Author Topic: Tent advice plse?  (Read 5937 times)

Tent advice plse?
« on: 24 January, 2010, 06:04:53 pm »
Mrs R and I are thinking of going to a tandem rally and camping for the three nights.  We haven't been inside a tent for 20 or so years (I was about about to write 20 odd years but that would risk some ribaldry from the forums wits!) and would need of course to buy one.

Not wishing to spend too much on one, we think that £100 should get one suitable for our needs. Obviously it needs to sleep at least 2 but we think, as we are no longer spritely young things, that low tunnel tents are out.  Sitting room under an awning would be needed, sitting as in a chair not on the ground that is.  We will be car based so weight and packed size not a problem.  The usual fly sheet first and sewn in groundsheet features are essential.

We have come up with these 2 but as they are new details are sparse.  Has anyone any comments on these or any other recommendations?

http://www.wynnster.com/detail.asp?p=485
http://www.wynnster.com/detail.asp?p=484

Thanks

R&R

Edit

Could I extend this question to include general camping advice and usefull things to take/remember/be aware of when camping?

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #1 on: 24 January, 2010, 10:20:09 pm »
Russell, there's a lot of reasons I wouldn't recommend those tents.  But, for comparison, why don't you look for an Outwell Oregon?  A lot of the ALC members have them.  They're really good value, and you should be able to pick one up for about £100.

EDIT: Review
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jellied

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Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #2 on: 25 January, 2010, 08:32:33 am »
Heed the words of the Clarion.

I looked at Wynnster but Outwell were mentioned on the forum so many times  that i checked them out in more detail and not regretted it.

I confess to not getting a light weight one - I love camping, and I love cycling, but not at the same time.
A shitter and a giggler.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #3 on: 25 January, 2010, 09:27:22 am »
That's fair enough - not everyone likes loading their bike up like a snail (I do ;) ).  But a lot of people get to a campsite by car, meaning they can carry far more than they need if they wish, and have comfort & luxury, then go out on lightly laden bikes for day rides/shopping/trips to the pub etc.  I can see the attraction of that :)

Butterfly will be along at some point with lots of good advice, as might Bikepacker, Cycleman, Nobby etc...
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Oscar's dad

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Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #4 on: 25 January, 2010, 12:34:15 pm »
If you can get to a Decathlon check out their tents.  Shortly we will be buying a T2 Ultralight, loads of room for 2, 2.9kg and under a £100.

JT

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Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #5 on: 25 January, 2010, 01:00:32 pm »
If you can stretch to it the Outwell Arizona L is a very comfy tent.

Essentially a big dome tent, it's easy to put up and gives you room to stand up in the bedroom and the "living area". We have one and have used it for weekends and spent one week in it last year.
a great mind thinks alike

Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #6 on: 26 January, 2010, 05:36:24 pm »
This would be my first choice for a touring tent: Decathlon - CAMPING-TREK,OUTDOOR PRODUCTS tents  QUECHUA - T4 XL QUECHUA - hikers looking for a 4-person tent with a small living area for bad weather conditions.

I'd have one right now, except we went mad and bought a huge canvas bell tent which is a thing of beauty.

Edited to add the link. :facepalm:
This seems to be high enough to sit in.

David Martin

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Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #7 on: 26 January, 2010, 09:40:40 pm »
We are on the lookout for a new family tent after many years service from our old one. The outwell ones do look good.

Ideally we want something that my wife and I will use as our tent, and as a dining/family area, with the children booted out into their own smaller tents.

Looking at the Magic, or the Montana 6 or silmilar but these are not v. portable and not cheap.

..d
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #8 on: 26 January, 2010, 11:52:21 pm »
Is there a good place in London to go and look at some of the larger tents in the flesh? I can generate a few hours on a saturday in a few weeks time.

..d
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

jellied

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Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #9 on: 27 January, 2010, 06:36:23 am »
There's a few places around Covent Garden, but I don't think they devote much space to tents.

