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 Topic: My Kampa Polzeath has arrived!!!
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27/8/2010 at 12:27am
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Quote: Originally posted by jelboy53 on 26/8/2010
Boo Hoo Sniff Sniff<<<<<Thats jelboy crying all alone cos of a promise broken by a fellow member...I remember your promise to me to be 1st in the queue for a guided tour...Take a peek in here...and find you making secret liasions with Keely and Esther behind my back for them to get the tour 1st(and complimentaey drinks too??) Well Tracey..Jelboy will now sit on pitch 6 watching you pitch your tent...and though itching to help...will refrain from offering...Just to spite you...You can just go and get Keely and Esther to help....and be aware...once invited...you'll have them there for hours.................. Naw....of course I'll help....If Im not around...I'll be in one of the fishing spots behind my tent...Looking forward to meeting you...and seeing that lovely tent...Should I bring my gilded poles and the red ropes to keep the queues in order..I'll add a clip board to the list as well....Name not on the board...no entry!!......... Jelboy.
Nuts! I've been rumbled  Sorry Jelboy, but Keely has the list and everything, and Esther is in charge of the raffel tickets, but then again you're my neighbour and I don't want to upset you....you may like loud jazz!...what do I do!...what do I do!  I knew this tent would get me in trouble! 
Seriously though - It's great that this tent is creating so much interest. I'm not into brand names, and even though I do like Outwell, I think they have had the mid-price market all to themselves for too long, so it's always good when someone new comes along to stir things up (which I think Kampa are doing) as it keeps everyone on their toes!
Thanks for the offer of help, but I will be at Pillaton from the Wednesday, so I think I’ll be done and dusted by the time most people get there – just as well really as I may spend the weekend giving guided tours! It should be great fun though, so I’m looking forward to it. As for the complimentary drink – I did promise you one Jelboy, and the offer still stands. Anyway, as it not occurred to you that you will probably be sick of the sight of my brown and beige palace by the end of the weekend, it’s not as if you can escape it…I bet you will even see it’s reflection in the Cherry Pool whilst you fish, then again this may be to your advantage, as I’m sure all the fish will come up to the surface to have a look as well!
Looking forward to meeting you too Jelboy 
Tracey
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27/8/2010 at 1:08am
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Quote: Originally posted by Moaffy on 26/8/2010Hi Tracy,
We had one double and one single air bed in the double pod. The bedrooms don't have a lot of room and I don't think you'll fit four singles (unless they're very narrow).
You'll have to excuse my ignorance here but.... what are SIMs, ZIG and SIG? Not having been a member here for that long, I don't understand the abbreviations!!
We may buy the vestibule for next year but were happy with the space as it was. What you will find is that the vestibule will extend the front outwards by about 2.5ft. In effect it does give you an extra room which is quite spacious and will be ideal for use as a kitchen. The front door gives plenty of ventilation when necessary, but you will loose your porch.
Hi Moaffy - I nearly missed your reply as I was just going to turn in (this forum lark don't half eat into your time), but I had to have one more check (feel rude not replying)
Sorry for the acronyms Moaffy, but it seems to be the done thing on here - it does save on the typing though. Here they are in their entirety: ZIG = zipped in groundsheet; SIG = sewn in groundsheet; SIM = self inflating mat. There you are...obvious when you know isn't it!
I'm a bit concerned about your opinion on the size of the sleeping pods. I've just done a search of the forums for the measurements of the SIMs that I have (I couldn’t remember); they are 70cm wide, which I think is thinner than the average single airbed, so I may be OK! I did do a comparison between our current pod size and the Polzeath's, and I'm sure the latter came up slightly bigger, so I thought we would be OK but wanted to double check. I'm assuming that both sides of the double pod are the same, so if you can get a double in one, them I'm sure we will be fine (I'll make them fit one way or another!).
As for the vestibule - I am aware that I will lose my open porch, but I do have a cunning plan...I'm going to get some poles from a dealer (that sounds illegal!), and I am going to make a small canopy to fit on to the front (yes! I know what your thinking) I want to be able to open the vestibule door, (especially if I'm cooking) and obviously I'm going to get wet if it's raining, so a small canopy will do the job nicely! Just have to find the right colour canvas! Wait till you see the finished article...you'll want one...especially when you get your vestibule and lose your own porch!
Thanks again for your time - I'm off to bed now...goodnight!
Tracey
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27/8/2010 at 11:03pm
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Quote: Originally posted by Moaffy on 27/8/2010
Hi Tracy,
Right.... the storage/toilet pod is a SIG as is the whole tent.
