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Hi all,

Great forum here, and with great advice too. My family and I are taking to camping for the first time as a family and would appreciate some advice on tents. After reading many of the topics here I realise how important it is to make the right decision when selecting manufacturer and style.  I had set my heart on the Vango 700dlx for size,comfort and ventilation. But I had'nt considered how much effort it would be to erect such a beast especially when just popping off for a weekend jaunt. The tent must have two functions therefore weekend sortee and HQ for 1 or 2 weeks. Any advice?

love our Sun Valley 8...is a super HQ and ok for long w/e

it is a 2 person job for getting up though.

Welcome to UKCS!

You don't say how many people are in your family. Assuming you are 2 adults, 2 children, something like the Sun Valley as mentioned above would be ok. For ease of erection, you really need a tunnel tent. Anything like the Diablo's with their pods that shoot off in every direction is going to take a fair bit of putting up.

If you have a larger family, then look at something like the Outwell Montana ranges (they do up to a 12 berth - it's quite a monster but takes only 1/2 an hour to put up and about the same again to do all the guy lines). Outwell are also bringing out another new tunnel tent this year - the Vermont, and that looks great too.

Good luck!

More thumbs up for the Sun Valley 8 - we, too, are a family of 4 (2 adults & 2 10 year olds).  We found it to be the only tent that fulfilled all our requirements and is really roomy and easy to erect (even in the pouring rain!).

Well, in that case I would recommend the following tents:

Outwell Montana 6

Outwell Indiana 8

Outwell Sun Valley 8

Outwell Vermont XL

(The one above would be my choice due to the seperate kitchen area)

Also, you could look at:

• Vango Vail 700
• Sunncamp Family Vario (the 900 would give you lots of space)
• Outwell Norfolk Lake
• Outwell Bear Lake.

Have a great time choosing!!!

My best advice would be to go to somewhere that is displaying tents.  They look so different up rather than just on pictures.

For example the moment we saw the Hartford XXL we knew it was the tent for us yet had loads on our shortlist from viewing the manufactures websites.

Then when you then have decided what you want from a tent you can search around the camping supply shops via the net to pick up the best price.  

we have a 4 & 2 year old, our vario 6 is perfect for us.

happy camping

chris

Quote: Originally posted by carpman on 17/1/2007

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we have a 4 & 2 year old, our vario 6 is perfect for us.

happy camping

chris

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Quote: Originally posted by hairpiece on 17/1/2007

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{snip..} The tent must have two functions therefore weekend sortee and HQ for 1 or 2 weeks. Any advice?

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Consider, getting a tent for weekends - i.e. with just enough living area, but good bedroom size - and then take away a seporate day-room tent for longer stays.

Although this may incurr a bit more in site charges, it does have some big advantages, such as a seporate place to cook and in the evening, somewhere to sit inside at night and not be right next door to the kids and are better with ventilation if it is very hot

Quote: Originally posted by Dripping_Wet on 17/1/2007

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My best advice would be to go to somewhere that is displaying tents.  They look so different up rather than just on pictures.

For example the moment we saw the Hartford XXL we knew it was the tent for us yet had loads on our shortlist from viewing the manufactures websites.

Then when you then have decided what you want from a tent you can search around the camping supply shops via the net to pick up the best price.  

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Thanks for all your advice. I have picked up some great points from your postings and find the forum simply the best with some very nice people willing to help and share experiences, Thanks again to all who have posted and I will let you know of my purchase.

This is the OUtdoor Revolution VRX Scenic 6.2 which is available for the great price of £200 on this site. I bought one last summer and am absolutely delighted with it. It has two seperate bedrooms and a huge living area, which is ideal for when the weather turns nasty. It is also extremely stable in the wind. Only takes an hour to errect.

Have a good look at it.