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Helen -

Much depends on your needs and requirements. How large does it need to be?, will you be using for short trips and need something to put up quickly? How sturdy does it need to be, e.g. in high winds. If you know what your want in detail it is easy to compare pros and cons of the different styles.

We had a full awning with our van but it's heavy (steel poles) and a bit too much of a faff. There's only 2 of us plus a dog so we want a large porch.

We've had a good look around and decided to go for a traditional style with alloy or fibre poles. They're only a few kg's heavier that the lightweight ones. I like the fact they're more stable and more homely, after owning a nylon tent for some years I know how condensation can be a problem too. I'm hoping to pick up a 2nd hand one.

We have used a starcamp 390 lightweight and I must say I was surprisedthat it stood up to 70 mph winds on an exposed field near brighton in june the only damage was that four of the plastic rings that held the guy ropes broke but were easy to replace with keyrings or just tied the guy to the loop on the awning

  doug