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Hi all.

I am desperate for some advice! At the moment we own a Gelert Stratus 4 tunnel tent which is very easy to erect by myself. Bought it for some short breaks for ourselves last year but now lots of the family have decided they want to come! Now is the problem. I am looking for a large tent, at least 2 bedrooms and very easy to erect as there are times when only 2 of us will go. Also need a large living room in it.  Weight not too heavy and possibly a SIG. but not necessarily. Been looking at the Gelert Vario 5 or 6, tunnel tent as these are huge, does anyone have any experience of these? Does anyone have any other suggestions as I am completely open minded. Unfortunately we have only a modest budget which does not help the situation! Have trawled through the postings until my head is buzzing. Please help!!

Wingchun.

We've just bought the Coleman Darwin 5 for £164.99 from Go outdoors in Oxford. It has 2 decent size bedrooms and a good size living space. Has very good reviews on here. Apparently not too difficult to put up as long as you DON'T follow the instructions!

We've not put ours up yet. Waiting til the weekend and pitching on site as our garden is not big enough :(

Good luck!

Hello - I am by no means a tent expert but there are LOADS you could go for. Have you been for a look-ee-see at a local tent display showroom?

Also have found that there are a few tent pitching vids on You Tube which will show you how easy (or not) they are to pitch.

We have just bought a Killington 600 which we will be putting up just the 2 of us probably and you can take out the bedroom pods if you are not going to be using them.

The outwell montana sleeps 6, has very good reviews and looks easy to put up.

Think u need to narrow irt down a bit more lol. Good luck.

Linny x x x

We go for Tunnel Tents as we like the layout of entrance/cooking area, living area then bedrooms at the back. They come in so many styles and sizes but all tend to have v.large living areas, good height and lots of natural light, we have also seen them with 'add-on annexes' for additional sleeping pods which may be helpful.

They are easy and straight forward to put up it does take 2 for the larger ones. Ours have stood upto torrential rain and gails, but would recommend SIG for main living areas and a separate porch/ entrance especially with out lovely British weather.

Had Sunncamp family vario 6+ for 3 years with no SIG, very similar to Gelert vario, now have Sunncamp Eden 800 with SIG, both good tents, both been through storms and survived intact and not as expensive as some others.

Hope this may help a bit, we found going to exhibitions the best way to choose and also looking around the tents on campsites  (most people are happy to show you around and tell you the pros and cons) but it maybe too late in season so look online there are some good bargins out there especially as the weather has been so bad.

Good luck and happy camping

For the price I think the Gelert Vario 5 and 6 are hard to beat. They have the advantage that the front can be brought inwards to create an outdoor area, while the horizontal poles going along the sides provide the additional stability for high winds.

I would also look at the Outwell Colorado (both sizes), the Khyam Montreal and the Outwell Sun Valley 6.