Hi

I’m looking for a family tent for two adults and two children. Use is for twice a year couple of nights each time in the U.K travelling by car. I’m interested in an air tent for ease and I was considering Berghaus 4xl.

Anything else that I should consider please?

Thanks

If you’re not aware, air tents are generally bulkier when packed for any given footprint.  Depending on your car this may be worth considering.

Also (and you may also know this) the headcount number is usually a “snug” fit.  Depending on the design a 5 or 6 number might allow more breathing space.  We have an 8 berth air tent but we wil go for 2 weeks and have a large dog (this setup requires a trailer!). With air the pitching time penalty for larger tents is small.

The Berghaus tents always look good on sites.

For such light use you might think about Decathlon tents or one of the less dear brands that you get from Go Outdoors etc.

Our big one is a Khyam from 2019.  It’s OK but has had just a couple too many annoying small issues for an allegedly better than average standard tent. Value for money isn’t quite right imo.

we have a kyham airtrek 8. we wanted a large internal space in case it pours with rain so you can have your chairs and table inside and play games

they often have sales

I’ve got an MSR Habitude 6. Superb tent, masses of room inside, packs down small and light so it doesn’t take up the whole of the car boot. Takes me (on my own) about 10 minutes to pitch.

It doesn’t have separate rooms though or blackout interior so depends what kind of features you’re after. You should be able to find one for about the same price as the Berghaus tent.

Great. Thanks so much for the swift replies. Yeah I suppose with air it is so I can do it easily by myself I suppose.

Any other suggestions would be welcome.

We bought a Quechua air seconds 6.3 from decathlon for 2 adults + 2 children. It’s got blackout lined bedrooms the third of which is optional – without it we have a larger living space which is good for small children and all their stuff plus space inside to play if it rains. I can put it up and down on my own easily enough. Downside is it takes up most of my large saloon boot.

Whatever decathlon (quecha) cool and dark tent is in your price/size range. Significantly cheaper than big brands, no sunlight so the kids sleep longer, brill

Kampa Kielder is worth adding to your list. Got a better deal on the 5 than the Berghaus. Really stable when up and quite wide / has a massive living space. You may want the 6 rather than the 5 if your kids are big and you want to take decent sized air beds. Although the 5 would fit you all in ok.

Just be aware that air tents are big and heavy – even when packed down in their bag. You could probably put it up just about solo but easier with a couple of people.

https://www.winfieldsoutdoors.co.uk/kampa-kielder-5-air-deluxe-tent/

https://www.winfieldsoutdoors.co.uk/kampa-kielder-6-air-deluxe-tent/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw26KxBhBDEiwAu6KXt82-t26FVgp_NM4jFhYavNwh-p1Kd0AbpitrP-FgM1IjGdF_FNvVshoCzvcQAvD_BwE

We have a robens Kiowa 11man tent and it sleeps 4 people very comfortably

You really need to take the numbers of people that “fit” with a pinch of salt.

We used to have tents that had a standard tube design and this time I decided to swap to a bell tent as I wanted the Headroom. I’m really happy with it and as it is canvas it breathes, coupled with the roof vents. It’s really smart tent that is quite pleasant to spend time in if it’s raining.

One thing I would say about the air tents, is that you need to make sure that you have a power source that can pump It up. This is great if you can get your car next to the tent, but for example at a festival you will need to invest in some kind of battery power. That’s the other reason why I went for a belt end as I can pitch it anywhere.

If I was going to buy again I would stay with robens but I might go for one of the bell tents with an a-frame entrance as then you can very easily hook a tarp straight onto the front. The Kiowa is great but the entrance could be longer. I bought a tarp which I think I can jury rig on to the front and I’ll test that in a few months time.

Got a Robens something or other 5-person for 3 of us…has space inside so there is room for us all if the weather is bad.
Not air, but it is easy enough to erect by myself…takes about 10-15 minutes – took a half hour first time though.
Air tents do look good and I’d really like a blacked out sleeping area but for the amount of use this gets, I’m not replacing it.
Enjoy all the adventures as they’ll all be great!