We measured two single blow up beds against the two independent single pods and they wouldn't fit. The double bed does fit one side of the double pod, but we didn't check it on the other side. If your SIMs are 70cms, I'd say you shouldn't have a problem.
I was thinking about the vestibule today and one thing I did realise is that unlike the rest of the tent, you won't have a SIG or a ZIG. There's a separate groundsheet supplied for the porch, but you may have to get a larger one to cover the additional enclosed area from the porch to the vestibule. You'll see in my photo's that the ground sheet supplied only goes to the edge of the porch and is pegged down. You'll have another 75cms approx from the edge of the porch to the vestible. Also the edges of the porch are not pegged down, they're flaps. Nothing to stop unwanted fury visitors if food is left in that area!
I look forward to seeing your canopy in action. It's a shame that they haven't designed the vestibule in the same way as the side door. That way the door would open as a canopy or just plain rolled up, the choice would be yours. Maybe this is something they'll pick up for future production. The side door canopy is in my photo's.
Paul
Hi Moaffy…..I mean Paul!
I’m surprised to hear that your tent has a SIG and not a ZIG – Kampa must have only introduced the ZIG this year, I thought it had always been standard. I have just checked your pictures again, and I can now see that it does indeed have a SIG – never noticed before, but then I wasn’t looking for it!
As for the local critters getting at my food: My last tent had the same flaps but I never had a problem, but then again, I used to keep all the edibles zipped in the kitchen cupboard - I also made sure that I emptied the bin every night. I think I will probably add some eyelets to the flaps anyway so I can peg them down, if only to keep the draft out (same for the Vestibule) Anyway, nice to hear that the SIMs will fit…yay!
I know what you mean about loosing the canopy space, but the vestibule does have a door that zips all the way around, so if it’s fully open and tied back, it will have the same effect as the original canopy…only bigger (if you get what I mean). I think Kampa probably decided against making the vestibule door roll up due to it’s height and width – imagine if you had to roll the main door up?…I’m sure it would be a struggle, probably a two man job…and to me, the vestibule door looks the same sort of height/width as the main door. Pwatson is right about the vestibule coming with a groundsheet – I wondered what that spare piece was for??
Intresting you should mention the side door canopy, as this is one of the things that disappoints me (that and the day glow zips!)– I would have liked the side door to hava a built in canopy (like the windows), so that you could come in and out without the rain getting in the tent. This is mainly due to the fact that I will be using the front for the kitchen, and I don’t always want the children running in and out. I’ve also never liked having to pole and guy door flaps open…just seems like more guys to trip over to me...then again, if manufacturers gave us everything we wanted in the first place, they wouldn’t have any buyers left for all the ‘must have’ add-ons they keep wheeling out….mugs game this camping lark!
Tracey
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30/8/2010 at 10:10pm
Location: essex
Outfit: Kampa Polzeath 8
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Hi Tracy.
Just back from a weekend away in the Polzeath. I Pitched it the way you and Moaffy described and it worked a treat, much more controlled than the other ways I'd tried so thanks Moaffy for the tip 
This is my first tunnel so still fine tuning the pitching technique!
As far as my tents are concern you have the wrong end of the stick. Our camping friends own the Winnie peg and coleman event shelter!!
What's all this about your Polzeath having a zig? mine has a Sig and our friends have a zig in there winni. Well jealous 
Our camp
The Tent
The winni
The Event shelter
[Yes i know, Fires in tents!!! ]
indoors
Post last edited on 30/08/2010 22:38:06
Post last edited on 30/08/2010 22:40:17
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I've seen my dream tent and i've bought it!!!!
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02/9/2010 at 12:30am
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Sorry folks, but this is a long one!
I finally managed to get the tent out of the bag today….yay! It was a really hot day…perfect for a quick hose down and dry. Alas, my b****y insistence on having a woodland garden meant that I couldn’t risk putting the tent up without getting it covered in bird poo! Luckily we have a large park at the end of the garden, so out we went. Now this is a great space for pitching or drying. Unfortunately, with having such a long garden, the hose only reaches to the back gate – so no weathering today I’m afraid. I don’t know if you guys weathered your tents, but from seeing how the sun came through the roof fabric, I think the weave could do with a bit more shrinking – drying in today’s hot sun would have been ideal. How have you guys faired in the rain btw?
