i`m thinking about a new tent. i`ll tell you what its for etc and then let you good folks guide me!
its for me and my son (he`s 7) april - oct, so a 3/4 man. doesn`t need to be stand up height( i`m only 5 ft2 anyway). dome style is fine, easy to put up without help. now heres the thing, i`d like it to be sturdy enough to go off on my now and then oct - april!!! i have a 4 man regatta dome tent at the mo (look in the argos book).design wise we love it. but for winter use would i need something better? its hh is 2000mls. is that enough? not planning on camping in a gale or floods. been looking on various sites and a bit mesmerised to be honest!!!
i like the idea of a porch with sewn in groundsheet and the bathtub style ones , but any advice would be cool! i`d be car camping so weight isn`t too much of an issue.
I would recommend the sewn in groundsheet to be honest, it'll be warmer because it reduces the draughts and the bonus is it keeps bugs out too.
I go camping on my own as my two kids are teenagers and no longer up for camping (go figure!) and so I think that weight is important, in as much as you need to be able to lift it out of the boot and potentially carry it as not all campsites allow cars at the pitches. I have a Vango Icarus 5 berth and it's just under 15kg. I wouldn't go any heavier if I were you because that's still a fair weight to lug over a field or in to a festival.
This Vango Drummond is quite nice, it's low in stock though but worth a look. It's quite like my Icarus but a tad smaller. I like the big window on the front as well.
scrap that, the Drummond has a linked in groundsheet.
So a wee bit more research has shown that Millets have a one day 10% off ending midnight tonight, and they have the Vango Kalu which is a four person, simple to put up tent with huge windows and is a much nicer colour than the Drummond anyway (I personally don't like blue tents as they make everyone look slightly ill)
I solo camp & have a Vango Calisto 400 - loads of room, steel poles so no/very little worries about the wind and super easy to put up! Good HH too, I can't recommend it enough
What about the coleman instant dome? They do either a 3 or 5 man version. You can get a porch extension for them both too, although I believe the 5 is hard to get hold of.
I was on the verge of buying one before I spotted my sunncamp on special in a local camping shop.
look up tents on Youtube too, it gives a better idea than pics alone. Best of the lot is a tent display but at this time of year I think they're mostly coming down.