Hello,

I’m looking to start camping with my Son and am looking to buy a little starter set up.

We won’t be bikepacking (yet) sonit need not be tiny.

I was thinking something cozy like a 3 man tent.

What’s a good place to start. Somewhere around £100

Thanks in advance guys and girls .

Decathlon or Go Outdoors.

Go along. Have a look. Ask to see one pitched. Check out how easy it is to pitch. Get one with a wee porch for sitting in when it is wet and/or you have wet gear.

If you have a Decathlon or GoOutdoors nearby, nothing beats going and having a walk around. If you’re car-camping, I’d really recommend something you can stand up in. If the weather’s crap you’ll be glad of it. Plenty of manufacturers doing blackout bedrooms now which helps the youngsters sleep on a bit in the morning (depending on how old your lad is of course). Not sure what £100 will get you – but you’re buying at the right time of year.*

*come on, somebody say it… 🙂

Go Outdoors in Edinburgh have an outdoor area with a range of tents set up. Worth checking if there’s one near you and if they have a setup area (Inverness don’t IIRC)

I just paid £50 from Millets…
3 man and took me and 7/8yr old less than 30 minutes to put up after 1 dry run in the garden. (We arrived at dusk so this was quite important)

https://www.millets.co.uk/tents-camping/162600-avon-deluxe-tent.html

At 1m30 he can reach the inner hooks (which he can’t on my old 6 man family)

His first time camping

Small families or a group of friends will fit snugly in this Eurohike Avon Deluxe tent. Improved on the original the full waterproof performance and spacious porch will prevent any leaks from having a damp bed.

So it claims… he’ll kill me if he reads this but avoid him getting dehydrated cycling then drinking 4L of water round a campfire late into the evening… or you can still end up with a damp bed! 😈

If anything it was massive for 2 of us… we could have got the bikes in with a squeeze and hard to go wrong for £50!

Wot scotroutes and DD said especially the

I’d really recommend something you can stand up in.

The huge frame tents are fine if you don’t have to carry them and most of the time you are just grabbing them from the back of the car. We had one that cost us £70 and lasted at least ten years.

They are surprisingly sturdy as well, used one in a Hebridean storm and it didn’t feel like it was going to break.

Despite being a gear freak and having two lightweight tents I don’t see the point in using them unless I have to carry them, I might as well have a bit of comfort and room.

*come on, somebody say it…

Allow me: “Now is the winter of our discount tents…”

I first came across that little gem as a huge banner outside an outdoors shop, on a big roundabout in the centre of Warrington. I almost crashed the car.

how about this?: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/arpenaz-42-family-id_8378238.html

yours for £50 (bought it new and use 2x this summer, but too small for what I actually need/want)

sorry for my shameful ad 😳

The huge frame tents are fine if you don’t have to carry them and most of the time you are just grabbing them from the back of the car. We had one that cost us £70 and lasted at least ten years.

Sort of …. my boot isn’t that big and I’ve got 2 bikes on the back seat … and my big tent is too big for Jnr to really help put up and a real handful for one person (especially if its windy)….(back in a previous life me and the ex could stick it up in 15 mins on decent ground but that was 2 practiced adults)

I got the 3 man specifically as it’s big enough for 2 easily and because Jnr is tall enough to actually help…
(Oh and because it was £50 on sale). I’d definitely take this over the 6 man for the 2 of us next time even if I had space in the car..

Ours wasn’t one of the plastic palaces that you see on campsites but it was big enough to sleep three and stand up in. Packed down to about the size of a typical suitcase and you could carry it one handed.

These used to be able to be had for around the £100 – £120 mark. Great tents and ideal for an adult and a kid for a weekend or week away. I’d be looking for the cheapest one online then asking Go Outdoors to price match minus 10% to bring it down closer to you budget, or look for decent one second hand.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/vango-omega-350-3-berth-tent-p140004

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/price-guarantee

get one that pitches outer first or all together, inner pitched first just seems the daftest idea to me in UK weather..

Give it another 2 months and it’ll almost be the winter of discount tents!

Define cosy? The more space it has, the harder it will be to keep warm…make sure the sleeping space is small as it will keep you warmer at night. Stand up space is very helpful. I have a 5-man tent for 3 of us and it works well as the sleeping area is smaller than living space so not as cold at night.
Decathlon and Gooutdoors have great selections…I like the look of the Decathlon stuff and the black out stuff would be a real benefit for a slightly longer sleep I.e. 7 instead of 6…

Carpet also helps with keeping tent warm and a footprint can aid protecting the floor of tent from stones.

