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Hi Annem & welcome to the forum

I know the Marechal canvas tents are good quality, but I've never seen one of their synthetic tents in the flesh, so I can't comment on the Oxygen 4, although it looks like a spacious tent.

I know a lot of people on this forum have bought the new Kampa tents, so I'll leave it up to those in the know to give you their opinion.

Quote: Originally posted by Tentz on 19/3/2010

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I think you will find any polyester tent you buy will be waterproof. I have camped down in southern France & Spain with cheap tunnel tents in the downpours you describe with no probs.

When you pitch a tent you must be more careful than when parking a caravan. Ideally you need a pitch that drops away slightly & with no hollows where water can collect. When you get a downpour on hard baked earth, the water does not sink but runs across the top so it needs to be able to run under the tent & away.

You need to make sure the ground sheet in't living area if not sewn in has the edges turned up so the water runs underneath. Polyester degrades in strong sunlight & if the tent is erected for say 4-5 wks total in the summer, I would bin it after about 3-4 seasons use(ie 16wks total)or it will eventually split apart.

A canvas tent will last much longer, indefinately if looked after. If you want to spend about £300 tops a Quechua tunnel tent from your nearest Decathlon will do the job.

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You might like to note that the "feel the difference" 100D flysheets used on the Kampa ultimate range should outlast the 70-75D flysheets of many other makes even without the extra UV protection they've added. Which means that you will get a longer life out of a 100D Kampa polyester tent than many others. Yes, a canvas tent will last longer but will be heavier and more bulky for the same size of tent, although cooler in warmer climates. For myself, the durability of the flysheet and other components of the tent, along with the level of waterproofing and other design features makes a Kampa tent certainly worth considering.

An example quote from http://www.eurekatent.com/tent_selection.aspx (although I've read similar figures elsewhere) - "75D Polyester is 10-20% stronger than 70D nylon, and has 30% longer life under UV exposure. 150D Polyester is 50% stronger than 70D nylon, and has 200% longer life under UV exposure". By deduction then - the higher the denier of the polyester (all other things being equal - eg. quality of material construction) the longer the life of the tent under UV exposure. It is also stronger and more tear resistant, which certainly gives the Kampa's 100D tents the edge over many other makes and explains why retailers have found the ultimate range to outlast many other makes in outdoor displays.

Helen

We have also just been re-exploring the camping experience - although in the form of introducing our son (2 years old last year) to our long term hobby. We've had to invest in  a lot of new gear and up-size on a budget to cater for the extra little person. Both myself and my OH have had canvas and a range of nylon and polyester tents over the years. Most have done us proud (almost a leaky sieve last spring in Wales but we survived!), but in choosing our new tents I was given strict instructions - "NO CANVAS - too heavy and bulky. Can't be dealing with it!". As you can imagine - its been great fun doing all the homework and choosing...

Our Vango Columbia 600 was a great buy (still a few around) at £275, but I am glad we can stretch to getting a Kampa ultimate tent in the Bude 4 for our weekend tent. It will probably outlast the big tent and will probably get more use too!

Helen