Solitary chicken - need advice

[Jules.]

I'm going to use my Father Christmas money to buy a tent for my family. Last summer I went camping with my 4 year old in a dirt-cheap dome tent that was said to have slept 4, but TBH we just about fitted into it with his little Doctor Who ready-bed & my single air bed. The tent iteself was fine, didn't leak & did the job nicely, so it paid for itself on that one holiday, but I looked at the other tents in the field & now desire a tent that I can stand up in to get dressed and perhaps sleeps 6 so that we have more room between us all, with 2 bedrooms for when my boys get older.

I'm hankering after a Vango tent, but wonderded what advice you could give me about makes & models? My budget is around £150.

Edited February 13, 2009 by Guest

[chelsea]

We were campers before we got the caravan. We had a Khyam tent and it was very good and easy to put up. Using fibreglass poles I believe and not those metal ones. Arent frame tents harder to put up?

 

I would ask OH (but he's asleep) he's more a tent expert. We sold our Khyam tent second hand for almost the same as we paid for it.

[BeckyBoo]

Hi there, I've got a Vango and it is fab but it's a pain to put up on your own! My friend has a square tent which I will find out the make of as it is fantastic and before all my financial stuff I was going to sell the Vango and get one of hers. You can stand up in it all the way through, it's rectangular and has removable sections so you can create one or two bedrooms plus you still have space for a kitchen area / play room. Mine is too big really, three seperate bedrooms and a central living bit, but the spare room is fab as I chuck all the kids toys in it at the end of every day and they can play there if it rains, the dog slept in the middle bit and that's where all the clothes storage was and the other spare room was the "kitchen". I LOVE camping, I'm hoping to go at least two or three times this year, dog comes too and it's just great - mine didn't even touch their Nintendos so I know they were having fun!

 

Mrs B

 

edited to say it's a Colman Cedar Creek apparently!

http://www.leisureshopdirect.com/camping/tents/product_31317/Coleman_Cedar_Creek_Classic_Tent.aspx

 

Doesnt' look very rectangular on here but it's £167 although my friend says you can get them on ebay

Happy camping!

[freddie]

We have a kyam which even I can put up on my own, its an easy erect , but it really is. they're good tents and come up 2nd hand for reasonable £.

anyone want to buytone, as we have the caravan now(that leaks, but we're fixing that!!)

[Olly]

Khayam and Vango are easy to erect, but they are expensive; on your budget you're probably better going for a traditional structure, as long as you've got someone to help you to bend the poles in. I can put my tent upon my own but only with great difficulty!

 

I don't think to be honest there is much to choose between makes of tent, I would look at the design. Firstly, definitely allow at least one extra space - I currently have a four-man tent which sleeps me and a friend comfortably, it would be cramped with three and if we had four in we'd be like sardines!

 

It is absolutely, definitely worth getting one with a porch at least, because it means you can keep boots, wellies, etc. out of the wet but not in the tent with you - one with a separate sleeping compartment is even better. I can't remember what make mine is, but it's got a big enough 'second room' to get garden chairs in, good for those chilly or wet evenings when you want to sit up and chat or have a drink but not sit outside.

 

The other consideration for me was whether you put the outer or the inner part up first. With some tents, you thread the poles through the outer, put it up, then hang the inner from the poles. With others, the poles go through the inner tent, then you drape the outer tent over the frame. If it's raining, the 'outer first' ones are better ... otherwise you are struggling to get it all up and meanwhile your inner tent is getting wet.

 

Take a look on eBay, people often buy a tent and only use it a few times before deciding camping's not for them. Good luck! Maybe we should have an Omlet camp-out!

[BarbaraJ]

we bought this last year ,only for 2 of us but i wanted the space to spread if weather bad . Also in the future if kids wanted to come!

http://www.worldofcamping.co.uk/shop/Detail.asp?ProductID=1710&GCID=C18202x001&utm_source=GoogleBase&utm_medium=ProductSearch

[BarbaraJ]

http://www.marshallleisure.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=164&currency=GBP

 

got them here but bit more, easy to put up, it has about 4-5 poles in total lovely and roomy i would say for 6 at most.

[Snowy]

We invested in a huge, Vango Diablo 900 - it's fabulous, but I would never be able to get it up on my own. Between us, as long as we are methodical, it is easy. Three large bedrooms, large central living area plus a large porch/canopy for cooking, dumping wellies etc. It is brilliant and I'm really looking forward to getting a bit more use out of it this year!

[missuscluck]

We have a vango tent. Its ok. We find it a bit leaky and they dont stand up to extream weather very well. The poles break easily and it is a bit of a pain to put up. Its like a huge pop up tent.

