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Hi All,

Me and the Mrs fancy buying a tent and getting away for the odd weekends and mid week breaks.

Having gone to 'Go Outdoors' in coventry and seen some of the tents on offer we are stuck between 2, the Diablo 400 and the Hartford L. There will only be 2 of us but we want something a bit spacious and with 2 rooms just incase the kids come with us.

Apart from the obvious, which one would people advise us to get and why?

We liked the Vanga because it has a good porch, but we like the Hartford because it is bright. What i did look at while i was there at the shop was the corner for the returned tents, and there was a lot of the Diablo 600's there because of leaks, i asked the assistant why so many were there and he said it was because they sell so many of them.

They are doing the Harford L for £150 and the Diablo 400 for £199, but it is not really the cost that bothers me, it is quality and how easy they are to put up.We did look at the Diablo 600 but it will be too big for us that's why we have gone for the smaller option. If we bought the Hartford L with the porch that would be £200, but the porch on the Hartford does not zip up at the front and the mrs thinks someone will pinch our new cooker lol.

Also at Go Outdoors they have cooler boxes for £49.00 that plug into the car lighter and also to the electric, are these boxes any good-do they act as a fridge?

If we took our milk and bacon etc in this and plugged it in to an EHU unit would it stay cool and fresh or do we still need to use cooler blocks.

Sorry to ask daft questions but we have not got a clue on camping so i have been trawling through this website for the past month trying to pick up tips.

We have drove to local campsites (Kingsbury Water Park) to see tents already up and now all we want to do is buy everything and get going for a weekend.

We have listed what we need but is there anything big that we have missed;

Tent, Sleeping Bags-Havent got a clue what ones to get-Advice please

Airbed-2 comfy chair and table

cooker table gas-EHU(just in case) light, again not a clue. water carrier

then the usaual cooking cleaning and eating bits, we have about £1000 to spend as once weve spent that amount the equipment will last for many holidays.

Thanks for taking the time to read my dilemas-please take the time to reply as not only will you be helping me to start up camping but you may help to introduce more to camping.

Best Wishes

Sillybait

Go for a Cabanon Frame tent, .there are a lot on ebay going cheap due to end of season. A lot of people go for nylon tents but after 3/4 years they will be passed there best.

I know a lot of campers will dispute this, but look at display tents after 10-12 weeks in the sun. I visited a large dealer last sunday,touched the flysheet and my finger went straight through,the nylon/polyester had degrade over the summer.

Also go to a site at weekend when breezey and observe the large kites.

This my opinion and i am not knocking those who prefer domes,just giving you my experience of 40 years camping.

If you dont want to make a expensive mistake,Halfords do a small 4 berth Gelert tent 4 sleeping bags,2 double air beds plus 2 battery lights in a canvas case for £99.Argos have the same deal with 2 sleeping bags for £100.

The tent is ok for a few days and big enough for 2 adults for longer.Use your quilt and sheet instead of sleeping bags, a lot of campers do.

Trawl the web for coolers you can pick them up cheaper incl postage. Try boot sales for gas bottles and cookers,mine used once cost £12. Over the summer i have seen numerous cookers for under £15.

As it is end of season you should pick up some bargins,visit towsure in wallsall. Go Outdoors is good to veiw but most of what they sell can be got cheaper on the web.keep looking at the equipment forum, the regulars tenters tell where the good deals are.

I was torn between exactly the same two tents.

In the end we went for the Outwell, reasons being that the bloke in the shop recomended it, and the Mrs prefered green over blue.

I wasn't sure at the time but having now used the tent and read all the opinions on here I feel confident we made the right choice.

We love our Hartford L, especially now it has a fab canopy to match.  But, we are thinking about a smaller tent for weekends, something along the lines of the Vango Venture 500 which is around £70-£80.  We are two adults and two kids.  Maybe as it is just the two of you and just for weekends then you should start small to test the water and then if you want the kids to come and if you want to go for longer then splash out on something even bigger.  If we were going to buy big again, I would consider the Outwell Montana 6 next time around.

Cheers X X X