Dometic / Kampa Frinton 5 Tent Reviews and Details

Tent Reviews: Dometic / Kampa Frinton 5

Tent and Awning Reviews Index > Dometic / Kampa > Frinton 5 Reviews

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Bedroom inners:
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Discontinued
5 (more 5 berth tents)
29.20 KG
Ł525.00
2
Fully Sewn-in
Fly first

Average User Rating:

8.8/10 from 5 reviews

Viewed: 22731 times

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5 Reviews of the Frinton 5

By: Former Scout Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2012 Rating: 9 from 10

I had long been recommending KAMPA tents to other campers and rather fancied having one myself. So this was to replace my Outwell Minnesota 4 with which it shares a basic design but from which it differs in several significant ways. My review will inevitably draw comparisons between the two tents.

The Frinton 5 is a three-pole tunnel tent; the uprights are steel but the roof poles are fibreglass which does give a welcome reduction in weight and bulk of the pole bag. Like the Minnesota there is a side door but unlike the Outwell tent it has a canopy that actually gives decent protection from the rain; this means that, unlike the Minnesota, you can do without the extension. Both the main door and the side door have mesh screens which are of a superior quality and are black not white which means that, when you are inside the tent looking out through the mesh, you can see very clearly through them almost as though they are transparent. The main door also has a full-length window and there are full-length windows on either side of the door, all of which have internal curtains that roll down and fixed with velcro. There is a final window on the wall opposite to the side door, the bottom half being transparent plastic and top half mesh, this is protected by an external curtain that is zipped down; there are fabric loops at the bottom of this curtain to attach guy ropes if you wish to form a canopy. The head height throughout the length of the tent is brilliant giving the tent a very airy, spacious feel. The overall quality in terms of stitching, etc., is at least as good as on the Minnesota but the materials used are in fact significantly superior – for example a thicker, heavier flysheet material.

One big selling point of many KAMPA tents is the dark bedrooms. The flysheet at the bedroom end is dark blue throughout and silvered on the inside. This means that any light pollution and early sunrise light is very effectively filtered out and you are much less likely to be woken at 5am in the mid-summer months. However the roof of the living area is made of much lighter, translucent material so that it’s not dark or dingy.

The tent has not been tested in inclement weather too much but it is evident that it is very sturdy and will withstand strong winds, despite its height.

It is not perfect, however, and requires a few design tweaks IMHO. Over the front door there is a single, central guy – why not two, one to either side, which would allow the door to be propped up? There aren’t as many ventilation points as on the Minnesota and, because you won’t want to leave doors open at night (even with the meshes closed), there is a greater risk of condensation on colder nights. The bedroom corners are saggy due to there being fewer toggles connecting it to the flysheet. I’m not keen on the configuration of the side window with external curtain and for the internal curtains I prefer the more recent trend of closing them from the bottom to the top by means of a zip. Finally, the windows on the Minnesota are more panoramic than those on the Frinton.

However, the good on the KAMPA Frinton by far outweighs the not-quite-so-good and comes at a far cheaper price than any equivalent Outwell. I can strongly recommend the Frinton 5.

1 from 1 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?

By: Don-maureen Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2012 Rating: 8 from 10

We are 'quite' pleased with this tent. It is roomy enough for us (only 2 of us) but could accommodate another one or two if required.

We use the bedroom as one but our camp bed fits into the larger half well and leaves the small area for bags etc and plenty of room for dressing.

We had it 'fully' up .Pegged and pods in. Within an hour and that was the first time we tried with this tent, I found the poles easy to engage in the pins at skirt {provided you keep the straps long and tighten after erection) which I had trouble with on previous tents using fibre poles.

I was a bit disappointed with the window covers, they hang down and are fixed with velcro tabs at the side which means you have them open or in various amounts closed 'from the top down' I prefer the bottom fixing and zips to have them closed from the bottom up.It also means the side window which has a vent panel at top has to be open to make use of the vent panel, the bedroom vent is covered and can be fully open or just a small vent.

It is definitely draught proof. We used it first in January near the Somerset coast.

There are 2 EHU zipped inlets, one each side at the front with cable holders all around the front door panel, and a great sleep area which is darker than the rest of the tent.

