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Topic: Help/Advice first Tent

adamf272

27/7/2020 at 9:18am
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Hi,
Please help - we have thought about it for a while and deciding to take the plunge and buy our first tent. Any advice or hints tips more than welcome. need 1 that is easy to put up (so an air tent but they are considerable more expensive than a pole tent) If anyone has any second hand ones that recommend that are cheapish in good condition please let me know also,
there will be 2 adults, a 3 year old and a dog.
Thanks in advance

Francais

27/7/2020 at 9:48am
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Hi adamf272, welcome to the forum, the only advice I can offer is have a think about the canvas type, ripstop polyester is what most tents come in and is only somthing I would choose for a backpacking tent.

Cabanon make an "All Season Polyester" which has the look and feel of "PolyCotton canvas" but is arguably stronger and longer lasting.

Then there is "PolyCotton" from memory Outwell use a heavier version than Vango, although I stand to be corrected on that, I think "PolyCotton" is a compromise to far, although better for the UK climate in some ways.

Lastly there is "Cotton canvas" which is imho the best type of canvas to go for.

Also I would say SiG or ZiG is a must, preferable ZiG.

As for air tents, then the only type I would entertain is the Karsten, which funnily enough is also cotton albiet with a SiG.

marg6

27/7/2020 at 10:14am
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buying secondhand? make sure you see it fully up! do your homework on the model beforehand- to many sellers will tell lies about its age/useage, often the tent is no longer in production

new? make sure you practise putting it up and down a few times in your garden, is your garden big enough? how are you going to dry it out when you need to pack up wet.

budget? cant make suggestions without knowing how much you have to spend

so theres 3 of you? you need a tent twice the number of you so your looking at a 6 berth tent,

dont skimp on the tent! this is the one thing that will make or ruin your holiday, everything else you can save on or even bring from home

DeborahTurner

via mobile 27/7/2020 at 10:37am
Location: London
Outfit: Vango Kalu Hypercamp Eldorado

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There are many good value new tents on the market, and many inexperienced buyers get burnt with a leaking tent etc.

I love canvas and polycotton tents but it takes everyone a while to learn what they most want from a tent.

Tunnel tents really are easy to put up.
https://www.millets.co.uk/15980551/vango-icarus-500-dlx-tent-footprint-15980551

https://www.obelink.co.uk/obelink-lugano-6-plus.html

Caligula

27/7/2020 at 11:14am
Location: Suffolk
Outfit: Very variable

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You will get as many opinions as there are replies, and mine may be no different, but on the reading all the above, Deborah Turners comment strikes me as very apposite, ie it takes a while to learn what you want from a tent....and therefore possibly one goes through several tents?
My personal prejudices would steer me away from inflatable tents
I too, again like Deborah Turner, generally favour cotton/canvas/polycotton tents, but it depends so much on what for, and how. And how much!

Accordingly I have both polyester and canvas variant tents......(I have too many tents!

)

ALWAYS...go for more berths than occupants...everyone will tell you that!

Hedgehugger

27/7/2020 at 11:53am
Location: Wirral
Outfit: Aztec Mardi Gras 3

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Hi and welcome - I'm a solo camper and use a 3 berth tunnel tent. It's very straightforward for me (age 68) to put up on my own, so if you bought a simple 4 or 5 berth tunnel you should be able to manage it fine. I'm inclined to say don't break the bank with your first tent - you might find that you don't actually like camping that much when you've tried it! On the other hand you don't want to buy rubbish, so don't buy a 2nd hand one unseen. Tip - a lowish windbreak masking the main entrance of whatever you buy may help your dog to settle and reduce the risk of roaming 3 yr olds!

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Always edited for sloppy typing - when I spot it!

DeborahTurner

via mobile 27/7/2020 at 1:31pm
Location: London
Outfit: Vango Kalu Hypercamp Eldorado

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Yes, sorry by getting burnt I meant with a second hand tent.

I would say:
A tent you can stand up in
A fully sewn in groundsheet
More stated berths than your family
Reliable brands are Vango, Outwell, Coleman, Kampa, Eurohike, Hi Gear, Decathlon.
Avoid anything bought in a supermarket, Argos or Halfords.
If possible visit a camping retailer where they have tents in display.
Whatever you get practice pitching before you go.

Stever750

05/8/2020 at 11:01pm
Location: West Wales
Outfit: Vango Coleman Sprayway Trek Scott

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This is useful advice:

https://10ts-tents.com/4-person-air-tents-review-mid-range-inflatable-tents-for-camping/#comment-84

FWIW I just bought the sprayway valley M from Winfields for a bargain sale price. Bought unseen, online what could go wrong!. Ive got 14 days DSR cooling off, so if it's crap it's going straight back and I'll fork out another £200 for a Kampa.....

lidds0

via mobile 10/8/2020 at 6:01am
Location: Yorkshire
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If you specify budget and how much room you have to transport it, that would be useful.

