Royal Pescara 8

Pitching

The tent proved remarkably easy to pitch. In-fact, I managed the complete process on my own with no help from the rest of the family. Once the centre poles were up, the rest was extremely easy. It was easier to pitch than the Nebraska and this was due to the fact that all the pegging points are adjustable making the ring and pin system really easy to use. On the Nebraska, they are only adjustable on one side and each end. The adjustable points also make it easier to get the fabric evenly across the poles if you have to pitch on ground that is not completely flat.

I started by laying the tent out and pushing the red poles through their sleeves. These are the centre poles that cross over the main living area part of the tent. I then clipped the upright poles onto the ends of these. These are again colour coded red. I then went inside the tent and lifted up the structure from the centre where the poles crossed.

Remarkably, upon doing this the tent stood up on it’s own, even before the pins were put into the poles. I then inserted the pins into the end of each pole and pulled the poles out so they were even and square.

I then proceeded to put the blue poles in their sleeves and clipped on the upright poles to them building up the sides of the tent. This was also extremely easy and I did not require any help. I then went onto the green colour coded poles doing the same thing ( also building up the side of the tent ).

Even with no Guy ropes pegged out the tent was completely free standing and it was easy just to go round the side and back and straighten it all up. I then put the 2 blue poles into the porch. This was a little bit harder and the porch would not stay forward without holding it so I had to peg down one Guy rope just to hold it out. This would certainly have been easier if there were 2 people doing it. The tent now looked like the first picture in this review from the front. So far this is identical to the Nebraska XL in number of poles and the method used to do it, but life was made a lot easier by the fact that the tent stood up on its own when I lifted the centre of the structure above my head and the use of all the adjustable pegging points.

The next task was to put up the annexe at the back. This is where it differs from the Nebraska because the Nebraska does not have a back annexe. I got a little confused here trying to work out where the poles go of which I had 1 small arched pole and 2 straight poles that had discs on the end. These actually go inside the annexe and clip into some Velcro clips ( see picture ). All that remains now is to peg out the tent. This is where some time is taken. The whole process took me about 40 minutes from getting it out the bag to completely pegging out the Guy ropes. I could probably have shaved 5 or 10 minutes off that time if a second person helped.

Living In The Tent

The tent was a pleasure to use. Having just returned from a 2 week break where the weather went from both extremes, it got a good test. The first week rained constantly with strong winds. It was so bad that the campsite was closed during the week due to flooding. Luckily we were pitched just outside of the waterlogged area. The winds were extremely strong and the tent stood firm and didn’t leak. The 2nd week we were basking in nearly 80 degrees of heat. Although the inside of the tent was hot, it was still bareable (just!). In dull weather, the tent was still very bright inside even though there are no windows in the main living area. This is where the Nebraska wins, as it has 2 skylights that can be opened up to let some light in. But having said that, even with the lack of windows, it was still extremely bright. The living area is of identical size to that of the Nebraska and even the carpet for the Nebraska fits with no modifications. The tent was pitched on a Nebraska XL footprint groundsheet as well which did not need any modifications to be used.

This has an advantage over the Nebraska and it can effectively be turned on and off by opening or closing the porch. The corner vents are exactly the same as the Nebraska and can be propped open by a Velcro bar. The doors on the Pescara are completely sealed with no need for a Velcro fastener on the bottom, but can still be opened up completely or left with just a mesh door.

The bedroom pods are identical both sides. They can either be left as 4 individual pods or open up to make a 4 berth pod. When opened up, there is no lip on the floor like 1 side of the Nebraska, so you can make full use of the space. There are also hanging organizers on the outside of the pods. I didn’t see anything in the advertising saying that one side of the pod can be folded down like the Nebraska universal inners, but I see no reason why this cannot be done although I have never had a reason to try it.

Finally, the Pescara has a multitude of cable entry points. There are 2 in the floor ( one each end outside the bedroom pods ) and one by the porch entry. The ones on the floor can be closed via a pull-string and the porch entry point is zipped. There are also cable entry points into each bedroom pod that are zipped. The pods can also be removed on each side if you wanted extra living space and less sleeping space. The separation between the pods is via a roll-up partition that is also zipped when closed.

Where Can I get them From?

Outdoor Megastore are a major stockist of the Royal range of tents and are currently offering the Royal Pescara 8 Tunnel Tent for just £359.99 r.r.p £499.00

To order yours and to see their full range of products online visit their website for further details.