It would be excellent to hear from those STW-ers experienced in matters of camping with young 'uns. I know you're out there. With your pitching knowledge and your tentpegs and all.

Here's the spec:

– 2 adults and 2 small (under 5) kids
– long weekends mainly – perhaps the very occasional full-week
– with Ford Focus-sized car
– Spring and Summer, UK and France – we won't go in ka-ray-zee conditions but will go in normal British weather 😉

The questions are:

– what kinda tent, and better still, which specific recommendation?
– any other key bits that'll ensure the missus and sprogs thrive and delight?

Funk you very much in advance.

One you can stand up in is good.
Seperate sleeping compartments are good, but look for one you can open up the room wall to make a large room incase the kids get scared.

Practice how to put the tent up before you go.

I would just suggest to get one that has plenty of space, our Outland Montana is big enough to have the table and chairs inside and still have enough space for the kids to play if its raining outside. Having a proper porch area also handy to keep muddy boots out of the main area. Defo get one with a full bathtub type inner. A bucket loo is also handy to save trips to the toilets at night! we got a wicked jungle print inner tent for the kids which they love.

a couple of these http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/touring-tents-13801414/#

and one of these

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/seconds-base-full-35306767/

great for car camping

Whatever you get, get a tent that's for at least 6 people. We've got a 4 person tent, which sleeps a cosy 3 only!

Bought a Wild country Halo 104. Its brill!

I've got one of these.. It's a great tent.

+1 on being able to stand upright in the tent.

Yup, get a tall 6 berth so you have a little extra space and standing room is more valuable than you think. An awning makes a lot of sense if its rainy – you can still cook outside the tent if you need to.
Self inflating mattresses are much warmer/comfier than airbeds and take plenty of warm clothing for the evenings.
Stick to campsites with a decent playground and make sure you can pitch near it within easy vision – makes a huge difference having the kids in eyeview without actually having to sit in the play area with them, you will find your weekend a lot more relaxing having a bit of precious "me" time.
We started going 2 years ago and went from a 3 to a 5 berth in 2 trips. Got the bug and i find it a great way of doing "not much" at the weekends – as a parent you will know how valuable that time can be. We eventually accumulated cooking gear, an awning, self inflating mattresses, little fridge/coolbox, warm sleeping bags, electric hook up, couple of folding chairs, couple of decent lights and torches and we're now sorted. Just add kids, bikes and kites.
This is ours

+1 for leccy hookup. Makes life so much easier with the kids!

We got one of these [/url].

Contra to the current trend its a non-sig (ie non-sewnin ground sheet).

Cons
Its cooler in the morning and evening though its fine in the sleeping pods.
Sideways rain will get in down the bottom slightly.

Pros:
You/the kids can have a nap in the afternoon because its not going to be too hot.
When you pack it up in the wet, the dirty groundsheet goesin a separate bag from the main tent.
If you rip the ground sheet you can get another from screwfix.

For me – nothing beats being able to take a nap in the afternoon

We've had a Vango Diablo 600 for about 7 years, used it at least 4 or 5 times per year. It has a sewn in ground sheet – warm, no water seeps in, no creepy crawlies which some kids (and grown ups) don't like. Bedrooms opposite each other either side of the living area – nice to have some privacy. Separate porch is good – can store bikes etc in there, and cook in there when it's raining. Good to be able to take off muddy boots under shelter in there too, and generally keep the cr@p out of the inner tent. Massive living area – loads of space, we've had 15 in there. It's a dome tent and relatively easy to put up for something of it's size, but inner must be put up first. I can put it up alone just about, although easier with help, and it takes about 30-40 mins or so, after which it's good enough to get inside, then there's more fannying about with guy ropes and so on. This is bad if it's raining – there'll be at least 20 mins or so when the inner is exposed to the rain. Also, it's so big we can't put it up in the garden to dry later – have to hang it over the stairs like a stranded parachute.

