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Quote: Originally posted by julie-pooley on 28/1/2009

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Gosh that's cheap. I'm tempted to get one but do we REALLY need it? Hmmm....
What are they good for?

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Quote: Originally posted by Finnboy on 28/1/2009

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Here

Anyone bought one? Don't seem too bad for the money, but wonder how universal it is?

EDIT: Looks very similar to this one fitted in valk_scots profile pic, hope you don't mind me linking to it!)

Similar to this?

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No, I don't mind. Yup it is the Coleman Classic Awning, seen here on my Vango Oregon 800. (More pix here.) It's not a bad fit and it does give a decentish shelterd area but it's got several not so great features.

1) It's a vast bit of canvas, 4.4m x 4.5 m approx, and it's held down by only seven guylines. Take my advice and add some more using Clingons, and use Deltas. Also because it's such a big piece of canvas it's a total bugger to put up if it's windy.

2) It is only a sun canopy. It's okay in rain, but if the wind gets up then get the canopy down toot sweet. If a good strong gust got under it then it would probably rip clear despite the Deltas. Never double up pegs with your tent and don't attach it to the tent directly. Fair to moderate weather use only IMHO>

3) You'll see from some of my website pix that the canopy guylines are running directly over the tent pole sleeves in some places. I think that even in a light breeze the canopy would move around enough for the guylines to abrade holes into the sleeves. I've now got some neoprene tubes (similar to the ones used on kids' seatbelts, find in ££ shops) to put round the guylines at these spots.

4) I think it would fit most level-topped tunnels. We originally tried it on our Gelert Cadiz 7 which had a sloping top, and we could never get it to fit well. Also if you look at the pix again you'll see that it's pretty big even on our Oregon 800, which is 6.80m long. We think it would be a bit big for our smaller Oregon 600 which is 5.6om long.

5) Looking at the Argos link I see it's fitted onto a porch pod on a dome tent. I seriously worry about this, tbh, because it leaves a terrific amount of that huge canvas out front with not many guylines on it. This canopy was originally designed for the Coleman Canyon which is a tunnel tent. And as I said above it was first marketed as a SUN CANOPY, not an all weather shelter which is what the Argos page seems to imply it is.

6) The price of it has always been around the £25-ish mark in past years. I got my blue one a wee while back when it wasn't a popular idea to have an additional canopy and it was on discount at £19.99. Never seen it lower. I don't think the blue has been made for a couple of years.

Quote: Originally posted by julie-pooley on 28/1/2009

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omg i really want one now but i want it in blue.
Does the fact that it touches the top of the tent affect it's ability to stay waterproof?

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It doesn't affect the waterproofing, nope. They're both synthetic canvas after all. The HH of the Coleman is pretty low  anyway (seem to remember 800HH from somewhere) as it's only a sun canopy, but that's fine for most purposes. The shape of it means it sheds water and there's no seams to leak. You might find it makes the interior of the tent a bit gloomy where it has the double layer, that's all.

 

Reminds me...there's an almost identical looking canopy made by Jack Wolfskin which is one serious bit of kit, with lots more guylines. It costs a fair bit more too! I'll go look for a link when I'm back from DS's rugby training.

Just remember...extra guylines, Clingons and good pegs, plus some padding for guylines if necessary. Oh, and a flag to hang on the front centre guyline. I lost count of the number of times someone walked straight into it, and it's not one you can leave off.

Quote: Originally posted by julie-pooley on 28/1/2009

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omg i really want one now but i want it in blue.
Does the fact that it touches the top of the tent affect it's ability to stay waterproof?

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Quote: Originally posted by julie-pooley on 28/1/2009

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omg i really want one now but i want it in blue.
Does the fact that it touches the top of the tent affect it's ability to stay waterproof?

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We bought one of these last year to go on our Sunncamp Evo 400.  Mainly because of the sloping entrance to the door.  It did cover most of the tent!  But as Steve is hopeless in the sun it does add a bit of extra shelter.  We put some windbreaks along the sides which made for a good cooking and eating area.

It stood up to a reasonable amount of wind but we are going to buy some stronger pegs this year as those supplied are fairly flimsy.  It's not easy to put up if it's windy and you really need at least two people, peg the front down first, it makes it easier.

If any really bad weather was forecast I would take it down but this would only take minutes.  But it was worth buying for the extra space if you're staying for more than a night or two. (PS, there's a photo in our gallery)