It is great fun, hope you and your son have a great many (mis)adventures!

Have one identical to that which wolfenstein is offering. Got it sale price at £90 and lasted years before a pole (replaceable) broke. So still using it. Very comfortable, good storage. Great for spacious car family camping *

* Me and dad OR me and mrs** OR me and biking buddy, etc…

**Although we prefer a Vango Halo for cosy Autumn camps

A comfortable tent for camping with a small person.

Following!

The last one we took touring was a Vango and it worked fine.

My wife eventually asked, “What happens if the rain comes in”. It was chucking it.

The only reply I could come up with at 4 in the morning was a growled, “then we’ll get **** wet”.

Still, tent held up, no one drowned and since then, I’ve trusted Vango.

Spend a bit more and get a lightweight Alpkit jobbie, on sale at mo.

That Vango Omega 350 is 160 at Blacks… Tempted to try for the Go Outdoors discount myself now…

We have a Hoolie 2 , just over your budget but worth the extra £12.00 .
8/9 minute pitch – only 2 poles , decent front porch and very good in the wind and rain . We’ve used it with a tarp as an extra dry porch area.

Will your son be able to help put it up? If so the https://www.decathlon.co.uk/arpenaz-42-family-id_8378238.html that wolfenstein mentioned is the tent that we have and have been very pleased with (for a family of 4).

Will it be for short weekends (ease of erection important, don’t need so much space) or whole weeks (more space required, ease of erection not so important)??

Do you want to be able to stand up in it??

We don’t need to be able to stand up in it, my son is 7 and I just want to expose him to a bit of adventure. He is quite a soft nature, sensitive lad who loves nature so I thought camping out overnight would be fun.

Small and cozy would be nice.

I was thinking this. https://www.decathlon.co.uk/arpenaz-3-freshblack-tent-3-man-id_8357355.html

Get him a nice 3 season bag and ground mat. Jobs a goodun?

I really rate the vango ‘X’ 350 tents..
I had a a Beta 350 for many years – great car camping as it’s got the sleeping area, and the front porchy area. Not big enough to stand in, but can dump all your stuff there, sit there and cook etc.

The zip went, so I’ve not got an omega 350 – much better made, but it’s 3 times the price…

Not slept in it yet, but pitched it to play in the garden!

DrP

(For the family/mates camping, I’ve a huge family tent you CAN stand in – t’s lovely, and was only £250…
Huge though..)

We recntly bought a Vango Banshee 300 and a Vango Mirage 300 from Uttings. Great piece of kit, fly first pitching (can leave inner in) – so tent up in less than 10 easy minutes.

The Mirage is really nice – lots of room for 2 (and dogs)….

I’m pretty convinced the OP doesn’t need to spend more than £50 on a first tent for 1 adult and 1 kid.

Being able to stand up is a bit of a compromise… at least if you want the kid to be able to participate in putting it up and taking it down. (Which for me is part of the whole experience)

It’s completely different with 2 adults but if the tent is too high the kid can’t properly participate.

I’ve actually got a whole shedload (literally) of tents from a tiny 1.5 man coffin to a 6 man…

So depending on the age and height of the kid I reckon it needs to be put up in the attention span of the kid… and they need to be able to reach parts like hanging the inner.
Up first inners… just no in the UK….

The only thing perhaps missing from the 3 man I got is blackouts but that wasn’t actually an issue as we were riding all day and campfire at night…. the hardest thing was waking him up 😀

Big ‘stand up’ tents are good, but difficult to keep warm, you lose the coziness IMO and are very large in the car. I also think you lose some of the magic of camping but I was brought up in small tents.

Small tents are easier to dry out, faster to pitch / pack and you have more pitching choices.

If it was me, I’d go for a 3 person dome tent with 2 porches, where you sleep perpendicular to the doors, meaning that if one of you needs to get out to go to the loo you’ve got your own entrance, like this =

http://www.outdoorkit.co.uk/product.php?product_id=5530&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=froogle&gclid=Cj0KCQjwruPNBRCKARIsAEYNXIiz9R2jk2pLZlcDmYbEuew_S0QKBC3wPygYsw1A9VkpcfuHBtVmQCAaArgnEALw_wcB

You also have 2 porches – one to store stuff in, one for going in and out of. We have the Vango Omega 350 and it is quite a big tent, you can stoop in the porch and do most stuff in it. Its our choice for when camping away for a weekend (2 adults one child) and can’t be bothered taking the big tent.