Im not sure its much different to other makes in that style and at that price level though.

 

We used to have a frame tent a long while ago. They are much dearer and more robust but are heavy and large for traveling. I think overall if you are camping lots they are a bit more 'home from home' than the pop up variety.

[craftyhunnypie]

We have a Kayham awning & if the quality of that is anything to go by then it's great. My SIL has vango chairs, they too are excellent quality!

 

Emma.x

[kez]

We have a Pro Action Nevada 8 Person 3 room tent (Argos). Would highly recomend it.

 

There are 4 of us and there is ample room. Takes me and my DH who only has one arm an hour to get it put up - including the rooms.

 

 

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3409237/Trail/searchtext%3ETENT.htm

[Berkochicks]

We bought a very cheap tent from Cyber checkout(£65). We didn't want to splash out unless we were sure we were going to be able to tolerate camping with the kids. That was 3 1/2 years ago. It is a tunnel one and has 2 bedrooms. My husband can put it up on his own leaving me to entertain the 2 kids. I wouldn't like to be in a real storm with it, it isn't that sturdy. However, last Summer we all sat in it (me ,OH, DS, DD and 2 nephews) while BIL & SIL took 40 mins taking down Vango. We then packed ours away in 10 mins.

 

Donna

[Tina C]

We have a Vango Diablo 600 - like Snowy's but 2 bedroms. Its probably too big for the three of us but we got it cheap from friends who got rid of it after using it twice because it took so long to put up. Having used it a few times we have got used to it, but it still takes the two of us an hour.

 

Also - worth bearing in mind - you sometimes have to pay more per night for larger/pod tents.

 

There are bargains to be had on eBay because people buy tents then go off the idea of camping but beware, some are on there because people have found them difficult to erect.

 

Whatever you get, make sure you can stand up in it. If you think you might want to go off for one or two nights without OH you probably need to sacrifice space so that you can be sure of getting the tent up on your own. Although in my experience people do offer to help!

[Ardene5]

Hi

Have you looked at the Camperlands site they are based at Manchester

near to Christie Hospital .

 

Camperlands post code M22 4HJ and telephone number is 0161 902 3020

 

http://www.camperlands.co.uk

Best regards

 

Ian & Valerie

[Shirl]

We bought a Wynnster Peregrine which is great. We only intend to camp for 4 nights maximum so we didn't need anything really spacious and the OH didn't want anything really heavy that takes ages to put up like a frame tent. It has the compromise that we have enough room to stand upright but it is relatively lightweight. If you look on http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk they have a forum where people give their opinions on tents and campsites which is really useful.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

We have a Khyam tent, I think this is ours http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KYHAM-RIGI-DOME-ULTIMATE-TENT-FOOTPRINT-GROUNDSHEET_W0QQitemZ260345420402QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_SportsLeisure_HikingCamping_Tents_JN?hash=item260345420402&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318. It was known as "the bungalow" on one site where we put it up, and the name stuck! It's brilliant if you are staying somewhere for a week or two, but far too cumbersome if you are touring, so we also have a Khyam tourer with a bedroom on either end and a "family" bit in the middle. Fantastic I love it and take great pleasure in erecting it on my own in 20 mins It's wonderful to be able to show off to cocky scouts/explorers that you aren't a useless female afterall.....

 

We also have a collection of 2-5 man tents in various states of usefullness/dumpability depending on how loved they are! DS has a 2 man Arctic ex-Army tent - very snug & goes up in 10mins, and we have a cheap & cheerful Tesco's 5 man effort which is fine to play in the garden or for an overnight stay for 2-3 with room for tatt.

 

I would recommend that you get something which has more space than you need to simply sleep. A small porch is very helpful as a place to store wet grassy boots rather than buried under the bottom of your sleeping bag if you go for a sleeping compartment only option, although it sounds like you are thinking bigger than that anyway. DH is nearly 6ft & insisted he should be able to stand up in the middle part at least - very important if the weather is not as friendly as it could be....plastic storage boxes to keep your food in are vital, not just bags as if it rains very hard & your tent is on a slight slope, the torrent which floods through your tent will ruin all your cereals, pasta etc, and inflatable mattresses to keep your sleeping bags and bodies out of the afore mentioned torrent whilst you sleep...believe it or not, this was the best camping holiday we've ever had and happened on the second night in Nancy, France. By the 3rd night & we got to Switzerland, we had had 9 thunderstorms & cured me of my phobia ...the days were hot & sunny so everything dried out as we went along thankfully ...anyway back to tents and camping advice...

