Cheap Tent for 1st time Camper

frizz_head

Need a basic tent for a first time camper, suitable for a family of four. Have been looking at the tents in Argos, can anyone give me any advise as to what would be best?

Have never been camping before, but friends with a Trailer Tent have asked us to join them for a weekend trip in the UK in July.

Frizz

Ted_Hutchinson

How about discount to door
INDEX have some reductions as well

Midget_Karen

Make sure you get a tent that's big enough - if there are 4 of you you will need a tent for at least 6 people, or even 8 if you have lots of stuff or if it's raining and need to spend time in it. The manufactuers seriously underestimate how much space a person needs!!

Alternativly, how about two tents? When I was small my brother and I shared a 2 person tent just for us, and my parents had a large tent that had all the cooking stuff etc in. I still have our small tent and use it now.

I guess if you're new to camping though, a get a large tent (6-8) for now, and get a 2 man tent later if you like it!!

Savvy_Sue

superb advice above. The other thing to think about is how well you can cope with not being able to stand upright, especially to get dressed etc. Two man tents are great fun for kids, but no fun at all for grownups with dodgy backs, hips, knees etc.

some other advice for first time campers: it can be cold at night, even in July, so take layers to wear in bed, including a woolly hat and bedsocks! Camp beds get a howling draft underneath, airbeds or foam mats are warmer. Put as many or more layers underneat your sleeping bag as you do on top. Oh, and practice putting the tent up before you go away, to make sure you know how to do it. 'Igloo' shape tents are much easier to get right than older style ridge tents, of course, but even so you need to know where the door is going to end up!

Enjoy - and remember, a trailer tent isn't proper camping, you'll be the ones doing that!

Jay-Jay_4

Yup....what they said ^^^^^

If you're going for those flock airbeds then it may be worth investing in reflective mat or even a normal foam roll mat for underneath you. The matresses trap cold air in them and can be really cold to lie on, depending on the weather.

Something like this is a good shape though probably not big enough depending on how old your offspring are. Have you got a camping shop near you? Most have a floor where that have tents up so that you can have a walk about in them and get a feel of how much room you'll need.

Have a look in Loot, I got a cracking family tent for £60 out of there.




Edited to say that wearing a hat in bed isn't as daft as it sounds, it may be the difference between a warmish night and an absolutely bloody freezing your bits off night.

fest0r

Check out Lidl next Monday (23rd)

http://www.lidl.co.uk/gb/index.nsf/pages/c.o.oow.20050523.index

…some offers are regional though.

robnye

have a look at millets...... even if only to get advice.......

Jay-Jay_4

frizz_head wrote:

Need a basic tent for a first time camper, suitable for a family of four. Have been looking at the tents in Argos, can anyone give me any advise as to what would be best?

Have never been camping before, but friends with a Trailer Tent have asked us to join them for a weekend trip in the UK in July.

Frizz

Frizz, as it's your first time and you're not sure whether camping is for you could you borrow a tent off anyone? Or, get a couple of small, cheap tents and pitch them facing each other so the kids are right next to you.

You can pick up single skin dome tents for £10 at Asda, They're not huge but would be fine for 2 little children or a teenager.

It just sems a bit excessive spending over £100 on a tent that you may only use once.

emmarooney

If you have a Decathlon near you, try there, they have a massive range of styles, sizes, prices , accessories etc and can be really cheap - I saw a good sized one yesterday for around £30 and it was also the pop-up kind so really easy to put up.

Store location
LONDON - SURREY QUAYS
MERRY HILL, BIRMINGHAM
NOTTINGHAM
ROMFORD
SHEFFIELD
STOCKPORT

Well worth it if you can get to one easily....their website has only a tiny proportion of what they stock.

pealy

.. I remember getting a very cheap tent from Argos many years ago and although it kept the elements at bay during the night it began to rain on us in the morning. This was quite confusing as it was a beautiful sunny morning outside the tent. I think it was something yo do with the single skin design and lack of ventilation, I took it back for a full refund before drying out my sleeping bag.

If you're going to be using it for a week or more I'd get some good advice..

Edinburghlass_2

I got a leaflet through the door today from Tesco which is stocking a load of camping equipment at very reasonable prices but perhaps not suitable for camping in the rain and cold.

two man dome tent £9.94
camping starter set including dome tent for 2/3 people, 2 adult mummy sleeping bags, 2 camping mats and a wheeled carry case only £39.97
single airbed £7.98
double airbed £11.54
foot pump £3.47
foam mat £3.44
adult sleeping bad £6.87

I guess it depends on the size of your local Tesco, mine is a Tesco Extra