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Quote: Originally posted by nickandsally on 13/6/2007

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wheres the show . at the jap gardens

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we were very interested in the nebraska xl. went & had a look around the yeomans tent show at Calver over the bank holiday. Sorry to report that the nebraska & the vermonts had leaks! mainly from the bottom of the seam where the bedrooms attach, but also in a couple of corners behind the bedrooms. I know it rained persistantly for 24 hours which is why we chose then to have a look around, but I now have serious reservations.

Already have a 2005 outwell hartford L which is brilliant- no leaks ever and we have camped in some really lousy weather!

Just need a bit more space for 2 children & dog in said lousy weather.

Have considered royal pescara ( bit dark inside with no skylight) & aztec falcon 8 ( erect inner first )- still undecided whether to just chance it assuming that those with good outwells would not feel the need to write about it...

The biggest problem I have found with the newer model Outwells ( both last season and this season ) is that they do not neccessarily leak straight out of the bag and also depend on pitching.  I have returned 5 Outwell tents in a row now ( including this year's model ).  I have had 2 Leaking Nebraska XL and 2 Vermont L that have been returned due to leaking and other problems.  Two of them are the 2007 model.  The other one was a 2006 Montana 12 that didn't leak but had other problems.

All the tents didn't leak on their first outing or giving them a good hose down in the garden.  Even when they leaked, I could take them out and have a fierce rain storm and they didn't leak.  Also, over time they got worse and worse as they became used. 

I have been a loyal fan of Outwell ever since I can remember and have never had to return a tent before.  I have now bitten the bullet and gone for a Pescara which so far appears to be fine and I have had no problems with it.  Its not quite as nice as the Outwell in colour, but it has a lot of features that the Outwell does not have ( like zip-out groundsheet, rear annexe etc ) and it is almost £100 cheaper.

The 5000hh issue is not even worth worrying about for even the worst British weather, 3000hh is fine and is virtuattly the standard for all branded tents. 5000hh is really just a selling point to make the tent appear better but in fact makes no difference except in the worst possible weather where the tent would probably be destroyed long before the 5000hh would show its benefit.

Although none of the dealers or Outwell will admit it, there have been a lot of Outwell returns ( more than the average compared to sales ).  There has definately been a downgrade in quality compared to past season tents.  My local dealer has just announced that they will not be stocking Outwell tents next season but won't give a reason why.  Outwell customer service has also dropped over the past 2 seasons.  I used to talk to Outwell a lot and get an immediate response to any queries I had but now it is almost impossible to get a response and all they will do is point you to the dealer.  Most dealers are good and will replace in a timely fashion, but now the dealers are running low on stock it is becoming difficult for them and a lot of dealers are handing the problem over to Outwell which means the customer could be without a tent for a while.

There is no doubt that the Outwell tents are one of the most popular brands around but they have been plagued with problems over the past two seasons and I do feel that customer confidence is running thin now.

For me, I have come to the end of the line with Outwell with too many ruined trips and the hassle of taking tents abck, waiting for replacements, waiting for answers to questions and representatives denying problems even though weherever I go I hear of them.

Yes, Outwell do have some brilliant designs but with the experiences I have had over the past 2 seasons it is going to take a lot for me ever to trust Outwell tents again.

A couple of the Outwells I had I feel confident that if I was a person that didn't go camping as much as we do ( normally every other weeked, sometimes every weekend ) I would have never found that they had leaks until after the warranty had expired.  Our first Nebraska didn't start leaking until after about the 4th or 5th trip.  The 2nd one didn't leak until after the 3rd trip even though there was plenty of rain around.  The first Nebraska the poles also started to bend across the roof area after a few trips.  I am also confident that some people whose tent does not leak presently will find leaks in the near future.  The first Vermot L we had didn't leak the first few times either ( can't really say much about this one because it didn't rain on its first few uses but leaked immediately when it did rain ).  The 2nd Vermont leaked on it's 2nd trip even though we had severe rain on both trips we went on.

I have played the lottery with these over the past 2 seasons and given up losing now.

Any other observations on the bear lakes / polycottons?

Thanks DaneR for taking the time to do this in the rain!

Langley - I shall get my OH to read your posts. Every tent I suggest to him that's not an Outwell he's unable to make positive comments, even though we've returned 3 SV8s, he's adamant that we should stick with them.

I have the Pescara 8 and I absolutley love it.  I had a 2007 Nebraska XL which leaked really bad the 1st time I pitched it so I got a refund and bought the Pescara instead.  I'm so glad I did, it's a fantastic tent.

Well I think the wife and I are going to go over on Sat or Sun to see the BL4 and 6 they have on display. In a funny kind of way I hope its really chucking it down - would be interesting to see them getting rained upon.