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You'll be fine with your tent and head room, I call it the 'CONE OF HEAD ROOM'

If you do a search, you should find a link to the posts from a while back covering the topic and the formula to work it out both serious and joking

I got a few strange looks when I marked out full size plans on my local beach, of three four and five meter bell tents in side evlevation.  

Hi, in answer to the OP about some negatives with a bell ....

Ventilation: We were away in our 5M soulpad bell this weekend, and I was surprised that it felt quite stuffy inside, even when the door was wide open.  Yes I know I could unzip the floor but then I'd be exposed to creepy crawlies coming in as well as loss of privacy!  I wonder why bells don't have windows like other tents?

No mesh door:  We also got eaten alive with midgies, yikes.  Even though I had put up double netting hitched on to the A-frame door, the midges were able to fly in at both sides of the a-frame (there is a considerable gap between frame and canvas).  At the time of buying the bell, I hadn't realised that some brands had mesh doors on the bells, if I'd known this I would have been swayed to buy one of these!

Furniture:  As others have said, furniture has to be different in a bell due to slopey sides, and a bell can easily look cluttered.  To get over this issue, I bought a utility tent for cooking of my pre-existing camp gear and storage .... worth noting though that in addition to the cost of utility tent, I also was going to be charged for pitching it (so I didn't, i just cooked outside).

I have an Outwell Wolf Lake 5 also.  I decided this weekend that instead of selling it like I had planned (when I bought the bell in Jan) that I'd hold on to it and am likely to use Wolfie for longish camping which will be mainly in summer (because of great storage needed when we are away for long periods of time, windows for ventilation and to maximise views, etc).  And I'll probably use the Bell for off-season camping and with our wood burning stove, and mainly for weekends or a few days.  I also feel that if we use the bell-utility tent combination at off-season we'll be less likely be charged for a utility tent.

Weight - like another poster said, I had to use the baby buggy to move the tent, just unable to manage it on my own (5'3" female, not very strong). 

Lots of positives with the bell too ... its just lovely to be in, feels so atmospheric, easy, attractive, etc.  I don't think you'll regret buying one!  Enjoy it!

Humbird

Quote: Originally posted by Dinkydeb on 29/5/2012

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What puts me off is no windows.

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Yes, I agree. The colour of the canvas means that it's light in the tent but it would be good to be able to see out. I've thought about putting a window in the door, and might actually try that one day if I'm brave enough.