Branches of Blacks that remain might, or if you trek out a bit more to a Field&Trek you should be in with some luck.

In the end I laid out the shape of the various tents I was looking out in the back garden with stones to compare and contrast.
A shitter and a giggler.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #10 on: 27 January, 2010, 10:29:27 am »
Branches of Cotswold Outdoor would be a good bet.
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Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #11 on: 27 January, 2010, 10:34:15 am »
there's a lot of reasons I wouldn't recommend those tents.

Clarion, it's very good of you to take the time to reply but just saying you wouldn't recommend them is not that usefull - could you please elaborate on your reasons.

The Oregon you mention is to low for sitting in on a chair.  The Arizona looks possible but we need to look into it a bit more as the 'outside' space is a bit small, possibly.  The Magic and Montana are huge!

We have been recommended a Wynnster Jupiter (old stock but still available) which has good sized standing 'outside' room but a lower bedroom but still roomy as it is a 5 person tent.

R

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #12 on: 27 January, 2010, 10:46:03 am »
Sorry, I expected more learned folk than myself to happen along & elaborate.

Wynnster are a really cheap brand.  Their tents are not well designed, and made of cheap material.  They tend to be unnecessarily complicated to erect, and flimsy when up.  They don't sustain weather well, with the poles often not up to wind (that's as much a fault of the pole designs as the poles themselves, which are poor quality aluminium tubes, too narrow for stiffness.  I've seen a tent destroyed with bent tubes in a wind that was barely bothering expensive tents.

The cover material being cheap has a few consequences.  Firstly, they won't stand up to wear, and will start to fray and tear quickly.  Secondly, they are susceptible to leaks, which is a real Bad Thing in my book, that can turn a snug night under canvas into a cold and wet nightmare.  Thirdly, it may stretch, leading to noisy flapping.

Stitching is of a low quality, and often unfinished, so it does unravel.  Guylines are OK, but a bit weedy and prone to stretching.  As for pegs, I have seen one new out of the bag without enough.

Yes, I know that you should always check before going to camp, but a lot of buyers of this sort of tent won't have the experience to do that.  That's how I know these so well - I've had to help people put them up, and I've been defeated in my attempts to get it straight & properly tensioned.

All in all, a very poor option, that you are unlikely to enjoy.

Having said that, someone will be along in a minute to tell of how their Wynnster is erected in moments, sturdy, and has lasted them through gales for many years.

I'm not saying that you get what you pay for with tents.  To a certain extent, that's true, but there are bargains to be had.

These aren't them.
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Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #13 on: 27 January, 2010, 10:51:29 am »
they are susceptible to leaks

Thanks for the compehensive reply - interesting comment as the Wynnsters are rated higher than most other tents for hydrostatic head.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #14 on: 27 January, 2010, 10:52:32 am »
Are they?  I didn't know that.  OK, that's what they say.  I can only report what I've observed.
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JT

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    • CTC Peterborough
Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #15 on: 27 January, 2010, 11:00:45 am »
We used to have massive 6 berth Wynnster Pegasus. Admittedly the quailty wasn't up to Outwell standards but it was more than acceptable.

It was easy and  simple to erect, coped perfectly with a week of heavy rain in the Loire valley, and a week of very strong winds near Perpignan. It was only sold because it was too big.



a great mind thinks alike

Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #16 on: 27 January, 2010, 11:01:47 am »
Are they?  I didn't know that.  OK, that's what they say.  I can only report what I've observed.

But that is presumably for the material not for construction ie seams!

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #17 on: 27 January, 2010, 11:26:02 am »
Russell, I see you live in Farnborough.  Before you start lashing out any money can I suggest you get yourself round to Decathlon at Lakeside (by the Dartford bridge, Essex side).  Their tents are brilliant.

We have:

2 x Decathlon pop ups.  No good for cycle camping but fab for camping with a car.  They have been out in torrential rain and didn't leak.  I also drove the car over one when it was in its bag.  No damage sustained though I made myself look a right tit.

