Message Forums

We have the Wolf & find it great for our needs.  As a family of 4 we wanted 3 beds to give us the extra storage space.  the size hasn't caused us any problems so far (1 C&CC site did say it MIGHT but I understand others on here have experiences with this particular site being v strict on the 5m width rule so the BL with side extension wouldn't fit there either). It certainly stands up to the elements really well & has seen high winds, heavy rain & snow so far.  It is heavy to take down in the rain but didn't find it too heavy to handle.  Have dried it out from damp inside & outside laid in the drive from dripping wet in just a few hrs.

They are both great tents & it depends really on your needs which would suit you best.  As I say, the wolf won for us on the extra bed & the more enclosed canopy.  You won't go wrong with either.

I understand your point 2mnn about the sizing, but with the bear lake you don't have to use the extension. If we have another rainy season you won't have a problem pitching either but if we don't, you will be limited. I have also seen several sites that will charge you by the number of berths you have. It's not worth it to limit your selection of tents.

Most of the Outwell tents are huge but the bear lake is very versatile and the size is not too big and not too small, therefore, you will be able to go to any site you want.

For my family of 4, the wolf lake 7 was just way too big. I think it is up to each family and what works for them and I'm glad this tent works for your family. My goal is to just make sure that they know there can be size issues when pitching and want them to be fully aware of this.

What's great about the outwell range is that the sleeping space is quite generous. Our Sumatra is a 6 berth and is 300 wide compared to our bl6 that is 420 wide. Big difference in sleeping space.

That being said, the wl7 looks fabulous and I hope to see one in the flesh soon.

Well I think we will be off to view tents again this weekend. Still can't decide. original question, although I think we are agreed that we want to get one of the two, WL 7 or BL 6. I had kind of decided upon the BL6, but then there is also this factor, we do want to have storage space for bags and stuff out of the main living area. We are very awkward customers!

Does any one know if there is flexibility with the size of the bedrooms e.g. you could in theory have a 2 and 4 or a 3 and a 3? I think we at least need to have a real life view of the size of the inner pods to see if there will be space to spare for bags etc in the inners.

Also what are peoples views on the full length canopy on the WL 7 or the top canopy (no sides) of the BL6?

Daisy,

As you said this is personal choice as both tents are very good. I have the BL6 and we store all bags etc under 2x 140cm tables which run the length of the living area. We also wanted a seperate eating / cooking area and the BL6 side extention fits under the Outwell day room creating a perfect seperate area all fully rain proof for eating / cooking. This you cannot do with the WL7.

As regards to the canopies don't get too carried away as both are pretty useless when it rains, as rain rarely falls vertically. We found that it's good enough for 1/2 people to sit right under and i mean right under, but you would not be able to dine underneath them and stay dry, hence the day room option.

I would never buy a tent to have room for storage. You want the tent to fit just your family. You will have plenty in the bl6. The rooms are long so you can store each person's bag at that person's head, they won't even touch it. That just leads to activity stuff and food. As mentioned above, we have 2 containers and store them under our table that we use to prepare food. Our kitchen table stores all our cooking items and water supply.

We only plan on using the 4 bedroom pod and then use the 2 bedroom one for our potty. We then have use of our extension to sit under if it is raining. The bedroom configuration can't be changed.

We had a huge Nebraska XXL, unreal size. We used one pod for storage, porch for cooking gear, took one pod out, and then we all slept in the back pod. Complete waste of space.

You really need to see both these tents in the flesh, this is obviously a very important decision and you don't want to buy the wrong tent.

what did you buy in the end? Sorry to put a message on here so many months after you put the notice up, but i am intrigued to know which one won the battle??!!??

I am a proud owner of the wolf lake 7 and am looking forwad to our first summer holiday in it, in just a matter of weeks now. We bought it around Sepember/October last year, and boy am i glad i did! The cost of tents this year sure has risen slighlty in the last few months!

What ever you chose in the end, i hope you have lots of fun breaks away in it!!