Looking for are first family tent (2 adults + 1 toddler) ideally a 5 man one (3 + 2) as need enough room for little one to sleep in the 3 section now but will be able to move to other 2 section as he gets older)

Just looking at go and there are loads of hi gear models plus some vangos

Any advice on a good quality mid priced tent woukd be appreciated.

I was recommended the decathlon pop up tent, it’s brilliant, look no further if you have the room in the car!

Have a look on http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/tents/ for tent reviews. Good message forums as well for any questions.

What’s “mid price”?

We bought a great Outwell tent a couple of years ago – the Nevada M – which is 3 rooms, plus two of the rooms can be made into one while you have a little one with you. £250 though. Great lounge space for if it’s raining – super tent.

Wallop that outwell one is exactly what I was looking at, plus the newer Rockwell model, Will Be having a look around as it’s now £350!! At go anyhow

Keep an eye out for tent sales at Go Outdoors – we got a flyer through the post and nabbed 20% off. It’s also worth getting the carpet.

Outwell Montana 6.
Nuff said.
😉

We bought a great Outwell tent a couple of years ago – the Nevada M

It’s the MP now; I know, cos I’ve just spent two weeks in it. Great piece of kit.

cant see past the decathlon pop up tent my self.

a month in france in one last summer.

did the job well and will be pressed into service again next week.

i wouldnt use one in exposed areas though. – my ever lasting memory of the 2 man job was in a gale force wind on raasay first watching it be pressed flat in the wind then watching it disapear into the raasay firth.

+1 for Outwell Montana.

Fantastic tent, especially if you plan to camp for several days in one location.

Course, you then need to fill it with unnecessary gear to make your camping luxurious as befits a big Outwell; then you need a trailer to put all the kit in; then you need a bigger car to tow the trailer… It’s a slippery slope 🙂

we’d consider selling our nevada M plus the porch extension if youd consider the second hand route? campings fizzled out a bit for us these days as we prefer the guaranteed sun abroad 😀

have to be pick up only tho, we’re in north lincs.

cheers

Have a look at Outwell Birdland 5 too.

Whereabouts are you? Cotswold Outdoor put loads of tents up in Peterborough for several weeks of the summer so people can come and have a look at them.
If you are anywhere near, it might be worth a look and see if they still have them up.
They are at the Van Hague Garden centre and were all up the last time i went a couple of weeks ago.

I have the Outwell Montana and exactly the same buying requirements. It is a very big and heavy tent though, making erection difficult on your own.

The supplied plastic pegs are rubbish in hard ground, otherwise its pretty good.

Another vote for the Nevada M here. We have had one for three years, it works great for us as 2 adults and 2 kids. I can put it up by myself in 20mins or so. We also have the front extension that adds a lot of space, and makes the whole tent seem bigger.

We have just upgraded to a bigger tent, so are about to sell our Nevada M. Like the post above, it would need to be collected as too heavy to post. I am near Swinley.

I’d love to get the porch for our Nevada M, however my husband insists on using several metres of string, a tree and a tarpaulin instead. 😥

Outwell Montana 6… thats the one I could have parked two T5 vans inside and was bigger than the allocated pitch size in Finale Ligura….. and thats without the porch extension. It was like a greenhouse.

Great tent though but too big for us so back on ebay it went.

I’ve got a Montana 6 and it is a great tent, but massive, heavy and impossible to put up single handedly. If you’re doing lots of short camps rather than weeks away go for something smaller and lighter and simpler to erect. Lots about. Frankly astonished by the punishment the decathlon pop iups can withstand, especially the Samurai helmet jobs which they don’t seem to do anymore. For shorter camps we have an Outwell Virginia which is much the same as a Vango Icarus. I’d err towards a smaller tent and then maybe something like a Coleman Event shelter for living/shelter space

Saw some cheap family tents on offer in Aldi on saturday and they’ve got loads of cheap bike stuff as well had to walk past them to get my weeks supply of that absolutely divine eating liquorice they sell and I’m addicted to.

