By: Numbersix Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating: Date: 23/04/2009
Initially looking for a weekender to supplement my Vango Aspen 500. Considered a combination of Quechua base units but when space and weight and price was factored together , decided on the Evolva from JR Leisure near Nottingham at the princely sum of £249.99. Had to be ordered in from their Manchester warehouse from their stock of 250 , but arrived within a few days .
Firstly , let me say despite the considerable dimensions, this was the easiest tent I've ever pitched. I had some limited help from the OH but due to a back injury, very limited. Colour coded poles make reference to pitching instructions unnecessary, just start with the roof poles and then insert grey arch poles in sleeves and then raise a section at a time, secure centre dome , pull out porch , guy out, and the hub of the tent is up. Nice feature is the zip on door mat at the front, which can be separated for more stringent cleaning ! This is also gazebo mode and is achieved by zipping out the three side panels leaving net doors which can be tied back . The panels can be stored away in a pocket at the end of the zipper out of the way . Adding the annexes is so easy. The panel and mesh zip out as one , an annex zips in ( bedrooms complete with inner ) the floor zip is also covered by a flap of material so hopefully water ingress should not occur. The sleeping annex also has a built in vent to reduce condensation. Can not comment about the chef annex as I did not have room to put it up and also the second sleep annex . Slept in with my seven year old son and despite the cold temps that night, around 4 degrees, felt that this has the potential to extend our camping season .
Taking it down is straight forward , and providing care is taken to get the width to correspond to the bags , actually found the room over generous . Also note the saddle bag zips in half for ease of transport and packing .
Downsides-none I can see .Sky light cover may be difficult to zip undo if you are vertically challenged !The equivelant of a vaulted ceiling in a tent . The extra height makes the evolva appear larger than its footprint . The grey colour also adds to the illusuon of greater size . It may also aid cooling . The provision of a coolport to place a coleman fan is a good idea as on a modestly warm day , the tent soon got really warm . My advice - buy this and save storage at home as this should be all the tent you need.
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By: Uncle Foxy Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: Date: 28/06/2009
We used our Evolva for the first time on the spring bank holiday weekend in May and as a caravanner for the last 20 years I can honestly say I'm well and truly converted. After having a big twin axled Tabbert and huge awning I wanted something with plenty of space and with this tent you get it in spades. My wife and 11 year old daughter were concerned about spiders and wikkies getting in (Ok me too) but with the sewn in groundsheet this was not a problem, even with the annexe attached the seal was excellent and the big zip felt very strong and sturdy.
We only put one sleep annexe up as we weren't sure if we could fit two on the pitch and as my mate had pinched my Landrover for the week we had to use my wifes car which is only a Peugeot 107 so space was a bit of an issue. Pitching was easy once I stopped doing the man thing by insisting I knew better and actually listened to the wife, it took about 40 minutes altogether. During the day it got quite warm but with the two panels zipped out where the other annexes would go the tent kept quite cool with the small breeze blowing through. The tent is very light and airy with nice big windows at the front with smaller ones in the main dome. The quality of the materials feel excellent with big chunky zips to attach the annexes.
All in all I am very impressed with this tent and we cant wait to get away to Pentewan in Cornwall in a couple of weeks to try it out in anger on our monster size pitch.
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By: Nuds10 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: Date: 20/06/2009
Well what can I say, this has got to be the best tent on the market, we have just come back from our 10 day holiday in St Ives, and used our evolva for the first time, we looked at many tents before this one, but the evolva ticked all the boxes.
It took us 45 mins to put it up and it was very straight forward and easy to erect, I had forgotten how big it was when up but luckily the pitch we were on allowed for large tents. It is a very airy and light tent with many windows, which you don't get in other tents, so this is a big thumbs up. The space in the tent is mega and you can have all the camping equipment you want inside. We have the chef annexe so its like having a kitchen.
I cant praise this tent enough, it took us 25 mins to take it down, again very easy and packed away with no problem. Just the one thing we want to purchase the link annexe but cant seem to get hold of one, so if there is anyone out there who knows where we can get one from please let me know.
So all you tent byers out there go for the evolva, you will never look back
Just one more thing we had very sunny weather, and also two days of heavy rain and very windy weather, and the tent was very good in both.
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By: Debs2000 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: Date: 21/01/2010
I just want to add to the fantastic comments, that my husband and I are extremely pleased with this tent, we went for an extra sleep annex and chef annex. Like everyone says it is very large, especially for just two of us, but you do have great flexibility with the modules and I think it is very well made and I would highly recommend it.
