We’re off to the Big Tent Festival in July and the massive B.F.T. we use for SITS (3 double rooms plus communal area) is a bit on the large size for the 5x5m pitch spaces.

So I’m in the market for a tent.

Requirements:

– to sleep 2 adults plus 2 children (well only 1 at the moment, but y’know.. future proofing)

– with a living area bit to sit in, if it is tipping down outside and in the evening while sprogs are in bed.

– able to handle typical Scottish “summer” weather (gales, torrential rain)

– erectable by one adult while the other one distracts children.

– more or less fits in a 5×5 pitch.

– reasonable price (sub £200)

Our local camping place seemed to specialise in SunnCamp stuff. And the SunnCamp Evolution 400 seemed to more or less fit the bill at £160:

But then we noticed there was a DL version that is a bit longer (but possibly less stable), or the 400 Plus which has little canopies over the doors, or the 600 which was wider, has separate bedrooms, but is only 3000mm static head instead of 5000mm.

So, erm, some recommendations please. 😕

Definitely get something with canopies over the doors – and not those ones that are just doors help up on poles. The alternative is a very wet inner tent.

Well the Evolution 400 just has that D-door at the side.
If you want living space in the rain then you seal yourself inside it.

On the 400 Plus the canopies over the doors are “eyebrow canopies” – not big enough to stand under, I think they just let you have the door open when it’s raining without water running down and dripping inside.

Yeah – that’s what I’m getting at. You need to be able to open a door to get in and out without the rain getting inside. Pitch it carefully and those little “eyebrow” will work. Otherwise, you’re looking at a full storm door on the likes of the Outwell Montana.

Hundreds of those kind of things about, and for the same price they vary from..
awful, very poorly made, no design work, don’t work as a space, won’t stand upto a mild spring breeze
to
very good, well ‘enough’ made (don’t expect terra nova quality), well thought out, will be the last thing still standing on the drive n campsite.

If your near a decathlon store they sometimes have some OK tents in, but never pay more than half price for them (perpetual sale on perpetually ambitiously priced stuff).

We’ve go a vango Icarus 500. Stayed up and kept us dry during wet and windy TT and Mountain Mayhem

Hundreds of those kind of things about, and for the same price they vary from..

Yeah that’s the trouble. Market seems huuuuuge and I know naff all about tents and reputable brands.

The Tent Reviews at UK Campsite are good – but there are so many of them and most are very positive (I suspect few people will readily admit they spent £150+ on a crap tent).

We’ve got a Coleman Ridgeline Ridgeline™ 4 Plus – used for MM etc and camping in the Alpes – was very cheap – £150 ish and lasted years (inc being borrowed by my brother and his young family for their summer hols every year).

http://www.coleman.eu/uk/images/Product/large/25675.jpg

Tent on the right:

Home for 24 hours by brf, on Flickr

We got a four person tent plus sleeping bags, mattresses and torches in a big bag from Halfords for just over £100. I wasn’t expecting too much but it’s got two bedrooms and a decent sized living area and has done us proud for several years even in pretty bad weather. Like Decathlon, don’t pay full price as it will be discounted the following week.
Having looked at the festival you’re going to, shouldn’t you be using a yurt or teepee 😀 ?

Having looked at the festival you’re going to, shouldn’t you be using a yurt or teepee

Yeah I think most attendees will be knitting their own tents from organic body hair.

(my cousin is playing at it, so we’re mainly going to support her. And see The Proclaimers obviously)

That Vango looks interesting – am I right in thinking it is 5-man as one big bedroom or four man with the divider in place?

Coleman looks good too – living area is possibly a bit too small though. (Plus they don’t give a waterproof rating which always makes me suspicious)

Please keep em coming!

Just thought, get one with seperate bedroom for the kids, lot more peaceful.
Good call on the Proclaimers though.

If there are 4 of you, I would get a 6 man tent, so you are not cramped.

With kids, a tunnel tent is fab, so you have the bedroom, a space for your chairs etc in the middle, then kids have the bedroom opposite , so you have a bit of peace.

I have a Coleman coastline which has an inbuilt ground sheet which is good for keeping rain and wind out. If you have a separate ground sheet then the elements can get in, but your tent is less likely to take off in the wind!

Also take a large blue Ikea bag, so if you have to take the tent down in a hurry,rain etc then you can just shove it in there rather than try and squeeze it back in the tiny little bag they come in.

Have you looked at Khyam tents.

Our Tourer 400 is years old so wil have been replaced by a newer model however the “spider leg” design with the material attached to the poles mean they are easy to erect with one person.

Central living area, bedroom at either side.

The central living zone can be up in 5 minutes which gives some shelter whilst you sort out the rest.

We’ve had ours about 6, maybe 7 years, still looking good and kept some heavy rain out two weekends ago.

Update, just looked for a link and it appears they are making it again
http://www.khyam.co.uk/detail.asp?p=742

Hey Gee2DaEss, we have a Hi Gear Gobi 4. It will sit inside your 5 x 5 pitch easily. Plenty of room for 2 + 1 little one (I hope 😀 ) To be honest, I was a bit sniffy about buying a HiGear but it’s been great for festivals, and general camping where you have a car to carry it. There are multiple entrances into the tent, which allows for a bit of ventilation, while avoiding the wind direction. The “porch” area is plenty big enougn for seats and to do a bit of cooking etc.

I think it falls well within your budget at around £170. It’s a bit of a faff to erect but seems very stable when it is up and everything is pulled toight.

UK Campsite reviews here

Enjoy the festival. It looks cool, in a hippyish kinda way. 🙂

if you like the look of sunncamp tents I can reccomend THIS ,It’s been discontinued now but some places still have stock. We’ve been using ours for the last 6 years and it’s been a cracking tent.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

In the end we’ve plumped for the 6-berth SunnCamp Evolution 600, partly cos it gets good reviews in UK Camping (9.32/10 for 25 reviews) but mainly cos we found an ex-demo one for £130 on http://www.a2zcamping.co.uk/ 😀