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DEAR DONNA 4725,

                              PEG YOUR MUDFLAPS OUTWARDS AS THIS TAKES RAINWATER AWAY FROM THE BOTTOM OF YOUR TENT AND KEEPS THE GROUNDSHEET DRY!

Quote: Originally posted by Bartons on 16/7/2006

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Very interesting as we have just brought a Sunncamp vario and it is as draughty and noisy, after a windy weekend in North Devon it has to go. So can anyone recommend an easy erect 4 to 5 person tent with a SIG for us newbies please. Thanks Paul

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Non SIG! But a separate bedroom pod is great.
I hate tents with a SIG, it gets so hot

Having camped in the full SIG Montana 6 last year, I would not want to go back to a completely flat traditional loose lay groundsheet in a nylon tent (canvas tents are a different situation). But, I have decided that full SIG would not be my first choice either!

Having tried the riser groundsheet on our Indiana 4 my ideal now would be a toggle in riser groundsheet for the entire footprint of the tent ie underneath both the bedroom pods and the living area. That way you could have maximum draft exclusion at the cooler ends of the season eg Easter or September, but be able to drop the groundsheet flat for maximum ventilation in the sort of hot weather we've just had in Cornwall!

Most riser groundsheets at the moment, including the Indiana,  only seem to cover the living area, and some do not even 'rise' in front of the doorways. The groundsheet on our Indiana 4 can be toggled up across the doorways but has zips either side of the two doors so that the groundsheet can easily be raised or lowered independently in those areas. MT

We have had a seperate groundsheet and just bought a tent with a sig,big benefit for us is the sig keeps the dog in!

Never really felt draughty with the seperate groundsheet and I do not seem to recall being invaded by creepy crawlies,maybe we were just lucky or undesirable to the local insect population?

I have thought of putting a cheapo groundsheet under the sig but I have heard it can trap water between the two and that causes a bigger problem than a mucky groundsheet?Any personal experiences spring to mind?

Quote: Originally posted by Merry Terrier on 05/8/2006

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I have decided that full SIG would not be my first choice either!

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Ha ha!

Last year I really appreciated the greater cold weather comfort of the full SIG in the Montana 6, and know that I will miss that if we do any breezey September camping later on this year.

But I  think the Indiana's toggle-in riser groundsheet and peggable mudwalls give a good compromise with allround draft reduction in the living area, but which you are able to vary to suit your needs. I was very glad to be able to drop the groundsheet flat in the extremely hot weather we had some days, even though the Indiana has very good highlevel and rear venting. 

If the Indi's  riser groundsheet was full footprint, then that would be brilliant. But its very very good as it is! I would be less enthusiastic about some of the risers on the market which cannot rise in front of the doorways and end before the bedrooms start, if you see what I mean!

So my order of preference would be full footprint riser groundsheet first, good Indiana-type partial riser next, flysheet first full sig next, flysheet first flat/looselay groundsheet last. MT

SIG no question.  We also have a footprint sheet underneath to keep it clean and it offers a little more protection from the risk of stones puncture.

have just brought a outwell sun valley 6 (just for the 2 of us) with SIG so I am please to read they are better (OK all  of  you didn't say that) going to try  it out bank hol w/e come rain or shine .............. thanks  for the tip about putting a ground sheet underneath

I prefer SIG in the bed unit and not in the living area as the extra ventilation stops condensation