Cheap huge tent

casp1997

We have just bought the hi gear kalahari 10 from go out doors it was on offer for £250 selling price is around £400 then we got the porch it was £115 it is a massive tent 10 berth We used it at the weekend stood the rain and the wind was shockin great tent for the money

insx

When I saw the negative review I had a word with Go Outdoors about the changes and they said:

1. The material has not changed since the tent was introduced in 2009
(and it certainly didn't look tatty to me)

2. The sewn in groundsheet was removed from the porch as it tended to channel water into the tent
(this makes sense and seems to be an improvement)

3. It has plenty of ventilation
(I'm not sure I agree on this one. The tent is very warm and could probably use some extra vents)

RosieLee_2

azza87 wrote: »

You might think it's good value for a big tent but come back after using it and you wont have the same opinion. Cheap tents like this don't last long and tend to develop problems pretty quickly. If you're after a tent that will last you more than one use I would advise you to go for a more well known brand that you can rely on ie outwell or vango etc.

As the saying goes, buy cheap buy twice! I work for an outdoor retailer and the amount of people we see coming in for new tents as they've bought cheap nasty ones is unreal. I know better branded tents tend to be more expensive but this is because they actually last and do the job and do actually save you money in the long run.

I bought an outwell nevada L with my staff discount 3 years ago and the tent is still going strong, my sister bought a cheaper tent from go outdoors around the same time and she replaced this around a year and a half ago as the zips went on two of the doors, it was leaking in a number of places and she had to replace some of the poles twice.

Just a warning!

i've had an Hi Gear (Gelert) tent for a while now and would buy another in a heartbeat. mine has stood up to terrible storms and been fine. my mum has a caravan on a site all season so we see many weather beaten tents, half blown down but the hi gear ones are stood up strong, vango tents always seem to be having troubles at the tent field at go outdoors.
i'd advise people to go read the user reviews on uk campsites website before you listen to the quote above.

finetune9

BlueCow1975 wrote: »

... for those that might be wanting to try out camping to see how they like it this might well do the job for them. At the end of the day when you buy a cheaper tent you do so in the knowledge that there is a chance that it will only last you a few holidays....No point in spending upwards of 500 on a tent to discover that the family hate it!! ....

A good point, well made!
On that basis you will have a lot of tent for the money! I am looking for a replacement for mine at the moment. The amount of choice, variations in price and quality makes it challenging!

RosieLee_2

can't see this already mentioned but this tent is only on offer until sunday, then it will go back to it's original price of over £400.

there is a different one on next week and for Vango fans, there is a vista 800 DLX on offer on the 20th June for £199.

insx

Sorry folks, apparently the "reduced" price of the tent means that you can't use the 20% off as well. Still a good tent for £230, I reckon but not the great offer it could have been. Still much cheaper than the £600 RRP (LOL).

AnotherMakes3

We had a hi gear sahara and it lasted 1 trip. We got caught in a thunder storm with quite strong winds and 2 poles snapped, a few bits tore and the thing fell to the ground full of water. Thankfully we managed to book a lodge at the site so our trip wasnt for nothing. We have been camping for over 10 years but with a bigger family now we wanted a bigger tent. We have since bought an outwell montana 6 which we camped in last week in cornwall in high winds and the thing was solid as a rock. We got it for £299 on a gooutdoors sale coupon day

vax2002

First rule of any tent, can you stand up in it ?
Or you soon get back ache.

azza87

AnotherMakes3 wrote: »

We had a hi gear sahara and it lasted 1 trip. We got caught in a thunder storm with quite strong winds and 2 poles snapped, a few bits tore and the thing fell to the ground full of water. Thankfully we managed to book a lodge at the site so our trip wasnt for nothing. We have been camping for over 10 years but with a bigger family now we wanted a bigger tent. We have since bought an outwell montana 6 which we camped in last week in cornwall in high winds and the thing was solid as a rock. We got it for £299 on a gooutdoors sale coupon day

Although my points above still stand with regards to cheap tents, damage like this can actually happen to any tent in high winds/storms.

It's advised to actually drop your tents in high winds, by letting the the poles down.

BlueCow1975 wrote: »

I am all for buying good quality tents, but for those that might be wanting to try out camping to see how they like it this might well do the job for them.

I really don't agree with that, or think it's a good idea at all. If someone who has never done camping before and they go for a cheap tent to give it a go and see if they like it and something goes wrong because they're bought cheap they are most likely, due to their bad experience to write of camping completely.

First time campers don't know much about camping and don't really know what they are buying (quality wise, else supermarket's tat would sell!) and so think they're getting an amazing deal on camping equipment when they really aren't.

If you've bought a cheap tent and have been disappointed with it, before buying your next one go and visit a camping exhibition or garden centers that have outdoor stores in them so you can see all of the tents up on display that they offer, so you can see what the quality of the tent is like.

Rich44_2

Sorry been camping for years now and can't agree with the drop the tent comment at all and in fact could be very dangerous.

Tents should be built to withstand almost anything the UK weather can throw at them with the structure up as intended. It's designed once up to be self supporting if you compromise the structure by dropping poles the you run the serious risk of wind catching now seriously loose material and either ripping it or more seriously ripping out of the ground entirely

We've used the same tent since 2003 in all weathers with no problems at all (Gelert Lokon Vario 6)