Hi Gear Atakama 5 Tent Reviews and Details Page 6

Tent Reviews: Hi Gear Atakama 5

Tent and Awning Reviews Index > Hi Gear > Atakama 5 Reviews

Current Model?
Berths:
Weight:
RRP on date added:
Bedroom inners:
Living area groundsheet:
Pitching Style:

Yes
5 (more 5 berth tents)
12.50 KG

1
Bathtub
Fly first

Average User Rating:

8.18/10 from 73 reviews

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73 Reviews of the Atakama 5 Showing 51 to 60 Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

By: Cathymartin Reason: I've used one Made in: 2010 Rating: 9 from 10

We bought this tent a couple of weeks ago when it was on Special offer at Go Outdoors (�50) Having looked at the reviews on here we thought at �50 even if the worst reviews on here were true it wouldn't break the bank. After reading some good advice on this site we put the tent up in Aprox 30 mins. The ring pin system was challenging but we worked out about half way through putting the tent up that if you have one person pulling down on the strap and getting the ring as close to the pole as possible then another person can guide the pin into the pole, if we had worked this out sooner I think we could have got the tent up in 15 mins. The tent far exceeded our expectations, with plenty of room inside and very quick and easy to put down too. I would definitely recommend this tent for a weekend or short break Tent.

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By: Pee-Jay-Cee Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 9 from 10

Just back from our first ever camping trip. We bought this tent because it seemed good value and we didn't want to spend a lot in case we didn't like camping. We practised twice before our first trip - the first time it took us 1 1/2 hours to put up, the second time we did it in 45 minutes.

We pitched it easily enough at the campsite and spent 4 nights in it - the two of us plus our children aged 12 and 9. The sleeping area was the perfect size. We didn't really use the living area except for storage as we were outside most of the rest of the time.

We managed to take it down and pack it away very easily at the end of the weekend as well.

We are now converts to camping and are eagerly looking forward to our next trip away with this tent.

An ideal first tent for a small family.

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By: Jonjo5968 Reason: Other Made in: 2010 Rating: 7 from 10

Just purchased this tent last week and erected yesterday in the garden for the first time. Not much experience of camping so found it very difficult, instructions not very clear. Once we got the poles through the appropriate sections we found it very difficult to insert the ring and pin, a bit cautious about damaging the poles. Once this was established we found the rest easy. Tent seems very spacious, and I'm sure after a few more attempts at putting the tent up we will find it lot easier.

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By: Whimp Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 5 from 10

I bought this yesterday since it appeared to be an ideal tent for myself, wanting something bigger than the 2 man mountain tent, for pitching around the coast.

As has bee said previously, the instructions in the bag are completely useless giving no explanation of actually how to pitch the tent and even the instructions they do have are wrong.

The ring and pin system is useless and it took me two and a half hours to pitch this thing, luckily enough in my back garden, because by the time I managed to finish the sun had set and I was struggling with trying to get the stupid pins in the ends of the poles in the dark.

I dread to think what would have happened if I had gone away with it without doing the obligatory pitch at home.

Now being used to a mountain tent that pitches in hardly any time at all, even in the dark and bad weather I was rather dismayed about how the outer of this tent went up. I can only assume that they have changed the design, for the worse in my opinion, because of either cost cutting, or something wrong with the adjustment method, I would opt for cost cutting of a few pence.

The inner is spacious enough for me with a reasonable outer area, but I cannot see how this could be rated as a five man tent, unless they are all small midgets.

Ok not all bad, having pitched the outer, the rest went up smoothly with no other problems. The tent appears sturdy enough for a tent of that hight and with proper orientation for the prevailing wind and suitable tensioning of the guy lines, I would imagine that it would stand up to the wind well.

I only gave it a rating of 5, mainly because no matter how much you pay for a tent, it should be suitable for the task and be able to be pitched in the advertised time. No matter how good the rest of it is, the pitching and striking of the tent is a main issue for me, and this is the first tent I have come across that is so bad at both. I have pitched so many different tents from small to large, and can honestly say this is the worst.

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By: 40metreman55 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 10 from 10

A great tent. Bought at Go Outdoors on a special offer. Really easy to erect, did'nt have any trouble with the ring and pin like some have posted. Did have a problem with the front pole, but some minor adjustments to the guys sorted that. I know its a 5 man tent, but we leave the divider out and use the bedroom as a storage and dressing area. It is more than ample for the two of us.

As has been posted before, the wife tends to take enough clothes for a fortnight and Imelda Marcos is a non starter in the shoe dept. (Nine pairs, on a three day, two night stay in the Peak District). All in all, a good tent. Weatherproof, stable, comfortable and I would definitely recommend it.

