Message Forums

Hi,

I am after some advice please, we are looking to buy a 5/6 berth tent (preferably with dividing curtain in the bedrooms as we have two toddlers) but confused over the material choices! 

We are considering a cabanon biscaya, an outwell montana 6, outwell bear lake but really want to know what fabric people prefer and if anybody had any other recommendations.

Thanks!

Hi Iscar,

I have been pondering over new tents recently, too, and have been reliably informed (by people on here, who have them) that the Cabanon (breathable) polyester fabric on their Biscaya / Cancun and Stratos will be easier to care for then traditional cotton canvas (such as Cabanon has been making for donkeys years) as it should not be subject to shrinkage if packing up wet, nor will it have to be pitched again when you get home in order to dry it out. That is one big plus, since we have always had to pitch tents / trailer tent and even the folding camper and awning (we've tried them all!) when we got home, to ensure the canvas is absolutely dry.

The Outwell Montana 6 has much more lightweight polyester fabric (not breathable, hence will get more condensation, but is lighter to handle and theoretically quicker to dry out)

The bear Lake is, I believe, a cross between the two (polycotton) I think, called 'Outtex® Airtech'. I have no first hand experience of this, but am sure someone will soon be along to give some advice on it.

My guess is that the Cabanon will last the longest (and probably has the highest price tag), but all are excellent tents, in my humble opinion. Best to go and have a look and get a feel for them, so you can see which one you like best. They all do feel quite different and the fabric and colourways have a lot to do with that (though all of these three are essentially shades of green).

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Both the Biscaya and the Bear Lake are breathable, far less condensation than the Polyester type such as the Montana 6 and many more. The Bear Lake will last a lot longer than any of the Polyester type but not as long as the Biscaya.  The Bear Lake seems a good all rounder with many features and quite a bit cheaper than the Biscaya.  It all comes down to price, size and quality.  Note, even these tent have to be dried out when you get home, but they will not shrink whilst doing so.

Our local retailer is in Chester and have both on display, we have just bought a smaller outwell and noticed these whilst we were there.  Excellent knowledge of product and very helpfull staff.

Happy Camping

Quote: Originally posted by alowey on 23/5/2006

---

Our local retailer is in Chester

---

Oh my gawd, it's not Casey's is it? Best read this thread:

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/chatter/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=3&TopicID=68379&PagePosition=1

Hi,

Thanks to both of you for your excellent advice.

It seems crazy us looking at such different tents but we had full intentions of buying an Outwell Montana 6 until we went to Camping On Tyne and they had both the Bear Lake and Cabanon Biscaya on display. The Biscaya just oozed quality and seemed like even the strongest gale wouldn't shift it, amazing for a tent with virtually no guy ropes! The Bear Lake also looked great, the only thing against that was that it has seperate bedrooms and we want one room with a dividing curtain due to having littl'uns!

Of course the difference in price is making me wince but I'm trying to justify it by thinking how much we would save by camping as opposed renting cottages / staying in hotels for the next 5 - 10 years!

Sorry to hear about your shocking experience at Casey's Liddenham. We had the opposite of this at Camping On Tyne (http://www.camping-on-tyne.co.uk/index.php) I couldn't recommend them highly enough. We will definitely be buying our new tent there (despite the fact we haven't decided what it is going to be yet) as they were way more helpful than anywhere else we have looked.

Sean.

Quote: Originally posted by langleys on 23/5/2006

---

The Bear Lake is a truly excellent tent.  But it does not have a dividing curtain, it is 2 seperate pods.

---

Hi Steve,

I think we would have gone for this one if it were not for that, I'm suprised the inners are not interchangeable as the one from the Montana would be perfect!

The only other similar tent I can find is the Relum Bardani Villanova which has a single room inner with curtain, but their customer service (while we're on the theme) doesn't seem to be up to scratch according to posts I've read here and they seem to be having problems with these tents.

Hi Sean,

We went to look at a tent display yesterday, in some of the worst weather we've seen in ages and it's true to say that the Biscaya was warm, snug and simply did not move.

Probably best to go look at tents in such awful conditions, since then you get a better idea of what it will feel like if you are holed up in our Great British weather!

On the other matter, my wife actually spoke to Craig, at Camping on Tyne, today before her 'encounter' with Casey's; he was helpful AND would price-match the best price we have found to date on the 440 (and for immediate, next-day delivery!), only we have decided we really want the 500. Please convey that my wife would like to express her thanks for his help and advice if you should come across him in your impending purchase, and is sorry we can't do business this time around (if only they had stocks of 500!).

Quote: Originally posted by Iscar on 23/5/2006

---

...The only other similar tent I can find is the Relum Bardani Villanova which has a single room inner with curtain...

---

Hi Liddenham,

I hope you don't mind me asking but what exactly is the best price you've found for the Biscaya 440? Really it's the 370 that interests us most but, from what I have gathered from this forum, buying the largest tent possible is the best plan and if the 440 wasn't a huge premium over the 370 then it might persuade us to go for the larger option.

Quote: Originally posted by Andy Pandy 666 on 23/5/2006

---

   I saw this recently at a tent display, it is an absolutely brilliant tent in every way... The workmanship and material was top class, from the groundsheet up... What is more (and it seems to matter nowadays!), it looks absolutely stunning, particularly when seen against all the other tents...
   At the moment, it's in 'pole position' when I'm in the market for a new tent, next Autumn...

---

Hi Andy Pandy 666,

I'd really like to see the Relum in the flesh but not many places seem to stock them and there doesn't seem that much info about them on the web either. What I could find was an almost identical tent called the Bardani Villanova 400 which seems widely available in Holland for £615 or so, seems like a bargain if it's the same tent.

Hi Iscar,

I found it at £899 on Camping on Tyne's own website actually, which was also cheapest price I found elsewhere. I was told, however, that the website is being developed and those prices are for 2005 models, but their 2006 model (£999.99) could be supplied at £919.99 With the optional sun canopy and delivery, it came out at £1010.00 (suspect you could get him down to a grand, total). This compares well with the best prices I found on the 370 (cheapest I found was £849, so only £70 in it, which I guess isn't much over a lot of years use).

I have just remembered you previously posted about the lightweight Biscaya, have you managed to see one yet? Do you now prefer the finish on the (polyester) canvas one?

Hi Liddenham,

At that price I'm half tempted to go for the Biscaya 440, still a huge amount of money for a tent though!

I haven't been able to find a Biscaya Lightweight to view but I did speak to one of Cabanon's dealers who described the material as a cross between the normal polyester of an average dome tent and the much thicker material of the standard Biscaya and expected it to last around 5 years in comparison to the standard Biscaya which they reckoned would last 10 years or so. I kind of decided that if I was to go for one of the more expensive tents then it would be daft not to spend that little bit extra on one that would probably last twice as long.

Incidentally, have you seen the lightweight version? If so what is your take on it?