Which tent to go for

Gloomendoom

Coleman Instant Tent

delmar39

diable wrote: »

delmar39 wrote: »

I just want to be able to pop down to Europe have a walk and have a few foreign beers and then come back the next day for a few more. [/QUOTE

fixed...

On the same wave length, perhaps :cool:

delmar39

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Coleman Instant Tent

Looks good. Already bought my starter for ten option, so let's see how that goes. Thanks for posting the link.

serious_saver

I go camping a lot and love my comfort! I completely agree about needing space. Always go for a size bigger than you expect to allow for bags. The two of us go camping but we actually have a 5 person tent. We camp with friends who have their own tents but it give us the space to all sit together out of the rain

delmar39

serious_saver wrote: »

I go camping a lot and love my comfort! I completely agree about needing space. Always go for a size bigger than you expect to allow for bags. The two of us go camping but we actually have a 5 person tent. We camp with friends who have their own tents but it give us the space to all sit together out of the rain

Thanks for this. While you're around what sort of beds and sleeping bags do you use. I want to go and use my new tent in December, but having never done it before is this a good idea? Also, won't the tent just get soaked this time of the year and never dry out so cannot pack away? I've got a discount on my tent because it's end of season, but I really want to get out and use it. Any advice welcome.

serious_saver

delmar39 wrote: »

Thanks for this. While you're around what sort of beds and sleeping bags do you use. I want to go and use my new tent in December, but having never done it before is this a good idea? Also, won't the tent just get soaked this time of the year and never dry out so cannot pack away? I've got a discount on my tent because it's end of season, but I really want to get out and use it. Any advice welcome.

This time of year it's going to be pretty chilly so you'll want something pretty warm to sleep in. When it's cold we take an extra blanket to go between us and the airbed as a lot of the cold will be coming up from the ground. To tell you the truth we usually just use a warm duvet!

We just use a normal double airbed that we bought from Tescos. They were reduced to less than £2 so we emptied most of the shelf :whistle:

The thin sleeping mats you can get are really cheap and do a good job of keeping it warm but they're not the most comfortable.

If you use an electric pump the air will heat up so often by the time you've gone to bed the matress will have gone down. It's handy to remember this so you know to either overfill slightly or pump it up some more before you get into bed.

Another useful tip for airbeds: If you have an airbed with a screw on cap around the valve, take some thin elastic bands. Air can escape from around the cap (very slowly so you end up on the floor in the morning) so unscrew the cap, put an elastic band around thread and put the cap back on nice and tight. The elastic band will create a rubber seal to stop the air getting out! I know a few people who have thrown away airbeds because they couldn't find the leak but it's usually just air coming out near the valve.


EDIT

The tent may get soaked but that's not much different from the summer these days! The most important thing is to get the inner dry as it can get mildew. If you get it the tent will work fine but it looks disgusting. We had a tent once (couldn't afford to replace it for a while) that looked as though someone had vomited all over the inside!

These days, if we haven't been able to dry it properly I actually peg mine to the washing line when we get home or hang it over the bannister.

Also before you leave it to dry/ air give the tent a good shake to remove excess water. My OH uses windcreen scraper from the car to run over any plastic windows to remove even more. We have a brush as well to remove mud from the bottom of the ground sheet but even if there's no mud using the brush helps to speead up drying.

delmar39

serious_saver wrote: »

This time of year it's going to be pretty chilly so you'll want something pretty warm to sleep in. When it's cold we take an extra blanket to go between us and the airbed as a lot of the cold will be coming up from the ground. To tell you the truth we usually just use a warm duvet!

We just use a normal double airbed that we bought from Tescos. They were reduced to less than £2 so we emptied most of the shelf :whistle:

The thin sleeping mats you can get are really cheap and do a good job of keeping it warm but they're not the most comfortable.

If you use an electric pump the air will heat up so often by the time you've gone to bed the matress will have gone down. It's handy to remember this so you know to either overfill slightly or pump it up some more before you get into bed.

