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Quote: Originally posted by Valk_scot on 01/4/2007

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See, I do`t think of that as luxury camping, I think of that as educated camping, which is not the same thing at all as buying every last expensive gadget or the latest tent just because the Joneses on the forum next door have one.

Now, luxury for me would be an instantaneous transportation device between home and the campsite, with a posse of packaway servants to put the tent up for me before I arrive. .....

 

Val, I agree. I didn't express myself very well about 'luxury camping' . I think luxury camping is different things to different people and its something about achieving the ultimate of your camping desires but I struggle to get more precise beyond that.

 

I think mine might involve being teleported to the site and arriving all fresh and bouncey. I might want to put the tent up though and would definitely want to set out all the internal stuff. But more than happy for someone else to take it all down and pack it up! And I seriously would not want loads of ehu-type house gadgets in my luxury tent. MT

For me a luxury tent is one that is warm when it's freezing outside, cool when the sun is blistering hot, dry when it's pouring with rain and stable when a gale blows.  If you can't have those, then no matter how good (or expensive) all of your gadgets are, or how large your tent is, you'll run the risk of having a miserable time.

As we can't control the weather, then I'm afraid that the route to real luxury camping is to get the basics right first, and that means the tent.  For me, at least when it comes to the above, cotton beats nylon, hands down, every time!

Steve

What's all this talk of "luxury camping". Don't we go away to get back to basics a bit.

My kit has four bedrooms, six-foot wide beds, a kitchen with a six-burner double oven, the latest and hugest LCD flatscreen TV, sound system costing thousands and heating in every part. It also has a Mercedes sports car outside.

It's called a house!

Camping involves airbeds, sleeping bags and a nylon Outwell tunnel tent with a tarp for shelter and a 2 burner stove, all shoved in the back of an old Nissan. No radios, No TVs dear Lord, and get the kids off the X-Box 360 and out into the air!

With some of the posts I've been reading, it's only a matter of time before we see the first Burberry tent with gold bangle tent rings - with so much stuff that half the week is spent puttingit together and the other half packing it away.

Sorry if this sounds a bit "Grumpy Old Men", It's Horses for Courses, but aren't some people losing the plot a bit?

Quote: Originally posted by Hairywol on 02/4/2007

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With some of the posts I've been reading, it's only a matter of time before we see the first Burberry tent

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My sleeping bag has a Burberry check lining.......sad but true. Wonder what Vango were thinking about at design time?

I have never thought of frame tents as "fuddy-duddy" or particularly luxurious. Just good quality and value for money as they last for donkeys. My son now has my old Relum Super7 which was bought back in 1992 and apart from fading in the strong sunlight, is as good as the day I bought it. 4 years ago I bought a Coleman Bi-space 700 as I thought it might be good to save some weight (20kg as opposed to 60kg). It didn't work for us....the rounded design meant we lost a lot of space as our existing equipment just would not fit. Luckily, I sold it on our return for the same price that I had paid for it. Last year I invested in our new Relum Palermo which is a fair sized animal and could not be happier. Bags of bed space and a great living/cooking area.

Yes, I suppose we do take some so-called luxury items but nothing OTT. And yes we do need a trailer for it all. Luckily I can store it at work when not in use.

I agree with the earlier post re the sizes & weights of some of the new nylon tents. I saw one in 1995 at Lake Annecy which was star shaped. Each "leg" going from the central area was about 6 metres. Took Mum & Dad 3 1/2 hours to put it up!

As always, it is down to your own preferences. I can see the advantages in a nylon tent, especially if you don't have a trailer. Cheaper ferry fares springs to mind!! As long as we all enjoy ourselves go with whatever floats your boat.

Interesting debate MT.....I would love a canvas tent if we had space for storage and drying off, but we don't. I started camping with a 4 berth frame tent 23 years ago (sadly lost it divorce wranglings many years ago...mainly because I did not have storage space).

Both me and the Silent One (or "Dick" as he appears on my signature) are a bit prone to gadget purchases, some of which have proved to be be so invaluable that they become essentials rather than luxuries (head torches are a good example of this). However, we now are up-grading existing kit rather than buying new gadgets - and aiming to not have more stuff but different and better stuff. And of course what makes it "better" is very individual. E.g. we have ditched our old battery run lantern for a wind-up one; less kit to take if we don't need batteries, and "greener".

I fully agree that getting the right quality of tent to deal with the climate is the cornerstone - our Vango Quest 600 is superb build quality as it has the same specs as its smaller mountain brother the Equinox range. I am not sure why Vango stopped making a family sized tent with these kinds of materials (HH5000, alloy poles, light weight ripstop fabric, so a 6 berth tunnel weighs only 20kg!) but it has stood up to severe Lakes weather that was trashing Diablos, Hartfords and Varios all around us!.  

In fact this set me on my quest to replace our other tents for models of similar specs. I have now achieved this with a Coleman Adrenaline 3 for himself and his fossil hunting expeditions, and now we have just bagged a Vaude Opera on Ebay as our new weekend tent. These are not cheap, so to some they would seem to be a "luxury" but it extends our camping season and makes it less likely that we will have weather related mishaps. (The next step - selling the old tents - is the one I am now struggling with..they are old friends!!)

I do think that in every walk of life there will be some folks who need to have the  latest and most expensive kit, whether its camping or tennis or whatever - and it's their choice and their bank balance. Of course, if their TV/X-box etc is blaring away on the pitch next to mine then it is encroaching on my hols and a quiet word will be had. (This is where it comes in handy that Silent Dick does a v convincing psychotic stare.....and I speak as a former mental health worker!)

UltimateIy, I really like Val's idea of educated camping - making the right choices to fit your needs within your budget. And that is why we are all different on here...

We have gone back to a frame tent.  This way there is no crawling around on the floor in wet weather as it can be folded on the frame.  I like not having to lay the tent on the floor to thread poles through sleeves either.

BTW-Our tent is an ebay special kos 6

For me it has to be a canvas frame tent - image isn't important.    I've looked a various nylons ones, and for me they don't compare.
We started off with a nylon dome - which we found too small, and when we were looking for a bigger tent, we were fortunate enough to see a Kos 6 erected.   We went for it, and haven't regretted it.  I can throw this up single handed - which I couldn't a large dome/tunnel.   We also have a trailer tent - the only problem being due to its weight the kitchen section is a two man lift.

Last year I was fortunate enough to win an 1970s frame tent on Ebay.   OK its street cred is nil - but it will be ideal for when I take the kids on my own.  Its a bit smaller and lighter than the Kos, so will fit in the car, without the need to tow the trailer.   Provided the damned mice have't got it.     They got my last small frame tent.
(Will be checking over the next few days.)

OK I so have a small dome for garden camping.   I did have a canvas one - but changed to one with a porch, so that the portaloo could sit there.

I think that as a good tent should last years and is probably the biggest outlay, it is better that you buy the best your budget will allow.    Accessories can be built up over the years.   Far easier to replace plates from Poundstretcher with something a bit more expensive than it is to replace a tent.

There are also some things that I wouldn't go for expensive in.  Take your knives and forks - how many of us have lost a teaspoon, despite double/treble checking the sink before leaving the washiing up area - or gained a fork, that you are fairl certain wasn't there before you started your washing up.

No for me the most important thing is the tent.