Quote: Originally posted by duffs54 on 24/8/2015Kinks, there are only two of us and our dog in our 6berth, love the extra room it gives us, especially if weather crappy.
I'll post my 3 kids to you then! I'd need a much smaller tent without them taking up all the room and my dog might get to come along too xx
Is that a no thank you then! lol
GeoffPrinter - Why do you find the bell easier to pitch? Personally we have ruled a bell out as we don't like the shared sleeping area and the closed in feel when inside.
x
Yes kinks please take that as a no, unless they don't mind grumpy grandads like my OH
Quote: Originally posted by duffs54 on 24/8/2015Kinks, there are only two of us and our dog in our 6berth, love the extra room it gives us, especially if weather crappy.
I'll post my 3 kids to you then! I'd need a much smaller tent without them taking up all the room and my dog might get to come along too xx
Is that a no thank you then! lol
GeoffPrinter - Why do you find the bell easier to pitch? Personally we have ruled a bell out as we don't like the shared sleeping area and the closed in feel when inside.
x
Yes kinks please take that as a no, unless they don't mind grumpy grandads like my OH
Well they have very grumpy dads so they won't notice!
We bought a 5m Bell to replace a 5 berth airbeam that my wife used for weekends with DD, the quality of cotton couldn't be ignored. We ended up using it for all our family holidays last year (for the three of us), but have gone back to using it for W/E only now.
The exact reason I sold my Inspire 600 was that I couldn't put it up on my own. Make sure you see the size and feel the weight of the tent in the bag. It's too big to fit through a standard loft hatch and if I put it in the car boot (Citroen Berlingo) it took up a significant amount of space to the point I started to not want to go away. It was great up, but has an awful lot of pegging points too and would probably take one person a good while to put up and just wasn't worth it.
Quote: Originally posted by Jayen on 30/8/2015The exact reason I sold my Inspire 600 was that I couldn't put it up on my own. Make sure you see the size and feel the weight of the tent in the bag. It's too big to fit through a standard loft hatch and if I put it in the car boot (Citroen Berlingo) it took up a significant amount of space to the point I started to not want to go away. It was great up, but has an awful lot of pegging points too and would probably take one person a good while to put up and just wasn't worth it.
Agree on the size of them, ours won't fit in the loft either so it is in the corner of the spare room, we can't lift it alone but can roll it ok and we have bought a trolly to get it from the house to the car.
As my OH isn't in the best of health and he has memory lapses of what he should be doing and stares at me doing most of the pitching, I practically pitch alone nowadays, that's why we sold our Biscaya for an airbeam, I just couldn't face those blooming poles anymore.
It had big hoops with those pimple things, by the time he had done one, I had done all the others. That's why we went airbeaming.
------------- Duffs54
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You may also want to look at pyramid style tents as they are extremely easy to pitch on your own (lone female camper in her 50's and I manage no problem) Once again though bear the weight issue in mind as they are canvas and usually have a SIG. My Guadeloupe is around 26kg and can be lifted around fairly easily, however I find my Karsten inflatable at 31kg quite difficult and need a trolley.
With regard to setting up time I doubt there is much difference between the two.
We currently have a Kampa Hayling 4 2015 poled tent and it is really nice
But I'm 99% certain that I'm buying a air tent for next summer
The 1% of uncertainty being because of the stories you hear about the air beams causing problems
And also the stories about the tents being heavy and big and bulky when packed away
Cos I haven't actually seen a air tent yet or one bagged away
I'm going to wait until next march and go to a display shop to see these tents pitched
Hopefully by March the new 2016 models will be out as well
And hopefully by next year the problems you do get with the air beams may not be so common what with technology getting better the more these firms make these tents
I really like the look of the Kampa Croyd 6 air but I also really like the look of the Vango Inspire 600 Airbeam but like I said no decision will be made until I actually see these tents in the flesh
Any input you good people have would be welcome and taken on board
At the NEC show in Feb they will have all of the tents on display so you can see like for like.
That's how we decided on ours, liked most of the airbeams there, but the enclosed porch which is included on the croyde and the bedroom area we could have as one large space rather than divided was the deciding point for us.
------------- Duffs54
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Quote: Originally posted by floyd47 on 06/9/2015
And hopefully by next year the problems you do get with the air beams may not be so common what with technology getting better the more these firms make these tents
I think the technology is already there but possibly beyond the pricepoint/margin required at present. Karsten seem to have it right & prior to that inflatable tube technology outside of tents seems pretty advanced.
Quote: Originally posted by spiritburner on 07/9/2015
I think the technology is already there but possibly beyond the pricepoint/margin required at present. Karsten seem to have it right & prior to that inflatable tube technology outside of tents seems pretty advanced.
True,
The technology or should i say basic quality materials have been around for years & are well proven.
As long as there are bean counters running businesses with in depth knowledge of how long materials will last in given circumstances you will get a tent etc which in effect has a self destruct button, they will accept casualties before that time frame expires as long as it's not too high.
What's the point of them making a superbly reliable air pole when the poly tent has a limited life expectancy anyway( we're talking weeks used not years owned),they change the models that often that there's no point saving em as the poles aren't interchangeable.
Thinking that next years model ( tent,washing m/c, car etc )is going to be better than last years is a fallacy imo. Design/retooling costs are now very low compared to years ago & most folk are suckers for having the latest model , perfect scenario for the manufacturers as it's the perfect opportunity to see if they can shave something off the production cost whilst adding just a touch to the top line price.
------------- The cheap tat was much better quality when i was young.
I have tried several different types of tents trying to find the easiest to pitch single handed. I now have an AIrgo which I love. Its easy to pitch, has lots of room and has stood up to some wild lake district weather. The downside to the one I have is the sloping front which lets the rain in but I've just added a Gelert Ottawa canopy (a pig to pitch - it took longer than the tent! Might be better next time) which is built like a battleship, fits perfectly and solves the problem.