegs. I prefer V shaped metal pegs, knocked in with a proper metal hammer. The bent wire ones that come with the tent aren't that good, and a rubber mallet doesn't seem to be the correct tool ime.
I am a former camper and miss it at times, those times mainly being when the weather is good! We now have a static caravan which is great and nice and dry/warm Tents have improved a lot and we had friends staying on the campsite last weekend with a Robens poly cotton tent, not cheap but they are much cooler in warmer weather and the construction was impressive, Pitch time was certainly sub 30 mins.
Great little tent, had ours for about 15 years.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
There is a good deal on these at the moment if anybody is interested:
https://www.outdoormegastore.co.uk/o...na-l-tent.html
No affiliation just noticed it whilst searching for some other kit....
Mike
Great video that seriously has made me think about saving money and just buying the tunnel version with poles...
Partial quote of Yumma there, have to agree, I went away last weekend with 3 of us and took a 10 man tent, I am looking at another 10 man tent currently with Porch, footprint, integral ground sheet and carpet.
Have a serious look at the Kalahari 8 or Kalahari 10 by Hi Gear, lots of good used examples too.
Russ
We love a bit of camping!
Just changed our UK campaign tent to a Coleman Mosedale 5 from Go Outdoors. Main reasons were:
- blackout inner (lovely and dark)
- sewn in groundsheet extending to the porch (so our crazy dog can be free to roam inside)
- lots of windows and bug mesh on the porch so we can sit there in the evenings without being eaten alive
We use it for 2 adults and 2 dogs. Just the right size. We also bought a super light table which is great.
We also bought some cracking little lights from Torch Direct. https://www.torchdirect.co.uk/specia...ent-light.html
I've never understood the issue with tents that take a little longer to erect. I'd far prefer a tent that takes 30mins to put up, but keeps me dry in terrible weather, than a 5min job which flattens every time there's a puff of wind.
A few years ago my camping used to be a bit more extreme!
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Last edited by IdiotAbroad; 5th June 2018 at 16:18.
Bloody hell, too much snow for me, fair play lol...We love a bit of camping!
Just changed our UK campaign tent to a Coleman Mosedale 5 from Go Outdoors. Main reasons were:
- blackout inner (lovely and dark)
- sewn in groundsheet extending to the porch (so our crazy dog can be free to roam inside)
- lots of windows and bug mesh on the porch so we can sit there in the evenings without being eaten alive
We use it for 2 adults and 2 dogs. Just the right size. We also bought a super light table which is great.
We also bought some cracking little lights from Torch Direct. Will upload a link..
A few years ago my camping used to be a bit more extreme!
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We did splash out on a vango inflatable and I have to say it is excellent a good size with plenty of room for a family of four but could easily accommodate a few more people. We have added the sun canopy.
It comes in one bag rather than two is lighter than a pole tent and is very stable but the best part is that it is up in 15mins and then stakes out in 40mins by myself while the missus sorts out the kids and deals with setting up the interior. After an hour we are sat down and cracking open the first bottle of wine of the holidays!
Pack up is a breeze as well. Tent down in seconds, rolled up and in the bag in under 10 mins.
I doubt we would have used a pole tent as much as this is just so easy and quick to set up that it doesn’t eat up into a short weekend trip!
Last edited by paw3001; 5th June 2018 at 21:57.
VE25...yep, got one of those...wouldn’t recommend for family camping...used ours at a family festival last year 😩We love a bit of camping!
Just changed our UK campaign tent to a Coleman Mosedale 5 from Go Outdoors. Main reasons were:
- blackout inner (lovely and dark)
- sewn in groundsheet extending to the porch (so our crazy dog can be free to roam inside)
- lots of windows and bug mesh on the porch so we can sit there in the evenings without being eaten alive
We use it for 2 adults and 2 dogs. Just the right size. We also bought a super light table which is great.
We also bought some cracking little lights from Torch Direct. https://www.torchdirect.co.uk/specia...ent-light.html
I've never understood the issue with tents that take a little longer to erect. I'd far prefer a tent that takes 30mins to put up, but keeps me dry in terrible weather, than a 5min job which flattens every time there's a puff of wind.
A few years ago my camping used to be a bit more extreme!
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However, if you need something for the South Col of Everest it’s perfect!
I have a Vango inflatable (sleeps 4 but there is only two of us). Cannot rate it highly enough. Easy to pitch and really stable. Previously to the Vango we had Khyam quick pitch tents.
The only problem with the inflatable beam tents is their size when packed away.
I did the whole camping stuff for about 10 years with the kids when they where growing up and we had a ball in our Coleman Oasis tent all over Cornwall, Devon and Dorset.
Nothing better if the sun is shining, but nothing worse if it’s raining. As a fair weather camper we used to travel at short notice if we could guarantee a nice sunny spell. And it paid off many times staying as long as the weather kept fine, and my holiday allowance allowed.
Very sad that with the kids now 17 and 14 they are no longer interested, and positively anti-camping. But I don’t mind as I have a bit more free cash now, compared to when they where nippers, so head off to more far flung places.
Very fond memories of camping with my young kids, and sad that it all passed over far to quickly.
For those of you with young kids, enjoy it while you can. Time waits for nobody.
Seriously that video puts me off as if it wasn’t edited it would be about 3 to 4 times as long to put up. As it is my inflatable is up by the end of this video!
I’ll be honest I’m heading towards the Berghaus Air 6XL or the Berghaus Air 8 and maybe get the porch as well?
Seen some good deals on the Air 8 and tracked down a Air 6XL for a decent price also.