Another useful tip for airbeds: If you have an airbed with a screw on cap around the valve, take some thin elastic bands. Air can escape from around the cap (very slowly so you end up on the floor in the morning) so unscrew the cap, put an elastic band around thread and put the cap back on nice and tight. The elastic band will create a rubber seal to stop the air getting out! I know a few people who have thrown away airbeds because they couldn't find the leak but it's usually just air coming out near the valve.


EDIT

The tent may get soaked but that's not much different from the summer these days! The most important thing is to get the inner dry as it can get mildew. If you get it the tent will work fine but it looks disgusting. We had a tent once (couldn't afford to replace it for a while) that looked as though someone had vomited all over the inside!

These days, if we haven't been able to dry it properly I actually peg mine to the washing line when we get home or hang it over the bannister.

Also before you leave it to dry/ air give the tent a good shake to remove excess water. My OH uses windcreen scraper from the car to run over any plastic windows to remove even more. We have a brush as well to remove mud from the bottom of the ground sheet but even if there's no mud using the brush helps to speead up drying.

Thanks for the advice. Chomping at the bit to get out there....

Shelldean

it's important to dry both the inner and the fly sheet as both can go mouldy if left wet. And if the fly goes mouldy it could then compromise the waterproofness ( is there such a word?) of the tent. as yours is an all in one pitch you can't sperate the inner from the fly, at least I think you can't.
Do you have a garage? You could put the tent in there to air it. As it's a pop up it would be difficult to drape over the bannisters so what about a spare room or the dining room if you have one? we have a smaller pop up and TBH if it's raining when we break camp and we can't put it up in the garden we put it in the bath. It's difficult to explain but when folded it is a huge disc. so we just stand it on edge, then rearrange it so different bit is aired. dries quite quckly like this.

if you want to go camping this time of year then go for layers.
As mentioned before If using an airbed, then place a blanket under the bed as well as on top of it. The air bed will draw cold air from the ground otherwise adn it will be like sleeping on a block of ice.
Lots of people recommend thermarests, not used one myself so can't comment. also wear lots of layers, and remember lots of heat is lost thru your head. I went camping in feb one year and was SO miserable due to being cold, there is not much worse than being cold.

I'm a novice to winter camping but there are lots of thread on UKCS about people who are camping all through the winter, including xmas and new year. unfortunatly I was put off wintercamping due to our Feb trip

delmar39

Shelldean wrote: »

it's important to dry both the inner and the fly sheet as both can go mouldy if left wet. And if the fly goes mouldy it could then compromise the waterproofness ( is there such a word?) of the tent. as yours is an all in one pitch you can't sperate the inner from the fly, at least I think you can't.
Do you have a garage? You could put the tent in there to air it. As it's a pop up it would be difficult to drape over the bannisters so what about a spare room or the dining room if you have one? we have a smaller pop up and TBH if it's raining when we break camp and we can't put it up in the garden we put it in the bath. It's difficult to explain but when folded it is a huge disc. so we just stand it on edge, then rearrange it so different bit is aired. dries quite quckly like this.

if you want to go camping this time of year then go for layers.
As mentioned before If using an airbed, then place a blanket under the bed as well as on top of it. The air bed will draw cold air from the ground otherwise adn it will be like sleeping on a block of ice.
Lots of people recommend thermarests, not used one myself so can't comment. also wear lots of layers, and remember lots of heat is lost thru your head. I went camping in feb one year and was SO miserable due to being cold, there is not much worse than being cold.

I'm a novice to winter camping but there are lots of thread on UKCS about people who are camping all through the winter, including xmas and new year. unfortunatly I was put off wintercamping due to our Feb trip

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to get a smaller pop up for single and one off trips and will only use the 4 man pop up late Spring through to early Autumn. This way I can dry the smaller one much easier by putting up in the garage or spare room.

Cheers again for the advice. I don't think I'll be camping Nov - Feb for exactly the reasons you say. More likely to be between March and October when the weather is fine.