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Camping under canvas - Tent talk. Advice, info and recommendations

Topic: Newbie camper, tent recommendations

bex01

09/7/2017 at 9:44pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: Montana 6

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Hi everyone, so having thought I'd got my tent sorted (second hand Outwell Montana 6) then to find it had mildew / damp etc problems and all that disappointment. The seller has agreed to refund, hooray! It leaves me tentless again! I am looking for suggestions for what I should to looking for. My budget is about £300, its for 2 adults and a 9 year old (the Outwell seemed very big on reflection) I went for the Outwell following on from fantastic reviews. Would a new Vango or Quechua be a better bet for the money? Any recommendations gratefully received.

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denny98

09/7/2017 at 10:05pm
Location: Surrey
Outfit: Outwell Montana and Birdland 3

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From a complete Outwell fan, I went to a local tent display today and was very impressed with the Vango Langley 4 XL. It ticked all my boxes Ventilation 2 large bedrooms, good living space and a porch. I believe you can also get a porch door. If I was in the market for a new tent I would be seriously looking at this one. Unfortunately still have to make do my 2008 Montana 6

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Denise

Covedweller

10/7/2017 at 4:27pm
Location: Sandhurst
Outfit: Elddis Crusader Aurora 2004

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As the previous poster said there are several tent expos on currently
The one by us in Berkshire is a good place to come and see the tents put up in a field
They have various brands from the top end to the family mid market price
They are all at a good price and if you're prepared to wait until the end of the expo at the end of July you can even buy the display model and pick it up when the expo finishes
We got our Kampa Air Beam Hayling 6 from there last year and paid about £550 for it which was about £200-300 cheaper than it should be
Theres tents for all budgets and you'll be surprised the size you can get for your budget

https://campingcentreexhibitions.co.uk/wokingham/

Madamzsazsa

11/7/2017 at 8:22pm
Location: Essex
Outfit: Outwell Nevada M Sunncamp Pathfinder

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I was going to recommend Kampa too! I really like the Hayling 4 but then theres only two of us, and it might feel a bit cramped with 3.Our local camping shop has this offer on for £265
https://www.campingandleisure.co.uk/kampa-oxwich-6-2016-package-inc-carpet-and-footprint.html
Which I think is a great price.

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TimCESmith

11/7/2017 at 10:35pm
Location: London
Outfit: Karsten 350 + SE CA EA RA FW & ZIG

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There are some cracking tents on offer in the free ads section of this very site (link). You can click through to the seller's profile to get an idea of what sort of state the tent is in.

Lummo10

11/7/2017 at 11:09pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Outfit: Vango Orava 500xl

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I had an outwell tent for about 5 years and it had suffered some rough weather in that time but finaly gave in whilst camping last year so when we left the campsite owner took it to the tip for us. I was all set on getting another outwell tent until we visited a winfields store that had about 70 tents on display and after about 3 hours of looking at all the tents and finaly deciding what features we wanted our new tent to have and what we wanted to spend we got a short list of 3 and we opted for The Vango Orava 500xl and after 2 weekends away in it we are over the moon with it ticks all the boxes. I think realy it is all down to your budget and which tent you like the look of, I would highly recomend seeing a tent when erected it is so helpfull.

thehillwalker

11/7/2017 at 11:09pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: None Entered

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I can't tell you which tent to buy but I can certainly tell you which brands I would steer clear of... if that helps.

Many people with Vango tents seem to have problems with the poles splitting/cracking, and especially when it's cold. I've read of so many people complaining of this (mostly on this forum) that I don't think I'd ever buy a Vango.

Personally I wouldn't buy a Quechua tent either because I prefer sewn-in groundsheets and I think most of their family tents only have fully sewn-in groundsheets in the sleeping area. I'm also not a Decathlon fan in general as they often sacrifice quality in order to squeeze as much profit out of their ranges as possible.

Coleman is another company I'd avoid. The quality of Coleman tents is terrible these days. I bought a Coleman last year that was faulty, and I recommended Coleman to a relative who got two faulty tents (they sent the first one back and was sent another dud as a replacement).

Not sure if listing companies I would avoid is helpful. Hope it is.

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New! Please upload a photo of your tent to the Tent Showcase!

Lummo10

11/7/2017 at 11:22pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Outfit: Vango Orava 500xl

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I think all tents with fibreglass poles have a tendency to breaking i had 2 split poles on my outwell over the 5 years but there is a fair bit of strain on them. I would have agreed with you about Vango a few years ago but looking at the quality of my Vango i can say in my opinion they have improved in quality and on my Vango this years tent has an angled connector on the poles making it easier to pitch and takes a hell of alot of strain of the fibreglass poles but still supporting the tent very well. on our first weekend away in it we had one night of very strong blustery wind and it was steady as a rock. If i had £1500 budget i would have probably bought an other brand of tent but the Vango fit the bill and my budget.

thehillwalker

12/7/2017 at 8:00am
Location: None Entered
Outfit: None Entered

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That's useful info Lummo10. Guess people are more inclined to write something online if they have a problem than if everything with their tent is fine, so maybe my negative opinion of Vango is unfair. Guess that's the value of a forum like this.. getting a balanced view.

Great to hear that Vango quality has improved. Shame that the quality of Coleman tents seems to be getting worse rather than better.

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