I’ve been asked about airbeam tents. What’s a good 5 man tent please?

We bought a Vango Edoras 600XL last year on a deal that was too good to pass on, and have used it a few times across the UK / France. It goes up easy in around 10 minutes – it’s solid, and is a great space.

It packs away pretty big and heavy – it takes a bit of practice to get it back into the supplied bag also. Takes up a fair bit of car space when travelling.

Looking forward to using it some more this year!

no idea but following with interest.

our suncamp is probably on its last year this year and will be relegated to festival duties. Im concerned about getting a puncture though. Maybe stans?

ive got an old 4-5 man vango you can have if you need one to be putting you on….

Thanks for the offer Andy but it’s not for us, it’s a female friend with a couple of kids.

Woody has a Vango i think and he seemed happy enough with it at the Ardrock

Had a good look at some of these last year but didn’t end up pulling the trigger in the end.
The best ones we saw were probably Outdoor Revolution:
http://www.winfieldsoutdoors.co.uk/outdoor-revolution-airedale-5-air-tent/

Something that pops up when you blow it. There’s a gag there somewhere…

Mine’s a Vango AirBeam Solaris 600 Jas & so far so good. Easy enough to put up/take down with plenty of room for the 5 of us. Not really any quicker than putting up a standard tent, but I can put it up by myself which I think you’d struggle to do with a poled tent of similar size.

I think you’d struggle to puncture the airbeams Andy (short of sticking a knife in them), they’re very robust (think along the lines of a rigid inflatable boat).

Also following with interest. Couple of festivals and other camping this summer plus addition of youngster since last camping trip mean we need something new. I’ve been looking at the Coleman Valdes 6 (also comes in 6L I think). The two bedrooms at the back are black out which might be good for slightly cooler and keeping a youngster asleep for a bit longer. They also have a swinging “solid” door rather than zip-up. Has probably ticked most boxes for us. I bloody saw on for nearly half-price in an Amazon Warehouse sale last year and should have bought then. Can’t find any cheap at the moment (but hey, it’s Spring…no surprise there).

That Coleman door is very very silly – our local camping shop hates it with a passion – they won’t even sell that kind of Coleman tent. It means there’s a massive step into the tent, like 18 inches at one end.

Their blackout bedrooms are properly dark too – expect to need a torch to find stuff even in the day!

We went for the Kampa Hayling 6. They do an airbeam version (and there’s a 4 person model) but you do pay a huge premium for the air versions. We’re also worried about pack size (small car) and air tents are big old lumps.

Here’s the Hayling 6 – flat floor to the bedrooms and lots of light.

TM

That Coleman door is very very silly – our local camping shop hates it with a passion – they won’t even sell that kind of Coleman tent. It means there’s a massive step into the tent, like 18 inches at one end.

I seem to remember Camping Magazine giving it an award sometime in 2016 for Best Family Tent despite the silly door. Can’t quite put my finger on where I saw that though. 😀

(To be fair, I haven’t stepped into one in real life, just been watching a lot of YouTube reviewers. They’ve all liked it and not mentioned the step-up – but I accept it may be a slight pain. Boot size won’t be a problem for us – have an estate for lugging loads around.)

I’ve used two or three of the Vango version. We blew one up – two of the tubes exploded quite loudly – at 24/12 a few years back, but that was an early, pre-production model, since when they’ve beefed up the inflatable bits. they work a bit like bike tyres with an inflatable inner tube encased in a tougher outer and then zipped into channels on the inside of the tent. Very solid once inflated and, unlike conventional poles, tend to deform and spring back if they encounter really high winds rather than failing catastrophically.

I’d say they go up faster and easier than conventional tents particularly at the larger end of the spectrum. I’d happily buy a Vango, but I’ve not used any of the competition, so can’t really compare. They seem pretty well put together, not flawless, but quite capable. The van awnings work well too, but are quite large.

yes its all about what you like and personal preference – we have a trip-happy 6 year old and that door would not work for her. Definitely go and see before you buy.

oh and awards ? I think if you search around you can probably find an award for any manufacturer… e.g. best inflatable tents – Kampa

I am looking for one of these for our family for Spring/Summer this year. We are heading to a festival and then might use the tent for weekends.

Decathlon do a 4 person Arpenaz 4.2, (which appreciate might not work for the OP, but would be sufficient for us) which I think is circa £99. Would love to get something better quality like a Vango, but I am not sure if I can justify the price (unless someone can put me straight and say what the advantage of getting a better tent is, as I am an ignoramus).

Thanks folks, Vango it is i reckon

Bought a Berghaus Air 6 when they were on offer – not used it yet but the bag is massive and weighs a ton, fine for car camping, but not one I would fancy schlepping from festival carpark to campsite with

Mugboo – just ordered a Vango 550xl beta, which seems at the budget end of family tents. Air inflated ones seem a bit more pricey, but just as a heads up it is worth looking at world of camping, they seemed quite a bit cheaper.

http://www.worldofcamping.co.uk – based in Redruth. Never heard of them, but seem good value.

We have a Kampa Croyde Classic Air 6. It’s a great tent and polycotton is much nicer than polyester but it is massive up or packed. Takes up more than half the boot of my Octavia and I can only just lift it out on my own. Erects quicker than our previous tent and porch combo and is much quicker to pack.

Cheers both of you, I’ll pass that on.