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Topic: 5-6 man tents

Wetmac

02/6/2017 at 3:50pm
Location: Falkirk
Outfit: None Entered

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I am seeking reviews of easy to pitch 5/6 man tunnel tents. My Urban Escape Atago 5 needs replacing and I need one that I can put up myself. Pitching time is not a factor as I am disabled but I have got used to pitching my current tent. The only reason I am changing is because I can no longer get spares and there is a pole that needs replacing. This time I am looking for one with at least a 4000HH. I semi-wild camp in Scotland and at times the Atago has shown its weakness only being 3000HH. I am 6 foot tall and need to be able to stand up to get dressed. Getting up off the ground these days is not an option. I have got used to the space inside the Atago which is why I am considering the Skandika Gotland 5. Having said that I am open to any suggestion and all will be looked at. I am not into split bedrooms preferring the bedrooms to be together at one end. I say this because some so called 5 man tents are to me mis-named and should be classed as 4 man. It is why I have asked about some 6 man tents as well for the width. (I regularly camp at one place only and the width can be up to 370cm but no more as there is not the room for anything larger). Finally my budget is up to £450. Thank you.

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Bob61

02/6/2017 at 7:50pm
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I would suggest a Coleman Da Gama 6 which is very similar to your Atago but has metal poles making it very easy to erect.

The downside is that it has a 3000mm HH although that is twice the British Standards for waterproofing so should be fine for most British weather situations.

yozza64

02/6/2017 at 8:14pm
Location: Runcorn Cheshire
Outfit: Ford Grand C-Max and Pennine Fiesta

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I would suggest looking at the Vango Icarus 500 its a cracking 5 berth tent and can be put up by one person. Go Outdoors have a great deal on a bundle at the moment.

vti2007

02/6/2017 at 8:44pm
Location: Derbyshire
Outfit: Zempire Aero TL

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Agree with Icarus 500. Had one till very recently and no trouble at all to pitch on my own

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Wetmac

03/6/2017 at 1:46pm
Location: Falkirk
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Thank you guys for the advice. I have had a look at both tents. Coleman is a good make and indeed one of my earlier tents was a 3 man Coleman. The problems, as acknowledged, is that it is only 3000HH. This is another reason why I am changing my current tent. 3000HH is just not enough to cut it in a Scottish downpour and u invariably get water seeping through. Ok, you are not flooded out, but you still have to keep an eye out and are constantly trying to get excess from the inside of the tent roof. With regard to the Icarus 5; it has the HH I am looking for but is 2 feet narrower than my current tent. Skandika make a 4 man tent wider than the Icarus. It is why I included 6 man tents in my request. With the Atago you can get 5 mattresses side by side and there is 360cm interior bedroom width. The Icarus only has 300cm so how you would get 5 into it I am not sure. With 3 grandkids I need the extra room. The Icarus might do me when on my own so it is not yet discounted totally. For a little extra there is also an air tent. I have never gone the air tent route because I am always afraid of seams ripping etc. I camp at the side of a loch in the middle if a forest so the ground is not flat and has the odd tree root to contend with. Whilst I do put a sheet of builders polythene underneath the floor as a footprint I am still wary of getting an air tent. Not just that but I also am not sure if I could inflate it using a conventional foot/arm pump. My wife could not get the car close enough to use the car engine so I would have to inflate it manually. On the one hand it might be easier for me to erect given my disabilities, but at the same time I am still not really sure about how an inflatable would fare in a high wind, (and I do not mean about taking off but whether any of the air bags would have the strength to stay intact. I am a seasoned camper but I could go for a good variety of tents at one time. Now my disabilities limit me. As it is it tales me a long time to erect a tent but I manage. My wife does not camp and just takes me to the site and collects me 2 weeks later. I do have to cater for guests though, which is why I upgraded to a 5 man tent in the first place. Sorry to be so negative in some ways but I have to be particular. I am basically looking for a tent that is at least 345-360cm wide. Not only do I cater for guests but I also take volunteer projects to do as well as fishing gear and of course a portaloo. I call it semi-wild camping because I do get help from the forest rangers so am not entirely on my own.

