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Tent Reviews: Sprayway Valley 8
Tent and Awning Reviews Index > Sprayway > Valley 8 Reviews
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Current Model?
Berths:
Weight:
RRP on date added:
Bedroom inners:
Living area groundsheet:
Pitching Style:
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Yes
8 (more 8 berth tents)
52.26 KG
£459.00
3
Fully Sewn-in
Fly first
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Average User Rating:6.92/10 from 13 reviews
Viewed: 51613 times
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13 Reviews of the Valley 8
Showing 01 to 10 Page:
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By: BoatMum Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 
We have had this tent for over 6 years and it has been a joy.
Spacious, with LOADS of storage.
Kept us dry through torrential rainfall, stood up to 40mph winds.
The Fly screen doors do an epic job.
Easy to errect with 2 adults, after a few go's we have it down to an hour including all our flat pack furniture and kitchen to fit it out.
Sleeps our family of 4 and large dog easilly with an annexe for a portaloo, and a huge living area for sofas and dining area. Truly a home away from home!
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By: Emmcgowan Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 
We worked our way up to this tent through having to replace 2 other tents direct to Sprayway through faulty manufacture. We've now used it 3 times and yes it does take the whole family to erect it, but we're getting better at it and quicker. Once up there is loads of room, we use the 2 RH bedrooms as a decent size double and the kids currently share the LH room, we haven't installed the 4the bedroom yet. I think that Sprayway have missed a trick by not having a zip link between the LH bedroom and the wardrobe to increase the size of that room, we haven't used the wardrobe yet though. We're still waiting for good enough weather to be able to open all the 'windows' etc.
We wanted to put the awning up this weekend and when came to it discovered that we were missing 2 poles, back on the phone to Sprayway. The carpet is a disappointment, ours looked like it was preowned with holes and grass. Will try to get refund and get the Outwell one as advised by another reviewer.
All in all though we love the size of this tent, we needed height and space and it ticks those boxes. Sure it's not as quick to put up as some, but it is more secure on wet and windy nights.
Sprayway themselves need to focus on the manufacturing and quality control as although their aftercare has been great, it would be a lot less hassle for them and us to get it right in the first place.
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By: Logic500 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 
We bought our tent in 2009. Being a family (at the time) on a reasonable income, we were able to go on family holidays to California, Florida, and other great places. Growing up in the seventies, I loved camping as a kid, and I was sure that our kids would love camping too.
So with our new tent loaded into the new car roof box, and the boot crammed out, we set off for a weekend trip to a very local campsite. We let the kids watch DVD's in the car, while me and the Wife struggled to erect the tent. In total from start to finish, and including getting all the gear set up in the tent, it took about three and half hours. My Wife who was far from happy about the whole camping thing was not now resolute that camping wasn't for her. We soon realised that going away for a weekend in this tent wasn't an option, it all took far too long to get up, and too long to get down and packed away for the sake of a couple of days.
We waited until the August bank holiday, and we set off again hopeful that the extra day would make it worthwhile. We were keen to improve on our 'erection' time, and started getting it up, when halfway through the front canopy tore where it connected to a pole. We were hardly rough with it, and were massively disappointed that our £500 tent was now damaged.
We had an okay weekend, but it threw it down with rain when we came to take it down on the Monday, and we went home feeling somewhat down.
On our return home, we contacted Outdoor World who without problem agreed to replace the tent. We fully expected a battle convincing them that we'd not been somehow neglectful in damaging the tent. The replacement tent arrived and we stored it in our shed. And there it stayed for a year unopened.
Fast forward a year, a new baby in tow, the loss of my job, and there we were in August 2010. We decided to go away for a longer time, and test drive the replacement tent. My Wife wasn't happy at all, but I convinced her that we could it a home from home :-) I bought a chemical toilet, so that she didn't have to walk to the toilet in the middle of the night.
So we booked a campsite in Lincoln, and set off absolutely fully loaded.
We'd seen a small video on YouTube of a guy erecting the Valley 8. He did it on his own, and in a way totally different from the instructions. We memorised his method, and managed to get the whole tent up, and kitted out within two hours, a massive improvement on our previous times.
