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Just come across Winfields selling off these two:

Gelert Cadiz 4+2 - £70 (two bedrooms)
http://www.winfieldsmegastore.com/product.php?productid=16236&cat=250&page=1

Wynnster Shrike 6 - £70
http://www.winfieldsmegastore.com/product.php?productid=16446&cat=250&page=1

I think you would quickly regret not getting a tent you can stand up in, once it starts to rain.

Keep looking on Ebay and you should pick up a suitable and reliable make tent S/H for around £40-50.

Your tent is the most important bit of kit that you`ll buy, so don`t skimp. The second most important is your the sleeping bags. Everything else you can economise on by looking out for supermarket specials, borrowing out the house and looking round charity shops and car boots for stuff like pots and pans.

Cheap tat out of Ebay is a waste of money...you`ll get two trips out of it and then the tent will go in the bin. You`ll need a 4-6 berth with three of you and three dogs. The berth size most manufacturers quote is based on emaciated dwarves going camping.

The Vango Venture 600 at £74.99 is a real bargain, and would possibly be the only tent you`d need for the next few years. Good quality, easy to put up and big enough. If you can get the money together, buy it before it goes. Or save for your Freelander.

Have you thought about looking on your local Freecycle group for things like a cooker/gas bottle/camping mats etc? We had a local family with five young kids looking for camping equipment and I think within two weeks they had everything they needed except for a tent. I took them round a couple of junior Vango sleeping bags...really nice family, delighted with everything they`d been given. It wasn`t rubbish either (they showed me)...it was good quality kit. Worth a thought.

Quote: Originally posted by Big Bunny on 04/10/2006

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Just come across Winfields selling off these two:

Gelert Cadiz 4+2 - £70 (two bedrooms)
http://www.winfieldsmegastore.com/product.php?productid=16236&cat=250&page=1

Wynnster Shrike 6 - £70
http://www.winfieldsmegastore.com/product.php?productid=16446&cat=250&page=1

I think you would quickly regret not getting a tent you can stand up in, once it starts to rain.

Keep looking on Ebay and you should pick up a suitable and reliable make tent S/H for around £40-50.

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Quote: Originally posted by *sue* on 04/10/2006

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I have had a look at 2 vango tents, one is the Venture 600 dlx and the other is the Venture 500. Both seem same sizeish except the 600 has 2 bedrooms which would be great.And it's £10 cheaper too.

Thank you, this seems to be the best tent so far. And £75 is a very good price isn't it?

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It is a darn good reliable tent, especially at that price.

You may still want to consider the Gelert 4+2 Cadiz, at the same price, as it has bigger bedrooms that are seporated, which would give you a bit more space.

The slight downside with the Cadiz, however, is that it pitches inner-first, unlike the Vango, which can be a bit of a pain if you are pitching in the rain. Personally, with this size tent, I would not let it bother me, but it may be your preference.

The Vango Venture has perfectly good head height, unless you`re over six feet tall. I wouldn`t worry about this part.

I had a Gelert Cadiz 5+2 for a while...nice tent, big bedrooms, totally rubbish for living space. I changed it for a Vango Oregon 600, which I would recommend to you except the lowest price around is about £130.

The Venture 600 is a lot of tent for £75...the normal price is around £140 as the website says. One bedroom for the kids and dogs, the other bedroom for you and some of the kit.

 I would go for a single airbed for you rather than a double, btw, which would be a tight fit in one of these pods. (If you buy this tent of course!) You do want a bit of storage room. And for the kids, don`t bother with airbeds. The dogs will probably puncture them with their claws, plus you won`t fit two single airbeds into one of these pods anyway. Buy the cellular foam camping mats  and cut them so they floor the pod completely. Nice and warm, dog proof and they can all snuggle up together. These mats are fine for kids (not so great for creaky adults!) and they`re dirt cheap...three or four pounds at most in the local Poundstretcher and such.

Wynnster Merlin 3 Tent  at www.venturesport.co.uk at £19.99 you could buy 2 one for you one for the kids

Quote: Originally posted by Valk_scot on 04/10/2006

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The Vango Venture has perfectly good head height, unless you`re over six feet tall. I wouldn`t worry about this part.

I had a Gelert Cadiz 5+2 for a while...nice tent, big bedrooms, totally rubbish for living space. I changed it for a Vango Oregon 600, which I would recommend to you except the lowest price around is about £130.

The Venture 600 is a lot of tent for £75...the normal price is around £140 as the website says. One bedroom for the kids and dogs, the other bedroom for you and some of the kit.

 I would go for a single airbed for you rather than a double, btw, which would be a tight fit in one of these pods. (If you buy this tent of course!) You do want a bit of storage room. And for the kids, don`t bother with airbeds. The dogs will probably puncture them with their claws, plus you won`t fit two single airbeds into one of these pods anyway. Buy the cellular foam camping mats  and cut them so they floor the pod completely. Nice and warm, dog proof and they can all snuggle up together. These mats are fine for kids (not so great for creaky adults!) and they`re dirt cheap...three or four pounds at most in the local Poundstretcher and such.

 

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Quote: Originally posted by *sue* on 04/10/2006

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I have never seen these camping mats, I'll have to make a trip to the Poundstretcher and see if they have them. Can I get them online too?

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Yes, you can get them online but usually a couple of pounds more. I`m thinking that Pounstretcher etc might have stopped selling camping gear for the year, btw, but it wouldn`t hurt to look. Argos still have them in, at £4.99.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3405712/Trail/C%24cip%3D42222.Sports%2Band%2Bleisure%3EC%24cip%3D42223.Camping%2Band%2Bcaravaning%3EC%24cip%3D42224.Camp%2Bbeds%2C%2Bairbeds%2Band%2Bcamping%2Bmats.htm

(If the link doesn`t work do a search for product # 3405712 )

EDIT....just found these...good price!

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/redirect.asp?redir=http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/pp/Sleeping/Sleeping_Mats/Outwell_Classic_Roll_Mat.html

Quote: Originally posted by *sue* on 04/10/2006

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Are the mats really ok on their own without blow up beds? Do the stones etc bump through or are they comfy to sleep on?

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Mats are fine for kids...they`re light and they get a lot of padding from their sleeping bags as well. My kids have self inflating mats, visiting kids get cellular ones...they all sleep like logs even when they roll off and end up sleeping on the groundsheet instead. Cellular foam mats are considerably better insulators than airbeds as well.

 Heavier adults with creaky bones require something a bit more sophisticated like self inflating mats or airbeds. Having said that, it used to be the norm for "serious" campers that were hillwalking or cycling to use cellular foam roll mats to save weight. Then self inflating mats came along. But you can`t cut self inflating mats, they can puncture and they`re more expensive.

As to stones, you should always do a preliminary sweep of the ground where you`re going to set up your tent. Even if you aren`t sleeping on top of it, a stone can damage your groundsheet or the base of your sleeping pod.