TESCO camping GLITCH

thelurch

I'm now looking at a Vango Nevis 600 6 person tent, can get it online for £230 cheapest. Obviously not as cheap as the tesco £48 one but we want to start camping with our 5 year old and don't want him to be put off by water pouring through a badly made tent.

My wife and I spent £200 on a 2 person tunnel tent about 10 years ago and we used it every year in all weathers, it was a well known brand and didn't leak once.

These tesco tents may appear to be a bargain and for occasional fair weather camping they will be, I just think expecting anything more would be a false economy.

wookeyhole1

AngelsMadv wrote: »

I've been thinking about this more and more. I may get 3 x 2 man tents. More to take, but better if disaster strikes! OR maybe a 4 and a 2. We have 3 kids and 2 older kis (15 and 19). The two older girls I bet would hardly ever come so may get them a 2 man tent on their own. What has any hardened camper with kids got as a suggestion?

Thanks

i got the pro action one from argos which looks like the tesco one ( i dont know how else it would compare material wise) and it was fine when we used it, it showered alot and never leaked. there was condensation in the mornings because we didnt want to leave the air vents open just incase it rained.

the cons with more tents is more pitch prices as its normally 1 tent per pitch and defeats the object of a cheap holiday.

xx

LaDiva_2

I have bought a tent and i am thinking I should cancel and plan to buy when season ends.

lookinforabargain

AngelsMadv wrote: »

I've been thinking about this more and more. I may get 3 x 2 man tents. More to take, but better if disaster strikes! OR maybe a 4 and a 2. We have 3 kids and 2 older kis (15 and 19). The two older girls I bet would hardly ever come so may get them a 2 man tent on their own. What has any hardened camper with kids got as a suggestion?

Thanks

As someone who has been camping for the last few years with kids (in all sorts of weather!) I would suggest that you give these tents a miss in all honesty.

You really want to go for at least a berth, if not 2 bigger than what the tent says it will sleep, otherwise you end up all cramped in with everyone tripping over each other and no room for any of your stuff, especially if the weather turns bad and you all have to be inside, can turn into a bit of a nightmare

I would say buy the biggest tent that you can afford, with a decent sized living space and seperate bedrooms or even better give me a budget and let me see what I can find for you :rotfl:

I just recently bought this tent http://www.outdoorworlddirect.co.uk/vango-breakout-800-dlx-tent-smoke-ocean-premium-tent.html hoping to road test it this week

Camping is great, I love it lol

thelurch

lookinforabargain wrote: »

As someone who has been camping for the last few years with kids (in all sorts of weather!) I would suggest that you give these tents a miss in all honesty.

You really want to go for at least a berth, if not 2 bigger than what the tent says it will sleep, otherwise you end up all cramped in with everyone tripping over each other and no room for any of your stuff, especially if the weather turns bad and you all have to be inside, can turn into a bit of a nightmare

I would say buy the biggest tent that you can afford, with a decent sized living space and seperate bedrooms or even better give me a budget and let me see what I can find for you :rotfl:

I just recently bought this tent http://www.outdoorworlddirect.co.uk/vango-breakout-800-dlx-tent-smoke-ocean-premium-tent.html hoping to road test it this week

Camping is great, I love it lol

Thanks for that link, I see the pic shows 4 x 2 berth compartments. Do you know if the divider between each pair of rooms is removable? thus making 2x 4 berth rooms, I like the idea of the flexibility

lookinforabargain

thelurch wrote: »

Thanks for that link, I see the pic shows 4 x 2 berth compartments. Do you know if the divider between each pair of rooms is removable? thus making 2x 4 berth rooms, I like the idea of the flexibility

The room on the left hand side sleeps 4 and has a removable divider in the middle so you can split it if you want or leave it open and the rooms on the right hand side are 2 completley seperate pods that sleep 2 each, which was the main reason we got it as it gives our 2 sons (12 and 14) a room each and stops any fighting lol

Jacqueline1949

My daughter and three friends went camping a couple of weeks ago in a Gilbert Cyclone 6 berth tent and even though the rain never stopped for two of the days they did manage to stay dry. As lookforabargain said you are better going for a big tent with sleeping compartments and living area if possible. Happy camping to you all

lindseykim13

Is it just me or has the tesco direct site been down most of the evening?

sjpkgp

Another one who agrees with lookingforabargain about buying the better names with a higher mm of waterproofing hydro head (many of these seem to be 1500). That said, it depends what you are going to use it for, our plan is to take off to somewhere fairly local and do a night or two with the car in good weather. Despite this, we have still gone for a named 8 man tunnel tent with 4 bedrooms. I think you do get what you pay for to a degree with camping. IRO is 3x2 man better than 1x6 man, we've had both and as well as the pitch fees (already mentioned by another poster) I think the 2 man tents are worse for leaking. One other point, there are two table sets on the half price offer, and the blue plasticky cheaper one is ok for kids, but flimsy and hard to sit in for adults. I've given the aluminum one a go this time, but suspect I might be back to my trusted 30 year old table and deckchairs. If our lovely-looking 8 man tent does not match up to expectations, I can see me dragging my heavy framed continental tent out again (shabby and old fashioned, not used in years - but did over 300 nights in 15 years with no leaks !). Happy camping xx

BlueCow1975

I would suggest having a look at http://ukcampsite.co.uk/

Have a look at the tent reviews and camping equipment forums. You will pick up heaps of great advice, hint & tips when camping on all budgets. They also have a great campsite finder section too.