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Detachable ground sheet: we have the hypercamp/belltent 4m design. With the walls' mudguards tucked under the ground sheet I can't say that drafts have bothered us, even in fairly high wonds.

Porch design: can't tell, only have experience of one design..

Walls height. I can't imagine it'll make a significant difference on the headroom/usability of the space..

Hi,

Dont't how much help I can be but I went for Canvas & Cast after much deliberation.  The reasons were that the C&C canvas is heavier & I thought this would be better, i.e. a little more between you & the elements. However, for some people the extra weight might not be not worth it.  I have the 4m and it is heavy, however I am 5'6" & middle aged and I managed to put it up on my own first time with few problems, apart from pulling apart the canvas (first time it is a little sticky - others have commented on this, but afterwards is fine). Also I have this year's model with the little windows in the front doors, which I like. And there is the option of putting in a woodburner if you want to extend your camping season at a later stage -  with C&C there is no cutting, the flap (fogotten the tech name) is already there unlike with some of the other makes.  With C&C all the guys are rope with wooden sliders & the pegs are really heavy duty.  I have only camped in my belltent in the garden so far this year & put down the groundsheet that it comes with, plus I bought the luxury g/sheet from them (half price on ebay in winter) and this is lovely.  With the rubber flaps tucked in you feel very cosy & the whole thing feels very secure. Also, C&C do a little porch which you can keep some kit or muddy boots under shelter from the rain.

I cannot compare mine with other makes, as I have not seen any others up yet, hopefully will do so when I go away with the tent in few weeks time. 

Hopefully some of the other belltenters will come on later & give opinions that might help you make your decision.  It is a difficult decision to make sight unseen but I do love my C&C belltent as I think the quality is fab.  Mind you I am hoping to see some other makes up to do a comparison - particularly in connection with the weight of the canvas to see if it really makes such a difference when up.

IQuite a few people on here seem to have gone for the Belltent.co.uk & they all seem really pleased with their tents.    Not really helping am I?

Good Luck - I am sure whichever make you go for you will be pleased with it - it is a belltent after all and a thing of beauty no matter who makes it!

its a bit difficult to compare something when you only have experience of one!!

we have the 5m Canvas and Cast, with removable groundsheet. i didnt think that i would roll up the sides at all, but the first time i used it the weather was so hot that i did just that, and it was amazingly cool to lie in the tent with teh breeze blowing over you.

we have the aframe door (belltent.co.uk also do)

as kentishtricia has already stated, the windows on the doors are a nice touch.

the extra height, well again, having nothing to compare it to...???

the extra weight makes the c&c a big beasty to carry!!! i managed to pitch it on my own, with a bit of a struggle ...1 - lifting the weight of the thing on the centre pole, and 2- attatching the inner..at 5' nothing, anything more then kiddy height is an issue..but i managed it on my own.

not sure what else to say .. i think i am as happy with my c&c as others are with their Belltent.co.uk!!

apart from i got a woodburner made for mine, and will be using it out of season too!!

moppet, on your bedroom inner, are there 'tabs' to tie up the dividing 'wall'. ours seems to have them missing, but was wondering if they are supposed to be there, but we cant hold up the division, and we dont really want it tbh.

also, did you find it really difficult to raise the pole!! it felt like it was 'sucking down' on itself (creating a vacuumn ??)

No problems at all with the belltent.co.uk 5m zipped in groundsheet one

Entrance frame is well designed, no water or leakage anywhere, no problems with delivery

The ZIG is thick (not sure how thick the c&c groundsheet is) and has the advantage you can pack seperate from the canvas, roll the sides up and keep the nasty horrid bugs out and the heat in. It's a heavy duty zip and no problem (similar quality to the Bear Lake ZIG)

Decent sized usable space (can't see that the 10cm extra on the walls would make a huge difference)

The whole tent weighs in at 31.5kg which is heavy enough for me..

Windows don't really bother me, as the door is always open in the day time anyway.  It's also pretty easy to cut a small circular hole into the canvas for a flue fitting if needed 

Also would definitely go for the 5m as opposed to the 4m - it's worth the small amount extra and is the same amount of time to pitch etc

Would highly recommend, had no problems at all with it

Hi Tina,

Our 'dividing wall' was already attached,  I think it's help up  by toggle things but I'm not sure.  I'll look at the weekend.

I found putting the pole in the first time quite tough but the second time it was easier.  It's probably because the canvas is heavy, also make sure the guys are totally slack.

Just used my 4m bell tent with ZIG from belltent.co.uk for the first time over the weekend. It poured incessantly for two nights and a day but no leaks at all in the tent. I was glad of the zipped in groundsheet as the field outside was turning into a series of pools and I don't know how much water a separate groundsheet would have let in.

Another worry was that the pegs would come out of the ground if it got too muddy but they stayed firm. The A-frame seemed to give a bit of shelter from the rain as we could open the door and watch the weather without getting wet. There were also very strong winds which brought down a tree branch a few feet away, but the tent remained standing. So, pretty weatherproof, I'd say.

As far as space is concerned, it's like money - you can always use more. There were only my daughter and I in the tent yet we didn't have lots of space to move about in once all our stuff was set up. (Too much kit perhaps?)

I would suggest going for as large a tent as you can with as much usable height as possible. However, the height in the centre of the tent did make it feel spacious as did the light colour of the canvas.

Hi Jackie,

I spent ages deliberating and eventually went for a 4m Bell from Canvas & Cast.  SoulPad are great marketeers and very commercial, but their tents are thinner canvas.  "Camping with Soul" were just plain useless; took them days and days to even respond to various emails and voice messages.

I was tempted by the zip-off groundsheets on the "hybrids", but decided that a broken zip would mean having to sew it up, which kind of defeats the object.  Also, I wanted to be able to lift one part of the wall at a time (eg next to my head in the morning) and that would be tricky with a zip.  The Canvas & Cast system is just as secure (the tent sides tuck under the groundsheet and attach to the same pegs).

For balance...

Lots of Bell Tent owners would disagree with me.  The SoulPad hybrids are very good and have three zips around the groundsheet, so a single breakage doesn't mean a single point of failure.  It also gives you the ability to open up part of the wall without the wind whistling through.

For me though...a separate groundsheet is tops...and Canvas & Cast are a brilliant company; their service is superb.  Speak to Mark there - he's passionate about it and full of great advice.

Dave