Outwell Carolina 3 Tent Reviews and Details

Tent Reviews: Outwell Carolina 3

Tent and Awning Reviews Index > Outwell > Carolina 3 Reviews

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

Discontinued
3 (more 3 berth tents)
19.90 KG

1
Fully Sewn-in
In one

Average User Rating:

9.11/10 from 28 reviews

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28 Reviews of the Carolina 3 Showing 01 to 10 Page: 1 2 3

By: Sevens Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating: 10 from 10

Sadly now discontinued (although why I don't know!) but this was my dream tent, the one I had my eye on whilst owning several others. Finally I managed to get a good deal on the tent, carpet and footprint, and I can honestly say I've never regretted it (unlike previous tents). I struggle to find any fault with it.

For two people, this tent is ideal, just enough bedroom space for a double mattress, but the living space is what makes me rate it so highly. With the standing height, space and the almost panoramic windows, it doesn't matter if the weather is foul, you can sit inside without that feeling of claustrophobia I've had with other tents. It has survived with ease weather that other designs have fallen at. The design makes it incredibly easy to pitch by two people (one alone apparently can but I've never attempted it) and I've not found any manufacturing faults.

This is one tent I will be extremely sorry to say goodbye to when it does finally expire (hopefully not any time soon!).

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

Fab tent,tried it in sept 2010 on a very wet & windy few days down in three cliffs gower, didnt budge or let a drop in. Cant fault it, has everything we wished for in a tent which was primarily the living room space and windows! Brilliant value for money and having seen some photos on here the Outwell Michigan extension maybe my next purchase. We already have the Carolina m extension which is great

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

We have recently purchased the Outwell Carolina 3 tent in the sale at Go Outdoors for the bargainous price of �150! And I must say it is the best �150 I have ever spent!

The tent is so easy to erect! We timed our second attempt at pitching the tent and managed it in a stunning 13 minutes 41 seconds!

We also bought the carpet to accompany the tent and love it! It makes the tent so warm and cosy!

So far I have been really impressed with the sturdiness of the tent, we got through a very windy/ rainy trip totally unscathed!

The living area of the tent is a dream, you can comfortably get 4 people around a table playing a game of scrabble!

There are handy little loops of material on the ceiling of the tent that we used to hang up little LED lights! It really made it like a home from home!

The panoramic windows of this tent, make it a joy to sit in here and watch the world go by in heavy rain!

This tent is supremely well made! the metal pole of the outer structure are very stable and again I cannot stress enough how easy it is to put up this tent!

I would highly recommend buying this tent, it has transformed our camping holidays!

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By: Lindastarcrazy Reason: I've used one Made in: 2009 Rating: 8 from 10

We bought this one last year in order for just the two of us to go camping. The other tent is the Ohio XL which is fantastic, but difficult to pitch with only 2 people. The Carolina 3 is a comfortable, easy to pitch, all round tent. I would advise on an awning though as once you have table and chairs, cooking gear and clothes in the tent there is not much space left. The windows all around are great and it stood up to a lot of rain and wind very well. Plenty of space for 2 people to sleep and live in. I found it difficult to open and close the front door as it slopes a bit too much and in the wind does not keep taught very well and bangs against items inside the tent. An additional guy rope at the top of the door would perhaps rectify this. Anyway, have just ordered the side extension to use as a cooking area next time. The windows do up from the bottom up which is taxing as the Ohio has windows from the top down which are great to use and very little extra bending (especially after a nice fried breakfast!).

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By: Jlbf06 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 10 from 10

Bought as an alternative to our Ohio XL, this is a fab weekend tent for a couple or small family. We used it with our four year old son and whilst fairly snug in the bedroom we managed to fit us all in using three self inflating mats (one being the Outwell kids size).

The small bedroom suits us fine though as we would prefer the extra living space that the Carolina offers. It also has plenty of windows and considering the small footprint it feels quite spacious and light inside.

We are very pleased with our purchase and would highly recommend this tent.

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

I bought a Carolina 3 in February after extensive research and past experiences with Outwell tents. On paper the Carolina 3 ticked all the boxes. Calling it a 3-man tent is pushing it a little though but as I only intend to use it for my wife and myself that isn't a problem for us.

