Message Forums

Hi everyone we are new to these boards and fairly new to camping , (first year last year and loved it). At the mo we have a outwell Hartford s which is great for short weekends 2adults and 2 children 9+5. We are now looking for a bigger one and have narrowed it down to the Nebraska xl or the sun valley 8, would really appreciate any opinions or views on either as we know the sun valley was new last year and the nebraska is the new one this year.

Thanks. 

Both are excellent tents, however if I was forced to choose it would have the be the Nebraska for the following reasons:

Construction:  The Nebraska uses a construction of straight legged sides and a pre-bent top, where as the Sun Valley uses a mare traditional tunnel style construction with both the side and top poles bent.  For me this makes the Nebraska more stable in windy conditions.

Useable Space:  Due to the layout of the two tents you actually end up with more useable space in the Nebraska due to the lovely big porch area to the front which can be used for cooking/storage/eating etc.

Bedroom Layout: The Nebraska has bedrooms at opposite ends of the tent which means that these do not infringe on the tent entrances and (assuming it's the Nebraska XL) the bedroom pods are 2 x 4 (2+2) so there should be no argueing about bedroom sizes.  The Sunvalley 8 has, to my mind, a slightly odd bedroom configuration with a 6 (3 +3) to the back of the tent and a small 2 berth pod which sits to the right hand side of the tent which seems to infringe quite significantly on the useable space within the tent.

On the plus side they are both excellent tents which pitch quite quckly and have SIGs to the main living areas.  They are both constructed using Outtex 5000 fabric which is great in rainy weather whilst still remaining relatively light to transport.

We have the Sun Valley 8 and love it.  It is a very easy tent to put up.  The two of us can manage it in about 20 minutes.  It is also a very flexible tent.  You can either put in or leave out the small bedroom pod.  We leave it out which gives us a very large living area with a sewn in ground sheet.  There is also a huge porch on the front of the tent with a separate ground sheet.  We feel this provides the best of both worlds with two thirds of the tent with a SIG and the other third without.

Last year we camped in the most horrendous wind and rain and loads of tents on site were blowing down but the Sun Valley stood up to it brilliantly.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

My two penneth,

I agree that the Nabraska is BIG and sturdy. BUT:

I think the SV8 actually makes more efficient use of it's alotted space. The Nabraska type (star configuration) tents take up more space on a pitch. You could remove the little bedroom and have acres of living space. I also like the "integrated screenhouse" which is ideal for dining and keeping muddy boots. It sems more versatile than the porch on the Nabraska. The SV8 is 20kg lighter and ~£130 cheaper!

Still, they are both very good tents and the Nabraska might suit your needs better. Whatever you get I hope you enjoy it.

If you could plan on mainly leaving the third bedroom in the Sun Valley 8 out, then I would go for the SV8 over the Nebraska XL.

The SV8 is a big tent, weighing in at around 34 kilos and pack size to match, but the Nebraska is nearly double that at over 60 kilos  and presumeably Eddie Stobart's help needed to transport it around the country .  The neater shape of the SV8 would give you more useable space on your pitch around it and the additional 'stability pole'  along its length should deal with any worries about strong winds.

OTH, the layout of the SV8 does start to look like a bit of a hodge-podge when the third bedroom is left in place. MT

Sorry to mislead you on the price difference.

I was looking at the Nebraska XXL not the XL . Also, I had spotted the SV8 online for £365. We shot over to the "real" shop to buy one and they had already put it up to £399 that morning. However, they honoured the Internet price for me which was great of them! So I am now the proud owner of a Sun Valley 8. I was going to flag this bargain up on the forum but it's too late now. I looked online when we got home and they'd changed that to £399 too. I suspect that will be about as good a price as you can get now until the end of the season when you can get some bargains. I believe most places had sold out of the SV8 by the end of last season though. They seem quite popular. Before I spotted the £365 SV8 I had seen it elsewhere for £399 and asked PJ Camping (where it was £419) if they would price-match it but they refused! I only asked because they had signs up saying they would always try and price-match! (Won't be going back there in a hurry). So they don't seem to be having any trouble selling them.

If you can get the Nebraska XL for £399 I think that might be a better saving than the SV8 for £399 but I'm not sure of their full RRP's.

Anyway, good luck with the tent hunting and sorry again for the confusion.

We bought the Sun Valley 8 last season.  The majority of the time theres just my husband, daughter 14 , son 11 and myself., unless one of them takes a friend.  We havent used the small sleeping pod yet and always leave it in the bag.  The living area is huge without this 3rd bedroom.

Other advantages of the SV8 - it has 3 doors altogether which means lots of air when its hot outside, SIG which is a huge bonus for me, extra large porch area where we do our cooking if the weather is bad and also leave dirty shoes etc...., lots of lovely big windows so if it is a wet day you can still have light coming into the tent.

Ive noticed a few changes to this years model.  Our bedrooms are completely separate from each other but this years model the 2 large bedrooms have a joining zip so you can have it as one large bedroom.  Ideal if you have younger children who dont want to sleep alone.  It also has the storage pockets and the zipper for the hook up cable to go through.

I honestly love this tent for its light airy spacious feel and it doesnt take forever to erect either which is another advantage.  Cant wait to use ours for the first time this year.