1 x T2 Ultralight Pro.  Fine for one adult or an adult and a child.  £79.99!!! and weighs 2kg.  We have used this tent three times so far and the quality seems fine.  The last time I used it was 2 weekends ago on the Freeze Your Bits Off Camping trip.  It pi55ed down during the night but I was snug and dry.

We are going to get:

T2 Ultralight.  Bigger that the Pro, 2.9kgs but still £79.99!!!

Both the T2 tents come with really funky rectangular section light weight pegs which are the best tent pegs I have ever seen.  Both tents pack down small as well and have proper bags.

Go and have a look before you buy anything else.

Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #18 on: 27 January, 2010, 12:38:22 pm »
I see you live in Farnborough

I think you think we live in Farnborough Kent, s'not 'tis Farnborough Hants!

I did look at Decathlon tents and they all seemed lower than I think we need.  But I will look again.
R

Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #19 on: 27 January, 2010, 12:45:35 pm »
Try Coleman. We have a had a Coleman tent for about 8 years. Its basically a high dome that you can put a table in and sit four around (a small table mind you) with  a pod off the side that sleeps two adults very comfortably or two adults and a child with a bit of a squeeze. The pd fits a nice big inflatable double air bed plus a single almost exactly.
Have used in huge downpours and wind in  the lakes with no issues bar the fact that I needed better pegs and a few extra guy ropes than those supplied.
It's a car only ten though as even though it packs into a fabric case of reasonable size it weighs a ton.  Ours is a Bi Space 5 but they don't make that any more the nearest would be a Waterfall 5 which is very similar in design.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #20 on: 27 January, 2010, 01:23:26 pm »
I see you live in Farnborough

I think you think we live in Farnborough Kent, s'not 'tis Farnborough Hants!

I did look at Decathlon tents and they all seemed lower than I think we need.  But I will look again.
R

Hants ain't far from Dartford!

OK, I hadn't read your post in sufficient detail  ::-) and was working on the assumption you were going to carry your tent on the bike - sorry.

Decathlon do all manner of tents and I would still have a look.  If you spend time in France as we have you'll see that every other tent is from Decathlon so they have quite a following.  It'll be worth a trip as their bike stuff is often quite good.  We're going this Saturday!

Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #21 on: 27 January, 2010, 01:38:29 pm »

The Oregon you mention is to low for sitting in on a chair.  

No it's not. That is the reason the older memebers of the Lightweight campers use them. The oregon 4 or 5 in particular are large enough for 2 chairs unless you have those huge reclining jobbies.

Some of the vangos are good -  I have a Vango equinox 600 which I got from ebay, which would be good. I think that size is discontinued, but it's worth looking out on ebay to see what turns up.

If you are on the M25 at any point you could go to the camping shop in Godstone on the A22 - they have a good range of tents on display :).
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Valiant

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Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #22 on: 27 January, 2010, 01:38:39 pm »
I don't have the same experience with tents as others on here but I would like to say -1 to Wynnster. Two of our camping group have them, ones a small one, and the others large. The one is never secure, ie in winds it feels like it might collapse at any moment, so last time everyone crammed into my little Vanga Beta 400 which felt sturdy. The smaller one for some reason always felt damp inside. They just seem poorly designed and overly heavy for what they are.
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Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #23 on: 27 January, 2010, 01:49:24 pm »
The Coleman ones have roof vents at the top of the dome and at the back of the sleeping pod that help with condensation.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Re: Tent advice plse?
« Reply #24 on: 27 January, 2010, 04:12:20 pm »
I see you live in Farnborough

I think you think we live in Farnborough Kent, s'not 'tis Farnborough Hants!

I did look at Decathlon tents and they all seemed lower than I think we need.  But I will look again.
R

Try this one, almost tall enough to stand up in: Decathlon - CAMPING-TREK,OUTDOOR PRODUCTS tents  QUECHUA - T4 XL QUECHUA - hikers looking for a 4-person tent with a small living area for bad weather conditions.