I agree that buying a used synthetic tent is a risky business, but buying a used canvas tent is a good way to start if you've got the carrying capacity (they're bulkier and heavier). How often and where they've been used (UK or abroad, in the heat) is more important than age. UV rays degrade canvas eventually.

Danjonbut

via mobile 10/8/2020 at 9:11am
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Hi all new to the site and not sure if i am writing this in the rite section. My question is, for a nite stay wild camping do youbthink £10 a nite per person plus £2.50 per child with no facilitoes other than porta loos and water is alot or about rite? Many thanx

DeborahTurner

via mobile 10/8/2020 at 9:56am
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Danjon, welcome.

Depends what you mean by wild camping.

I like sites with loads and loads of space, pitch where you like and with an ‘eco’ vibe. For the lack of facilities these sites are surprisingly expensive, often more than the prices you quoted. But what you get is space.

There are lots of sites that charge a lot less than you say, often attached to farms, or the more commercial sites where tents are no more than 6m apart.

Some sites charge by tent, some by person. It is hard to generalise about price.

But if you have 2 kids, £25 a night isn’t that unusual these days.

Usually best to start your own thread for future queries, have a look through the various forums. There is usually a thread about campsite prices in the UK Campsites section.

TraceyD

10/8/2020 at 6:58pm
Location: East Ull
Outfit: Kampa Kielder Air 5

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Go to a display if you can and have a look and walk around a few tents. Then if you find something you like have a look online for the best price. If there are three of you plus doggie then go for at least a 5 or 6 berth tent with a decent living area for the little one and dog. As said above everyone would recommend a different tent and air tents are good, we have one after having poles for many years. I would recommend what we have, the Kampa Kielder 5, available for just over £500.

Good luck!

-------------
May/June - Spring Valley
Aug/Sept - Leekworth

JenT

13/8/2020 at 3:42pm
Location: North Wales
Outfit: Eurohike air 600

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Hi!
We are a family of 4 (2a, 2ch) and bought the Eurohike air 600 last year as a first tent. Its easy to put up (no arguing between hubby and myself!!) and we have plenty of room in it. I think we paid around £350-£400 for it.

Happy Camping!!

Paul and Nikki

via mobile 17/8/2020 at 2:31pm
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Donâ€™t beput off by tents with poles, we had an Outwell Glendale that had poles s and moved to an Vango Edoras airbeam, there wasnâ€™t a great difference in the time it took to put them up or take them down, if space is a priority the airbeam was significantly bigger than the poled tent when in the bag

Caligula

18/8/2020 at 5:05pm
Location: Suffolk
Outfit: Very variable

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Wild camping per se.....is free.
But I know many sites where what you've quoted would be the norm. Bearing in mind you can take a 30' boat into a marina for that, I've always thought camp sites are pricey..........

Pagea

via mobile 25/8/2020 at 7:59pm
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Hello! I can remember the excitement and also trepidation of my first tent purchase 😁

I camp solo with my two pre-teen children and we are more than comfy in a 5 man Vango tunnel. It has withstood 30mph gusts and very heavy rain. Great value and going strong after six years.

My ‘must haves’ for family camping are:
Standing room in the majority of the tent.
A sewn in (or zip in) groundsheet (SIG or ZIG)
Windows (nice to be able to look out when it’s rainy 😂)
Blackout or semi-blackout bedrooms

Mine is a pole tent and I can put it up almost single handed with strategic use of a 10 year old for key moments.
Having helped pitch and strike an air tent, I would say there’s not much in it. However, in blustery conditions the air tents do seem to stay more stable.
Avoid anything too huge as it can feel a bit cavernous. As long as there’s room for you to sit comfortably inside and eat/play cards and store all your essentials then it should be fine. The car doubles as a storage room for chairs and table and bigger items.

Other:
Deffo get a footprint - a separate tarpaulin the exact size of your tent which keeps the base of your tent clean and dry.
Buy good pegs - the straight steel pin ones and a decent hard mallet have saved me having a breakdown pegging in hard ground on a hot day!
Don’t bother with a tent carpet especially with dog and small person. A cheap foam backed picnic blanket or two do the job and can be binned if they get unspeakable messes on 😧
Have a small LED lantern hanging just inside the door of the tent so you can light instantly when you come in from outside at night.

Finally: do you know anyone who might lend you a tent to try the experience? We did that our first year and although it was small and we were poorly prepared (i.e. cold!) we had a ball and bought our own larger tent soon after.

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