We stayed over a week in the Valley 8, and we all had an excellent time, the Wife becoming a convert to camping.
The replacement tent whilst the same model, had some minor additions, mainly lots of additional pockets sawn into the tent for storage.
The tent is enormous, and we had daily comments from passing campers about the size of our tent. It literally filled the pitch we were allotted. So I think whenever, and wherever we go next we'll have to make sure that the pitch will take the tent!
The quality as others have said does have a cheap feel, but with a tent of this size, I suppose weight considerations were an issue, and the lightest thinnest materials were needed to be used. I have to say, and I may be wrong but the replacement tent does seem a slightly better build quality.
We used the wardrobe, and sure clothes do slide to the rear, but it's a place to get your clothes out of the way, and not on the floor.
My Wife and I and the baby took the left bedroom, the middle bedroom we set up our foldable picnic table and used as a dining room, and the right bedroom was for our two girls. I erected the final 'optional' bedroom, and we set up our kitchen in there. It was great because when not in use, we could zip it up, and it was out of sight, just made us feel less cluttered.
I put our new loo into the front part of the tent, and it certainly made the trip more 'homely'. Using a loo in the privacy (out of sight, but not out of hearing :-0) of your tent is fantastic. That is until you have to empty it :-) probably the worst thing I've ever had to do.
Finally I invested in a battery powered shower. Filling a large bucket of hot water (few kettles plus cold), we were able to shower in the side annex. Okay it has to be a quick affair, about five minutes worth of hot water, but good enough to feel clean. The Wife said she never felt clean using camp showers.
We invested in a Valley 8 tent carpet, which to be totally honest was the biggest waste of money ever. We took it from the carpet carrier, and it looked absolutely knackered, like it had been used a thousand times already. By the end of the week, it was more frayed, and tatty looking. I won't mention the online store involved, but despite emailing them to ask to return it, they chose to ignore our requests. Not sure how many more trips we'll get out of it, but for over £70 we'll have to use it now.
Anyway back to the tent, the provided pegs are very lightweight, and bend easily, so we did end up buying some better quality ones.
There is a large area at the rear of tent that you could use for storage. Personally we used it to dry our hair in, as it was slightly cooler than the rest of the tent.
It does get extremely hot in direct sunlight, but presumably so do all tents. It wasn't a major issue as we went out most days, and used the tent like you would a hotel room. Having electrics in the tent, bringing the cable in through the provided zipped opening make everything more civilised than the camping trips of my childhood. Having the microwave, kettle, lighting, TV & satellite, hairdryer, fan heater all make it a more acceptable experience to my Wife.
Overall the tent in my opinion is great. I can't compare it to other tents, because I have not used any other tents. But it offers space, and a level of comfort that works well for us as a family.
Now as a family trying to get our fledgling business off the ground, and struggling to pay bills, this tent will now be our only 'holiday', so hopefully it will provide us our holiday accommodation for some years to come.
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By: StoneWolf Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 
I'm a little mixed about this tent. First the good points:
Its really easy to put up and take down for 2 people, I wouldn't like to try it on my own mind.
The size is fantastic, and for a family with a dog there is more than enough room.
The tent looks great, and get's plenty of comments from other campers.
The extensions canopy is great so you can sit outdoors even in the rain.
The layout is well thought out with great storage, and the side annex suits a portaloo perfectly.
To be honest, I love the looks and layout of the tent.
The bad points:
The build quaility is really poor. We are actually on our 2nd tent, the 1st having ripped on its first use, the 2nd being a free replacement from the manufacturer.
The material all round seems far too thin.
The poles seem to be a little too long for the fly sheet, the side do not meet the ground leaving gaps for wind.
Some of the peg eyelets are really brittle.
The inner tent only fits the fly sheet with quite a struggle, and the toggles seem a little small.
I wouldn't use the wardrobe bar either, this seems to put too much pressure on the inner tent support elastics.
All in all, if sprayway pay a little more attention to build quality they could be on to a real winner with this range.
