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Tent Reviews: Dometic / Kampa Fistral 4
Tent and Awning Reviews Index > Dometic / Kampa > Fistral 4 Reviews
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Current Model?
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Discontinued
4 (more 4 berth tents)
16.00 KG
£379.99
1
Fully Sewn-in
Fly first
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Average User Rating:8.7/10 from 10 reviews
Viewed: 25537 times
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10 Reviews of the Fistral 4
By: AJ66 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 
This is my bargain of the century - bought this at the end of last season from Kampa's eBay store - sold as a factory second at the bargain price of £40! Not bad considering it retailed at £380! It was a bit of a gamble as I was not sure what the defect would be (they said it wouldnt be major) but the defect was just a tiny nick in one of the fabric zip covers - completely irrelevant! Just used this tent for the first time, I bought it because I love Kampa tents and I wanted a large tent I could put up on my own. I am a 5ft6 female and had no problems at all pitching the Fistral4 - pegged out the back then worked forward hoop by hoop, fixing guy ropes as I went. The tent went up quickly, the pegging out took a while but just a case of getting on with it! Quite heavy rain fell and not so much as a drip came through anywhere. The canopy at the front was very useful as a cooking area - I was the only person who was able to have a BBQ in the pouring rain! Plenty of space inside, the main door can be fully toggled back to open the tent right out - can be left like this even in the rain due to the protection of the canopy. Big bedroom/s - I found my bedroom pod a bit billowy and oversized but not really an issue. Heavy bag and I needed help getting it out of the car, but that is the only negative I can find. Loved this tent and will be using again and again.
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By: TheSibbies Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 
We bought the Fistral 4 after a lot of flicking about and reading reviews - were contemplating a Frinton with extra canopy but thought the Fistral would be less hassle. We're a family of 4 - 2 kids age 7 and 5 and this is the first tent we have purchased as adults.
We chose Kampa purely based on the sleeptite system - I was concerned about the light early mornings waking my son and was impressed that a tent manufacturer had thought of this. THe only thing is that we didnt see it up anywhere - we bought blind from an website - Norwich camping - which was fantastic. In the event I was slightly disappointed with the light which was blocked - the metallic 'coating' on the bedroom pods was only on one wall, and not on all sides, so the light did come in at the back. I'm not sure why? My other negative was that our two single airbeds didnt fit in the bedroom, so we ended up unzipping the central curtain and having one airbed overlapping - not ideal as the central curtain is curved, rather than flat to the floor - I was a bit worried about it putting tension but seemed ok. Have now bought a double airbed for kids instead.
Other than that it took 2 of us novices about 45 mins to put up - and hopefully we'll get quicker.
There was plenty space in the interior section and we loved having the canopy area - although were too worried to cook directly under it. As others have mentioned, the footprint extends part way into the canopy. We had an extra footprint for this but didnt use it.
The interior carpet makes all the difference!
I am hoping that this tent will last us for years - after a quick weekend in Jedburgh we are now planning a 2 week holiday next summer!
1 from 1 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?
By: Flitewomble Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating:
I love this tent and I've had a few. The material is thick, the zips are brightly coloured and easy to flow, they don't catch.
I was impressed as I managed to put it up on my own this weekend (I'm 5ft (just about)! It has been up in strong winds and rain, although blousy stood up very well and no leakage. The poles are also thicker than other tents and there is sufficient room with the ring and pin method not to give yourself a hernia trying to get them in.
In bad weather I have taken off the first level of toggles to the pods and pushed everything back and had at least 15, with chairs, under cover. It was tight but well worth keeping out the rain and wind!
I looked for about a year trying to find a tent that fitted my lifestyle, I generally go with others but I also camp on my own. I wanted an integrated ground sheet with somewhere to go in the bad weather. I love the fact that you can be fully secure but with the windows feels like you are still outside, with the mesh you don't get overheated either. With the amount of windows and door options available it suits most weather types although it is worth knowing it suggests in anything other than light winds it is taken down. Not something I have ever done and it's been great.
Now method for putting it up on your own:-
Peg out the back two corners about 1/2 metre forward of where you want it to be. Peg out back two window guys for something to pull against but not too far away from tent, you will be moving these again.
Slide in poles flat. Once in, put ring and pins in for the back pole but do not have them upright. Bend it towards the back and have it flat on the floor. Carry on putting the ring and pins in to the other poles working towards the front of the tent laying them down. You may need to move the material to concertina over the completed poles.
