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Have the Monty and can confirm it feels very solid when erected.  On looking at the Arkansas I can't imagine it feeling any different as they are similar design. 

We have the front extension for the Monty and honestly feel this or the awning are a necessity for family camping, allowing cooking to be done outside and stopping rain from the slope of the front door, entering the tent when opening wet. (there is the side storm porch door for that though)  I would imagine in strong winds I would probably have to collapse the extension or risk some kind of damage.

The Arkansas has slightly less living room area but has a built in extension.  My concerns about strong winds would apply to that also. I know in other tents of this type they advertise that the extension can be collapsed and the tent remain upright. I do not know if the Arkansas is the same. The rain ingress becomes a null point.

A lot of people (us included), pair the Monty with a Vango Icarus 500 for a short stay solution. The quality is similar but definately not the same and it is fibre glass pole rather than steel but does have Vango's TBS system. The BIG advantage is pack size. Well under half the size, more like slightly over a quarter.  The Icarus has a good reputation on here and you may want to consider it as step into camping. For around £200 you could get the complete set up, tent, extension, footprint and carpet.

Welcome to the forum btw. There are masses of helpful people and advice on here. Best place to start would be the tent reviews. There you can find out the things owners like and dislike about their tents, often things you would never have considered.

We have the Vango Columbia 600, very similar to the Montana. In contrast to the previous respondent, we find our side porch invaluable with little ones. It acts as a shoe off barrier saving the rest of the tent. It also allows you to store enclosed from the weather - wet and muddy items, toys etc, without encountering the destabilising effect of an open canopy. We even have our folding loo in the side entrance at night. With the separate groundsheet, it is easy to clean.

We didn't go for the Monty as we preferred the 3 bedroom option with 2 connected (we have our son along side us in his "own room" but we can re-tuck him in without getting out of bed). The other separate bedroom we use for storage keeping the main living area free of clutter. We fit a Thomas trainset in the main part of our tent alongside cooking and eating areas. We also preferred the full or part opening front of the Columbia, removing the necessity for the fussy windows of the Monty and Vango's TBSII internal strapping system that you clip in place in very windy weather to provide even more stability. It is a steel pole tent like the Monty, with a similar 5000HH. It only has one flymesh door but unlike the Monty which requires you to go through a flymesh door and an outer door to get out, Vango's design means that you only have one set of zips to open (the door has an inset outer cover that is unzipped from outside to reveal the flymesh).

The Columbia has been discontinued but there are still a few around at around £280 (RRP in 2009 was £450). The tent was in Vango's Premium Range last year and is on a par with the Monty (just less fussy!). A sage one would allow you to add the canopy from the Sungari 600, along with carpet and footprint to make the full set).

If you want to see the value of the enclosed side entrance - see the mud in the porch area in one of the pictures on the review page for the Columbia below. You wouldn't want that in the main tent nor a large groundsheet to clean!

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/tents/p/Vango-Columbia-600/1170#

Good luck with your purchase!

Helen

I would say a growing family of 4 may find the Akrkansa 5 too small.  We comfortably sat 4 people inside the tent BUT that was without any extras as we only went for 1 night. 

The living area is great for the 3 of us - 3 chairs, table, cupboard for cloths and a 'dumping' corner, but I think there would be no room for 2 little ones crawling/toddling about.

The monty will give you growing space as in time you can get extra awnings canopies etc.

The shape and size is up to you knittedsheep but the windows are far better on the Montana I feel. You get a roll up curtain on the inside then a full mesh the size of the window which again can be rolled up and the the window on the outside which can be rolled up. This means you can have each window fully open or closed with the mesh panel so you can keep the bugs out but get great ventaltion... What I am trying to say is the Montana has far more mesh so more ventalation on hot days.

Gary cross