 

We had a large potty which we kept on a towel/mat near the door when the children were smaller so late night trips to the toilet block were avoided & gave Daddy something to do first thing in the morning - a visit to the loo emptying area, lovely man-stuff! A piece of fleece fabric under the mattress keeps some of the coldness from seeping up during the night, especially of you go early/late in the season and stays in place, whereas it would slip around if on top of the mattress-been there done that!!

Hangy containers are useful too if the tent as the head height. We have collected so much "extra" stuff over the years that I couldn't now say what is starting kit!

 

I could go on for hours, but won't!! Good luck with your search, by the fact we have 2 of them, we recommend Khyams wholeheartedly...and we also ban all electronic toys/games unless we are travelling in the car, the children soon find something else to do whether it's outside with neighbouring children or inside helping or reading/colouring/romping. They do love regular trips to collect water too, use a 5l bottle from the supermarket rather than a specially bought one in our experience it won't make the water taste of plastic & can be recycled at the end of the holiday rather than storing it, and is small enough for the children to manage!!

 

Sorry this is really long, but I hope it's a bit helpful!!

 

Sha x

[chickencam]

Think carefully about the size of tent compared with the size of your car, unless you have trailer, but even then it is a factor.

 

We started off with a Cabanon frame tent, because my Grandad wanted to set us up for camping, he loved his family holidays when his children were small. He wanted us to have the best.

 

The tent was in 2 parts canvas and poles and each part was very heavy about 60kg in total and it filled the car alone without sleeping bags and air beds x 5

 

We bought a trailer which made life easier but frame tents are quite lengthy to put up and take down. You can cook inside a frame tent which is their biggest advantage but although they seem sturdy they are not that comfortable in bad weather.

 

We lost our frame tent in a severe storm in Dorset a couple of years after getting it, we replaced it that weekend with a campus dome tent which we loved because it was a large dome with curtained bedrooms on each side and a central space large enough to stand up in the centre. There was a porch at the front for cooking equipment etc.

 

We found this much cosier in bad weather because we would zip ourselves in and read or play games and there were no draughts.

 

We have since replaced that one with another that also has a porch at the back in which we keep a porta potti, very useful

 

This tent fits into it's own large holdall and means that we can camp with only the car for weekends.

 

Good luck with your choice, we WILL have a good summer this year, happy camping

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Think carefully about the size of tent compared with the size of your car, unless you have trailer, but even then it is a factor.

 

 

That is one point we had to take into consideration, and I should have added in my waffle (thought about it whilst in mid-flow about something else, then forgot it !!). We have a Grande Espace which takes most things, though even with that we still have the car stuffed to the gunnels!

 

The "bungalow" tent comes in a "holdall" which is apparently strong enough to be fitted - using an extra attachment I think!! - to a tow bar, which we didn't have, so didn't do!

 

Sha x

[Snowy]

Good point about the car - we also have a grand espace, so everything goes in. Before we got the espace though, we just used to hire a humungous roofbox - £40 for the week, which we though was great value!

[Chook n Boo Mum]

We take all but the essential seats out & there's oodles of room isn't there Snowy! Children find it a bit difficult climbing in sometimes but hey they are young & supple !!

 

Sha x

[Mutrix Farmers]

Some friends of ours have a Khyam. The husband is 6ft 2inches and is able to stand up in it. He also puts it up on his own, I remember it looking quite straightforward and quite quick.

 

We have a 6 man dome tent for 3 of us, and it takes all 3 of us to put it up too! Great tent though once it's up. Its a Royal Sassari (I think they may have changed it's name to Biarritz)

 

Hope you find something you like.

[Bassett]

We've collected a range of tents of all shapes and sizes over the years!!!!! Our favourite is this one:

 

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/tents/preview.asp?id=269

 

... But we also have the 2 bedroom extension for it, which turns it into a 4 bedroom tent, with very large living accommodation.

 

When we've been camping with friends, there has been enough room for 3 families to cook and eat dinner inside the tent on a rainy evening!!

[MedusA]

We have a Vango Venture 500 which is fab, but as it only sleeps 4-5 in one compartment, is probably not big enough for a family. It's relatively easy to erect and I would definitely recommend the brand.

 

Have you got a http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/tents near you? They have a sale on at the moment.

[..lay a little egg for me]

Khyam are fantastic but expensive. They really can be put up quickly. I have seen other people with large tents struggling for over an hour to put up their tent...no fun in the pouring rain. Our Khyam is not one of the large ones but it is a nice big dome tent and we can put it up in about 5 minutes.

[chelsea]

Khyam are fantastic but expensive. They really can be put up quickly. we can put it up in about 5 minutes.

 

That is the reason we bought a Khyam.