So we have an old Vango rivendell 800 6+2 we got off my sister. It’s huge. Takes up about a 1/3 of the boot on a focus estate. Just picked up a Vango jora 450 from their refurb site.

Have a look there for some bargins

One thing I would say about the air tents, is that you need to make sure that you have a power source that can pump It up.

This is untrue. Takes about 15 seconds per pole to pump up the largest air tent I’ve got, and about 6 seconds per pole for the smallest. All by hand. The pump does take up more room in the car though

As above, I’d say that a 4-man rated tent would perhaps be a little cramped if the weather is anything less than perfect.
Our previous tent was a Vango Orchy 600, and we replaced that last year with another Vango – Stargrove II 600XL (snappy name).

This one.

https://www.outdoorworlddirect.co.uk/vango-stargrove-ii-600xl-poled-tent-2022.html

I like the idea of an air beam tent but when you see them in the shops, they are so bulky when packed we don’t really have the space in the car for one. They are also generally about twice the price for a given size.
The one we have now is probably a bit over-kill, but the price was good & it is nice to have a bit more room to be comfortable.
For a couple of nights camping at a time, it would be sensible to consider the pitch-time. We tend to only go away for 3-nighters or more because its such an effort to get everything pitched. I’d prefer a simplified set-up, but my Wife seems to prefer a home away from home type set-up.

Yeah you don’t need electric for an air tent. Mine came with a manual pump and it didn’t take very long to pump it up.

I’ve got a Jag XF Sportbrake and even though the boot is quite big it takes a significant chunk of space up. By the time that went in plus a beer fridge it was mostly squashable stuff I packed in round them. But I have a roof box as well for camping trips.

Another vote for decathlon cool and dark.

get yourself down to a store with the family and have a look at what they’ve got to understand the range. Also note their “second life” scheme where lightly used stuff gets returned, inspected, repaired if necessary, and resold at a nice discount.

Depending on the design a 5 or 6 number might allow more breathing space.

I second this. Our air mattresses are 70cm wide and most bedroom areas on a 4-person tent are narrower than the 280cm we’d need to have them all side by side. Family of 2 + 2 here.

Our big tent is a mansion: Vango Keswick 2 TC airbeam behemoth. Polycotton and airbeam is it’s **** huge (and heavy) when packed – it’d fill the boot on a average SUV. Great for long stays though, tons of space.

Also recently bought a Berghaus Adhara 500 Nightfall (£212 here) for shorter weekends and stopovers. 5-person with 320cm wide sleeping area but a much smaller living section compared to our Vango. Packed size is less than a third of the Vango. Yet to use it though.

“One thing I would say about the air tents, is that you need to make sure that you have a power source that can pump It up.”

Eh! As above, it comes with a hand pump. Extremely quick and easy.

We have a 6 man Kampa air tent, for our family of 4. It’s brilliant. I can do all of the tent unpacking and erecting whislt the wife and kids go off to explore, leaving me alone. It takes no time at all. And no arguments.

We went with the Berghaus 400 XL Nightfall. It just arrived and haven’t had a chance to do the mandatory garden night it in before we go camping. It wasn’t cheap, but Go Outdoors were doing 50% off plus a bundle deal on a footprint tarp and carpet so we felt it was a fair price. We went to see it pitched in the tent area outside the store in Edinburgh and it looks plenty of room for us (2x adults, 1x kid) but I think it would also be fine for you. The covered porch area was a big attraction as we can store the bikes in there as well as having lunch/tea on rainy days. Downside as mentioned by others above, it is bulky and easily takes up a chunk of the boot up and weighs around 28KG, but we have a roof box so it will likely live up there.

We upgraded from a 10 year old 3 man Vango which did well for the wife and me but was getting snug for us and 2 little boys as well.

https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/p/robens-wolf-moon-5xp-tent-G5FD3B0007.html?colour=443

Not too big (some french campsites have a maximum size for certain pitches), not too small, plenty of room to hang out in the rain. Went this over similar others for lifespan, build quality, not too big (Some french campsites have a maximum size for certain pitches), not too small, decent sized bedrooms, blackout (ish), versatile doors, porches etc make it easy to move with the sun and the rain. Very well thought out. Lots of “oh, that’s clever!” moments in the first trip away.

it’s actually easier to put up on my own than the old 3 man, which has tight sleeves for the poles. We’ve done 2 big euro trips, and a few littler UK ones. Probably had it up and down 12-15 times and very happy with it.