We used the tent for the 1st time in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire last bank holiday (April 1st weekend) for 5 nights. We pitched it about 10-15 meters from a cliff edge with superb views of Fishguard harbour. That weekend we had torrential downpours and a couple of nights with extremely strong winds. The tent didn't let in a drop of water or move an inch in the wind. The Outwell Michigan Front Extension I used with it worked really well too but a couple of the fibreglass poles split due to the strong winds.

The only real problems I found was the opening/closing of the front door. Because of the sloping front it was difficult to reach the zip. Also the velcro of the doors kept catching on the mesh. But apart from those small issues everything else worked really well.

We used a heater all weekend and I thought this would cause condensation problems but not a bit the ventilation on this tent works really well.

The living area is huge with loads of light - fantastic to just sit and watch the world go by.

All-in-all a super weekend tent.

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

We bought our Carolina for weekends and short camps. We usually use the outwell sun valley 6 2006 model.

We discovered that the sleeping space was not big enough for 3 people and struggled with 2 adults and a small child. The rest of the tent was fantastic especially the bright open space in the living area, lots of windows and good height.

We camped on a cliff top in North Yorkshire 20 metres from the edge, it was very cold yet we were very pleased especially with the windows and views and would certainly recommend this tent for 2 adults.

My daughter is going to be the proud new owner this spring and I,m positive she and her chap will love it.

It's better than her pop up!

We found this to be of the high standard of all outwell tents but just not enough sleep space for 3.

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By: Bob61 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 8 from 10

This is my second review of this tent having now tested it more fully over a 4 day period.

I still believe it is a very good tent and everything I said before still stands, however, there is room for improvement in certain areas.

I have discovered that on anything but a perfectly flat pitch the flysheet cannot be persuaded to fit centrally on the poles, thus fitting the pins into the base of the poles even with the straps fully loosened can be very difficult. It would help if the straps were adjustable on both sides of the tent rather than just one.

A result of this is that one side of the groundsheet will be raised off the ground allowing the wind to billow underneath. This can cause any light items inside the tent to topple. This is compounded by a minimal number of flysheet pegging points. I feel a few more pegging points all round would help to pin the tent and the groundsheet closer to the ground.

Likewise, the number of guy lines seem skimped with just two doubled up ones on each side next to but not attached to the metal poles and one doubled up one on each corner of the tent flysheet. There are two more attached to the rear of the flysheet mainly for the vent flap. I have yet to use the tent in really windy conditions so I cannot comment on how stable it will be but I will certainly be carrying spare guy lines just in case.

Another review mentioned that the EHU lead inlet zip is on the wrong side of the tent and I have to agree. With it's present position below the side door, the EHU socket box can only be positioned between this door and the front door (a very short distance) without having to trail the lead across the door entrances or the front of the bedroom pod causing a tripping hazard underfoot and less scope for positioning electrical equipment. If the inlet zip was on the longest side of the tent where there are no doors, the lead could be kept out of the way and the scope for positioning items would be much greater.

Other reviews also commented that the fly net on the doors catches on the velcro door fastening strips. I also found this to be a problem and already the netting is becoming 'snagged'. I am sure it will end up holed before very long.

I believe I read somewhere that this tent is intended as a 'two season' tent. I am not too sure what would constitute a 3 or more season tent other than perhaps the HH of the material. This tent has an HH of 3000mm which I consider to be pretty good and I have camped in winter in 1500mm tents before with no problems. However, having now camped in sub-zero temperatures in this tent and with a heater I discovered that the front sloping windows seem to gather condensation which runs down and pools on the SIG in the front corners. This needs mopping occasionally. Strangely the other windows and the flysheet itself do not seem to suffer with quite so much condensation. Perhaps the slope of the front has some bearing on this.

One other problem I found was that due to the design, where the rear fibreglass pole clips into its cup on the door side, it hangs beyond the door opening and it is possible to catch yourself on it when entering or leaving.

This tent has been renamed for 2010 as the Carolina M. I do not know if any of the above little problems have been altered or resolved. I have been given to understand that the front and rear fibreglass pole cups have been modified so they don't now hang beyond the door opening but I have not seen one yet to confirm.

