I am going to be taking my kids away on my own for the first time soon, we are all experienced campers but dont fancy putting up a vermont xl with a 8 and 5 year old as helpers !!!
So im looking for a good tent for the 3 off us, i like a bit of space and headroom and have a budget off around £200. Have seen an Oakland L which looked good but small but also seen a vango Orchy 500 which also looks good although a bit put off by the reviews on here !
Any good advice would be much apprecieated
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I looked for my friends earlier in the year and they decided on a Vango Icarus 400 or 500. That has a SIG and they found the 400 model on the internet for about £120. It looked a good buy to me for the money. It has fibreglass poles and looks easy to pitch
You can get the Icarus 500 for £130 and considering it's the one you can stand up in, it's definately worth it. I would say the Icarus 500 is you ideal tent
The Outwell Nevada M is just within your budget if you shop around and is bigger than the Oakland.
Other options include the Gelert Lakesbury 5 or the Icarus range eg: Vango Icarus 600.
They are all good tents so It's going to come down to personal preference in the end.
If you are pitching 'alone' I would choose a tunnel type rather than a dome and don't go too big.
We have the Licata 400 as our weekend tent which you can find for less than £100.
I can pitch it solo (I'm a short, unfit mum of 3) and it is perfect for me and the 2 littlies (aged 8 and 4) to use when OH can't get away with us. SIG, standing height, massive windows, very quick and easy to erect, good ventilation, spacious living area, decent size bedroom which can be divided with curtain, fits on a standard pitch (tent measures 4.8m x 3m) and I have recently bought a universal canopy to give me even more space!!
Thanks for all the advice,I have been to PJ in romford today and had a good look at the nevada and the Icarus..... im leaning towards the Outwell as have had a Monty 6 and Vermont Xl with no problems at all even in the worst scotish storm ( deltas are great).
My only worry was pitching on my own but im sure a few practice runs will be in order.
Well, got a smaller one at last !!. went for an Artemis 500, got a great deal on a display model. Tent, canopy and carpet for £120 from Allweathers.
Checked it out very carefully, no rips or tears, all zips ok, and it has steel poles rather than fibreglass so is quite sturdy too.
Off to Exmouth on weds for a week so will take lots of pics and do a review, as there is only 1 review for this tent so far hope thats not a bad sign !!!
Looks like a good choice of tent, not sure why it's not more popular. Look forward to hearing your views on it. Definitely a good choice of location (guess where I live).
Which campsite are you staying at?
We are of to the NT site at Prattshays farm, Looks ok from the reviews apart from the sewage works lol !!! just hope the wind is in my favour otherwise the kids will soon be moaning. But got 7 nights for £12.50 a night, which is fab for a week in Devon in August
Well I never, that site is 2 miles from my house and I never knew it existed!
Anyway, I have checked it out for you and it looks fine. Quite small, slightly sloping with what appears to be just basic facilities - but you know that already.
It should be nice and quiet and I didn't notice any unsavoury smells. Your pitch has a nice big RESERVED sign on it so you should be OK! Have a nice week.
Thanks for having a look for me I think there are about 30 pitches so will hopefully be nice and friendly, the warden has been very helpful on the phone so i cant wait.
This time tomorow ill be trundling around the M25 with the kids saying " are we there yet dad" !!!!!!