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Topic: First Tent - Berghaus Air 600 or 800

ChorleywoodCamper

via mobile 13/4/2024 at 9:06am
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Hi Camping Collective,

I'm about to buy my first family tent. My wife and I have two boys 6 and 10. I like the layout of the Berghaus Air 600/800 Nightfall tents. The quality looks good too. I'm not sure which size to go for. If I go for the 600, will I regret not going for the 800 as my boys get bigger? If I go for the 800, will I regret getting a larger/ bulkier tent?

I'd really value people's perspectives!

Thanks

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lidds0

via mobile 14/4/2024 at 9:35am
Location: Yorkshire
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How are you planning to camp: will you mostly do lots of short stays, or visit several sites during your trip (in which case, a tent that's quicker and easier to pitch and strike will serve you best) or will you go a couple of times a year and stay on one campsite (where the larger tent will benefit you more)?

lidds0

via mobile 14/4/2024 at 9:46am
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I've just taken a look at the 2 tents on your shortlist and now realise the 600 Nightfall weighs 26.5kg, with a footprint of 730cm x 250cm, and the 800 weighs 32.5kg, with a footprint of 750cm x 300cm. They are both large family tents and both have 5 air tubes, so your pitching time / pack volume savings on the 600 are negligible. Better then to go for the 800 as you have 2 growing boys; you'll all appreciate the additional bedroom width (especially when they start asking for a friend to tag along!). More room to stow bags and toys, too, without cluttering up the middle living area.

Post last edited on 14/04/2024 09:57:43

SGThomas

14/4/2024 at 10:20am
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Irrespective of your choice, you will soon find that it is not quite big enough. ....Go big young man

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ChorleywoodCamper

via mobile 14/4/2024 at 3:58pm
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Thanks for the advice & insights. It does feel like the 800 is the way to go. Particularly since the stowed size is only marginally larger and my boys are both massive for their age.

Monty15

14/4/2024 at 6:31pm
Location: London
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Basic rule of tent buying (found the hard way by many a novice camper!), reduce the stated berth capacity by 1 for EACH bedroom, unless you're are prepared to be permanently intimate with your sharers and don't want any processions in with you!

Some manufacturers are VERY optimistic on berths, others more honest (Outwell used to state something along the lines of 'x berth best suited to x-1 occupants'!

If you can transport the bulk, lift/carry the weight, then the bigger the better as far as comfort is concerned, nothing more miserable than a crowd being cooped up in too small a space when sheltering from foul weather! Permanently falling over each other or everyone having to move because one needs to can fray tempers quite quickly if you're spending hours in the space!

I've got a 5 berth/2 bedroom tent with porch for just me and the dog, with a table and chair and dog bed in the living area we're not exactly rattling around in the vast empty space, it's just very comfy.

Frazzle-

26/4/2024 at 12:37pm
Location: Hampshire
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I'm going to put a spanner in the works and ask if you have tried camping before buying your own new tent?

If you have tried it you know how much space you need, where you need more room, how the dimensions work for you on the average size of pitch, where you will eat - inside or outside the tent- under an awning or canopy.... You will also find what furniture you will use in the tent - we are all different and what works for one person, couple or family may not work for another one.

I would advise buying a suitable tent for yourselves second hand to see if it suits your family and to save wasting money. It would be a waste if you find that this airbeam is not as great as you think it is and you need separate bedrooms or a lighter and smaller tent. We have our tent in a separate trailer as ours is big (not as big as you are planning) and we have our car full of kit and people too.

Having said that we bought our first family tent second hand and never used it, but sold it on. We then went out and bought a new Vango which we loved and suited us and the English weather.

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taafe75

26/4/2024 at 1:55pm
Location: Manchester
Outfit: Vango Rivendale 800XL

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I got an 800 and there is only me and my wife but if friends ever come then there is plenty of space. Also on those nights it's raining the tent can accommodate everyone in it out of the rain

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