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Hi

Just looking for information on thse two tents from someone who has seen both.  We are looking for a quick pitch 6 man tent for 1 or 2 night stopovers.  Cooking area not important as we have a kitchen tent.  SIG is important as pet dog would escape otherwise.  I thought it would definately be the Vango for the price - around £125, but the bottom of the doors is not zipped, so he'd be away as soon as we slept.  The Sunncamp is around £150. 

The thing I am interested in is ventilation, build quality and quirks problems.  Alos does anyone know if the 2007 Evolution has the storage pockets ? 

Alos I have seen two layout sfor the same tent - Towsure shows it a lot smaller than some other websites.. or did the 2007 model get smaller ? 

I was going to ask the same question. I also like the look of the VRX Scenic 5.0i for sale in the UK campsite shop.

J-lo

Anyone got a 2007 Evolution ?

I would go for the Idaho every time and make different arrangements for the dog eg a crate.

The Evolution's distinctive looks make it very attractive but in terms of ease of erection (think of the length of those Evo poles to be threaded and unthreaded!) and useability once up the Idaho wins easily. MT

Don't get me wrong, I prefer the looks of the Evo and it does make the Idaho look fairly boring in comparison.

But having looked at both very carefully in camping shows I would still choose the Idaho every time. Its a lot less of a fashion statement but it would do the job its meant to do better ie give you a happy comfortable holiday in a reliable good quality VFM tent.

As for the dog, you know yours best but at different times I've taken on a couple of older rescue dogs and they were both immediately happy with using a crate. MT

Thanks MT .. your input it's always welcome.  At the end of the day I guess it's personal choice and although I really fancied a Vango the Evo ticked more boxes.  My old Jack Russell is a softy but one smell of a fox or a rabbit and he can move like greased lighting.  He escaped from our SV8 last trip out when my youngest was sick and I opened the zip into the porch to get some water - he was under the door like a shot even though the bathtub was zipped up and clipped in.  At 2 am cleaning up after a child who had been sick in a tent was enough of a job!   

I saw your other thread about dogs and SIGs and agree with a lot of what you say.

So we ordered the Evo 600 and it is now sitting in the garden.  Was up very quickly considering space was a bit cramped for the long poles.  We are very pleased with the build quality for the price.  Ir's wonderfully light will all the curtains open and the living space was more useful than we had imagined.

There are one or two things worth a mention on the 2007 600 model - 

There is a baffle at the bottom of the doors to cure the leak problem from last year.  We will be testing this over the weekend.

It has an EHU entry point.  There is also a cable tidy for a light.  

There is no organiser between the 2 bedrooms as shown on all pictures I have found on various websites.

The biggie I guess is it is a lot smaller than the layout shown on awnings direct website, and most other websites.  Some show the correct size but others don't.  The layout we thought we were getting was 450cm wide.. giving 2 bedrooms, one 140cm and the other 280cm.  This is one of the thing that made the tent perfect for us.  No need to buy a smaller airbed for small pod.  Large pod big enough to store some kit in as well as have our big bed.

Now what the actual size is 390 wide... afull 60cm narrower.  Bed-pod 1 is 130cm and bed-pod 2 is 230. 

What I think has happened is that some websites have not updated the layout picture from last year.  Just the photo.  And.. Sunnflair have change the shape to make the walls more vertical by bringing in the width.  This would also help with the water ingress at the bottom of zips reported last year.

I haven't spoken to awnings yet.  So.. to sum up -

We are disappointed that we didn't get what we expected but pleasantly surprised at the same time in quality and living area usable space. 

Maybe sunnflair will send us an organiser ?  We'll see. 

Once we have used it in anger I will report back on if it lived up to expectations for a quick pitch overnighter,

ps Towsure catalogue does show the correct size. 

Hi, hope you enjoy your tent and report back after you've used it.

I spent a long time looking at both the 400 and 600 last year as they are both really good looking tents and would stand out from the crowd on most campsites. Like you, I was very taken with the light, bright living space on the 600. Sounds like the long poles were nowhere near the pain I'd imagined either, which is great. Cheers. MT

Thanks MT.   Meant to say , if the Idaho had a zip across the bottom of the door we would have probably gone for that.  Looking forward to our next short trip  .. shame it will be a couple of weeks away. 

Now, I have to prepare myself to part with my beloved Hartford which has reached it's reserve price on ebay.