Putting a Montana up on your own isnt difficult.
Roof poles in, guy the rear end out loosely, then far end legs in to roof poles & stand so they lean forwards supported by the guys. Then just work forwards.
It is a big tent though, & would fill the boot on anything less than a Mondeo.
Old design now, & much as we loved ours there are better tents available nowadays.

See if you are anywhere near a Yeomans camping exhibition – loads of tents up to have a proper look, and often deals to be had on ex display stuff as well.

Also, toddlers just love looking at tents, keeps them quiet for hours.

And pay extra for a carpet. Always sneered at people who had a carpet in the tent. But it is much warmer with one…. 😳

Cheers all that was really helpful, Montana 6 looks to big, the Nevada looks the jobby keep an eye open for some sales (in sheffield)

Cheers all that was really helpful, Montana 6 looks to big, the Nevada looks the jobby keep an eye open for some sales (in sheffield)

Buy a bigger tent than you think you need. You’ll be grateful when it’s raining and you’re trying to entertain a fractious toddler.

any thoughts on bell tents?

Join UK Climbing and put a “wanted” ad in their forum classifieds. I’ve just done this for a tent for the C2C and received a bewildering range of offers of good quality tents, have ended up paying a bloke £40 for a Wild Country Sirocco in almost new condition.

Do the decathlon tents really just pop-up?

Jambo, we’ve got a 5m bell tent and its fantastic. They’re a doddle to put up and put away for one reasonably strong person (lifting the main pole up is the only bit that needs any real effort). Me and my 9 yr old daughter arrived in n.Yorks the other week in horrendous weather and while other campers struggled with 20 different poles, ours was up in10 minutes. Loads of headroom too.
They don’t exactly pack small though.

Mine

how weatherproof are they?

Its not leaked yet! (4th British “summer”) sturdy as hell in high winds too.

Bought a Vango 500 or something about 7yrs ago. Its a 2 bed with a porch bit. Has done my family loads of trips and although I look at those Outwell ones with desire, I cant knock the Vango. Its mainly been used by the 3 (Before little lass came along) so it was a lovely size with 2 x blow up double mattresses in. Goes up with 2x poles on main section and 1 on the front. I can put it up in 10mins and pull down in 5mins in a rain storm (Didn’t fold and threw it in the back of a van with the poles intact etc )

I got mine at the time for a bargain £99 and its one of the best value items I have bought.

Perhaps need a new thread for this but how is camping with a 13 month old? I’ve never been that keen on camping but friends rave about it and all this talk of bell tents has got me thinking so…..good to go now or quite a lot of hassle at that age and maybe wait until they are 2 or 3?

Bought a Vango Icarus 500 a couple of years back & its been great (poles split & have been replaced though). Has the option of 1 or 2 ‘bedrooms’ & the double air bed & travel cot fit in very comfortably. Easy/quick to put up on your own & doesn’t take up too much room when packed away, which is handy given all of the other stuff my other half insists on bringing

Gotama – Have been taking our lad since he was a few months old, he’s 18-months old & absolutley loves being outdoors & causing chaos…he’s always seems to sleep better in a tent too. Definitely recommend it.

We bought a Vango Stratos 500 from Cotswold Outdoor recently, a five berth – managed to put up on my own in about 15 minutes at Mayhem, no problems. We trust the Vango name, never been let down by their tents at all.

Available with a fairly big discount at Cotswold at the moment and another 6.3% if bought via topcashback (here http://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/GRTD) 😉

Clobber

Not far off it.

Open the bag

Undo the clips.

Pops out.

Pin down one edge and pull the guy ropes out from the oposite side , pull taught and then pin.

Pin round the rest of the tent.

http://www.campingworld.co.uk/Mobile/MobileModels.aspx?ModelID=9362

My decathlon family pop up goes up in 3 mins, down in 5 min. Single handed.