I need three bedrooms, the Air 6XL looks like it’d suit my requirements better just for the overall setup, but I like the Air 8 as you can have bedrooms at other end of the tent, but then would I rather we all sleep at the same end in the 6XL...
Bloody decisions decisions...
Last edited by Martylaa; 5th June 2018 at 22:26.
Funnily enough the pic is from about 7,000m on Everest!VE25...yep, got one of those...wouldn’t recommend for family camping...used ours at a family festival last year
However, if you need something for the South Col of Everest it’s perfect!
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I've got two decathlon pop up tents.
The first is 10 years old and I bought a back up one when the seams looked like they were stretching, however, it's still going well. While they are two man tents, I could only convince the missus to come with me a coupe of times. However, I must have done a couple of hundred nights in it through all weathers in the Alps. Not bad for £30.
Last year I bought a decathlon inflatable tent and it's great too. Hard to get into it's original packing after dismantling but it has all the quality of the first one. I use that one when I go camping with my boy. It's supposed to be a 4 man which would be a squeeze, but it's very spacious space for 2.
All that was irrelevant, other than pop to your local decathlon, they are great.
Wish I never opened this thread. I love camping and dragged the wife along to a few campsites a few years ago. A 6 berth fibre pole vango for the two of us and the dog. It was glamping really (electric hook up, fridge, good stove, airbed etc). In the end I let go off most of our stuff as in the end I hated pitching and striking camp due to the amount of stuff we took and the fact the wife was next to useless in assisting putting up and taking down the tent. Seeing the inflatable tents though here and in Go outdoors has got me thinking it maybe an idea to get back into. Also been thing about getting a one man tent for some wild camping but thats also another rabbit hole I'm trying to resist looking down.
I’m another family camper here. Myself and the wife with the 2 wee boys (2 & 3 1/2).
We picked up a new Vango Tagia 500xl in the end of season sales last year to replace an older Vango family tent we had been using for a few years. The new one has the air beams. We put it up recently for a practice pitch in the garden. We’re very impressed with it. Hoping to take it away camping later this month.
Picture taken from the web.
I love the Hilleberg. I have two of them myself, a green Allak and a red Soulo.The other side of the coin, a hilleberg 'condensation coffin's in one of my favourite camp spots
‘Well jel’ 👌🏻
Before I gave up motorcycling nearly 30 years ago I had a small one man hoop tent that was little bigger than a loaf of bread, very easy to carry. I cant recall the make but it was expensive.
Later on I used to take the whole family including the dog camping in a series of ever larger tents with at least three bedrooms and a toilet compartment for a chemical loo. Setting up and packing away felt like a major logistical exercise but all part of the fun.
Gave up about 10 years ago and prefer the comfort and convenience of a hotel or air B&B these days. Have some happy memories of those time though.
Some great advice here so........
Ive been convinced to attend all 3 days of the British GP & camp at one of the campsites there - a mate of mine has all the gear but Ive bought my own tent BUT could anybody recommend a decent mattress?
My only experience of camping has been single nights with the family on air mattresses that were 1) cheap 2)uncomfortable & 3) prone to deflating & resulted in shocking nights sleep...!!
Don't think i can handle 3 nights of crap sleep so prepared to invest a bit in the right gear!
This is the tent that i have bought:
https://www.blacks.co.uk/equipment/1...-man-tent.html
Any input welcome!
Cheers
Paul
I'd recommend the Outwell Dreamcatcher. We have a couple of doubles we use for our family trips and they are very good. The Dreamboat look even better but quite expensive.
David
For inflatable mattresses I actually think the cheapest ones are the best I just buy A2 of the £8 Tesco's cheap inflatable mattresses and then put them together with a king size duvet over the top and a king size fitted sheet over that.
This allows you and your partner to individually Taylor the hardness of the bed and also gives a slightly larger sleeping area. They're so cheap that if you have any punches you think we throw them out and buy another.
If using cheap mattresses it then something underneath you between you and the mattress is absolutely essential otherwise you just get cold from the ground coming up through the air chamber.
Self inflating mattresses are way more comfortable for me than a regular air mattress. Way less bouncy, warmer and thinner. We use Vango ones, 7.5 thick.
The wife and I used to go motorcycle touring all over France, Switzerland and Germany.
Space was tight on the bike but, we had a Khyam quick erect tent.. it served us well in some atrocious weather conditions and between us we could put it up in less than 5 minutes..
https://www.khyam.co.uk
I agree with self inflating. Thermarest are the dog’s, but even Alpkit’s is good.
If your boot is big enough, and you value your comfort, these are absolutely outstanding. Better than most hotel bedding.
http://gooutdoors.co.uk/tfgear-flat-...at-bed-p330639
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
If I were to go self inflating I would be getting some folding beds and using the SIM as a topper.
It all depends on how you like your bed at home though.
I like mine sift so a deep may that is lightly inflated is the only way to go.
If you want small/warm/light then I have even using an insulated Exped synmat hyperlite mw and it is slplendid. A bit pricy but a lovely warm night's sleep. It's going in my rucksack for a week of wild camping next week.
We have done exactly this: folding lightweight (old fashioned style) camp beds which are about £15 each. On top of that a Thermarest of almost any thickness. Super comfortable setup.
And also use an Exped mat for trips where weight matters.
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How old are the kids? And how handy is the missus? If young and not very then inflatable is probably the way to go. If teens, then poles are usually more sturdy especially if you’re thinking of staying in the UK.
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Sorry, I couldn't help myself
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I'm glad you said that because I've just bought one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And one of these to go on top (along with my Tempur pillow):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
"A man of little significance"
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