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By: Jamesshaw Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating:
Great tent for families. Lots of storage, great bedrooms, great space for storing stuff in the rear area.
5 out of 10 as I think I had a 'made on a Friday afternoon' model. When pitching for the first time one of the front doors was stitched to the ground sheet, 2 zips did not work over their full length, the seam at the highest point of the tent began to rip, and a guy rope snapped off on the canopy.
I would advise the purchase of longer pegs - a tent of this size needs something that bit more substantial.
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By: Alexadk Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating:
Fantastic Tent. We have used this tent many times, during high gust of winds on the cliffs of Devon, in the creepy woods of Kent and up in Norfolk in the winter. My opinion best tent on the market, I had owned a out well and was sceptical prior to purchasing this and now very happy I made the leap of faith. This tent is strong sturdy, ticks all the boxs for me regarding keeping you cool during hot days, warm in the colder days. 10 out 0f 10 for me and family. This tent will add luxury to any camping trip you want to take. Great.
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By: Flo+kirsty Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating:
I brought the new tent (4 bed detached house) after having an 8 berth Apline - I chose this one as the dome tents do not allow me or my partner to stand up and the old one was single skinned. I was amazed and dumb struck buy the size of this tent - was plenty big enough for us and 3 kids and LOTS of the other 'essentials' that you take camping - only problem so far is that one of the securing hooks on the inside part of the tent came off and was not pulled too hard at all, will get this repaired though and not kick up too much of a fuss as the rest of the tent is great - yes there are vents that blow through at the back - but snuggle up and its fine!
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By: Alibongo70 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating:
After reading some of the reviews for this tent, I feel the need to defend it. I personally, have caravanned from the age of 9 and have spent lots of time putting up and securing awnings with my mum and dad, and after going abroad for years and taking the children out of school, we have come to the time when they are at high school and cant be taken out so we decided to invest in a tent and after careful consideration we purchased this tent in April 09 and went camping for the first time with it in May to Snowdonia for May Day and then Poole at Whitsun.
When first assembling the tent you notice that the poles are colour coded and match the colours on the roof of the tent making it easy to identify. When pitching the tent, we always secured the guide ropes at the rear and moved forward with the poles to the front of the tent and then once again secured the guide ropes. (must point out that we have one person on each side of the tent holding the poles whilst my daughter and myself ensure that the pegs are attached to the footprint) this prevents the tent becoming a large kite as described by another person. Once this was done, it then left the job of pegging out to my husband whilst myself and teenagers started to assemble the inner tent. This again was easy to do and again the middle peg was colour coded and easy to notice. It also pegs out at various places to stop any kind of movement whilst you are using the tent. Yes the pegs provided with the tent aren't the best around and we were advised to purchase some of the stronger ones from friends who have camped for years which is what we did.
As a family of 4 plus a dog, this tents got loads of space whereas other tents prevented my son from standing up straight, especially with him being 6ft 5inches. It also gives you amble of room for 4 chairs and a table. We don't use the supposed dog bed area for the dog and as someone else said, used it mainly for shoes as the dog tended to sleep with my daughter in her bedroom. The wardrobe it on a bit of a slant and depending on the type of coat hangers that you use they can slide all to one end, it only seemed to do this with the metal hook hangers and not some of the plastic ones I have got, but I placed a bit of masking tape at various points which stopped it from doing this. The storage area at the back of the tent is ideal to put all the different bags that you have for the tent and they are out of the way until you take the tent down.
As for the draft from the air vents mentioned by someone else, yes you can get a cold wind through them, but to prevent this you peg down the vents and this will stop it, apart from the ones at the back as they are constantly open, but the main point to remember is that lack of air within the tent will cause condensation and when we went away at Whitsun, the weather was fantastic and we were so glad of the air vents which were left open all the time and when it rains lightly it does sound as if the heavens have opened but in all honestly, this is the same as most tents and awnings that I have been in and it doesn't take you to long to customise yourself to it.
The space that you get in between the inner and outer tent at the front is an excellent space to store your cooking equipment when not using it and once the front is zipped out we move the cooker out and you are still protected from the elements as you are under the canopy, so you can cook without getting wet or too cold. The annex or door at the side, is excellent storage space. We personally use it for a space to have a toilet to avoid trekking across a field in the middle of the night to go to the loo.