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By: Hs2395 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating: Date: 21/06/2009
We bought our tent last week from JR Leisure in Leicester. (price 289) We were going to buy the Modulous 7 man but with 3 children if it rains there is no room.
We have just spent our first night away. It was great. There is enough space for the children to play in and get the table in if you don't want to eat outside. And have other chairs in as well. We did not take the chef annex as only stopping over night.
The tent was easy to pitch and the colour poles were really easily inserted. One thing you need to check on though is the arches where the tent poles connect to make sure they are the right way round. I would of not been able to put tent up on own - it was slightly easier as hubby being over 6ft, me being 5ft 2. I managed to pack the tent away in the bags on my own. It was nice and light and airy - however also being light I was awake by 6am. The kids slept in. You can see through the sleeping compartments if you really look and see the shadows.
All in all a really nice well made feels quality and looks quality. Just not for a short person to put up.
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By: Mrsgrumpy Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating: Date: 05/07/2009
I purchased this in June 2009, previously owning a caravan, I wanted something big that could fit in the kids and my 'luxuries'.
It was quick to erect, however the guylines and pegging seemed to take longer. The poles are all colour coded with the tent and are easy to put together.
The annexes are easy to put up and zip into the main tent. Lots of chunky zips and flyscreens.
Only gripe is that the windows aren't 'openable' and the sun can beat through them causing lots of heat! Don't bother buying the 'coleman' fan which fits into the venting area, it doesn't seem to have any effect.
I broke a pole trying to take it out of the plastic frame at the top, but they do supply extra poles.
The groundsheet can be quite noisy/papery either use a carpet or we used a picnic blanket and you can stick it down with velcro spots.
Overall this is excellent value for money (I paid £289 for the main tent, 1 bedroom and 1 chef annex) from Somerset Leisure, Taunton.
I'm also a pessimist and so the above are just my observations . Believe me there are plenty of good bits. Can't wait until my next jolly!
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By: Mibster Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating: Date: 12/07/2009
Well what a weekend away, so much rain over 12 hours in total and the wind was 30-40mph gusts. Now to the most important issue 'Leaking' Well I have to be honest we did have a small leak, where about a thimble full of water spotted the floor. Now this was under the large half moon shaped vent. Now at first I thought the vent was to blame and I was cursing a design fault, however on closer inspection in the light of day I could see the leak was due to us pitching the tent incorrectly. In the pictures I will post later you can see where we didnt fully zip the spare pod entrance and secured the velcro. So water was in high wind able to get to the large zip we left exposed, water soaked through the zip, ran down to the 'SIG' seam and flowed down under the fan vent, then onto floor. However again the amount of water was minuscule, its a lesson for us to learn.
We arrived at the campsite (Anitas Touring Park, Banbury)
At 8:45pm, traffic was awful, M1 a disaster zone. This only gave us about 45 minutes to pitch, some how we managed 30 minutes, quick for a first pitch but badly rushed, hence the leak. On the first night (Friday) it started raining at about 10pm which lasted for about 4 hours, at times it was torrential but winds were light and no leak occurred even by the fan vent. Rained a bit Saturday morning, from about 8-10 am, after that though it was very sunny and hot all the way until wrath God time 6pm. The heavens opened and the wind howled, the rain was now coming in sideways and blasting at the un-used pod entrance, and into the zip we left exposed. In the wind the tent was not in the slightest bit affected, despite us not pegging 2 guys at the wrong angle, on inspection in the morning both had pulled out of the ground.
With reference to problems with leaking in the roof vent, we had no water coming through at all, even with torrential rain and that was also with the tension straps left loose, which was another daft mistake we made in rushing.
All in all a great tent, obscene amount of space Taj Mahal, Cathedral like. Bedroom pod (we only pitched the bedroom, no time for the other or chef pod)was huge large enough for a double airbed, with enough space left over for another single if required. Living area again is huge and easily accommodates a folding table, chairs, kitchen stand etc. The windows are excellent and upon opening all of the blinds the tent seems twice its size, on a hot sunny day these would need to be lowered, as we found it melting hot inside on Saturday afternoon.
Condensation was minimal, only truly evident on the clear windows, quick wipe with a tea towel and all was bright again, certainly none in the sleepeing area which is enclosed within a secondary fly sheet and is elasticated away from the outer skin of the tent. Ventilation is excellent, through the lower fan vent and roof vent although both must be sealed in the event of extreme wet weather.
Thoroughly looking forward to our next trip away, confident that our Evolva can stand up to some pretty nasty weather and once correctly setup will not leak.
Loses 1 point for one minor reason, we managed to break one of the elastic loops for holding up the door, easily fixed and discovered not sewn in correctly.
