Tent recommendations

marcarm

I'm looking for a tent, it will be used for camping trips mainly to Wales in April, the summer and October.

Not sure if I need a double skin or single, I've read double is preferable. It will be just me but I will need a fairly large one for all the stuff I will need as I am going mountain biking. I won't need anything to put on my back etc, so weight/packed size is not as issue.

The usual suspects like gooutdoors etc are really expensive, anyone know of any cheaper places to get tents from?

Thank you

mooch

Will it just be mostly you camping on your own? If so, I would say bigger isn't always better. Small tents are easy to put up and take down especially on your own. Also I think warmth and sleep would be your biggest considerations especially in the cooler seasons and this would be much more down to your bedding rather than the tent itself. We've only ever owned 2 tents. A cheap one to see if we even liked camping and an expensive one for the following year that we've used ever since. I'd just be wary of spending too much if you don't know exactly what you're looking for.

Good time to buy, go outdoors is a great place to test them out, but we bought both of ours in the off season sales online.

kathrynha

Definitely go for double skin, and as high a hydrostatic head as you can afford as that's the waterproofness.


You need to decide what you want from the tent. Do you want to be able to stand up in it? It's nice to be able to but it can be colder.
Vango's are pretty good tents.
Get down to Go Outdoors and see a few up.

Gloomendoom

A single skin tent will give you serious condensation problems.

I've always considered GoOutdoor's tent prices to be staggeringly cheap. Unless you are willing to risk second hand, I'm not sure that you will find anything worth buying cheaper anywhere else.

Norman_Castle

How much are you expecting to spend? I've used a £40, 3 man Vango for about 10 years originally bought for me and a retriever. Apart from recently replacing a pole section which was starting to split it has been faultless. Plenty of room for clothes etc. If you're car camping you can leave excess stuff in the car.

PDC

You've missed most of the sales unfortunately, as said, Go Outdoors does have a lot of tents across a range of prices and their own brand tent, can't recall the name, are pretty good. Its something that should last several years so you have to factor that into the cost of it.

The first tent I had was a second hand one originally from Halfords, similar to this, It was fine, is still fine but I wanted something with a bit more room, a sewn in groundsheet and one that I could stand up in.

Also as said above, if its just you then you don't need a big tent though personally I've had a smaller tent and now have a larger one and I'd rather have that extra space, be able to stand up and have some room to sit inside in bad weather. I've only ever had single skin tents, yes they condensate in the early hours but that drys off pretty soon - only really unpleasant if your tent is so low you are hitting your head on it.

If you are transporting it by car then the inflatable tents are the current popular thing for the speed/ease in putting them up, though they are heavier and more expensive and from what I've seen the cheaper ones are not that well made.

maisie_cat

When I used to bike camp alone years ago I used a cheapo eurohike tent for a couple of years before I invested in a more expensive brand.
If you are not worried about the weight I assume that means that you are taking a car, so a small cosy tent will do, excess stuff can go in the car.
My last small tent was a terra nova voyager, and our large "grown up" tent is an outwell, both excellent brands. I have also had a north face tent that delaminated and a vango whose hoops did not survive hot cornwall in the past.
You can get the expensive brands used on Ebay, where people have decided that it's not for them. check where it's been stored (last summer was hot for a loft stored tent) and ensure that you see it erected.

marcarm

Thanks for all the replies, essentially it will be me driving to Wales, setting up camp in the site and leaving the tent there for 3/4 days while I go off biking.

I do have a tent, but last year I went in the middle of the heatwave, typically the week I went it rained and the tent was no longer waterproof. It is a fair few years old though so now I will be able to get away more it's time for a new one.

I get the point about leaving stuff in the car, for some reason that didn't even click but would make sense. It would be nice to be able to stand up in it but where I stay they have showers etc so I can get changed there.

I did find these, can't find any reviews online but a 3 person should be ample size without being too big, and they are fairly cheap as well, although for £5 more I can get the 4 person for a bit more room.

https://www.thisisitstores.co.uk/cheap-3-man-tent-with-porch-for-sale.html

Norman_Castle

^ Thats an unknown make and potentially a poor tent. Before buying my Vango I was given a similar aldi/lidl tent on which a pole had snapped and ripped the fly. I repaired it to use. Once pitched it would flop around even in a light breeze due to the lack of pole sleeves or any way of attaching the poles to the fly. The pegs and peg elastics were poor quality and weak. It was a copy of a decent tent design with no understanding of the details to make a decent tent which is why I would only buy from an established maker. The small extra cost should give a much better tent.

marcarm

I went to gooutdoors earlier, the big sign pointing to the outdoor area where they have "30 tents pitched ready to view" lead me to an area where they had 4, so that bore no fruit.

They did have this on offer for £50, so that looks like it is winning at the moment.

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/freedom-trail-lombok-350-tent-p396736

pogofish

Have you had a look at mountain warehouse?

Time they tend to be pretty competitive and I replaced a tent last year with one of their own range and was pleasantly impressed with the quality and price.

They also have a regularly changed sale stock and an eBay outlet that can offer bigger discounts.