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Hi

We're a family of four (a 22 month old and a baby of 4 months) and are planning to go camping in May.  Our current tent is too small for our new family so we looking for a new tent.  Any recommendations?  We'd like something that has enough room inside for rainy days and tall enough for my 6ft 4 hubby to stand up in!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Look for good makes, outwell, vango,kyham etc... And also check the HH head, the higher the number the better, try not to go below 2000, my mate got a kyham ontario 8 last year, nice big size and hieght, 1 2 3 or 4 bedrooms, stood up to all that bad weather last july without a leak, and it only cost him £160 after a bit of haggling, your best bet would be to go and see some that are up on display, pick out a few you like , then wiegh up the pro,s n cons of each.   good luck.

                               Bob.

Yeah the kyam ontario 8 (or kansas 8,as its known in outdoor megastore) is a great size and you could all share the big bedroom and take the 2 smaller rooms out and have a really large living space!

There are loads of tents out there but finding one with tall headroom will narrow your search down a bit lol.

We had the wynnster mallard 6 last year and we managed to get me, hubby and the 4 kids (oh and the dog lol) in there. That had good headroom. Also simple to put up! Not like our new one lol.

I have Wynnster Pegasus 7 and can recommend it.  My 6' husband can stand easily with loads of spare room, and theres masses of room inside.  Went thruogh some bad weather with it last year, our first year camping, and no leaks nothing.  Really great tent.

Jo

Have a look here at some previous threads, you may find some useful advice, then you can think about what features you want from it, whether that be a  SIG, windows, ease of pitching, shape, location of bedrooms etc.

If you are going to use it mainly for weekends i would really think about pitching and set up times as it makes a big difference when you are only away a couple of times, many people get big tents then end up buying another for weekends as the big one is a pain to put up and down for 2 nights. The Khyam quick erect are very fast to put up and can be had for around £200 if you do not mind having last years model.  

Thank you all for your help so far.  I've had a look on the net at a few of the tents mentioned and i'm going to see if there are any tent expos going on near us to have a look at some of the tents up.  It's so hard to judge seeing pictures on the net.  My hubby seems keen on the Oregon 5 man (outwell) but i really don't think that will have enough space.  I think i'll push for the oregon 8 or pegasus 7 although that one does seem massive!!

thanks for all you help, greatly appreciated,

Rebjane

I would highly recommend the coleman darwin 5 they are very spacious you also have the darwin 7 which is bigger but we have the 5 and it's more than enough for us and right now they are on sale everywhere

www.simplyhike.co.uk/productDetails.aspx?stockID=34011

on here they are £199.00 instead of £349.99 which gives you a saving of 34%

It has a zipped ground sheet so you have a choice and it's very durable in high winds and rain and i found it very cosy and safe at night

Quote: Originally posted by SGEO on 18/4/2008

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I would highly recommend the coleman darwin 5 they are very spacious you also have the darwin 7 which is bigger but we have the 5 and it's more than enough for us and right now they are on sale everywhere

www.simplyhike.co.uk/productDetails.aspx?stockID=34011

on here they are £199.00 instead of £349.99 which gives you a saving of 34%

It has a zipped ground sheet so you have a choice and it's very durable in high winds and rain and i found it very cosy and safe at night

what i forgot to say my OH is 6.3 and he could stand up in it which makes a change and sleeping areas a big,the biggest one suppose to sleep 3 but could easily fit4-5 people in it

I would reccomend the Gelert Meridian....  Its the 2008 version of the Gelert Michigan that we successfully camped in throughout 2007, with some MAJOR improvements such as a sown in growndsheet.  We had no problem with the tent last year, it is well made, large enough for a family and flexible enough to have a large living area and 2 bedrooms or 4 bedrooms and a smaller living area.  The quality is good and the price is too.  It is quite heavy when it is in its bag (though I see the new one comes in 2 seperate bags instead of one big one like last years model) but is easy to put up!  My wife and I with the help (or hinderance) of our 2 year old can put it up quite quickly!

http://www.tentastic.co.uk/acatalog/info_TEN266_A_B.html

They do an 8 man and 10 man version.

Hi

I have camped for seven years with kids in all kinds of bad weather and various tents.  I would definitely recommend a sewn in groundsheet - keeps out the draughts and the bugs and the wet. 

Also a large zip up porch is fantastic - kids can kick off shoes, wellies etc and not bring too much mud, damp grass, sand etc inside.  Would also recommend insect mesh on doors (cuts down on a lot of hysteria). 

Big tents are great to live in but, as others have said, can take a long time to pitch and take up masses of car space.

Good luck!