Another vote for Decathlon air tent with the blackout fabric. We have a 6-person one which is great for the four of us. We’ve used it loads, up to two weeks at a time. Easy to put up or take down solo, and definitely no need for an electric pump!

Glad to hear Decathlon mentioned as I had my eye on one and bought it on the way back from the Alps as it’s a bit cheaper in France.

Went for an Air Seconds 4.2 F&B for a few reasons

• We only do a few nights at a time, 3 of us, and have a van so wanted a medium sized tent
• Wanted air after our poles snapped and all the air tents were standing.  Plus solo tent pitching is easier (fnarr fnarr etc)
• F&B is great, we all hate early mornings and dark helps a lot
• The 2+2 bedroom arrangement is better with a slightly older kid, especially one who is a bit restless and no longer wants to be ‘next door’ from M+D but in his own space, so a bedroom either end made sense.  Plus I can take it away for a riding weekend and have an end each with a mate.

Anything else that I should consider please?

• Family of four = 5 or 6 man tent.
• Blackout bedrooms.
• Overhanging porch with vertical door – non negotiable for us.

To explain the last one –

This type with the sloping door are awful:

Every time you go in-out you drag all the condensation or rain and muck in with you, your shoes end up being brought inside, generally awfull. That design works for a little bivvy tent but not for family camping and kids charging about, drizzly weather etc.

You want one this shape:

Or like the one that @nedrapier posted with a vertical door and  a porch – honestly, it makes such a difference to the experience, you can come in and out when its chucking it down without dragging all the water and wet grass etc into the tent, shoes can easily stay outside… We even take a little roll up rubber door mat (like a car footwell mat) to put down outside the door. You can have the door unzipped and open even when its raining. We’ve even reversed the car up with the boot open under the porch and packed all the beds and clothing away in the pissing rain without getting soaked.

We have the one in the photo – Hampton 6 – its brill. Not particularly expensive but having had plenty of tents over the years this one seems to finally tick all the boxes and we’ve used it a lot.  Never been at all fussed by an air tent – this one goes up in minutes, never snapped a pole in decades of camping… seen plenty of popped air tents though.

We’ve managed for a few years with very occasional camping with the Decathlon stuff.  We’ve given up our static now (licence age) so are camping for long weekends and doing hotels.

It’s mainly just the two of us, so I picked up a very discounted Nordisk Utgard Sky, with groundsheet and bedroom for a little over £300 from Wiggle – RRP is north of £1k with the accessories.

It’s fast to pitch and you can stand up in it. I’d say go at least 6 man for four to give you room, and look for one you can stand up in – this was a revelation from having ones you can’t comfortably stand in. Also consider the gear you can carry. With two of us, I can fill a medium saloon from seats to roof, and the boot, just for two. The tent itself isn’t that bulky, as it is in four bags.

This type with the sloping door are awful

They certainly are – one of the main reasons I sold our like that.  Every time the door was opened we ended up with a puddle in the entrance.

We bought a robens kiowa, it is great as it is massive but also remarkably easy to put up. Packs down small when you consider its pitched size. Bought ours second hand and providing we don’t damage it I suspect it will outlast me

If we’re posting pics… 😀 Good times!

Bought as “upgrades”/additional necessities for the tent were a groundsheet (decathlon) extendy porch poles (amazon) and the carpet (coleman or eurohike, I think) all work fine and were a slice cheaper than the robens ones – the porch poles are identical though.

And those collapsy fabric boxes are great for tent organising – take up no space packed but are great for shoes, books/toys, floor clothes etc.

We bought a 4m canvas bell tent. Itsvgreat but weighs so much. When uts wetvtakes a while to dry too. Prob not worth it for 2 nights.

Another vote for getting the biggest tunnel air tent you can fit in your car, they are quite big and heavy but worth it for the space and how quick and easy they are to put up and down. No need for an electric pump imo.

