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Im looking to replace an aged but earnt its money 6 man Aldi tent with one of the following, can anyone advise the pro's and cons of each please

1: Outwell Colorado 5 (2008)

2: Gelert Lokon Vario 5, is the new 2008 model "rising ground sheet" worth paying the extra £50 for as you can get 2007 model with canopy and wind break for £199?

3: Gelert Mayon (4 or 6) is it better then the Lokon?

4: Wynnster Kestrel 5

I've read/re-read the forums over and over and cannot make my mind up, it primeraly for just 2 adults for long weekend and occasional weeks away in the UK,

Thanks for any advise and i need to decide soon as off in 5 weeks for 4 days in the Cotswolds :-)

Hi Sharpcroft and welcome to UKCS

1. Outwell colorado..well respected maker, good headroom and a popular, well liked tent

2. Gelert lokon... the extra money for rising groundsheet is a matter of choice. Do you prefer a loose GS or not?

3. Not a great deal of differences between the mayon and lokon IMHO.

4, Kestrals are well recommended. I am sure Beefysmum will be along shortly to suggest that one lol

If you have a tent display somewhere near you then I would advice you to go have a look and see which feels best.

You can also check out the tent reviews on this site here

Hope this helps

Angie

if you prefer a detachable groundsheet, I'd go for the outwell.

I love the kestrel, I have the 6, it has sewn in groundsheet that drops flat at the dooorways. The 6 berth is big enough for a family and the price was £150 , a bargain for such  a huge tent with a sig.

but the outwell has mesh on the doors, steel poles and overall i'd say outwell is better quality.

can't comment on the others .

Hi and thanks for the warm welcome

Is there any advantage to a sewn in ground sheet? i have only owned tents with loose ground sheets so have no idea of the pro's and con's (water ingress maybe?). Its been a while since i have had to buy a new tent so im a bit behind on modern design and features :-)

Tunnel tents seem the way to go if you like space and "airyness" ( i think thats a word lol  ) i do like the idea of almost vertical walls as my old dome had a massive footprint but little in the way of useable (standing or sitting) living space.

beefysmum, is the a sun canopy/extension available for the Kestrel as its seems very well priced for such a good tent, i take it from your reply that the Kestrel also has not got any mesh covers on the doors/windows so its either boil or get bit by gnats :-)

Does the Lokon have mesh etc?

The main advantage of sewn in gs is the draughtproofing. It makes it more cosy.

There is a thread at the top of the page discussing the pros and cons in more detail.

There isn't a specific canopy made by wynnster for the kestrel, but there are other makes would probably fit it. The front wall can be moved back inside the tent to create a canopy , which I used for cooking in, and the side door comes with poles to make a canopy too. There are no bug mesh screens on the doors.

I find tunnels to be better use of space than domes and easier to erect.

Not sure about the lokon tents, sorry.

We have a lokon.. tis a decent tent but no SIG.

The front can be moved back if you want a canopy but the mayons have canopys that are often free in a package deal.

Easy to pitch and roomy enough.

Angie

Cant find any deals on the Mayon, in fact its very hard to find it for sale anywhere? Im still leaning towards the Outwell (friend has a Bear Lake and says its 2nd to none) but still not 100% if only it had a SIG id buy one now.........................confused :-/

The side door has got a mesh panel and the bedrooms all have mesh. There are also vents with mesh over all the windows that you can prop open on little tabs and there are vents behind the bedrooms with mesh.

Sorry about the spanner!!!

Im even more confused now, the description of the Colorado states a "detachablw ground sheet"? If its detachable it must mean that its also "attatchable" surely/

Have fires off an email to Yeomans to try and clarify the matter, i like the Colorado idea of having a moveable front "wall", makes an excellent covered outsidee cooking area thats protected from the elements, also looks a nice place to sit and chill no matter what the british weather has to offer :-)

have you read these threads?

bear in mind though that there may have been modifications to groundsheet style in the later versions ,check the dates of the posts.

I've taken the plunge :-)

Just ordered (Norwich Camping and Leisure) an Outwell Indiana 4 (2007) and matching Outwell wind break for ~£250, i'll let you know what i think when it arrives then its off to the Cotswolds for 4 days to give it a propper testing.........

Thanks for all the help guys and guyeseseses ;-)

Just got back from 4 days in the Cotswolds and using in anger the Outwell Indiana for the first time.

What a great tent, though Outwell got the description slightly wrong on the "sun canopy", if they advertised it as a "rain canopy" in the uk im sure they would double their sales ;-)

One question, me and Mrs Sharpcroft struggled like crazy fitting the pins into the bottom of the poles, we had the straps at their loosest and tried it with the cross straps connected and dis-connected, either way it was a hell of a job (im 15st and no weakling believe me). Is there a knack to doing it? is there a prefered order for pitching that would make it easier?

We inserted the poles with the tent spead on the floor and then raised and guy roped the front pole, we then worked backward raising and loosely guying each pole set until it was upright, then we tried inserting the ring-pin system, it must have taken me 15 minutes just to insert the pins before we could tighten the straps, each time i felt like the tent was going to rip at any minute because of the amount of tension required to get the pin into the bottom of the pole.

Any suggestions on making it easier or different pitching method?

Cheers