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By: GGould Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 9 from 10

09/09/2009 Just back having used this tent for the first time.

Bought it from Go Outdoors for �69.99 two weeks ago. Pitched the tent in the back garden to check it out and was pleasantly surprised to find the tent was dry inside having been pitched for three days in constant rain.

Used the tent for the fist time this week and was amazed at how robust it was!

Arrived at the site around 18.15 on Sunday. It was raining with a light wind, and two of us had the tent pitched and ready in 35 mins.

The flaps on the bottom of the outer tent were a wee bit tricky to understand how they should be pegged down in the proper sequence to make the tent wind/water tight, but having used our initiative it was ok.

Flap on the front door of the tent could be doing with having a loop in the middle of it to help secure it and stop it from being blown out. Will be puting an eyelet in place to rectify this.

The tent stood up to strong winds on Monday night and Tuesday. (estimated 60+ mph gusts) Although it was a bit hairy at times with one side of the tent taking the bulk of the strain and flexing pretty heavily, we used the two guy ropes for securing the porch poles to secure this side and the tent stood up to the challenge.

The tent had plenty of room for two adults and two dogs.(5 berth? Maybe - if you lay in the one place without moving for 8 hours, otherwise.I would suggest 2 adults and two kids - max!) The porch area was spacious and when the main door was up it was excellent! We both used camp beds but unfortunately one of them damaged the groundsheet slightly, so I wouldn't recommend using them! (Duct tape should fix this!) Inner tent securing elastics were a bit tight, so left the second set from the bottom un-attached. In spite of the weather, the tent was completely dry inside for the three nights it was used.

Overall, I would highly recommend this tent as it proved it could stand up to the challenge of the weather conditions that it was exposed to, where other more expensive tents on the site failed!

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By: Quinny199 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 9 from 10

Bought one of these from Go Outdoors for a trip to Belgium for the F1 Grand Prix. I was going to buy a Vango tent, but having seen this on display I decided to give it a go.

For the money it's an excellent tent in my view. There were 3 adults sleeping in it with air beds and it was fine, but any more would have been uncomfortable. It has some nice features like curtains over the perspex panels, dayglo guy lines, a small zip to run power into the sleeping area if required and all the doors have elastic and toggles to keep them out of the way.

I had a go at putting the flysheet up at home before we went and had problems getting the pins into the poles as others have mentioned. I found if you fit the front pins first and the rears after they go in much more easily. I also found the inner sleeping compartment zips to be very tight at first, but a bit of adjustment of the guy ropes made it acceptable.

We were on slightly uneven ground and it's easy to peg the tent out off-square because there in no strapping between the front and rear as I've had on other tents in the past. This is what can lead to the front of the flysheet being slack and potentially collecting water. I found if you peg the front first there is helps keep everything square and the flysheet at the correct tension.

I'll certainly be using it again and having pitched it a couple of times now I'm sure it'll be easy to get it perfect next time.

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By: Brick_driver Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 9 from 10

I decided to have a go at camping due to my interest in Track days. This tent was on offer at gooutdoors.Co.Uk and had a higher (Double in some cases) hydrostatic head than these tents you see in Argos or Halfords. So for �59.99 it seemed a bargain for first time campers.

The first time we set it up it took us about 45 minutes following the poor instructions on the inside of the carry bag. My only niggle, and this seems to be a common one, is that it is difficult to locate the ring and pin system. It takes one of you to push down on the pole and another person to try and guide the pin in. Once up though it is a nice a spacious tent and has more than enough space for two adults and all the gear.

The second time we put it up it took less than 20 minutes and we put it up in less than favourable conditions. This is where the advantage of a 'fly first pitch' came to light. We managed to pitch the fly sheet first which stopped the inside from becoming wet.

For some reason we ended up booking a pitch on one of the wettest days of the year (Wed 26th August) where it rained near enough all day and night. There was quite a strong wind blowing too. Because of the 3000mm hydrostatic head we stayed completely dry with the condensation on the fly sheet being the only moisture visible. The reason why the ring and pin was so taught become obvious in the wind.

There was plenty of storage in the porch area of the tent and with the front door rolled up if provided a little bit of shelter for cooking. I wouldn't bother making a canopy out of the front door as there needs to be zero wind.

The living area is again nice a spacious for up to 4 adults and comes with a central divider to make two 'bedrooms'. Though with only the two of us using it there was more than enough space. Especially if your other half likes to take half her wardrobe! I did like the little storage pouches dotted around the living are to.