We’ve an Airgo something or other (possibly Horizon 6?) but it’s huge – black out bedrooms, huge living space and covered porch. Perfect for 2 adults and 2 kids.  Held up to storm Betty last year without any issues. Also have a smaller Decathlon air tent for weekends without the family. Can’t fault either, both great tents.

The big one takes up a good chunk of the boot of a 3 series so need a roof box for all the other ‘luxuries’ we now have to take 😆

As per snotrag’s post, +1 on avoiding anything with a sloping main door.

Our old Orchy 600 had this ‘feature’ and it was a right pain when trying to get in & out in the morning when there was dew on the tent or more likely, in the pouring rain. We ended up getting a front canopy for it, to protect the front door from the wet, which solved the problem but was a pain to put up.

The new tent we have which I linked to above, has a slightly sloping front door, but this really only takes you into the porch/canopy area anyway, so we roll it back when the tent is first put-up and it stays rolled up which gives us a decent sized open canopy area. There is a secondary entrance into the main tent.
We originally wanted a Hampton 6 tent from Go Outdoors, but whenever it was reduced to a reasonable price it was always out of stock & when it was actually in stock it was priced way too high.

Depends whether you want a home-from-home set-up or a lightweight, smaller and lower option. The first will fill a large part of your boot and is a faff to dry, but is good with very young kids. But for 2 night stays?, for me, not worth the faff when a small 4man will do it just fine. We have a Bergans Wiglo 4lt now that does the light/smaller approach well. But we have had a big Outwell before. The Outwell was comfy (polycotton), but was poor in bad weather and eventually bit the dust in a storm, but most big tunnels aren’t great in high winds anyway.

Wiggle bargain. Next door’s gazebo in shot.

I’d also second the idea of having a smaller tent and a bigger tent – if you’re just going for the odd weekend away you don’t need a massive tunnel tent (and the time to erect them sucks out of your weekend) – but for a week the benefits of a big thing are great.

We did have a properly small 4 man inflatable decathlon tent for our weekend tent (no porch/living space at all) and that was a bit on the small size when raining so upgraded to their 5 man jobbie, we have a separate 6 person xxl tunnel with extension and steel poles for when we go on longer breaks, but its almost impossible to put up solo, and involves lots of swearing and stress even if you do get it right

My apologies at the campsites I’ve been to most people put them up with an electric pump. I Assumed this was how they all worked

Thank you for the correction

Regarding having two tents, I’m just on the lookout for a five or six man tent (for the 4 of us) . Probably also from robens for exactly the same purpose so that we have a small festival tent for when we’re only there for one night

Oh and don’t forget a new garage to put it all in. Ours is now rammed !

By the way, when we’re on the topic of tent upgrades that make your life a lot easier. I would definitely suggest getting a fitted carpet… It just makes the whole experience much nicer. Remote control lights are my second option – there’s nothing like being snug in your sleeping bag and being able to press a button and turn the lights off.

We’ve got a Vango Anantara 6 person air tent. It’s massive, really easy to setup and take down. It is large in the back of the car and it’s also heavy, especially when packed up wet on a rainy welsh hillside and your electric boot closes on your head as you’re trying to lift 60+kg into the boot.

How old are the children? If too young to help put the tent up, you want something that’s quick & easy for one person to manage as the other maybe having to keep an eye on the kids? Or are they at an age that they want their own sleeping compartment?

Lots of great tips. The kids are nearly 8 and 10 so certainly want their own space now. We usually go with brother in law who has a van so no space issues we just sling everything in there. Sounds like the tunnel option is winning and I’ll have a look on decathlon.

Thanks again. Like the pictures also, would like to see some more set ups.

We have a Kampa Hayling 6 which looks identical to the one Snotrag posted above. Think it takes me and the other half 30 mins to put it up. Reckon you could shave off ten mins for the air version but then we wouldn’t get all our stuff in the car* as I think the air tent increase pack down size by about 50%. They are available for £350 at the moment. Had ours for 7 years I think, don’t think there’s anything I dislike about it.

*standard STW issue Skoda Octavia.