Please can anyone advice a novice camper. I want to take my 2 sons away soon but am confused as to which tent to go for.I need a tent to sleep 1 adult and 2 boys aged 6 and 9, something which I can put up alone quite easily. I have been told to look at Outwell tents - Arizone XL and Oregon 5. Any other suggestions?
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The most important thing that you will buy is your tent so you have to make sure that you get it right
If you could give us a bit of an idea of your budget that you have got for the tent and a bit more info on your requirements then you will get some better suited suggestions
Up to £200 and my main requirements are as much space as possible in living area and ease of erection I suppose but my 9 year old would be helpful if 2 people were necessary. Sorry its vague but I am a novice so probably won't know what I want until I've done this camping lark a few times!!
Of the tents that you have mentioned I would tend to go more towards the Oregon rather than the Arizona and you should be able to get an Oregon five 2007 model for about £160.00 but the thing you must bear in mind is that outwell has had some issues with leaking tents from this years range
The vango Diablo 600 may be worth a look and will fulfill your requirement for a large living space and this example is just over your budget
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do you need bedrooms side by side or apart or would you prefer to all sleep in one big bedroom? How long do you think you will staying in the tent for? Weekends, 2 weeks? If you want to sleep on air mattresses a double is usually 140 cm wide so check that out when looking at bedroom pods. The other thing to think about are storage, the packs can be bulky so how will you fit it in your car along with everything else you will need, also how will you cope with a soaking wet tent when you come home.
Tunnel tents are generally thought of as the easiest to erect single handed. I have a vango oregon 600 which has a 4 berth bedroom pod and a 2 berth pod. The 2 berth can be removed if not required to increase living space.
If you have a retailer near you it would be good to see a selction of different types of tent erected to get ideas.
Thanks for replies so far. I plan to do weekends or a week at the most at first and I would imagine the boys will sleep with me initially until they (and Me) feel braver!! Therefore 1 large bedroom with a possibility of a separate room which could be added if OH came along! Don't want a tent that will cause me unecessary stress on arrival - would rather buy 2 - a larger more luxurious one for when OH came along and/or we stayed for weeks rather than days.
Well if you want something that is easy to put up and has one big bedroom with a dividing curtain that can be used to divide it into two smaller areas then have a look at the Vango venture 500 this is an easy tent to put up on your own with very little help and should take about 20 minutes after you have done it once or twice
I have one of these tents and use it a weekender for three you have a main sleeping area of nearly nine feet square and six foot of head room in the sleeping area with a tidy bit of space in the front of the tent and the best part about this tent is it costs less than a £100.00
I'd improve slightly on Force Ten's suggestion by looking at the replacement for the VV500 which is the Vango Idahoo - very similar to the VV500 but with the head height in the living area rather than the bedroom (bedroom still good though) and a slightly bigger living area. It looks easy to pitch alone and looks a worthy sucessor to the ever popular VV500.
The vango oregon 600 has a dividing curtain in the 4 berth pod and I have been assured by people on this site that you can fit 2 double air mattresses in it and 1 in the smaller pod.
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Just to muddy the waters for you a little further, consider the Peakland Matlock.Although I don’t have this tent I rather like the look of it for precisely the same family camping scenario as yours.Why do I like it?It sleeps four comfortably, and even a couple more in the living area should you wish; the living area has a SIG so you can sit in there reading, or what ever, bug-free after you’ve got the kids in bed; it’s a good size (e.g. sitting playing games in the living area on a rainy day) but not too large and cumbersome.
Granted it’s not a big name like the Vangos, etc. but I’ve got a 2/3 man Peakland and it’s been great.It’s Yeoman’s own brand and, so I’ve learnt on this site, made under license by Outwell.
I'd second Arne's vote for the Oregon 600, it's a great size tent, easy to erect especially if your 9 year old is likely to help. Has one large sleeping pod which can have a dividing curtain and a third pod if you want an ensuite lol. Loads of living space and a SIG all for around £160.
We use this as our 'quick weekend tent'. It's very easy to erect, OH and kids (9 & 10) can do it in approx. 20mins. Its a very sturdy tent and can withstand high winds and heavy rain.. (as we found out in May!).
This is great for kids as it has 3 inner pods. Basically 1 large quad and two individual double pods so no night time squabbles from the kids, not to mention a huge living area with porch annex, great as a 'dirty area' muddy boots etc.. Also it has great headroom, my OH is 6ft 3 and still has another foot in the main area.