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Now we have retired, my wife and I are thinking of returning to camping after a break of 25 years and are trying to decide on a tent.

When a spell of fine weather is forecast we intend to go off for short weekday breaks. We want a comfortable tent with plenty of headroom in the living area and generous space in the sleeping area so probably a four/five man tent.

I have a vision of pitching the tent roughly NS, opening the east side door to get the morning sun for breakfast, opening the west side door for an evening drink in the setting sun, and having a front poled opening for the views.

I have asked on this forum whether this is sensible but most people say multiple doors are useful but not that important.  Now my hopefully final question - the vision works best with a tent whose living area opens out fully like a verandah - like this; whilst many people have recommended tents whose doors have a upturned groundsheet threshold like this - I'm sure I would always be tripping over it and it takes away the flexibility of being able to position table and chairs in the opening.  But this doesn't seem to worry people - so am I missing something?

Maybe what I am missing is that many people book their 2 week summer camping holiday far ahead and thus have to be prepared for any weather.  So a SIG living area groundsheet and few doors would allow the tent to be fully sealed up during the bad weather?

Sorry this post is so long, I would welcome your views, thanks Davie

Hi Davie,

I think you will find that everyone has different ideas on the best design of tent, I think the tents with the upturned groundsheet are a brill idea for times when the weather is bad! but agree with you about the tripping up bit!  Perhaps the best thing to do is to take a trip to your local camping shop and inspect the tents that they have erected, this should give you a much better idea of which set up would be best for you both.

Good luck, I'm sure you will find the perfect tent for you and you will have many happy holidays in it

Ruth

Might I suggest a four berth frame tent, like the Cabanon Andorra, then you would have the good size bedroom you seek (210 x 240cm, with the dividing curtain rolled up), a good size living area with views to front and side, rear kitchen area with ventilated window and rear door, and the facility to roll up all the front and / or unzip the other side panel for another exit, or else zip in an optional tall annexe to use for storage or for a loo/bucket/porta potti? Add a front sun canopy and you have the ideal tent for two, surely?

There are lots of good used Andorras on the market, too.

PS

A frame tent will stand up to the weather better than any other family tent, too!

The Cabanon range, especially, has tough mud walls, which can be wiped down, and strong mud flaps, which fold inside the tent and then your groundsheet gots over the top, to make it virtually draftproof. Or, when camping in warmer climes, you can not use the groundsheet and so get a bit more ventilation.

Frame tents are warmer in cold weather and cooler when it's hot (they are breathable, and have a roof liner). They take no longer to pitch than a comparable-sized synthetic tent, and it is probably easier. If well cared for, a good canvas frame tent can last twenty years, so is a bit of an investment. Resale values are good, too.

The downside (for some folks) is that, if you pack up wet, you have to re-pitch to let the canvas dry out fully. If you have room in your gardent to do that, and room in your car to transport (or if you have a trailer or roof box) then they do offer a very comfortable camping experience.

Best of luck, whatever you decide!

I think you are right, we have to book our holidays ahead of time, so that OH can get time off work if necessary and also because we need to book a site we like during the school holidays and it's fairly essential to do this in plenty of time.

Other reasons I have for the SIG are a quite serious phobia of spiders and a general dislike of other creepy crawlies in my gear, we have a dog so our living area has to be escape proof at night and lastly because we have children the 'lip' of the SIG creates 'zones' even if the doors are open during the day so the tent isn't somewhere to run through with muddy wet gear on (or just run through - thought taken and shoes off).

It is more than likely that non of these things applies to you, and I can absolutely see the benefit of having your table and chairs half in and half out - we ended up getting a seperate day room for occasions like that.  Get what will work best for you and not what works for others - I think other peoples advice on brands, poles, pegs, headroom in tents, ease of pitching.............is invaluable up here, but design of tent and layout, canvas or synthetic, SIG or non-sig is all totally personal.

Your choice of tent is up to you, but what I would say is do get one you can stand up in, don't think my OH would still be camping if he had to crawl about on all fours

We have a Cabanon Champagne, its listed as a four berth but is really a comfortable 2 berth. They pop up on ebay every so often and I think you can still buy them new in some shops. Think Liddenham might be able to confirm where you and get a good price on Cabanons, not too sure but I think its Forests or world of camping?

Let us know what you decide on