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 Topic: Khyam Classic XL Polycotton - Typical!
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01/9/2009 at 6:43pm
Location: Worksop
Outfit: Pennine Aztec T T Cabanon Gaudeloupe
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Joined: 30/5/2004 Silver Member 
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Bought one of these recently on offer at a reduced price, as we needed more space than our Cabanon Gaudeloupe pyramid for longer outings, and it seemed to tick all the boxes for what we needed. Having been though lots of tents in the past few years (we now own 6!), we were pretty sure what we needed to fill the gap:-
1 Canvas
2. Quick to erect and take down
3. Room for 2 adults + dog + a week's paraphenalia, but small enough to be cosy on cold nights.
4. Not too hot/light under the sun but not too gloomy at other times
5. Plenty of windows giving all round daylight visiblity
6. Compact enough to fit in a car boot.
It was a risk that we went way without having an opportunity to test the tent first (something I usually never do). Erection was simple as we were used to the Quick Erect system having previously owned a Ridgi-Pod Excelsior. This was much easier than the Ridgi-Pod as the Classic only has 1 set of extra poles to attach over the bedroom (the Ridgi-Pod has 4 sets for each side + an extra set for each of the 3 bedrooms - "quick" it is not!) . Pleased to say the tent had no obvious faults and the design turned out to be everything the original Classic XL should have been. The beige coloured canvas countered all the things I didn't like about the "old style" red and blue polyester Khyams which I felt were just too dark and dingy. At night, or when the weather was inclement, the tent was nice cosy place to be with everything zipped down, and by day, the large windows to 3 sides gave good visiblity of the outside world whilst keeping draughts and rain out. The canvas gave that little bit of extra noise insulation that we had come to expect. The multivent window with canopy also proved an excellent method of regulating temperature, with a full width rain-proof vent available for when things got too warm. The front door too has a full size mesh door to keep insects out on hot evenings - although sadly we didn't have occasion to use it!
Performance wise, it stood up to several torrential downpours and strong winds for 10 days in Cornwall, and thoughout the holiday it kept us warm in the cold and cool in the sun, which is exactly what you expect a canvas tent to do (unlike polyester which I find are either too cold or make you are feel like you're being boiled in a bag - not to mention the shower of condensation in the mornings). The weather was very wet for the first 24 hours which meant that the canvas got full opportunity to swell and seal properly. Being new canvas, I had expected the odd minor drip or "mist" at first before the material conditioned, but to our relief the whole unit was watertight from the outset. The structure seemed just as stable as our Ridgi-Pod. And the layout proved to be perfect for us - decent living space with standing room throughout so room for the kitchen, a small table and two chairs. We don't need any more than that as we use a day tent if there are more of us. The sleeping accomodation was just right with room for a large double airbed with bags/personal effects at either side.
So all in all it looked like we had found just what we needed and I was pleased with what was, in reality, an impulse buy.
Now I get back and findthe sad news that Khyam have been sold / gone into liquidation. Typical! Talk about bursting my bubble.
On the up side, the UK "summer" has allowed us to give the tent a good testing on the first outing, and so far, it's proved to be good quality and has exceeded our expectations. But my main concern now is one of longevity, mainly because that the poles are all aluminium unlike the steel ones used in other Quick-Erect Khyams, so not sure how they'll cope with the stress from the extra weight of canvas over polyester, and whether this will lead to early fatigue and failure. One of the big plusses with Khyams in the past was that poles were easily repaired and they promised that spares would continue to readily available even for obsolete models, but I guess that'll stop now and we'll have to be extra careful.
Anyone has any experience of these or own a Polycotton Classic? Should I be buying up lots of spares?
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