Taking the tent down was also easy enough. Though remembering how it actually rolled up is a challenge. It's also not very funny rolling it up in the wet. But I guess thats one of the joys of camping in the UK.

The quality is certainly there as these tents are made by Gelert. Even though my local camping store tried to tell me that Hi Gear are Gelert cast offs.

Recommended for the first time camper!

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By: M1TCH Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 9 from 10

I bought this tent from go outdoors for �59.99 in June this year to take north Yorkshire for the weekend.

What a fantastic tent, really quick to put up and very spacious inside the only very slight problem I encountered was the poles were very tight to get in the pin system but once they were in and guy ropes in the tent was very solid and comfy.

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By: Slashnburn Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 8 from 10

Bought from Go Outdoors for �69.99, delivered Friday 21st august 2009. Itching to try out the tent, I set off. After getting lost I arrived at campsite in Anglesey in the early hours of sat 22nd 1.30 am.

Inexperienced I guess, but took me an hour to pitch, single handed, in the dark, using only a fluorescent lantern in a light breeze, (also being very quiet to prevent disturbing the neighbours)

The tent shone, loads of room, with lots of little features.

I particularly liked the way you could peg down the flaps around the bottom of the living area, effectively making it a fully SIG, or unpeg them for ventilation.(although they do flap about a lot if unpegged) The weather on the Saturday was glorious, and with the front door extended as a canopy I could have been in no better place, lots of room, and well made.

Saturday night/sunday mornings weather however, was a different ball game. I had camped in an extremely exposed location, and suffered with gusts of up to 50 - 60 mph, and driving rain.

The 2 main crossed poles over the bedroom area stood up to the weather, with what I consider to be an acceptable amount of flexibility, but the single pole over the porch flexed inwards rather dramatically, probably because I had the front door facing 45 degrees into the wind, better positioning would have been the order of the day (Inexperience showing there again)

I tried guying the porch pole directly ahead to prevent the pole flexing inwards, and it flexed sideways instead. (due to the 45 degree angle of the wind)

However, despite the strong winds driving the rain against the front door for 14 hours solid, it never leaked, nothing broke and with the flaps around the living area pegged to the ground around the groundsheet, was draught free

Now for the niggles.

The Inner tent/bedroom attachment elastics were far too tight, making it extremely difficult to zip up the bedroom door, without putting massive strain on the zip, and that panel looked stretched and uncomfortable.

The strap that runs across the bottom of the side door was about 1' - 2' too long, which made zipping up the side door impossible (again without putting strain on the zip) unless you actually moved the bottom of the pole closer to the main body of the tent.

The flaps around the bottom of the living area do flap about if unsecured

So here`s what I`m going to do.

1. Sew longer and stronger elastics in to secure the inner tent to the outer poles, (especially the lower 2 on both sides) this will allow me to zip the bedroom door up without straining the zip, but still keep things nicely tensioned

2. Going to put 2 extra guy ropes on the front living area pole so it can be supported in both directions (front to back, and side to side)

3. Shorten the strap under the side door, to make it a perfect fit

4. Sew in some small vecro patches to secure the flaps around the living area upwards to give good ventilation, without the flappage.

These are things that should already be done, but for 70 quid, for a 5 man tent, with 3000mm HH I really can`t grumble, and with my little modifications, should make it superb.

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73 User Reviews of the Atakama 5 - Showing 51 to 60 Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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Manufacturer's Description

With large living /storage and sleeping areas, the Atakama 5 is ideal for families having a long weekend away, or any groups of campers who may need space to store gear and spread around.

It is a double skin tent, with the outer pitched first to keep things simple, and a breathable inner to keep you comfortable.

The outer flysheet is 190T PU coated polyester with taped seams and a hydrostatic head of 3000, meaning it's rugged enough to handle scrapes and waterproof enough to take the heaviest downpours.

For warmer conditions, the breathable inner and large side and front doors will make sure the inside is ventilated enough so you and your kit are not overheating. The front door can be extended out as a canopy using the steel porch poles, offering shelter from sun or showers.

The porch/living area has a pre-attached groundsheet, making it easy for you to keep a clear, clean space for furniture, bikes etc., and keeping the bedroom area draught-free.

For extra stability, the tent has pre-attached double guylines, so it will easily withstand any strong gusts of wind. The guylines themselves are bright and reflective, to help you to find the tent in the dark, and to stop other campers from tripping over them if you're in a busy campsite.

Other useful features include slick pole sleeves to aid pitching, fire-retardant fabrics, and large windows to allow maximum light in if you need it.

A simple, yet versatile tent for easy group camping.

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