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i am in love with the vango carrera looks fab up

http://www.outdoorworlddirect.co.uk/acatalog/Vango_Carrera_400.html

but its a little more money than i wanted to pay

the alternative is kyham chatsworth tc,not quite so keen and a bit big for me and the dogs but £100 cheaper

http://www.sportingsupplies.co.uk/

after lots of looking decided it must be polycotton

so guys no more choices chucked in the mix  help me decide

(now counting tents not sheep at night)

I too thought the Chatsworth TC deffo wasn't a looker, going by the pics, but have just bought one and am pleasantly surprised!

It is a really nice quality tent;  the neutral colour (more beige than tan, methinks) makes it light inside (much more subtle than the blues of the current synthetic Khyams, IMHO) and the bedroom inner is versatile; use it with divider up to make one huge space, or divider down to create two separate bedrooms or one bedroom and a storage / changing area / place to stow the porta potti. It's a tent which feels nice to live in.

It is quick and easy to pitch and to pack up again (and it fits easily into the bag!). It has good headroom throughout (okay, so the bedroom inner does slope towards the back, but it is a compromise on an otherwise ideal weekend tent) and a good living space (3m x 3m) with a side J door (in other words, exactly the same as the old Classic XL).

My advice would be to buy a Chatsworth TC quickly, whilst they are still available at that bargain price! I think it will hold it's money well, too (anyone recall the older model XXL Classics, in polycotton?), so if you decide it's not for you you probably won't lose much on it, if at all. Can the same be said for the Carerra?

P.S.

We already have a Khyam Screenhouse, hence already knew how quickly and easily we could pitch this tent (since it is effectively just that same hub, plus one bedroom extension at one end - you just thread through an alu pole which has two pre-attached knuckles - easy peasy), but it was still a bit of a risk as we purchased without first seeing one in the flesh.

This tent wins for me because there is no assembling or threading of poles, and the fabric is nicer to live under and more durable than synthetic. It is quite a simple tent, no frills, but when we had pitched it for the first time, we just stood back and remarked how easy it was and then realised how much we liked it (the price helps! ).The mesh panel on the front door is excellent for warmer climes and the front door can be canopied out if required (poles are supplied).

The one on offer doesn't have a SIG, but that isn't a problem for us and the mud flaps quickly tuck under the dedicated Khyam groundsheet (when pitching for the first time, make sure you have it the right way up and right way round so the webbing straps sit appropriately in the two doorways and the groundsheet pegging points line up. Guess who got it wrong! )

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

haha had seen the sumatra but love the carrera when i saw it in the flesh and having loved the wayfarer online but not in the flesh am a little nervous

another concern is with is the poles they look a little more difficult to do on my own,higher up for me to reach at the crown .

the man in tent shoped showed me how i'd do the carrera and not sure if its as easy with the sumatra ?

thanks everyone but still no decision yet lol..

I'm pretty sure it was a Carrera I saw on display at OBI. Nice looking tent.

But for solo camping my vote would be for the Khyam Chatsworth everytime. Much, much, much  easier to put up single handed, a great sized and square shaped living area and a comfy/flexible bedroom inner. And at that price, simply irresistible imo.

Think how Simon Cowell looked down his nose when Susan Boyle came on stage and then was so incredibly impressed with how she performed. The Khyam Chatsworth could well be the Susan Boyle of the tent world.

Well we just had a test pitch on Sunday of our new Carrera 600 and we love it!  Going away with it this weekend and can't wait.

Pitched in the garden to check all was OK so not a perfect pitch - the tent is a little bigger than we'd imagined!   That's no bad thing, though!!

We were both a bit worried about the poles - despite the bag clearly saying "Carrera", when we put one together inside the house, we couldn't see any way they would flex enough to fit anything other than a marquee!!  Out in the garden, we still had those same worries and the first meeting of a pole and its two pins was a tentative (no pun intended!!) moment!  Fears fully allayed, however, as they flex just fine and feel rock solid once up.

Three TBS and it should cope with any weather (though we'd be happier with a small shower to seal the stitching then lots of sunshine so we can be smug and cool in our polycotton!!)

Good luck with your choice and do let us know what you go for.  My only reservation about the Carrera now is that Vango's idea of "sage" is much paler than mine.  I don't mean I don't like it, it's just quite pale!

thanks everyone managed to get a carrera 400 for £369 hopefully getting it tomorrow

wanted to use a local company but they just couldn't match that price and thanks to search on here i noticed that allweathers has good reviews(i hope)

my local company rated the tent loads though

so excited now, going to be in my own snug tent soon .......

can't afford it yet but does anyone know if the polycotton's do canopies and add ons

Quote: Originally posted by Feecamp on 23/6/2009

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Three TBS and it should cope with any weather (though we'd be happier with a small shower to seal the stitching then lots of sunshine so we can be smug and cool in our polycotton!!)

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Quote: Originally posted by stocky1970 on 24/6/2009

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Theres always someone moaning about the weather

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Isla72 - how are you getting on with your Carrera 400?  Hope it arrived OK and that you've been able to get out and about with it.

We had a great five nights away with our 600 and I've posted a review but it hasn't appeared yet.  Overall, we love the tent - there are just a few small design issues but nowhere near enough to put us off.

We overheard a man and his young son walk past and describe the Carrera as "a real tent"!  We were so pleased - how sad is that??

Looking forward to the next outing but we're in search of a tarp for that - sun shade for us and the dogs or rain shelter for cooking, depending on the weather!

I cheated and took my uncle's tent away to derbyshire ,nearly getting stuck on kinder scout in the process but thats another story !!

hopefully if we get a few dry days next week i'm going to try i up in the garden for a trial run.

am excited though .......

well can seriously say loved the feel of the tent but not impressed with the quality of the pegs most bent in good ground,the stiching leaked on the SIG and a corner peg D ring broke... all on my first night !

needless to say have contacted the supplier who were brilliant and sending the tent back

gutted to say the least