Despite the above problems I still like the tent a lot and it ticks all my boxes. As stated, I have not tested it in windy weather conditions. I hope my opinions don't change when that eventuality arises.

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By: Bob61 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 9 from 10

Having purchased the Outwell Carolina 3 about three weeks previously and not having a garden in which to erect it I decided to spend one cold November night at a local campsite solely to check the tent out and make sure I was happy with it.

Judging by that one night only at this stage, it seems to be the best tent I have ever owned and well worth all the praise and recommendations. The only problem was caused by my inexperience in erecting it on my own in that I did not get the poles properly centralised in the sleeves so one side of the tent was flush with the ground and the other side was slightly raised allowing wind to gust underneath the groundsheet. I hope to improve on this next time.

Having watched the Yeomans erecting video on Utube several times and followed the same routine I found the tent was very easy for one person to erect, but it took a little longer than the 6 minutes the man from Yeomans took!

I do have a couple of minor criticisms. The bedroom pod really is too small for three persons and only just big enough for two, and there wouldn't be a lot of room for anything else either. However, since the living area has a sewn in groundsheet and is huge, items which would usually be kept in the bedroom pod away from any likelyhood of getting damp can be kept in the living area. I actually had my heater ticking over in the living area and left the bedroom pod door open so the whole tent was warm. The living area could also be used for sleeping if needs be.

As others have mentioned the bedroom pod will only accommodate beds in one direction, across the tent. This means that the person sleeping at the back has to clamber over the other person to get to the door and it is not possible to turn the beds if the ground slopes adversely.

I didn't like the large vent panel at the back of the tent which cannot be totally sealed and corresponds to a vent in the bedroom pod so that on a cold November night there is a continual icy draught. I may see if I can seal that vent in some way.

I also discovered that the tent doors are only secured by velcro at the bottoms (zips at the sides of course). This means draughts and maybe even rain could get blown in at the bottom. However, the flyscreens have a waterproof strip along the bottom so that when these are fully zipped they finish the job of totally sealing the tent. The problem with this is that it is then necessary to unzip the flysheet and then the actual door before being able to get out of the tent. Not a brilliant design if the tent is on fire and you need a quick escape!

Having said all the above I actually bought the tent specifically for it's huge, warm, dry and light living area with lots of windows where I can sit in bad weather and watch the world go by. In that respect it earns top marks. Since I usually camp alone the small bedroom pod isn't a problem for me and the tent ticks all my boxes. Well done Outwell!

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

Absolutely brilliant tent plenty of room where you need it. Easy to put up and take down. Looks the part, very satisfied. Thinking of getting the Michigan extension unless Outwell bring one out for the Carolina 3.

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28 User Reviews of the Carolina 3 - Showing 01 to 10 Page: 1 2 3

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Manufacturer's Description

The manufacturer has advised that this model has been discontinued.

A direct Outwell response to customer requests, the NEW Carolina sleeps up to 3 persons in the security and comfort provided by a sewn-in groundsheet.
Strong selling points include its large panorama windows, excellent ventilation, and exceptional amount of standing height made possible by the Outwell Extended Frame system on both the front and rear of the tent.
Moderate in size, but big on features customers value, the NEW Carolina 3 has both a front and side door, and comes with bottom-up curtains that give occupants both the view and the privacy they want, a pre-attached and adjustable inner tent, and convenient organiser pockets. The NEW Carolina 3 is sure to find favour with campers who are looking for outstanding comfort and quality.

Specifications:
Flysheet: Outtex� 3000 with taped seams
Hydrostatic Head: 3000 mm
Floor: Double-coated polyethylene
Inner tent: Breathable polyester
Pack size: 27 x 77 cm
Weight: 19.9 kg
Poles: Steel poles 19/22 mm,
Duratec fibreglass 11 mm

Features:
� Pre-attached and adjustable inner tent
� Organiser pockets
� Mesh pockets in the inner tent
� Fully seam-sealed flysheet for maximum protection
� Reinforcement patch on all stress points
� Lamp holder and light cable tidies
� Adjustable pegging points
� Pre-attached guy ropes
� Luminous guy ropes
� Heavy duty Outwell zips
� Outwell doormat included

Optional Extras:
� Carpet
� Footprint

... there may be more info on their website

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