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Tent Reviews: Sprayway Valley 4
Tent and Awning Reviews Index > Sprayway > Valley 4 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
4 (more 4 berth tents)
29.55 KG
£259.00
1
Fully Sewn-in
Fly first
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Average User Rating:8/10 from 9 reviews
Viewed: 26503 times
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9 Reviews of the Valley 4
By: Ossie001 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: 
We have owned a Sprayway Valley 4 for 3 years now and have used it in all kinds of conditions from pouring rain to strong winds. The tent as never leaked or failed us under any of these conditions, however the front canopy should be taken down if strong winds are expected.
After this period of time we can have the tent outer up in less than 20 minutes and the inner set up in about 5 minutes. Yes it was a little stiff to pin in the early days but it did not take many trips before this slight difficulty disappeared.
We love the separate outer and inner has this means we can have the front fully open but the inner closed to stop any insects flying or otherwise getting into the inner area.
The only criticism is that it should be marketed as a 2-3 person, not a 4 person tent.
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By: Redduck Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating:
We bought this after looking round loads at various camping shops and have not been disappointed. It is very solid once up. If it can cope with wind and rain on the west coast of Wales and hardly move it can cope with anything!
It is very roomy for two people, but if you had a wet week I think you'd struggle with four.
We liked the fact that the inner while being separate from the outer is a complete unit. The porch is a bonus as it means you can unzip the tent and take muddy boots off in the dry before stepping into the tent.
We liked all the little features like the pockets to pack the 'doors' into if you want to unzip them completely.
Despite being black the way the inner is designed it is cool in the sun. It also feels slightly better insulated than most in the colder weather.
The only downside with it is that it can be difficult to put up in the wind and rain as the poles make it quite heavy. You do need two people and if one of you isn't very tall they would struggle to support the poles while putting in initial guys and attaching the inner. I'm 5'9' and it's on my limit! Pitching, especially the tension pins, does get easier as with use, partly because we've got used to it and partly because the poles seem to have a bit more give now!
We're really happy with it the only reason I give it 9/10 is the weight of it when pitching.
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By: Foxycustard Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2010 Rating:
We have just bought this tent as we have downsized from a 7 man tent. We have always bought tents with an inner and outer tent and also sewn in groundsheets. The only problem with this sort of tent is the fact that the inner tent usually goes up first then the outer ties on which has always been a problem for us in wind and rain or snow! With the valley 4 this doesn't happen as the outer goes up first and the inner tent clips in afterwards, which keeps the inner dry and secure.
The poles on the outer tent were difficult to clip in but no more difficult that any other tent we have owned as they should be tight to provided tension (as hazi820 commented.) it took 45 minutes to put the tent up completely on our first go an will be much quicker now we have done this once.
There is good ventilation and the wardrobe is a nice feature as are the window/curtain pockets. As we use our tent for 3 seasons I was also pleased with the hydrostatic head at 4000, which is among the highest I've seen.
The bedroom would be a little tight for 4 adults but I thought that our old 7 man tent would have been a squeeze for 7! We have a king size air mattress which we just managed to fit in the bedroom, which was all we wanted. If your looking for a family of four then the valley 6 may be a better option.
The added canopy on the front was useful and its possible to drive your vehicle right up to the front if the central guy isn't in place. We did this to load and unload the car in poor weather which kept everything dry.
All in all were very happy with the tent - the only downside for us is the front door which didn't seem to have any way of securing once it was open. This meant it ended up rolled in a heap on the floor - hence the 9 out of 10.
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By: JAD128 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating:
My daughter (8) and I (41) have now camped three times in this tent, under various conditions, and I think this gives us a reasonable wealth of experience upon which to base this review.
The tent is good-looking and smart. Its well made and very sturdy, and with the addition of the dining canopy at the front, 10 people (maybe more) can comfortably sit outside and be sheltered, making this tent the focus of social gatherings if you are with a group of others.
The walls are dark coloured and the roof is pale grey. Light is well diffused around the inside as a result so visibility is good. Due to the inner tent, there is no chance of the embarrassing 'shadow puppet' shows that can be seen in some others!
The huge front window is great for keeping the outside inside even when the door is closed. In fact, I have watched a fantastic sunrise from the comfort of my sleeping bag, without even having to lift my head from the pillow. A 'keep your Costa Brava' moment.