The side door porch works well and could serve as a sheltered cooking area should the weather turn bad.

2 from 2 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?

By: San-k Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2012 Rating: 9 from 10

We already have the Kampa Filey and wanted a smaller weekend tent. We decided on this tent as the build and materials are good quality and we like the sleep tight system which really does aid good sleep, and keeps the area cool in sunny mornings, or warmer on cool.

It was quick to pitch and has excellent height which makes it even more spacious. The side porch is a good size and meant you do not have a wet door to open or brush against you on the dewy mornings.

The inners do not secure all the way down the sides, which I found a bit unusual, however once adjusted and filled they offered good space without the baggy sides. Clearance allowance was also excellent to the outer tent.

Only one outing as end of season bargain, but I think an excellent rival, and in my view the better tent when compared to the Montana, for material quality(100 denier v 75), the sleep tight system, large porch and price.

3 from 3 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?

By: Powerserge65 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2012 Rating: 8 from 10

A good sized tent for a family of four. Simple to erect and take down. It's good that it still fits in it's bag afterwards as well. The darkened rooms are great for ensuring the kids stay asleep. Slight issue with the quality of the stitching on my tent, but was replaced by the dealer, so I'm happy.

1 from 1 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?

By: Sadkate Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2011 Rating: 10 from 10

This is a great quality tent, made of a lovely thick and heavy polyester fabric. The poles are thick fibreglass across the top and steel supports at the sides. It has a plastic sewn-in bathtub style groundsheet. The zips are reassuringly big and chunky and everything is stitched together very nicely, with reinforced pegging points, etc. Unlike some tents, there is ample space between the inner and outer. The quality of the materials does add up to a big heavy package.

It has lots of good design features, my favourite being the very big storm porch over the side entrance. It's a proper porch, not just a wee canopy to stop the rain dripping in the door and much bigger even than the porch on an Outwell Montana. It has a deep roof and sides so you can really be out of the weather while you do the taking-off-your-shoes dance! We have used the tent with the front optional canopy but for short trips I intend to put my kitchen in the porch if the weather isn't good.

Other good features include lots of storage pockets on and in the bedrooms, and something they call the Sleeptite system, which means that at the bedroom end, the fabric is dark coloured and coated to stop a lot of the light coming through. It's good for sleeping later in the mornings. Because of the colours and it not being made entirely of windows, the living area is a little dark but there is a white 'daylight panel' in the roof which helps a bit.

We had moderate winds and rain and the tent hardly noticed - felt like it could cope with a lot more. It's well ventilated and the height means condensation seems unlikely.

Space-wise this tent is capacious. It's very tall indeed and the sides are steep so there's very little wasted space in the corners. This means the living area has enough room for a table for six. The only problem is reaching the lantern loops and the tie-ups for the big front door (and pegging up the bedroom)!

And finally, it's lovely and straightforward to pitch. There are three poles, all the same, for the main body and one more for the porch.

To summarise, it's a super quality, well designed tent with tons of usable space, great features and a proper porch. Lots of tent for the money.

6 from 6 people found this review helpful, was it helpful to you?

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Manufacturer's Description

The Frinton 4 was a huge success in 2010 and for 2011 the Frinton range has been extended to include three and five berth versions. If you’re looking for a family tent then there’s bound to be a Frinton that will suit your requirements. This spacious tent is very quick and easy to set up – all the poles are the same length. Headroom is excellent and all the models provide comfortable sleeping accommodation and plenty of living space.

The side door is protected by a canopy for protection in the ‘Feel the difference’ high quality 100D Weathershield® 4000 mm F/R UV protected flysheet. Our SleepTite system keeps the interior of the bedroom dark and so aids a good night’s sleep but the living area is kept bright by our Daylight Panel in the roof.

Key Features

* SleepTite System – for a good night’s sleep
* Sealed Groundsheet System (SGS) with 10,000mm hydrostatic head
* Stand up height in living area
* Mesh secondary door
* Daylight Panel
* Rear zipped vent
* Side door with canopy
* Large front window with cover
* Lamp hanger with cable tidy system
* One inner tent with zipped dividing curtain
* Organiser pockets in front of and inside inner tent
* Canopy pole set
* Cable entry point

... there may be more info on their website

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