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Tent Reviews: Gelert Twister 5
Tent and Awning Reviews Index > Gelert > Twister 5 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
5 (more 5 berth tents)
8.45 KG
£149.00
1
Fully Sewn-in
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Average User Rating:8.29/10 from 21 reviews
Viewed: 38257 times
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21 Reviews of the Twister 5
Showing 11 to 20 Page:
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By: Kay62jj Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating: 
Very, very pleased with this tent. It is my 3rd and by far the best. Loads of room inside with excellent headroom tall enough for someone 6ft and enough room for 2 adults and 2 kids with space in the corners for clothes or stuff you want to keep dry. The flysheet extends beyond the tent at the doors so good for shoes etc. Quick and easy to put up (less than 5 mins including pegging out) and even the taking down is easy.It's all in the knack. I'm 5ft 4in, female and size 10 and I can erect it, take it down again and roll it back into the bag by myself. Don't be afraid to bend those poles as you roll the tent back in the bag. There is a very helpful video on youtube that shows you exactly how to do it. Highly recommend this tent.
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By: ItsIllak Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 
Just a quick note about putting this back into the bag. I'm new to camping and have only put it out and back in the garden (in fair weather), but.
Once you've flattened the tent down (easy), and bound the four poles on one end together (pretty easy), you need to push down on the poles while rolling the bag along the ground. Give yourself 6 or 7 meters ahead to accomplish this.
Getting started is the only real problem and to be honest It's unlikely you'll be able to fully do the zip up. The only problem I had was the initial worry about snapping the poles. I now don't think that's very likely without some heavy machinery! Once you've got the knack, it's <5 mins to put it away and similar to put it up and peg it out.
If I get out to a campsite in it, I'll come back and say how I felt about using it, but my guess is that others are more experienced in that anyway and it all seems to be very positive.
I might get myself some poles to give myself a 'porch' area on one side.
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By: Hairywol Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 
Have just used the tent for the first time over 3 nights May Bank Hol. We bought the tent for shorter 2/3 night breaks rather than lug our Vermont around.
The tent comes in a disc-shaped bag about a metre in circumference and is not difficult to carry short distances. Inside the bag is a flysheet to attach once the inner is up, and the inner itself. It also has pegs included but I have my own collection of much sturdier ones so these ones were not used.
The fly is set to one side. The inner has the poles pre-attached and these are curled around the circumference of the bag. Once the end is found the inner springs out with little coaxing. From there is is a minute's work to attach a number of clips to the poles to assist rigidity. Once this is done attaching the fly with a number of clips and ties is also straightforward - but ensure they are all secured for maximum rigidity. Pegging out is also very straightforward and easy, and the whole process takes less that 10 mins, with the inner protected from rain after only a coupe of minutes.
Thus completed the tent is far bigger than anyone would have thought possible from looking at the bag. There is useful headroom for a 6-footer to stand comfortably and the tent would indeed sleep five comfortably. It is a single space with no bedroom, but this was not a problem because the two doors both have bug screens and the inner has a bathtub SIG. The apex of the tent has large mesh panels which are covered by the flysheet (which also has doors, one with a window), making this a very well ventilated yet cosy tent. There are some pockets for small articles and a ring to hang a light.
Outside the inner doors the fly extends to create two spaces for shoes, bags etc. - much more useful spaces than photos suggest since they comfortably accommodated our 35L electric coolbox and several other pieces of kit.
As other reviewers have said, the groundsheet is rather thin, though this helps with packing away. I spent a fiver on a square groundsheet to use as a footprint, but would have done anyway. Would recommend nevertheless.
With all the inner and flysheet doors secure our tent endured strong winds and heavy rain with ease. Its wind-cheating shape definitely helped. However, in the small hours I lost a battle of wills with my bladder & needed to exit. The zips at the bottom of the steeply-raked flysheet were an absolute bugger to reach - I had to get to my hand and knees to accomplish this in a situation where time was very pressing (as was my bladder), to then have rainwater run off the fly onto me as I exited. For the second and third nights I tried using a couple of upright poles (not included) to turn one of the doors into a canopy which I left slanted to let rain run off during the night. This was a huge success and subsequent egress was transformed. Again the elements were trying but the very sturdy fly and the waterproof inner meant that there was no reduction at all in snugness and the tent remained completely dry throughout (NB use the flysheet door without the window as that is half-mesh which would let water through).
While the tent erects in a matter of minutes, packing it away is a bit of an Achilles Heel. Folding the fly is easy enough, as is getting the inner to lie flat on the ground. Once accomplished, the ends of all four poles need to be secured with an attached velcro strap and this can require some strength.
Once the poles are secured they are inserted into a pocket inside the disc-shaped bag so they won't slip, and the idea is that the poles are then rolled into the bag.
I had a practise alone in the garden before we went and it does take a balance of skill and strength. Well-chosed expletives also helped on that first try! But half the problem is having faith that bending the poles alarmingly won't break them (one would never bend poles so tightly in a normal tent). Once one is confident, curling the poles is straightforward and almost easy with two. But it does take strength.
To sum up this is an excellent tent for short breaks, especially for a couple or small group of friends. It takes up very little space in the boot, pitches very quickly and easily, and with practice I am sure we will perfect our packing skills.