Pitching was relatively easy but does require two fit adults. Technically it is very straightforward, but as other have said the poles are perhaps just too long for the flysheet and getting the ring and pins in place does require some effort. I had envisaged being able to put this tent up with my daughter but this has not proved possible. Undoubtedly the foot print groundsheet helps with alignment and support as well as reinforcing the sewn in one.
Sadly, its too small for four people. On the occasions we have camped as four people it has been as two adults and two children. True, it sleeps four but the living area does not accommodate four chairs even without a table. In wet weather when the outdoor space cannot be used, it would be pretty miserable. I have also had difficulty putting two double sized air mattresses in the sleeping area as another reviewer has mentioned, but it is possible if they are 'softly' inflated and allowed to settle. However, it is very comfortable for two.
On our most recent trip we pitched on high ground in order to appreciate the views. During the night, the wind whipped up sufficiently to waken everyone (and for my daughter to recall the films of 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'Twister') and get up to make general checks around their tents. Our tent was rock-solid. The canopy was less so and the guys required some re pegging but definitely not the tent itself, as others did.
We are delighted with our tent. I've only dropped a mark because of lack of space for four people and the ring-and-pin problem. There is a new awning available now which has additional benefits over the canopy. Should my canopy ever blow away, I'd buy that!
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By: JeffOliver Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating: 
Overall the tent was excellent & performed really well, though I do have a couple of small criticisms.
Firstly, the instructions were a bit lacking. A DVD showing the tent being erected & taken down would have been a real boon. I'm sure there are features on the tent I'm still unaware of!
The curtain pocket for the front door window requires more than two pieces of velcro to hold it in place. As the door was opened, the window would constantly fall to the floor.
A second electricity zip in the bedroom would be a plus.
The door to the bedroom, in my view, opens from the wrong side. Beds logically go the other side of the room to the wardrobe, so due to the 'hinge' position you are always opening the door straight onto the beds.
It was 'tight' getting it up & reading the other reviews, I think this would be easier if we had the footprint.
Pretty minor niggles for an otherwise great tent
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By: Hazi820 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating:
When I first saw the Valley 4 I was really impressed with the dimensions of it. And after gale force winds destroyed my previous bargain tent I decided to dig deep in my pockets and purchase the Valley 4.
I camp alone with my dog and was looking for a tent that I could stand up in (I'm 6ft 5in) and this ticked all the boxes.
I also purchased the footprint groundsheet which was a bonus as it includes 6 anchor points so that you know where to place the poles. The instructions were a little vague but I decided just to see what happened on my own and I found it quite easy to do on my own, though it was a dry wind free day in a sheltered area. Some of the poles were hard to put into place, but that's how it should be to keep the tension. The other problems was the fibreglass pole that goes around the side door as I'd not taken into consideration the fixings for it until it was fully erected. But that is a first time mistake.
Once erected for 1-2 people and a dog or little one then it's a good size, but for 4 people it would be a push, it had reasonable amount of space for a camping kitchen and a couple of chairs and the 'Wet' room at the front was great for putting all those things you didn't need to bring fully in but needed to keep dry like boots and rain coats (though no where to hang things).
Logically some of the zips didn't fit in the right place for me, and you have to fully take off the front door rather than zip from the top for when it's raining and make use of the porch area. Yet you might want to have half the door down if it's still warm. Though the additional shelter you can buy would help with that.
There is plenty of ventilations and options for opening windows/doors etc.
I can't wait till the next time I use it as I've found a tent that I'm happy with and the wardrobe with hanging space is a bonus and there is lots of room to hide you're unwanted bits and pieces without falling over them and the ability to hang lots of things from it though not sure what weight it could take.
I really recommend this for a 2 people and not 4 as you'd be falling over each other and there isn't enough space in the living area for 4 chairs and a kitchen, especially if you also wanted to add a table.
I also found it easy to take down on my own and pack away. I just took it down in reverse to putting it up.
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By: Sarbar Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating: 
I'll start with the plus points. I really liked the hanging wardrobe space and sewn in groundsheet in the living area which realy cuts down on the draughts(which is something we have not had before) but for me thats about it!
Size-wise it makes a great 2 man but I think you would struggle with 4 people.
Erection was a complete nightmare. The poles seemed to be slightly too long for the tent and we found the material did not sit central on the poles and was much too taught in places and however hard we tried to tension & peg out the tent it seemed to sag in other places and when it rained it pooled and touched the inner slightly. Trying to get the rings in to the steel poles was quite impossible for me to do and even my husband struggled. We put the tent up when it was reasonably dry and still but would really hate to think about doing it in adverse conditions.
