hi i was interested in these tents, they look the busines but i think a bit expensive given the materials? i like the idea of the lift of cover great for abroad, theyre from N.Z heres a link to their website so you can see what else they do, some great canvas tents too! http://freedomcamping.co.nz/
They had one pitched at Yeoman's Calver show (as well as a couple of other zemphires. It looked pretty cool and the bedroom pods were enormous (a 2-person bedroom looked like what is normally classed as a 3 at least!)... though I wonder if it is better to have a bigger living space? It wasn't very high in the living area compared to other tents but perfectly fine. It was quite nice to see a tent that looked so different from the standard tunnel tents, I liked the look of the design.
When we went back at the weekend, it did have a puddle in it which wasn't a good sign.... but I guess the rain could have blown in with the door being left open...?
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We saw the Mothership at the Calver show a few weeks ago, I thought it was the best tent of its type there, I have been a long time fan of Vango but the material seems to be getting thinner each season. Well our old Diablo needed to be changed as the kids are much bigger now and we really wanted 3 bedrooms ( and boy are they huge on this mothership).....so we went ahead and bought the "Mothership"!!
We went to clumber park last week to check it out and it's really well made, the fabric is nice and thick....we also spent a little time looking at awnings/porch's and as zempire/freedom dont make one (yet) we managed to find that the vango Icarus 500 enclosed front porch fits just nice. All we need now is a footprint and the carpet (which are on the way). Well off to Cornwall in a few weeks where we can give it a real test!
------------- Camping is like life, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!!
I just got the Jetstream I'm very excited. I saw the mothership, jetstream and hubble pitched at PJ Camping, I'd only just recieved my Coleman Mackenzie x4 when I spotted these on the market, but had to have it.
They look really good quality, the fabric is thicker and looks more durable to any of my previous tents. One thing I'm a little disappointed they don't have are footprints, I'll keep an eye out if they retail next year. In the mean time I brought two coleman groundsheets, so I'll try to make something that resembles this for the time being. I also brought the awning, just in case we need any shelter from the rain.
Once I get it pitched and have spent some time in it, I'll let you know how it goes and how it stands up to our weather.
Just got back from my first proper camping trip for 10 years. I was neighbour to the Zempire Mothership! Looking around the site there were tents a plenty but only 1 stood out for me, that lead me to do a google search and thats how i arrived here. I gotta say the Zempire Mothership is a high end quality piece of kit, no gimicks here just well designed functional,fresh looking camping greatness. I spoke to Gary (probably more than camping etiquette) and found him a fountain of knowledge. Proper northern friendliness. I was picking up tips n tricks. I had a look inside the Mothership and gotta say its impressive in design and build quality. I dont know if Zempire are a long established company (im dipping my toe into camping here) but the Mothership is the one to beat.
We were exposed to quite difficult weather conditions rain i can cope with, but the winds were very strong. Strong gusts,tent wrecking gusts. All around us tents were dropping like flies snapped fibreglass and metal poles,ripped canvas the lot. The Mothership was able to stay steadfast and tractor beam the occupants in/out (sorry but i had too).
Id just like to say Thanks to Gary and Family for being great neighbours who i'd pitch up with anytime. For info i was using a secondhand bought off E blag Sunncamp Olympic 12 plus. Managed to survive the winds but i sustained bent ally porch poles. Narner shaped.
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at Chad sent u a request on facebook....was a pleasure to be neighbors....we should have had a few beers but i guess being on tent watch during the wind was a bit more pressing.....Would deffo pitch with you guys too....to all others interested in all things " Mothership" I will be posting a review soon but am still dealing with holiday photos and unpacking, at Kr100 congrats on the Jetsteam....we managed to get a footprint and carpet when we ordered the mothership, purchased through yeomans, but even their staff are a little sketchy on part numbers so might be an idea to contact the distributor which I believe is Sprayway!!
------------- Camping is like life, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!!
We had some crazy weather, I'll be reviewing the Jetstream soon, but just trying to sort something out with the supplier that's holding up my review!
Can you please let me know what yeomans suggested to you? I've seen the vango porch you used in your photos, and I believe the only size difference with the mothership/Jetstream is the additional pod.
Off again very soon - hoping to take the Jetstream, but may have to fall back on the Coleman if it's getting chilly.
Hi Guys, My names Richard, Director of Freedom Camping / Zempire. Just to let everyone know, we now have some Mothership footprints in the UK. The rear bedroom of these can be folded up to use with the Jetstream. We are also developing a full range of carpets and footprints for all our models and an attachable awning that will fit on both the Jetstream and Mothership. These will be available next season.
We are very excited to have our product in the UK market through our partners at Sprayway. If anyone has any suggestions of how we can make our tents more UK friendly we would love to hear from you either on this forum or at richard at freedomcamping.co.nz.
Hi KR_1000 the jetstream and the mothership are the same other than the extra pod so if you are looking at our setup im sure it will work for you....if your near sheffield id be happy to let you test our porch out in your jetstream. To Richard (freedom/zempire director) Good news to hear about the porch your developing....shame my retailer didnt know of its development otherwise I might have held out for the proper one, I hope you are making it an enclosed version and in the great fabric the rest of the tent is made from....would it be ok to email you with some questions?
------------- Camping is like life, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!!
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
and the sunroom would really need to zip on not velcro for the uk weather
Post last edited on 19/09/2012 13:35:44
------------- May 2012 Bolton-le-Sands
May 2012 Salterforth
June 2012 Riverside Southport
July 2012 Salterforth
July 2012 Penrhyn Bay
Aug 2012 Haven Scarborough
Aug 2012 Flamingoland
Just back from a week in Wales - i'll be waiting for the porch now, got the groundsheet on order - I may have some ideas on improvements for the uk market, baring in mind the changeable conditions. I'd usually continue camping till November, but have to say I don't think i'd be camping longer than September (we had a frost this morning) in my Jetstream :( I love the tent, the concept and space, but a few things make it less usable for our late season trips.