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Hey guys, I'm new here and not very experienced with camping in general. 

I'm buying a tent, and I think I've narrowed it down to three options

1. Gelert Rocky 3

2. Lichfield Apache 3

3. Lichfield Cherokee 3

Just wondered if anyone had good (or bad) experiences with any of these tents and if so, which they'd recommend. At the moment I'm liking the look of the extra porch space in the Lichfield Cherokee 3, but I like the plum colour that's available for the Gelert Rocky 3, and the Lichfield Apache 3 just looks quite practical. So I'm a bit torn between them!

Hello, purplebat, and welcome to the site.

As a matter of interest, how many is the tent for and how long are you thinking of camping for - weekends, a week? 

Hi Former Scout, thanks! Been lurking for a while but only just joined!

I think there will be two of us, but I like a bit of space and room to store bags, so I think a 3 or 4 man tent would be better than a 2 man tent. I'm thinking of going camping for a long weekend (4 nights), but if it goes well I might go again for up to a week.

I thought it best to stay away from the £9.99 Argos own brand tents...

Most of us lurked for a while before we plunged.

Remember that tent manufacturers tend to be rather optimistic about how many will fit in their tents - though some are worse than others.  A 3-man will only sleep 3-men if they don't have any equipment inside the tent, and you would have bags for each of you, cooking equipment, etc.  So you have to consider how simple or how comfortable you wish to camp.  For example, if it rains and you are trapped on site, you will be in a tent that you can sit up in at best - it can get to feeling very cramped and claustrophobic.

Note that, although all three tents are called "3-man" tents, the Cherokee is 20cm wider than the other two - you'd be amazed how much difference that can make.  Also note that the Lichfields are slightly more waterproof than the Gelert.

So, assuming that you don't yet want a much more expensive tent with a living-room area that you can stand up in (Vango Orchy 400, for example, at about £130), then out of the tree I would go for the Cherokee 3 for the slightly wider sleeping area and large storage area at the front.

Do let us know what you go for.

Hi purplebat...If you give us a bit more info we can help you more..for example,

How are you getting about, Bike,Hike, Car?

Are you touring or staying in one spot.

Why look at quite small tents, which may feel a little claustrophobic for 4 days, especially if you catch a rainy day. Some slightly larger tents are almost as easy to put up and down, but offer a lot more space. Is your budget flexible at all...

For example, I know where to get a Coleman Celcius Duo 3 for about £65 on internet from Holland, or £55 + delivery of course, on french ebay. Believe me, this is a real bargain, as if you can still get them in UK they are well £100 + delivery! They are very well liked tents!

They are not much available anymore as Coleman have brought out a new range, much dearer!

It is bigger, much better headroom at 1560 outside about 1400mm inside with a very usuable porch area for you to sit in, again you will come to appreciate this if stuck in it for any length of time. Here's the link to Dutch website, www.obelink.nl. (Very good website and great people, they speak english better than I do so you can give them a bell) Punch in Coleman Celcius Duo 3 in search box! Or just google it to have a look at the pictures . Make sure you look at the dimension diagram as well.

Mentioning rain again, this tent comes treated to 3000mm HH (hydrostatic head) so in principle is far more water repellent...which considering english summers could be very handy. The Lichfields at 2000mm is OK for English summers, but the Gelert at 1500mm may be a little light for heavy downpours.

To me, the better the HH you can get is worth it...just in case!

It offers a lot more space than the ones you mention, but packs down nice and small. PS, hope you don't buy the last one from them as I'm thinking of getting one for touring round France!

Hope this helps.