Once all poles are arced take three pegs and hammer and use the centre guy at the front and pull upright. As you get as far as you can peg out the centre guy, then pull using the left and right front guys and peg those out. Then it's just a case of easing them up and readjusting. Once the front looks fairly good go to the back and pull out. I leave the pods in so you are now good to go. Obviously this works best if there is no wind but there are always friendly people on site to help if required.
All in all I am a very happy camper with this tent. My best so far. Very favourable comments from other campers which is always a bonus:)
3 from 3 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?
By: Crockatt Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating: 
I have just used this tent for the first time, I pitched it myself in about an hour and is quite do able on my own but another pair of hands would of been a help just to set it upright when pole are put in. The built in canopy is brilliant plenty room for chairs, table and little kitchen set up and great for sun or rain. There is plenty room in the tent for 2 of us and probably even 3 but pushing it for 4, great head room, 2 bedroom pods smaller one I used with 2 xlarge single sim mattresses, they fitted well with room round the sides, larger one used for storage, but plenty big enough, for most sleeping set ups, the sleeptite system worked well at cutting down the daylight, brill for the early morning sun, had no problems with condensation and no problems with the sleeping pods touching the outer flysheet, there was plenty room between the two. Really sturdy zips which have neon yellow taping all around , so easy to find in the dark.
There are 3 doors the main large one which is great and can be almost completely rolled back to open tent right out, or two side doors which can be rolled all way up or with fly mesh in place great for airing out, or left with the large clear plastic windows which let plenty light in. Plenty pegging out points and neon yellow guy ropes, very hard to miss even in the dark. My only draw back was the carrybag for tent, though plenty big enough it difficult to carry and extremely heavy when tent and poles, pegs etc in it, all in all, I love this new tent and cannot recommend it enough
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By: Stick158 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating:
We (the better other half and one 5 year old daughter) purchased a Fistral four from our local supplier after much deliberation and guy rope pulling.
We are new to camping apart from a couple of nights testing it in the garden so were looking forward to 3 nights in the new forest over august bank holiday. The whole thing was just fantastic the tent performed brilliantly on all levels, easy to put up, live in and take down it also looks great.
We loved the inside outside feel of eating in the living area with doors rolled up leaving the mozi nets in place. We just laughed in the face of the wasps who could not get in. Liked the dark bedrooms, loads of storage so nothing left on the floor. The outside vestibule canopy thing was great for sitting under, leaving shoes and the like. I have just read this back before posting and no I don't work for kampa I sell lawnmowers for a living. Photos to follow.
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By: Cbjh Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating:
We paid £320.00 for the tent. You can also get a carpet and footprint groundsheet (which we didn't get).
We chose this tent as we needed more living space and a higher tent (husband had enough of stooping) It is ideal for 2 adults, maybe three! But I certainly wouldn't want to use it with many more people.
Plenty of space inside for a table and 2 chairs. Very handy pockets in the middle of the 'wall' of the bedroom pods. We use one pod for storage and the other for sleeping. Our double airbed fits snuggly, with a small amount of space at the sides of it, and none to speak of at the top and bottom. I see someone else has noted that the back of the sleeping pods touch the outside of the tent, the same happens in ours. We just can't seem to pitch it without this happening.
When we first bought it we had a practise pitch and it took about an hour to put up. After 2 trips out we have the time down to about 40 mins, thats 2 of us pitching it.
Fairly simple to pitch, would suggest that the first pole in is the second from the front, as this is the one with the most material. Standard pin and ring. Not too many guys.
We got this tent for the space; the canopy, which is great for the kitchen stand and sitting out; and for the sleeptight system, this works well, unless your husband is up first and gets things out of the storage pod and then leaves that unzipped! (The sun shone straight through)
The mesh flyscreens are a great idea, they are on the 2 side doors and the bedroom pods. Sadly we haven't had chance to have the side doors open and up into the porch. Having said that the tent hasn't yet been tested in really windy weather.
The light colours give a great feeling of space and keeps it daytime for longer.
All in all we are very happy with this tent and hope that it lasts us a good few years more.
1 from 1 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?
By: Clairebear79 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating:
Having spent all last summer looking at tents we changed our mind at the last minute and bought a Kampa Fistral 4 in May 2010. We went straight from the shop to the campsite and pitched in wind and drizzle in just under an hour.
We have now spent a total of 28 nights in this tent since the beginning of May and have encountered glorious sunshine, gale force winds and torrential rain. This tent has stood up to every single one of these.
It is perfect for 2 adults and 2 children and the bigger of the 2 bedrooms takes a king size air bed no problem with the smaller one taking 2 camping beds. The carpet is a lovely little luxury and the fly screens are great for airing the tent.
We have had no problem with the footprint being too big for the tent and can now pitch fully in around 30 minutes.