So please keep your advice coming. I have not had to buy a new tent for several years now, which is why I posted this request. Once again, thank you for the replies so far.

heath63

04/6/2017 at 10:12pm
Location: wirral
Outfit: Outwell Nevada m Vango sigma 300

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3000 should be more than adequate, are you sure it's not condensation you're looking at. My previous tent was 2000hh, I camped in Snowdonia 3 or 4 times a year and in torrential rain it did not leak.

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New Year: Hesketh Bank
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Wetmac

05/6/2017 at 6:07pm
Location: Falkirk
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Hi Heath63.

No, it was not condensation. Whilst on camp at the beginning of May we had a real torrential couple of days. Initially I did think about condensation, and there obviously must have been some as the tent was closed up. It was only when I took the inner tent down that I found out that it could not have been condensation as there was a large pool of water underneath the bedroom groundsheet. The tent will cope with the occasional downpour but in constant torrential rain, which we get a fair amount of in Scotland, it is showing its age. Even with reproofing, the tent will no longer cope with the Scottish weather. It has served me well but it is time to move on and to get something more current. When you think this tent is 5 years old and has seen a lot of use, I think I have had my monies worth from it. I aim to give it to friends as it will be a good starter tent for them.

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Ewen c

05/6/2017 at 7:01pm
Location: County Kildare Ireland EU.
Outfit: Tents

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Hi wetmac, a 3000hh is fine for Scotland. My Vango force 10 mk3 cn is 3000hh. 3000 used to be the highest you could get and we used tents like that all year round in Scotland.
No offence to skandika owners but if you are looking for something to survive Scottish weather, then avoid skandika. Go for Vango, Coleman, Outwell, Khyam, Royal or similar.

-------------
Hypercamp Alaska
Vango Force 10 mk3
Vango F10 Helium 1
Coleman Cobra Pro 3
Coleman Cobra 2
Naturehike Star River 2
Eureka! Solitaire
Dutch army goretex bivvy bag

Wetmac

05/6/2017 at 8:32pm
Location: Falkirk
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EWEN, THANK YOU FOR THAT. IT IS INTERESTING YOU SAY AVOID SKANDIKA. I HTOUGHT THEY WERE OKAY AND THE REVIEWS OVERALL ARE QUITE POSITIVE, BUT I WILL BOW TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE. I DO JHAVE A FEW OTHERS ONT HE SHORTLIST, ALL OF WHICH ARE 6 BERTH TO GIVE ME THE SIZE OF TENT I REQUIRE. MY 3 MAN IS A COLEMAN AND THAT DID ME FOR A FEW YEARS SO I AM FAMILIAR WITH THEM. IT IS ALSO NTERESTING YOU MENTIONED KHYAM AS OVERALL, RVIEWS WERE NOT VERY FLATTERING FOR THEIR TENTS, AND ESPECIALLY THE SIZE I AM AFTER. HAVE NOT COME ACROSS ROYAL SO WILLLOOK INTO THAT. SO FAR THESE ARE THE TENTS ON MY SHORTLIST. (SORRY THEY ARE NOT IN ANY ORDEER).
Vango Marna 600XL Tent - 2017, Herbal - £399.99 Outwell Whitecove 6 Tent - £399.99 Vango Avington 600XL 6 Man Camping Tent - 2017, Herbal - £329.99
Skandika Gotland 5 - £278.98)
Kampa Hayling 6 - £399.99
Outwell Glenwood 6 - £399.99
Hi Gear Odyssey Elite 6 - £319.99
Vango Anteus 600 - £349.99
Regatta Vanern 6 - £299.99
Vango Langley 600XL - £369
Skandika Nizza (6 person) - £326.77

