Quick question for you seasoned campers. We have had our Nevada M for a year now and love it. However, I don't and never will cook inside, mainly due to safety (of course) and the buildup of condensation.
My gf and I have been debating what is the best option available to us and have decided it is between king poles and guys to lift the main door up and create a canopy or buying the extension for the tent.
What are your suggestoins on this? King poles will cost £20-30 and the extension is currently at £100. Any of you use either of these methods and what are your experiences?
Thanks for reading.
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King poles shouldn't cost you that much - you don't need specific Outwell ones so you should be able to get some for around £10.
I have used king poles to cook under on a rainy day on several occasions (see gallery for example!) but it's not totally brilliant. If the rain is falling straight down it's not too bad but any angle to it and you might not get away with it. Also, if the rain's really heavy or prolonged you'll get a build-up of water on top of the door which will eventually fall off at one side. You need to hope it's not the side you're sitting under.
I've now added the extension so all my cooking will be in there from now on and it should be much more effective on a rainy day (pitched it in the garden just to see and am very impressed). The only exception is if it's windy, in which case the extension will be taken down (or not put up in the first place) as it would make one bloomin brilliant kite! Will then go back to the trusty king poles or ditch the cobb and cook inside on the gas stove (not ideal but ok with plenty of care and ventilation)
Everyone has different preferences though so maybe try the cheapest option first and see how you get on.
------------- Mar - Milarrochy Bay - 9 days
Apr - Drayton Manor - 1 day
May - Saxdale - 4 days
May - Nantcol - 9 days
July - Weymouth - 1 day
July - Rozel Bay - 14 days
Aug - Corfe Castle - 2 days
Aug - Saxdale - 4 days
Sep - Stratford - 2 days
Oct - Stainforth - 2 days
Dec - Saxdale - 5 days
To be continued.....
We invested in the extension. It obviously provides ample space for cooking but what we particularly like about it is the fact that you can still eat / drink outside even if it is raining as the extension is deep enough for you to stay dry. It is also fairly straight forward and quick to pitch up. When we arrive late at a pitch we get the main tent up and pop the extension on the following morning ready for breakfast.
As Karen has pointed out, the main draw back with the extension is they are not great in the wind. In which case, we would not bother putting it up.
We use our Nevada M just for weekends so quite happy with the king poles which Karen rightly said should only be around £10 -£12 (you can even use the Vango king poles) However if an extension came up second hand at the right price!!!!!
------------- Experience enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Everything has been said before, but since nobody ever listens we have to keep going back and saying it all over again and again and again
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I have also been looking for an alternative for a Porch/Extension for our first trip (As I just can't afford an Outwell Carolina M Extension right now).
After doing some hunting, I've found these two you might be interested in: Vango King Poles - 180cm (6ft). - £12.78 including P&P. Vango King Poles (adjustable) - 120cm (4ft) or 180cm (6ft). £15.50 including P&P (includes guy lines, steel pegs and rain cowls [which the other link does not]).
Because I'm not sure how big the Nevada is, but the above might not be tall enough... so try these - They're 210cm (7ft).
If you're still set on an extension, have you tried looking at universal ones or finding out which other models/makes will have an extension to fit your tent? The reason I ask is because you might pick up a decent 2nd hand one on eBay that you wouldn't have known about because you're not looking for :-)
------------- April Bank Holiday - Woodlands Grove Leisure Park, Dartmouth.
Thank you all for your comments. We are going to give some king poles a go first and see if the extension comes down in price toward the end of the year (if we need it)
Forget poles, buy the extension, you will never look back ! Loads of room for both cooking and sitting at the same time, there are 4 of us, 2 adults and two big teenage lads and we have plenty of space.
As for wind, we had a massive gale come through Stourport last August bank holiday it wrecked our groups gazeebo but the extension stood up to the lot, i did find one of the poles had split when we took it down to pack up but it didnt affect the extension in terms of stability.
------------- Too many tents, Vango Diablo 900XP, Large canopy and Vango windbreak. Outwell Nevada M and Outwell canopy, Vango tempest 200.
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