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By: HT James Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating:
I have only given this tent a 6/10 rating due to the awkwardness of packing the blasted thing away, otherwise it would rate at least 7 and possibly 8/10. Be warned, it requires a degree of fitness that wouldn't shame a professional athlete, combined with the mental agility and tranquillity of a Zen master to re pack! Having recently had a fairly serious coronary it was a bit of a trial. This is the Krypton factor at street level, and It’s definitely a 2 person job.
Having said that, there is a real 'knack' to it and it does get easier with practice, just make sure you have the luxury of fine weather to try it out a couple of times, trying to repack it in anger for the first time in foul weather would be a nightmare. I do have a few quibbles about the quality of the stitching in places and I would have returned it had I not been in a rush and couldn't be bothered with the hassle. Other Gelert gear I have used has been first class in this department so I'm wondering if a 'second' slipped through the net undetected. The zip on the bag gave up the ghost on the first run, I definitely wasn't impressed with that. Oh and watch out for the poles springing out of the bag as you unpack it, I was nearly a candidate for the Vienna Boys Choir, just what I need!
OK rant over, on with the review.
This is a LOT of tent for the money, big and roomy with decent standing headroom in the middle even for my 6' plus. Time to erect first time out of the bag with two people was under 5 minutes, and it wouldn’t be difficult solo. Impressive, and I'm not easily impressed! The groundsheet seems a little flimsy for a family tent, it's never going to be a backpacker’s tent so sacrificing a few grammes here for something a bit more substantial wouldn't hurt. I’m not sure about the ‘cutaway’ flysheet, preferring something full length, but the design does seem to function OK, so I’ll just put that down to personal prejudice and learn to love it. I think this tent could easily be scaled down to a 4 berth whilst retaining the same footprint, affording a bit more porch space. Either that or a longer flysheet.
Am I happy with it and would I recommend it? Pretty much a yes on both counts, although there are more practical tents in the same price bracket, it’s not a patch on my old Vango though, which only went the journey due to being heavily snacked on by rats whilst in storage.
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By: Vcdub Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating:
This tent is also known as the Gelert Curlaway 5 man. I took my tent back to Gooutdoors because it had a damaged zip, they had no problem changing it, the problem they did have was that not one member of staff could get the tent back in the bag I was told. So I showed the member of staff how to do it in two minutes, so don't even ask for a demo, reason being he said they had stopped selling them due to the trouble of putting them away. Apart from my two man pop up tent this is the easiest tent I've seen for the size so don't be put off!
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By: Cheekymrs Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating: 
Erm. 1/10 for putting it down! 10/10 for everything else!
Space was excellent - storage front and back extremely useful. Fantastic performance in high winds and rain. We (my husband, myself and our son) loved it - loads of space and superb in bad weather.
But. Putting it down became a standing joke between us and another family we often camp with - it took both husbands to do it. With a lot of swearing/red faces - not to mention far too much amusement from those of us watching.
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By: Davetaylor3001 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating:
I bought this last year as my wife didn't want to spend ages putting up a tent with two young kids running around. It goes up in minutes even for one person, however, putting it down is more complicated. It took us a few practices in the garden before we managed to figure it out. Once you know how though its quite straight forward. Loads of room inside for all of us and our equipment. If your looking for a large family tent that goes up quickly then this is for you.
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By: Vcdub Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating:
I've just used my tent for the first time in the lakes for two nights on the 4th & 5th of jan 09. I was very impressed, putting the tent up is easy & quick but putting away is not for the weak or impatient but get the knack right & you've cracked it
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By: Patterson24 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating:
What a smart tent, really good looking and very easy to put up. Packing it away was another story and easy once you have got the knack of it. It is massive my 6ft boyfriend could easily stand up in it and there was loads of room.
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By: Sadpingu Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating:
I got one of these I needed a tent I could stand up in that I could put up and take down on my own and it seemed like a good idea.
It went up fine, takes a little while to tie everything together but you'd have to try very hard to get it wrong and it feels quite strong when its up. There was loads of room for me, I was quite lost to be honest and my 6'5' boyfriend can almost stand up in the middle. It actually felt like you'd get five people and kit in there.
It rained almost constantly for two days after I got it up and there were no leaks and no water pooling anywhere either. It had to be put down in the rain and when I got it out to air it the water was still in droplets on the flysheet rather than having soaked in.
However, getting it down was a nightmare. The rain didn't help but 4 people couldn't get it in the bag. We got it jammed in the car and when I got home the boyfriend put it in the bag in about 20 mins. Its definitely a knack and despite knowing how to do it now I just can't actually get it to work. Its definitely not the tent for the impatient!
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21 User Reviews of the Twister 5 - Showing 11 to 20 Page:
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Manufacturer's Description
These innovative tents, exclusive to GELERT, give quick camping a whole new twist. The unique design allows these spacious tents to be pitched in a matter of minutes. Then when it's time to pack up & go home simply roll your tent back into the convenient bag & away you go.
This is a superb quick erect tent. With maximum space & great height this tent brings quick erect camping into the family market. For the family that do not want to spend time pitching their tent the Twister 5 offers a unique camping solution to this dilemma. Ideal for the family weekend away.
Features:
* Unique 'roll away' system to pack away the tent
* Quick & easy to pitch
* Double skin construction
* Excellent ventilation
* 2 doors with window & mesh in 1 door
* Can be used with or without flysheet
* Bright guylines for extra visibility
* Pre-attached guylines aid pitching
Quick Pitch Video View a video on pitching the Twister 5 tent!
Poles: 4 x 8.5mm Fibreglass
Pitch: Inner first
Taped Seams: Yes
... there may be more info on their website
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