YOU SAY TO AVOID SKANDIKA SO IGNORE THOSE. ANY ADVICE ON THE OTHERS WOULD BE AWESOME SHOULD YOU OR YOUR FRIENDS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE. IT IS AS I SAY, I HAVE NOT HAD TO BUY A TENT FOR A WHILE SO AM NOT UP TO SPEED ON THE LATEST MODELS. YOU NOTICE THAT THERE AR NO COLEMAN TENTS ON THE LIST. THIS IS BECAUSE NONE OF THEM SO FAR HAVE MET THE REQUIRED SPEC I AM LOOKING FOR. THAT IS THE ONLY REASON AS I KNOW COLEMAN ARE A GOOD MAKE. I HAVE NOT ENTIRELY DISMISSED THEM BUT SO FAR HAVE FOUND OTHER TENTS WHICH I WISH TO PURSUE A BIT FURTHER. AS I SAID, HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ROYAL SO AM INTRIGUED.

THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR REPLY. MUCH APPRECIATED.

Wetmac

08/6/2017 at 3:03pm
Location: Falkirk
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Once again thanks to all of you who have taken the trouble to respond. As explained in an earlier message, I have certain criteria and one of them is to give me the same space as my current tent. Thus only one 5 man tent has made my shortlist. I list my shortlist below and you will see that I have still kept the Skandika Gotland 5 on it because although I was advised to steer clear of it I was not given the reason why, and that is so important. So Ewan, if you could tell me why you do not recommend Skandika I would appreciate it.

So, my final shortlist. What I would ask is that because these are 2017 tents you give me your advice on the brand and your experience of it. I will then adjust my list accordingly.

VANGO MARNA 600XL
VANGO AVINGTON 600XL
VANGO ANTEUS 600
VANGO LANGLEY 600XL
OUTWELL WHITECOVE 6
OUTWELL GLENWOOD 6
HI GEAR ODYSSEY ELITE 6
REGATTA VANERN 6
SKANDIKA GOTLAND 5

Once again, thank you for your help.

Ewen c

08/6/2017 at 8:05pm
Location: County Kildare Ireland EU.
Outfit: Tents

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Look at reviews on Skandika. They aren't up to what you want. They simply won't stand up to Scottish use.
Out of your shortlist I'd go for the Vango because I'm biased, I've only had good Vango stuff, I have a force 10 and they still employ Scots. Then I would go for Outwell as they are reputable. I have had an easycamp (budget outwell) and it was well made. Hi gear gets good reviews but I don't know them.

-------------
Hypercamp Alaska
Vango Force 10 mk3
Vango F10 Helium 1
Coleman Cobra Pro 3
Coleman Cobra 2
Naturehike Star River 2
Eureka! Solitaire
Dutch army goretex bivvy bag

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Wetmac

08/6/2017 at 8:24pm
Location: Falkirk
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Ewan, thank you for the quick response. I can only surmise that you are biased through experience and that counts for a lot. You have just shortened my list considerably. I will take your advice and ditch Skandika. I will get rid of the rest and have a good look at the Vango tents. It will then be a matter of choice although they all give me what I am looking for.

Once again, a big thank you. Your advice very much appreciated.

Ewen c

08/6/2017 at 9:45pm
Location: County Kildare Ireland EU.
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Another plus for Vango and Outwell is that you can see them pitched. Skandika are internet only.

-------------
Hypercamp Alaska
Vango Force 10 mk3
Vango F10 Helium 1
Coleman Cobra Pro 3
Coleman Cobra 2
Naturehike Star River 2
Eureka! Solitaire
Dutch army goretex bivvy bag

Wetmac

10/6/2017 at 9:27pm
Location: Falkirk
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Have made my choice and will go to Go Outdoors to check it out. At the moment I am going for the Vango Anteus 600 but will see if there is anything else once I can get my wife to take me to Coatbridge, which is my nearest store.

It was really worthwhile reading what you all had to say. Vango as a brand seemed to be the most popular and so after looking I got rid of the rest of the brands and concentrated purely on Vango. They produce what I am looking for and this tent will fit perfectly into the space available to me without having to avoid tree stumps and the like. Go Outdoors also do a bundle deal on this tent and although I do not really want the awning I will buy it as the deal will cost me less than if I were to buy the footprint and carpet separately.

So for the last time I say a big thank you to you all for responding to me.

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