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Topic: Emperor bell or other?

Nozza

01/8/2014 at 10:09am
Location: None Entered
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I'm in the market for a new tent. We're a family of 4 (two kids under 10) and our old tent is falling apart and is too small.

Looking into bell tents and saw a friends one last weekend. I find I like the canvas and lack of sweaty nylon but the shape seems pretty impractical for using the space, standing other than in the very middle and keeping tidy with kids.

I think I'd like to have an inner for sleeping to keep the mozzies out and to hide messy kids in the evening.

So I've been considering the emperor bell tent as the shape looks more useful but I've not seen one in person.

Would an emperor with the inner at one end offer a decent living area to have a table and seating etc - maybe boil a kettle in the morning etc?

I'm wondering:

Is the emperor a good buy for a family of 4?
Is the space actually much more usable than a 5m bell?
Is the footprint including guys going to be a problem for many campsites?
Are the quick to pitch compared to pyramids or tunnels?
Is the ZIG worth the extra £?

Thanks and sorry if these Q's have been asked too many times already!

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P-T Family

01/8/2014 at 6:39pm
Location: Norfolk
Outfit: 5m bell tent & Vango Peace tepee

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I can't advise regarding the Emperor tent but can let you know that you can get inners for bell tents (half and quarters). If I couldn't have my bell though I'd probably look at the Alaska instead - cheaper than the Emperor too!

Paper clip

06/8/2014 at 1:55pm
Location: north west
Outfit: Emperor Bell & 4m & 5m bells

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Hi there, I have both a 5 m bell and the emperor, Both would be fine for 4 people but the the shape of the emperor does give you much more usable space. Personally we have never bothered with inners as we like the open plan style of camping and inners tend to carve up your space and make it less flexible, but an inner at one end would still leave you with more than enough space although if you are planning on sleeping all 4 of you in the inner I think you would struggle.
Pitching is pretty easy with 2 adults it takes about 20 minutes and neither of us are fit or agile! We ordered a sig but were sent a zig and to be honest we have never unzipped it all the way but it is is handy to be able to unzip a section if the weather is very hot. I love my bell tents and now I wouldnt have any other style of tent, easy to pitch, loads of room and very stable in the wind. I would recommend to anybody who has the boot space to transport one :)

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Nozza

07/8/2014 at 9:55am
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The wife is particularly keen on inner tents for mozzie protection and organisation. Looking at the websites, it looks like you can sleep 4 in a 5m bell tent inner with 2 compartments. But the emperor's inner is smaller being based on a 4m tent and so you can't do this. 2 inners in the emperor would look to take up a heck of a lot of the space.

How do you find organisation in these bell tents? I'm thinking of rainy weather when you can't always be under an awning but might want to sit and eat etc inside.

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P-T Family

07/8/2014 at 8:40pm
Location: Norfolk
Outfit: 5m bell tent & Vango Peace tepee

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We have a height adjustable table (on lowest setting) with storage under. All kitchen stuff and food is stored in it and if necessary can cook on the top of it. Always found chairs a bit of a pain to be honest - we usually use beach chairs but have also used moon chairs and inflatable sofa/chairs). If raining we tend to eat sitting on the floor but could probably fit our folding picnic table with attached seats if we really wanted to but wouldn't leave much living space. Clothes are in bags behind beds. To be honest we don't really find an inner useful for storage (unless you want to throw stuff in there and zip it shut out of sight). It does help with mozzies, privacy and for keeping the bedroom area warmer if chilly though - which is the only time we use ours now. We're a family of four too - will try and find some pics with and without to give you a better idea.

P-T Family

07/8/2014 at 9:07pm
Location: Norfolk
Outfit: 5m bell tent & Vango Peace tepee

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Not sure if this works - been ages since posted a pic anywhere! Should be tent with inner.

P-T Family

07/8/2014 at 9:11pm
Location: Norfolk
Outfit: 5m bell tent & Vango Peace tepee

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Without inner (storage table on left)

And storage table:

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Nozza

09/8/2014 at 10:04pm
Location: None Entered
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Thanks for taking the time to post those pics.

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