Tents and camping

kaiser

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looking for a tent at the moment any tents to look out for? Anywhere particularly good value? Anything else? Looked(online) at a Vango beta 350 3 man tent with a porch any thing like that I should be looking for?
 
Will be chucked in the back of a car so weights not too much of an issue, only used for at most weekends and more than likely fair weather, though in Scotland that can be anything. Also unlikely to be off the beaten track either. The porch would be good too as most likely will have the bike , but then again most likely have the car too.
 
How many seasons? Were do you intend to use it? How many people? Are you bike camping?

For sleeping two, I got good service for 15 years from a Terra Nova Voyager. At 2.2kg it's nice and light for cycle camping and kept me warm and dry in snow and also carwash-like rainstorms on occasions.
 
the internet is usually the cheapest, but shop around.

Ideally you want to get as big a tent as you can afford, you can never have too much space. but..... it does depend on the space available when transporting. I have a Vango Venture 400, 4 man tent, just for me. Its got bags of room in the main sleeping bit and a nice sized porch for storing stuff. When I go away with my mates most bits end up in my porch. I did share it one year and was still very comfortable for 2, but I'm not sure i would want any more. When they say sleeps 4, they mean 4 very good friends who dont mind sharing quite a lot more than most.
Definitely go for a dome tent (not sure you can get many frame ones nowadays) they are much more stable in the wind and easier to put up. Ideally you want one with a seperate inner too, so you can put the outter shell up and then hang the inner from it (saves the inside getting wet). thats all my own opnions and not necessarily fact :cool:
 
that sounds like the the tent i have been looking at, i just did a search on google for tents and it came up with that one.

any advice would be helpfull from regular campers, i'm not usually a camper, i prefer a little more comfort! i know, i'm a wuss etc :LOL:

i want something half decent but relatively cheap for mountain mayhem but also for the afan weekend in may. was thinking 3 man just so there is some good room for me and a porch to stick a bike under if needed during mayhem.

:D
 
i really really want a pop out one . those where you throw it into the air and a tent falls to the floor

but sadly the mrs has tents that require nailing to the ground with poles and other bits :(

shes even got a tall tent the chemical toilet lives in , nothing quite like shitting in a box , in a tent surrounded by other people in tents

depends if you want to stand in it or its just something to sleep in

go for something you can sprawl out in without being near the edge . edge of tent sucks , it always reminds you that your sleeping on the ground in a field with a bit of plastic draped over you

can you tell im not a happy camper :LOL:

you will be wanting a decent sized porch bit , that keeps your stuff out of where you sleep , shoes , jumpers that kinda crap . ive yet to have to sleep in a boil in the bag anywhere i couldnt leave things like chairs outside until the next day so it doesnt need to be so large as to go over the car :LOL:

i remember one year at the pod tescos tents ( or was it co op :? ) were popular . good enough for a night outside but not well built enough for extended homelessness , but good enough that the next morning they could be shoved into a bag and thrown in the car

if you can get a good look at them see if the poles look crap , broken poles suck . also make sure they go through the tent easily , its a massive source of frustration jabbing a long pole through a bit of plastic flapping in the wind . having the poles stick in the corners f the tenty bit is a good thing to look at . try to avoid masses of ropes , its not going to be used in storms so it doesnt need 20 bits of string holding it to the earth , plus at least 4 people will trip over them :LOL:

get some tent sealer , theres something about the inside bit touching the outer bit making it lose its waterproofness so grab a spray incase , unless its expensive , i think the mrs has some

get a good chair , or the right spanners to take the seat out the car ( done that before :LOL: )

tenting is a competative sport , winner gets to stand with a drink making snide tenty comments to those people who didnt get the tent up quick enough
 
Iwasgoodonce":1akke00b said:
I am quite impressed with Coleman tents. They have some nice features for the money. I have got one of their one man jobs which is light but a bit like a coffin.

http://www.family-camping-supplies.co.u ... at=2&i=327

I have a Coleman and I like it alot. I didn't want to spend 'North Face' money on a tent so aimed for the middle ground and I've never thought "I wish I'd spent another £200". My tent has been used for weekend camping and also above 3000ft with no worries :)
 
:LOL: all good stuff, I was going to go 3 man but since its always going to be in the car will go bigger, will look at the coleman ones too, could be better value than the vango ones.
 
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