Anyway, easy bits first: The tent went up surprisingly quickly (just me and a friend) I forgot to time it, but it can’t have been more than 30 to 40 minutes. This was obviously without fully guying out, and not counting the fiddly window struts. The ZIG was in, so that made it easier (not sure how easy it would be without it) and I decided not to fit the pods as I’m sure they are fine. This trial run was really about familiarizing myself with the tent, and making sure everything was as it should be i.e. making sure they had sent me all the bits and bobs. It was a really hot day and it was great to be able to open all the windows out – it gave it a really nice atmosphere…very cool and bright….a really good design idea on Kampa’s part. Only problem with these great open plan windows was the fact that my two (and the dog) kept nipping in and out through them – very convenient, but could potentially damage the window PVC! I will have to find a way to stop that behaviour (must admit I did it as well though).
Now the not so easy bits: I did have a problem with the height (and I’m not short), so a stool was called for to fit the roof brace (which I expected), but I also had a problem opening the bloomin front door zip! As I said I’m not short…5’9” the last time I checked, but probably started to shrink in mi old age…but what ever I am now, I would expect to be able to fully open the door….or do they expect people to just use the end bit? It wouldn’t be a problem when it’s nice weather and you could leave it fully open all day, but if it’s cold and it’s the main access then it could be annoying - you can’t be coming in and out of the side door in the rain, as there is no protection from the rain getting in the tent (hence my previous gripe about not having a built in canopy on the door), so if you have to use the front (which I will when I’m cooking in there) it will have to be a stretch to undo, or a stoop through the corner of the door. You will have an idea how this works – so do tell….am I missing something here!
Now for the ‘couldn’t do without it’ vestibule: Well for starters I couldn’t get the damn thing out of it’s bag – they must have had a machine to wedge it in (I still haven’t got it back in) Getting it on the tent was a bit of a job too (no instructions with it, but there is on the website – pity I forgot the most important bit though) You have to get it central to start with, but there are no central seams or markings so you have to hazard a guess and hope it’s right (I will fold it in half and mark it next time) Definitely a two person job, as it’s a bit tricky getting it to stay on the frame whilst you fasten the Velcro. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember that the webbing strap that’s threaded through the whole top length vestibule, and secures to the canopy pole bottoms with a hook, was suppose the go behind the pole – I just put the elasticised bit over….result…when I tried to open the door zip it all came off (see picture in tent review) I know now, but it wasn’t obvious at the time (I did have a sun fried brain by then though). Pegging it out and getting it straight was no problem, but I’m not convinced by the placement of the guys. You have to release all the guys that are holding the canopy up and let it drop – these guys are no use once the vestibule is on - you now have to rely on support from the double guys that are at the front of the vestibule instead. I wasn’t convinced by this, and found that this made the front a bit unsteady (you could hear it creaking when you tried to open the door from inside) As I said, I didn’t have the tent fully guyed out, and I could have done more experimenting with the vestibule guys, but the fact that there are no guys giving support at the top centre meant that all the pressure was put on the two guys attached to the vestibule (which remember is only held on by the tension strap and Velcro. The pictures that I have added show the guys too far back, but I did move them further forward and it did help a little, but I think I will add another set of guys to the front to be safe. I may also try to use the canopy guys on the inside, just for added security. Don’t know what to make of the vestibule yet, but I’m sure I will get it sorted the next time I pitch, so don’t let this put you off. Apart from all the faffing with the vestibule, I love the tent and can’t wait to get camping in her for real (roll on the 15th!) I would take her out this weekend, but my daughter has a party that she can’t possible miss (she won’t accept the idea that it’s not important as her friend will have another one next year!) so I will have to wait for Pillaton. I would like to add that as my friend left promptly after helping me set up, that I had to take it down on my own…which I managed to do very easily and very quickly. I even got it in the bag first time, but I had to roll it back through the gate, and then left it at the bottom of the garden till hubby came home – I’m really loving the light poles….I managed to carry them with the straps over my shoulder….now there’s a first! I have got to do something about the tent though - I will be looking into getting a bag with wheels me thinks!
Well I’ve said enough….have a look at the pictures I’ve uploaded…..pictures that I don’t think do the tent justice (very sloppy pitch don’t ya think – not a good look!) I will add some more from my imminent trip when I have it looking top notch – perhaps I’ll delete the others then! That’s it folks! I’m off to bed….that pitch today has worn me out!
Tracey 
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) I am intending to give mine a trial run on Wednesday….if the weather stays nice….and if I’m not struck down with the virus my son has at the moment (I’m typing this at nearly 3am as he keeps waking up and I can’t get back to sleep!) I do have a sore throat, but hopefully it won’t get any worse. Anyway, I’m sure it will be ok, so I’ll let you know how I get on – and if I remember I will take some pics.
) I won't judge though - it did look cosy. I obviously read your thread the wrong way - must admit to a bit of tent envy going on there when I thought you had the event shelter and a Winnipeg weekender!