Just one bad thing I need to point out, and this isn't about the tent. We purchased the carpet that goes with the tent and after using it once we had to take it back as you would have thought we had used it over 600 times. We were given our money back and ended up purchasing the carpet for the Outwell Vermont XL which fits it perfectly so please don't waste your money on the sprayway tent pay the bit extra for the Outwell one. OK it doesnt match the tent but it does feel nicer under foot as its a fleecy material
I hope this as helped and I thank you for reading my review and I would recommend anyone to purchase this tent.
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By: Quantumq4 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating: 
We bought this tent after seeing it at a show and doing some research (before we saw this review bit). Firstly it has some truly great ideas like the storage bit out the back, the annex, wardrobe, storage pockets everywhere (I DO mean everywhere!) and the masses of space. Brilliant we thought, we'll have one.
But, oh dear.
Although it has loads of great ideas it also has some bad ones;
The wardrobe is on a slope so whatever you hang up slides down to the end so you have to climb in to get it back!
The left bedroom has a vent near the floor which can't be closed and blasted cold air right onto my face all night! It also has a big vent at the back which can't be closed off either, Brrr.
When it rains a little bit outside it sounds like a major storm from inside!
There are no front to back poles so when you set it up it constantly folds up on itself, and if you get a gust of wind then you now have a giant kite!
The ground pegs are pathetic.
I could go on but you get the general idea :(
Also, ours was made VERY badly;
The rear storage area leaked through the flysheet, we mopped up 6 litres!
A seam on the porch fell apart.
The tent to annex seams leaked alot (we had a puddle around the electric socket. Eek.)
A bit of unstressed flysheet at the back tore.
When we took it back to Outdoor World for a refund their first words were 'oh dear not another one', apparently they had a dodgy batch from the factory!
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By: MICHAELR Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating:
We have had the valley 8 for approximately 6 months & have use it 3 times, the last time was in Snowdonia where we spend 1 week. We found the tent easy to erect, from start to finish it took 1 hour, taking it down is just as simple. We had some horrendous weather in Wales, from strong winds to very heavy rain & the tent stood up to all the elements the only problem was the pegs were loosening on some of the guide ropes, which can be sorted with a few better made pegs. Overall we found the tent comfortable very spacious & generally well made, unlike others we have had no problems with any stitching or seams.
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13 User Reviews of the Valley 8 - Showing 01 to 10 Page:
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Manufacturer's Description
The Valley 8, with its spacious fully sewn in groundsheet design, integral wardrobe compartment, built in canopy, side annex, removable bedroom and dedicated storage area is one of the largest and most practical family tents available. This is the ultimate premium tent, ideal for families and couples with exacting standards who require the very best.
Specifications
Pitching method: outer first
Flysheet material: 185pu coated polyester
Flysheet Hydrostatic Head: 4000 mm
Flysheet taped: yes
Ring and pin tensioners: yes
Flysheet tensioners/d rings: yes
Inner tent material: breathable polyester
Inner tent fire retardant: yes
Inner tent groundsheet material: polyethylene
Groundsheet Hydrostatic Head: 3000
Poles: steel
Continuous pole sleeves: yes
Colour coded pole sleeves: yes
Pegs: steel
Electrical hook up access: yes
Total weight: 52.26kg
PackSize: 49 x 49 x 83cm (Canvas), 23 x 23 x 95cm (Poles)
Features
Front fully integrated sun canopy
Integrated rear bedroom storage area
Side annex
Low level vents
Sewn In Groundsheet (SIG) in main living area
Mesh pockets in the inner tent
Integrated wardrobe
Large opening tuck away door
Groundsheet for entrance included
Front storage area
Internal organiser pockets
Fully seam-sealed flysheet for maximum protection
Adjustable pegging points
Pre-attached guy ropes
Electrical hook up access point
Repair kit included
Sturdy and durable wheeled trolley bag supplied as standard
... there may be more info on their website
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