The porch has been an absolute life saver in the rain and all in all I really can't recommend this tent highly enough.Only problem is we will need a bigger one soon!
1 from 1 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?
By: Alison0505 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating:
We had a trial pitching session this morning on MIL's lawn.
First impressions are very good.
The front door opens almost the full width of the tent. There are fly screens / ventilation panels in the front windows and the huge side windows.
The sleeping compartment has a sewn in groundsheet and is deceptively spacious unless you are using huge airbeds, then I'd double check the dimensions. ( also bear in mind that the tallest of us is 5'8')
The zips appear very sturdy.
It took us about an hour to put up but Im sure we can knock that down by about 15 mins before long.
Because of the fully sewn in ground sheet I think, if it suited, you could leave the sleeping compartment at home and have an 'open plan' arrangement.
The only negatives seem to be that the footprint ground sheet extends partway into the canopy area so you can't peg down the centre front of the tent unless you fold back the footprint. No great problem as the tent comes with a separate ground sheet for this area.
The side doors don't fasten at the bottom which could be a problem.
I suspect the tent wouldn't bear up to strong winds, it seemed rather 'billowy', but to be fair it is not designed for severe weather and the guidelines tell you to take it down in strong winds.
(Also we didn't guy it as well as we would if pitching for real)
The instructions also recommend that 'depending on your expectations' (?) you may wish to apply a seam sealant before use, so I think we will take a tube with us just in case.
We're planning to take it for its maiden voyage for a weekend in the North York Moors later this month so will report back more then.
Have taken lots of photos so will attempt to upload them to the gallery at a later date.
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By: Ickleclare Reason: I've used one Made in: 2009 Rating:
Easy to pitch. Not a lot of living space for 4 but plenty for two.
Porch is a fantastic idea - perfect for cooking or sitting out in poor weather. Extremely robust tent.
Handy pouches inside to store bits and bobs.
Prefer it if inner had own ground sheet too just in case however no leaks. Inner corners touch outer quite close at far end.
Carry bag a bit bulky and cumbersome
1 from 1 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?
By: Tiggybeans Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating:
We have just purchased a Fistral 4 as our first tent for holidays with our two young children + dog. We chose it primarily as it has a solid feel to it, plenty of space - sleeping areas are very generous - and it is easy to put up. The first time we put it up (and we are complete novices) it took just 40 minutes. The tent has lots of options - there are doors each side, which you can put poles in to hold open, or you can keep these closed. There's also a really useful front canopy that is great for sitting under - or cooking under when it's raining.
The only thing we did find after our first trip away with the tent, was the amount of condensation, but that is probably us not being used to airing it and the wet and windy weather which meant we had the doors closed most of the time. Lots of useful pockets to put things in and we really like the option of fly screens on all the doors, and the fact that you can have the main door open full or halfway. Zips are strong and well made and the tent stood up very well on our first night, despite the gale force winds!
1 from 1 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?
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Manufacturer's Description
A larger than average four berth tent that also benefits from a large integrated front canopy. The canopy provides a large sun shade for those sunny days but also protects the front of the tent during inclement weather and allows the front door to remain open even if it is raining. The front of the tent features a panel that can be rolled to one side to create a door or you can open the whole of the front for alfresco living. There is also a large door in each side of the tent, allowing you lots of entry and exit options and keeping the tent cool in hot weather. These side doors also have the benefit of full length fly screens to keep ventilation flowing without letting the bugs in. Better than average headroom, a Daylight Panel and a large living area makes the tent suitable for any length of stay as it’s quick to set up yet large enough for an extended holiday. The large inner tent has a dividing curtain that can be zipped shut to provide two separate bedrooms or opened to create one large area; ideal for families with small children or perhaps for two adults looking for extra space with the SleepTite System ensuring the inner tent remains darker to help stop the early morning sun waking its occupants! The ultimate 4 berth tent?
Key Features
• ‘Feel the difference’ high quality 100D Weathershield® 4000 mm F/R UV protected flysheet
• SleepTite System – for a good night’s sleep
• Sealed Groundsheet System (SGS)
• Large built-in front canopy (can be stowed if not required)
• Front zip out ventilation panel
• Two side doors with mesh screens
• Zip through inner tents
• Daylight panel
• Rear zipped vent
• Lamp hanger with cable ties
• Cable entry point
• Organiser pockets in front of inner tents
• Groundsheet for canopy area
Optional Extras
• Living area carpet
• Footprint
• Matching windbreak
Interior Height: 216 cm
Inner Tent Height: 207 cm
Weight: 23.6 kg
Pack Size: 80 x 30 x 30 cm
... there may be more info on their website
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