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we are gettin a new tent this year, but are waiting to see the tent display at the ordenance survey outdoor show in march B4 we buy. a friend of ours is has suggested buying an argos tent , she has the nevada and says it is very good. i am dubious about buying a tent without seing it first and have heard horror stories about argos tents being a load of rubbish. does any one have any experience of tents from argos? 

have to say that out of all the tents we had, the argos tent was the only one we didn't have problems with and it was the cheapest.  At least if you do have a problem with your argos tent they at least will take it back with an argument, unlike some camping shops.  We may have just been unlucky with the branded tents we had or maybe quality checks weren't that brilliant last year

The downside to the argos tents is that their hydrostatic head isn't as high as some of the branded tents

My very first tent was a Pro-action tent from Argos and for the price it was brilliant.  I'd still use the tent if it wasn't for the fact that I've been spoilt by tents that are massive and have SIGs.

I've been camping for 6 years this year and have had a new tent every year.  I promised I wasn't having a new one this year but unfortunately we had a problem with the door on our Montana 6 (2005) so took it back to Mitchells yesterday.  They replaced it with the 2006 model and I just had to pay the difference in price, about £50, so despite all my best efforts I've still ended up with a new tent for this year.

Argos sell different brands of tent. The Pro-action ones are their own brand, exclusive to them. They also sell Litchfields, which up untill recently were a well respected brand name in their own right and who have now been bought by the same company who make Vangos. Litchfields are now pitched (!) at the leisure camper who wants value for money.

As to hydrostatic head, 2,000 is a good rating for a leisure tent. Only five-six years ago it used to be 1,500 was the norm and I don`t think the climate is any wetter now?

You can see Litchfields up at some camping shops...my local one Camping Ecosse stocked some last year. I do think not being able to see the Pro-Action ones up is a big disincentive to buy one though. Having said that I looked at one of their 12-berth domes on site last year and the owner was very pleased with it. Nothing fancy by way of design (they aren`t cutting edge, that`s why they`re cheap) but it was spacious and easy to put up, plus through the very wet week we had on that site it kept them dry.

Pixie, is it the Litchfield Nevada your friend is recommending? Nice tent for two people. Far too small for a family though.

We have used a pro-action tent 6-berth for four of us for three years.  We got a new one this year (Vango Diablo 900)  only because we wanted another bedroom, bigger dome, and a SIG. But looking at the 12-berth pro-action one in Argos this year, it is very similar to the Vango. No sewn-in gound sheet though, and it hasn't got a porch. But the only problem we had with it was the doors.  One of the zips bust two years ago, and I velcro'd it up.  Another door zip went last year - so it really is unusable this year in hot weather.  My daughter and her boyfriend are going to use it now, they know about the zips, so they can try camping.

We purchased a cheap tent from Argos (somethign like the sovereign) and it was c##p.  Huge gaps under living area wall, no flaps and poor stitching.  Went staright back.  Have been on site where Nevadas have pitched next to us and they look good.  Talking to family last summer who had a Pro-Action tents (3 bedroom) and they had nothing but praise for theirs

(Did once here that the cheaper tents were made by same company who do Sun-Camp but Argos had insisted on a cut-down spec.  They work on basis that a third would be returned so needed to make profit on other 2/3rds so cost to them had to be cheap.  Dont know how correct this is?)

Mike J

Hi, I've been looking at the Argos website, some of the tents seem to have a very similar design to Vangos.

The Lichfield Cheyenne 5 looks very much like the Vango Venture 500.  (Does anyone know if they are made by the same people and if either of these have complete SIGs?)

The Pro Action Arizona 8 Person Family Tent doesn't seem a million miles away from the design of the Vango Aspen either(but without any porch).

If they are made by Vango & a similar quality they could be a good buy.

Zipz

Hi Zipz, Lichfield are the more budget conscious range of the AMG Group, who also own Vango, hence the similarities. They have been around a long time & have many fans. See: http://www.amg-outdoor.co.uk/amg/mag.asp 

Pro Action so far as I'm aware is an Argos own brand & has nothing to do with AMG. Hope this helps.

We bought the Lichfield Madrid 5dlx and it has been brilliant. This is a tunnel tent with 3 bedrooms.

This year we have replaced it with the Outwell Montanna 6 because the wife wanted a built in ground sheet.

One thing I will say for Argos is the first tent we purchased we put up in the back garden and realised it was to small, so we took it back. No questions asked they refunded us.

Friends of ours have the pro-action Arizona and came away with us for the weekend last October. The weather was very windy and rainy overnight and they didn't have any problems. (a tiny trickle of water in the living area but that was due to them not pegging the corner taut so it doesn't count.)

I was really impressed and part of me wondered if we shouldn't have bought a cheaper tent instead of our outwell which at £206 was fairly expensive, but I love my colorado so that thought soon went. lol