Good tent, but when we replace might go for a similar tent by Outwell – the Hartford http://www.outdoorworlddirect.co.uk/acatalog/Outwell_Deluxe_Hartford_L.html Slightly better finish, and I like the way you put up the inner and outer at the same time. A mate has the Outwell Montana, which seems a good tent, but not so easy to put up. They've even got a flippin carpet in there as well as a hook up. These additions get me grumpy for some strange reason. Marginally just that little bit too much luxury maybe? Daft I know, it's car camping whatever…

Speaking of which, as you'll be using the car, you're not restricted to size of tent to take. Whilst it's good to have space, worth bearing in mind that campsites are reacting to the trend for people getting massive tents. Our mates Montana is 8 berth, it's flippin huge, and some sites now charge them double. 6 berth would be good for you – allows your kids to bring mates for eg, and you shouldn't get charged double for a tent that size hopefully?

A cheapo Decathlon tarp is a useful addition, and those integral table and chair things that fold up are good. Decathlon has a load of useful stuff for family camping, defo worth a look.

I have a vango diable 900. Great tent, but with hindsight I would get an Outwell Nevada

For a start in the world of camping, would really recommend anything from Vango, the prices are great and the products are brilliant, if not exactly top of the range.

Thank you so so so much.
I can't express how useful you've been without sounding like a simpering fool!
THANKS 🙂

you need one of these – Lavvu

sorry cant post piccies from work

if youre anywhere near lincoln ive got an outwell maine for sale. 6 berth i think and only used once.

We have a North Face TrailHead 6, very nice tent, you can stand up, not to big but adaptable, I have no children but best friends have Two and the same tent and seem to love it. Most importantly for us is that it is a reasonable sized package unlike our previous 'holiday tent' and it goes up very quickly.

I became fed up with nylon tents and now use a tentipi. No more condensation and fiddling around with a million poles.

Not cheap but very very quick to pitch: less than 5 minutes. You can also have a fire inside. And they look great.

http://www.worldinspiredtents.co.uk/images/products/Gaise.jpg

We've an Outwell Montana 6, it has a sewn in groundsheet, it's a single skin so quite good to put up in the rain, we can pitch it in about 40 minutes but it's a bulky and heavy bugger – definitely need 2 to pitch. Saw them going cheap. Go Outdoors yesterday (£239?) but I've just checked their website and they're no longer available online. It's a great tent

After camping in it for the last 4 seasons we'd probably go for something similar to the tentipi above (£££££) or maybe one of those awesome dutch tents (De Waard etc) but spendy.

Do not buy a 6 berth canvas tent just because the wife thinks the 'windows' with curtains are pretty…that would be (was) a mistake.

(repeat – avoid canvas)

Outwell, ace

Outwell Montana 6 here as well. Like above, I'd add at least 1 if not 2 to the occupancy rating unless you are a very close knit family!

First 2 trips last year and while it is a bugger to erect (not hard, just time consuming) once up it's stable as hell and very roomy which was important given we didn't have great weather so the kids (3&5) had space to play in out of the wet.

It withstood the very high winds at end of last summer with no issues. We also got the front extension which for the money is well worth it to give you a covered cooking area.

I reckon the S-I-G is a good thing to have and as regards the dirty ground sheet, that's easily solved by having a second groundsheet / tarp underneath it which is in contact with the ground. Adds about £20 to the budget but the benefits are well worth it.

Best opinion I can give is the wife's. She likes her comforts and would never have gone for camping until she saw the size / comfort now available, now she's sold on it.

Did this 2yrs ago for my kids. My wife wont do the camping thing so for the first couple of years it was me and my son 'bonding'. I got the Vango 500 which has served me very well. On the one occasion my wife and 2yr old daughter came along she was surprised at how roomy it was.

Next year will be me and the two kids which will hardly make any difference. It has a nice little porch and massive sleeping space (My son has brought friends with him a few times).

What i would say is that you should do a few little trips first. Its only after that you will refine your list of whats needed regarding equipment and what is surplus. You would be surprised at how little you need for a 2-3 day trip and how much you do actually take.