Tent

Chrissy_Boy_2

Where's the best place to buy a decent quality but reasonable price tent?

Would prefer somewhere I could view them first. Decathlon seems to be the favourite at the moment

Thanks

quintwins

we got a fab tent from lidl it's 1 4 man tent but has a living area and fits all 5 of us (ok so 3 of them are tiny but still) has lots of room and fits a double blow up bed and 2 singles, but you can't see it up, the tent in general is very heavy and sturdy we were thrilled with it it cost us £60 it's also really tall and we can stand up with plenty of room

jadedson

There's not too many places in NI where you can see a tent display. I've seen a Vango Icarus in Cotwold Outdoors recently on the top floor, it's the 2011 model and I think it was £185.

There's a place in Bangor that sells camping gear but they only do Royal and to be honest there's so many tent makes I would consider other than Royal.

The Scout shop in Belfast also sometimes has a tent up in their shop.

What kind of tent do you want - how many people for and how much is your budget?

also there's a camping site here

https://www.northernirelandcampsites.lefora.com

jadedson

I should have said, Decathlon are brilliant for their pop up tents of which I have two. Their pole and sleeve tents don't have sewn in groundsheets and so for that reason I'd got with Vango, Outwell, Khyam, Lichfield or whatever rather than one without the SIG.

caz2703

Tesco have a range of tents in their Extra stores. None on display but could be worth a punt.

vax2002

If you can not stand up in it, you will soon be looking for the next one, spend the extra and buy a kyham you can wet pitch them .

Chrissy_Boy_2

Thanks everyone
Jadedson, now have my eye on a Vango Beta 450 that I saw in Cotsword yesterday, you're 100% about the groundsheet Just looking something cheap as it's years since either me or OH camped, just want something for us + 5&7yo, so a 4 man should be fine. I can see these online for £69.99 + shipping (good if they don't stick the arm in because it's NI, if they do, Cotswold sell them for £99). If everyone enjoys it we'll upgrade in a couple of years !

Cheers again

dazb75

Chrissy

I have some experience in camping.

Some advice:

Always get a tent that is 1 berth more than you wish to accommodate. The Vango Beta 450 should only be used for three people. Airbeds take up more room that you think.

There are a few place in NI that have tent displays.

LPC Caravans in Balloo, Bangor (some said earlier they only stock Royal .. they also stock Outwell)
and another place in Banbridge (can't remember name)

Make a decision before you buy as to whether you want to be able to stand in the tent. It makes a big difference! Constantly crouching down is OK when you young!

Don't buy a cheap make. Vango, Outwell, etc are fine.

Try browsing thru the message boards on here:

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/

You'll pick up some good tips.

Good luck.

Chrissy_Boy wrote: »

Thanks everyone
Jadedson, now have my eye on a Vango Beta 450 that I saw in Cotsword yesterday, you're 100% about the groundsheet Just looking something cheap as it's years since either me or OH camped, just want something for us + 5&7yo, so a 4 man should be fine. I can see these online for £69.99 + shipping (good if they don't stick the arm in because it's NI, if they do, Cotswold sell them for £99). If everyone enjoys it we'll upgrade in a couple of years !

Cheers again

dazb75

http://www.lpctents.com/

Chrissy_Boy wrote: »

Thanks everyone
Jadedson, now have my eye on a Vango Beta 450 that I saw in Cotsword yesterday, you're 100% about the groundsheet Just looking something cheap as it's years since either me or OH camped, just want something for us + 5&7yo, so a 4 man should be fine. I can see these online for £69.99 + shipping (good if they don't stick the arm in because it's NI, if they do, Cotswold sell them for £99). If everyone enjoys it we'll upgrade in a couple of years !

Cheers again

Chrissy_Boy_2

Thanks. That's really helpful advice.

jadedson

Just bear in mind that the Vango Beta has a bathtub groundsheet, it's not actually a sewn in groundsheet. To get a sewn in groundsheet you would have to get at minimum a Vango Icarus. The other thing is that the Vango Beta doesn't have enough height inside to stand up, although you can sit comfortably in an ordinary fold up camping chair inside.

I agree that you really need a five man or a six man for a family of four, even with small children. It's not really got to do with the bedroom size, but the living room size is crucial if you're stuck inside it with the rain - which will happen - this is NI after all! That's where the sewn in groundsheet comes in handy, it keeps out the water as well as the wind and the wildlife.

Well it sort of does have to do with bedroom size. The Icarus 500 has a 280cm wide bedroom section. A single airbed can be anything from 70cm to 100cm. So this 'five man' tent doesn't even fit three 100cm single airbeds! The tent bedroom section sizes are geared towards the size of foam roll mats NOT airbeds. A double and and a single airbed would potentially fill up all available space on a five man tent.

I would have said a Vango Icarus would be a great tent for you, either the 5 man size or the 6 man depending on what kind of beds you want to use (kids are happy on foam mats). It has a sewn in groundsheet, stand up height throughout, is very simple to put up with three poles all the same length so there's no colour coding required - it doesn't matter which sleeve you put the pole through. It takes 15 minutes to pitch and is a really good family tent. The 2011 model also has darker fabric on the bedroom pod which helps with early summer mornings. The 2010 model is still really good and should be available online for about £130. The 2011 model is £185 (slightly different colour). You might get a 'used once' one in Gumtree or in the paper.

A really good alternative to the Vango is the Easycamp Licata - at about £89 for a four man tent it's stand up height and also Easycamp are made by Outwell, so it's very nearly the same quality. http://www.outdooraction.co.uk/acatalog/Easy_Camp_Licata_400__2010_.html

There are some brands to avoid, Rage, Bergen and Skandika tents are german and cheap - but they're not well made and have inadequate pegging points - and generally no SIG. Also avoid 'packs' which have sleeping bags and airbeds thrown in to the deal, the airbeds are fine but the sleeping bags are only useful for spare over blankets.