We have been campers for 20 odd years and have had various different makes of tents from Outwell to Pro Action (Argos) and I have got to say this one has been the biggest disappointment. I really don't want to go camping with this tent again and will try and sell it ASAP.
We bought this tent online without having seen it up (something which I will not do again). I feel that if I had bought it from a store then I could take it back and explain the situation (I feel that it may be faulty) but you cant do that when purchased online.
I am sorry to say that on paper it sounds great but in reality, I hate it!
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By: Hymerman2 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating:
This tent is classed as four man, in my opinion it is too small for such a label, it is a great two man, with space inside when the nights pull in and the weather ain't so good. It is light and airy, yet can still provide privacy.
Erection could I think be easier if more detailed instruction were provided, the use of photographs would be beneficial. Tensioning the steel poles to engage the ring pin requires a bit of welly, I wonder how weaker people would cope, especially in windy conditions.
The tent has a good height, but a down side is that short people would have to use a step of some sort to reach the top, inner tent suspension points.
As the sewn in flooring material is on the thin side it is, in my opinion, necessary to use an under protection (such as the available footprint ground sheet)
I think Sprayway have produced a tent that meets expectations.
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By: Rambling Man Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating:
We bought this tent before we had the chance of seeing it and it was shipped to us, I guess, from the first batch received by the supplier. Due to bad weather and other things that get in the way, we were unable to test-pitch the tent until a couple of weekends ago. I have to say that the other posts regarding the polycotton and Valley 6 versions had us fairly apprehensive but on initial inspection the tent appeared to be sound. It went up with nothing more than the usual 'where does this pole go' routine, all taped seams looked to be in place, and the groundsheet looked to be thoroughly proofed, if not quite as thick as other tents we have had. This was fine as we bought the extra footprint sheet and I'd recommend that others consider this too if you can.
So far so good. The proof of the pudding however came last week when we ventured to Rudding Park near Harrogate and tested the tent in anger. Over the three days we were there we had a real mixed bag of weather ranging from torrential downpours to glorious sunshine. The tent played it's part well and not one leak was found. All guy lines held good and the shape of the tent remained tight, as it should. A reported problem of being unable to close the air vents must be confined to the Valley 6 version as the Valley 4 has velcro tabs to close and fix the vents in place if needed. A doddle. Job done.
We only found two drawbacks with the tent:
(1) We were unable, just, to put two double airbeds in the sleeping compartment which meant that we had to move our kit out of the living area each evening. Not too much of a problem though.
(2) The main porch door has no tie-back points. You would have to either unzip the door and take it out completely or, as we did, find some way of rolling it up and holding it to one side.
For the above reasons I have rated this tent 8/10. This is a great tent and despite the heavy rain we had a great time away with family and friends. Our apprehensions have now put to rest and we're looking forward to getting out and about with the tent during the rest of the summer.
Shame that we didn't qualify for the free canopy when we bought the tent, but hey, you can't win them all.
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Manufacturer's Description
With its spacious fully sewn in groundsheet design, integral wardrobe compartment and built in canopy the features speak for themselves. This is a premium tent ideal for families and couples with exacting standards who require the very best.
Specifications
Pitching method: outer first
Flysheet material: 185pu coated polyester
Flysheet Hydrostatic Head: 4000 mm
Flysheet taped: yes
Ring and pin tensioners: yes
Flysheet tensioners/d rings: yes
Inner tent material: breathable polyester
Inner tent fire retardant: yes
Inner tent groundsheet material: polyethylene
Groundsheet Hydrostatic Head: 3000
Poles: steel
Continuous pole sleeves: yes
Colour coded pole sleeves: yes
Pegs: steel
Electrical hook up access: yes
Total weight: 29.55kg
PackSize: 42 x 45 x 73cm (Canvas), 19 x 22 x 95cm (Poles)
Features
Front fully integrated sun canopy
Low level vents
Sewn In Groundsheet (SIG) in main living area
Mesh pockets in the inner tent
Fully integrated bedroom storage area/wardrobe
Large opening tuck away door
Groundsheet for entrance included
Front storage area
Internal organiser pockets
Fully seam-sealed flysheet for maximum protection
Adjustable pegging points
Pre-attached guy ropes
Electrical hook up access point
Repair kit included
Sturdy and durable wheeled trolley bag supplied as standard
... there may be more info on their website
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