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Topic: air tent

markstimo

12/8/2014 at 7:57pm
Location: leicester
Outfit: kampa southwold 4+2 air tent

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hi first time post,thinking of going back to camping after packing up for a couple of years due to my wifes ill health
we used to have a trailer tent but it became to much for me to do on my own,so we have been looking at air tents,a couple we quite like are the higear cirrus 6 & the kampa southwold 4+2 was wondering what anybodys thoughts or advice would be most welcome

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tentadventurer

13/8/2014 at 8:38am
Location: Suffolk
Outfit: Vango Keswick 600 + 2 others

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If I'm honest, I'm due a bigger tent and fancied an air tent. I have been reading a lot of people's posts but it's put me off them! People talking about how heavy they are to manoeuvre, how inflating is a 2 man job, one had a leaky valve, one got a puncture, one had twisted inner tubes... even putting them up doesn't seem any quicker than a tunnel tent.
Sound like more trouble than their worth, but maybe people just post more negatives about them than positives?

snapychris

13/8/2014 at 9:59am
Location: Northants
Outfit: Royal Athens 4 coleman shelter deluxe

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Is that not the same for any reviews ? people are more likely to post about a small problem and make a mountain out of a mole hill.

There must be hundreds of air tents being used now, if they were that bad they would stop making them.

Most big tents take more than 1 person to erect so that's not really an issue is it, and how many complain about fiberglass poles breaking or the weight and bulk of steel poles.

jason johnson

13/8/2014 at 10:12am
Location: Dewsbury West Yorks
Outfit: Vango Kura 800dlx

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I can erect our outwell concorde l on my own. Yes it is a heavy beast to move about when it's in the bag but once laid out it's not really a problem

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Campernic

13/8/2014 at 10:19am
Location: Northern Ireland
Outfit: Bell Tent Vango Coleman and Quechua

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I don't see that I would spend X amount more just to have an air chamber rather than a pole and sleeve arrangement. It's not that hard to thread a pole through a sleeve and if you use the Gary Cross method of pitching (look it up on Youtube) you don't need to struggle with an air vacuum when trying to erect the tent.

I can't see the pitching time being all that different either. So for the time being, I'm not sold on air tents.

Francais

13/8/2014 at 5:21pm
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Fantastic concept the inflatable tent, and having visited various displays there is only one brand that I would consider buying and that would be Karsten, all the others pale into insignificance.

But like all things, you pays your money and makes your choice.

tentadventurer

13/8/2014 at 9:05pm
Location: Suffolk
Outfit: Vango Keswick 600 + 2 others

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Quote: Originally posted by snapychris on 13/8/2014
Is that not the same for any reviews ? people are more likely to post about a small problem and make a mountain out of a mole hill.

There must be hundreds of air tents being used now, if they were that bad they would stop making them.

Most big tents take more than 1 person to erect so that's not really an issue is it, and how many complain about fiberglass poles breaking or the weight and bulk of steel poles.

I'm not doubting any of your points, but the fact is that air tents are a good few hundred pound more than their fibreglass equivalents and that is where it lies. If they take as long to erect, what exactly are you paying the extra for?

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markstimo

13/8/2014 at 9:35pm
Location: leicester
Outfit: kampa southwold 4+2 air tent

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thanks for all the response,we have taken the plunge and have purchased a kampa southwold 4+2 package deal complete with footprint and carpet + you get an extra 2 berth inner bedroom,£549 from bestbuys of wellingborough + same deal also avaliable at norwich camping and leisure,free next day delivery included,hoping to get away next week sometime so will post how we got on with it

Jim1977

13/8/2014 at 9:41pm
Location: Leicestershire
Outfit: Karsten 380 Veranda

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I know some poled tents are quicker and easier to pitch than others, but our Harrier XL is much quicker to pitch than our Bear Lake 6 was. More importantly it is much easier to pitch, and is a solo pitch, which means my wife is free to look after the little ones. For people who want a large polycotton tent for mainly weekend use and have small children to keep an eye on an air tent is perfect. For others, I agree the extra outlay would be pointless. Depends on individual needs.
Jim

kirsty12

14/8/2014 at 7:11am
Location: Herts
Outfit: Robens Klondike & Mazda CX5

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I've had no issues with mine at all, much quicker and easier to pitch than any other tent. The guying takes the same amount of time though. Brilliant in bad weather, with no poles to break and much quieter, no creaky poles. Best tent I've ever owned.

Decker666

24/8/2014 at 7:49pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: None Entered

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The real bonus on airbeam tents is not how long it takes but how much EASIER they are to pitch compared to poled tents

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hankakampa

24/8/2014 at 8:26pm
Location: uk
Outfit: Karsten - sun storm - doesnt matter!

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iv got 3 air tents

a karsten 300
outwell concorde L
vango pulse 450

i used to have a bear lake6 - superb tent but i struggled to put it up on my own.
i sold that and over time iv bought 3 air tents. ( short stay, long stay, bad weather predicted stay ).

for me, like said above, on my own i can put up the concorde ( being the best example of this ) on my own easily. i struggled and huffed and puffed with the bear lake.
it doesnt take much less time up or down - theres still pegging and setting up inside to do. but im comfortable camping by myself with any of my air tents where i struggled before.
i like the space of a big tent even if its only me there, so buying smaller air tent ( which i also did in way of karsten and vango ) for different / shorter trips made these fun again instead of struggling with poles.

good luck with your kampa - i think they are much under rated tents and i hope you have many great trips in it.

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markstimo

25/8/2014 at 9:45am
Location: leicester
Outfit: kampa southwold 4+2 air tent

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thanks for all the response,we have just returned from a 5 night stay at fakenham norfolk,glad we picked the kampa southwold 4+2 so easy to put up with only one inflation point it was up within 10 mins,loads of room inside also even with the extra bedroom up,bedrooms quite big also,it was so solid when all up and pegged and guyed out,easy to deflate as well with 4 seperate release valves,all in all very happy with what we have bought and feel we have got a bargin for £549 with footprint,carpet,extra bedroom

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