Message Forums

I have been camping in the uk for 2 summers now with my young family and we want to step up to a 2 week camp in France for our main summer holiday next year. The only problem is having upgraded out tent from a Hartford L to an Ohio XL I am now seriously worried that the tent is not suitable for a 2 week stay in France in late July / early August.

The ohio xl is a large tent with plenty of ventilation options and screens but everything i read here suggests we will be uncomfortbale in anything other than  a cotton or at least a poly cotton tent.  Because the bedrooms are on the side you can have a breeze flowing through doors on the front and the back but I am not sure if this is of any use if it is hot and there is little breeze.

My two children will be 6 and 3 1/2 when we go next and we are planning to go to the coast in the Vendee area or perhaps a little further south towards  La Rochelle.

I really dont want to admit the tent wont do as we only camp for four or five days at a time in the UK so if the Ohio doesn't work for France it's not worth keeping for the UK alone. Should i bite the bullet and trawl ebay for a cabanon or try it out in France and see how it feels?

i've never given it any thought to be honest.  We've always been ok in all the sorts of tents we've had.

go and enjoy yourselves!

I've been down in the Loire and La Rochelle way in a synthetic tent and been fine. Looking at the Ohio you can leave the mesh window open all the time even if raining and if you keep the curtains shut during the day and any possible vents open, you'll only find it oppressively hot for the few minutes it takes to get all the doors and windows open when you get back from an outing. You can leave the inners open 24/7 for ventilation as well, or even take them out if very hot. One other trick is to wet down mesh windows with a clean sponge and plain water...it cools the air down  as it goes in. And you can take a wee 7" desk fan if you have EHU, to get a bit of air flow going.

I've also been in Normandy in a 40'C heatwave when even our canvas trailer tent was too hot to go into during the day and at night we were sleeping out on the grass under the sun canopy. If it gets that hot everyone will be suffering, whatever tent you have. It's not worth buying a new tent just on the offchance.

Thank you all, thats very good to hear, even though part of my secretly wanted to add another tent to the collection.

Whats the best way to provide some shade then. I tried using a tarp from Decathlon last year but ended up taking it back as it wasnt very stable. Tha said though it probably wont be as windy in france as it was in norfolk last year.

Whats the best way to provide some shade then. I tried using a tarp from Decathlon last year but ended up taking it back as it wasnt very stable. Tha said though it probably wont be as windy in france as it was in norfolk last year.

camp in a pine forest or under a tree.

Regard Bob

Quote: Originally posted by Tentz on 27/6/2011

---

Take a compass(essential kit for choosing pitch imho)& you can work out where the sun will be at what time of day.

---

Quote: Originally posted by camdm025 on 27/6/2011

---

Whats the best way to provide some shade then. I tried using a tarp from Decathlon last year but ended up taking it back as it wasnt very stable.

---

Oops, we have a compass too!  As Tentz says, essential for finding the best pitch and the best spot to park up on a pitch.

Generally we've found that French campsite pitches, certainly in the south, provide a mix of sun and shade.  They are usually hedged between, with larger trees somewhere between the pitches.  Rarely do you get the 'Prairie' effect of open fields, jockey wheels facing forwards, which are common on British campsites. In France you can pitch just as you wish, sideways, front, back, or even diagonally across you pitch should you so choose.  Campsites in the south often ask if you want a sunny or a shady pitch - and we've found that even going for 'sunny' still gives you some shade at some part of the day.

I think there is no denying, that a "Cotton" tent is going to be more comfortable in hot climes than a "Polyester" tent, but that dosn't mean that a "Polyester" tent is not suitable, of course it is, just as any other type of canva is, be it "Cotton" "PolyCotton" "All Season Polyester" or "Polyester".

Not that any tent is gong to be cool, when the the temps are hitting +40Deg C, but early in the morning, as the Sun comes up, is when you will notice the difference, with the differing canvas types available.