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   Camping under canvas -  Tent talk. Advice, info and recommendations
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Subject Topic: Which tent for a family of 4 Post Reply Post New Topic
10/4/2007 at 10:36am
 Location: Drumlithie Aberdeenshire
 Outfit: Skoda Octavia Sun Valley 6
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Hi there, I hope someone can help.

I'm new to "family" camping, used to camp quite a lot with smaller tents but not had recent experience with larger family tents.

We are a family of 4 (2 daughters of 2yrs and 4yrs) and need a tent we can stand in and with a bit of living space if the weather gets nasty. SIG's seem like a good idea, looking for something fairly quick and simple to pitch as girls aren't old enough to help but might well get in the way.

Budget about £300. Narrowed down to Outwell Montana 6, Sun Valley 6 or Vango Breckenridge. Liked the Montana 4 but bedrooms just not big enough although both the SV6 and the Montana 6 are bigger than I would like. Have seen a lot of posts re: the Montana and SV but not much on the Breckenridge. Can anyone help with the following:

I live in N.E Scotland so stability is an issue. Would rigid poles (Montana) be better than the Sun Valley?

How does Vango family tents compare with Outwell in the quality stakes? My local stores tell me Outwell are the better of the two, but I have good experience of smaller Vangos and have seen threads that indicate the Outwell quality is variable.

Does anyone have experience pitching the Breckenridge 400,?It seems a bit smaller and more manageable than the Montana but the Vango pitching video makes it look quite difficult.

Finally is the extra money for something like an Outwell Arrow Lake worth it to get the polycotton? (These seem to come in at £500 + but ticks all the boxes i.e rigid poles but zip out groundsheet to make cleaning easier etc)

Hope someone can help - thanks

Alan



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10/4/2007 at 4:43pm
 Location: Aberdeen
 Outfit: Peugeot 407 SE & Relum Palermo 6
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Hi Alan and welcome to the site. Can't help with tents you've mentioned but if you are intending to camp in this part of the world I would seriously consider a frame tent. They are probably better able to cope with our gentle breezes and light rain showers.

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Ally


10/4/2007 at 4:54pm
 Location: Drumlithie Aberdeenshire
 Outfit: Skoda Octavia Sun Valley 6
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Thanks Ally, good to hear from someone local.

I wasn't originally keen on heavy steel poles, but general concensus seems to be they're better for the bigger tents (unless you're willing to pay more to get alloy ones).

Alan



10/4/2007 at 5:38pm
 Location: Aberdeen
 Outfit: Peugeot 407 SE & Relum Palermo 6
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Alan, some of the larger tunnel/dome tents are now weighing in around 35-40kg so you are not saving that much on weight. I bought my current tent tent last year (60kg) & didn't have the option of alloys. But, If you are comfortable with extra weight then a frame tent is better suited to our conditions. Good luck with whichever one you go for. I see from your profile you have a Laguna......maybe you better get the Relum Palermo as well!!!

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Ally


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10/4/2007 at 8:27pm
 Location: None Entered
 Outfit: None Entered
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If you want a slightly larger than normal large tent, try the Vango Aspen 500 or 700, these retail around £400 but if you are quick you might be able to get a brand new 2006 one from a retailer at a knock down price. You can't go wrong with an Aspen for headroom (around nine foot high) and it has a SIG. 


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12/4/2007 at 1:15pm
 Location: Drumlithie Aberdeenshire
 Outfit: Skoda Octavia Sun Valley 6
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Thanks - I'm leaning towards the Breckenridge because with only 3 hoops, it should be easier to pitch. I think most of our camping will be short stay i.e weekend, so think the Aspen and the Montana etc are bigger than we need. I was hoping someone would have specific experience of the Breckenridge, but maybe its too early in the season as its new this year I think.

Alan



13/4/2007 at 9:56am
 Location: Somerset
 Outfit: Colorado 800DLX 2003 Venture 500
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Joined: 31/7/2006

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If you are mostly getting the tent for weekends then I would consider having a bit of a rethink - it's my understanding that none of the tents mentioned are going to be particularly quick to put up. They are all great for a week or more but many owners of these tents have a smaller or quicker to erect tent for weekends. What about the Vango 800TBS - well made, nice and quick to put up and the torsion band system will add to the stability for those Scottish winds.The 2007 model has a SIG in the living area.

You should also consider pack size - do you have a trailer to go with the Laguna? The extra metal poles with the tents you mention can take up a fair bit of space. If space isn't a problem then how about the Oregon with a utility tent for cooking in? You could get both the Vango and a kitchen tent for less than the cost of any of the tents you have mentioned.You could also consider the Khyam Ontario 8 which is slightly bigger than the Oregon but very similar though with better sleeping arrangements - again significantly cheaper than the others.(We bought the Ontario for this reason)

I've nothing against the other tents - I like the sun valley a lot and the Brekenridge looks really interesting and would consider either of them for our family (two adults plus two daughters 10&13)as a main tent but I wouldn't consider either one if mostly using for weekends.

This is the utility tent that a lot of folks on this site have been impressed by. This would also allow you to cook away from the girls and store the stove and cooking equipment out of the reach of the little ones.

Incidentally for four of you then I wouldn't look at anything less than a six berth tent. Our Ontario offers just the right combination for the four of us. In your case you could all sleep in the four person section initially (with dividing curtain) and leave out the two other sleeping pods which would give you an enormous living space. You could later have both girls in one of the smaller pods and then when they are older they could have one each - and there would still be loads of room!

One last thing - check that all the doors have mesh screens on them - you know what those scottish midges are like!

Post last edited on 13/04/2007 10:05:46

Post last edited on 13/04/2007 10:23:17

Post last edited on 13/04/2007 10:31:13


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13/4/2007 at 11:47am
 Location: sussex coast
 Outfit: outwell indianna 6 AND Trigano Oceane!
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Joined: 24/1/2007

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We are complete novices to "DIY" camping (as opposed to the ready erected type!) and recently bought the outwell Indiana 6 for our family of 4 as it just seemed to offer a lot more space than the 4 berth tents. We put it up for the first time last weekend in exactly 1 1/2 hours, and a lot of that was sorting out all the bits and consulting the manual!  Admittedly we put the living area ground sheet in upside down, and couldnt stretch the tent out fully as our garden is too small (LOL) but it was a lot easier than we had expected and we plan to do it again tomorrow with a target time of an hour! Taking it all down took 20 mins - AND we got it back in its bag!  Most of our planned trips will be 2/3 nights and I am happy that the put up / take down times are reasonable for short trips. What ever you decide - enjoy!



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