Will upload my pics asap
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By: Dracoerus Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating: Date: 27/07/2009
Got the evolva last year and have used it only twice so far, though in varying weather conditions. What an amazing tent this is. As I described to a friend, 'its like camping. Only with style'.
As many people have described this tent can be used as a family tent or for weekend use. The way in which the tent is packed shows this. In that the main tent and one sleep annex fit into the tent bag. With the other annex being in their own separate bags.
The central section of the tent was put up in about 30 to 45 mins of 'great' British weather. It only takes about 15 mins to put up each annex and I can say that the inside of the tent stayed dry, other than where we had walked inside.
The size of this tent gives that extra bit of comfort that I have never known when camping. The size was important as we wanted a good area in which my daughter could play in during bad weather.
The built-in ground sheet adds to the comfort and prevents all kinds of beasts entering the tent as well as water. Which means that if the only available pitch is at the foot of a hill the inside of the tent is going to remain water free, other than what you bring in with you.
The coleman fan was supplied with the tent package and as mentioned by MRSGRUMPY it really seems to be of little use. I use 2 sleep annex and the chef annex when camping and find that you can get ample air through the tent on hot days by opening the chef window and the front of the tent.
To help give a rough guide to the size of this tent we had a 70cm by 70cm table in the centre section of the tent, with 4 fold down camping chairs around it and there was still enough room to get round the sides without disturbing anyone. As for the sleep annex I managed to fit a double airbed along with a graco travel cot for the little one in 1 annex. You would not be able to get 2 double air beds in, but 3 singles or a double and a single, as is your want.
In all this is a great tent, perfect for big family holidays or those lazy weekends away. It will suit whatever type of camping holiday you have. Save maybe trying to conquer Mt. Everest!
The only problem I have had, and would love to know if anyone has had the same problem, is that the poles that make up the back end of the porch section touch on the material of the tent. It seems that either the green pole is too long, or that maybe the area where the blue pole cross in the main part of the tent are the wrong way around. I will try and get in touch with Coleman too see if maybe the tent I have could have had a manufacturing fault.
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By: Dazzle69 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: Date: 29/08/2009
My wife and I always look around the new tents on display when we go round the camping and caravan centre in Taunton; usually criticising nearly all of the tents on show. When we had a look at the Evolva, with both bedroom annexes and chefs annexe, we were immediately impressed and started comparing it to our Wynnster Mercury 9 Excel, which we found to be perfect for our circumstances at the time. The Evolva ticked all of our boxes and was so much lighter and airy inside. And the price was a snip. We hummed and arred about it and left to take home our restless toddler. The following day while my wife was at work,I and our toddler went back to have a closer look at the Evolva, zipping annexes off and on, checking out the quality of the zips, how well it sealed out the wind and rain, and all but took it down and re-pitched it. I was sold. Paid for one there and then and we have never regretted it. We now have enough tentage to accommodate 21 persons!
The Evolva, as I have already said is such a light and airy tent that even spending a wet day inside isn't a gloomy affair. The sleep annexe sleeps the 3 of us, and our bags comfortably. The chef annexe houses our cooking table and stoves, kitchen utensils, food, water and all the bits and bobs we have. The second sleep annexe (without inner) houses our dining table and benches, leaving the main area of the tent clutter free.
The pitching is pretty straight forward, with colour coded poles fitting into corresponding sleeves and the ends of the poles either fitting into an apex socket or into an eyelet at ground level. I have even managed to erect it single handed in our garden to dry it out after a wet weekend away. The Annexes then simply zip onto the main section, allowing you to choose your own layout, or saving space if needed.
This really is a great tent. If you arrive on site in the rain, you can pitch the main section and wait for it to stop, or pitch the annexes, and with a quick unzip of the side panel and zip up of the annexe mating zips, hey presto, somewhere to sleep/ cook, without the inside of the tent getting soaked.
We have re-arranged the bags so that the two sleep annexe outers and their poles/ pegs are in the black bag that attaches to the main tent bag. The Sleep annexe inners are rolled individually and packed into the soft stuff sack that the extar sleep annexe came in. The Chef's annexe is still in its original soft bag. This allows us to make sure the inners always stay dry whilst setting up and striking camp.
The only problems we have encountered are the guys/ bowsies are too tight and will not run freely to allow you to tension the guys. I've overcome this by inserting a spare peg between the guy and bowsie, creating a round surface for the guy to run over and making it easier to tension. The other is that the two weather flaps that cover the main porch/ doorway zips always seem to catch in the zip pull, meaning you have to undo the zip to free it and sods law says, the worse the rain, the more often it gets caught.
Other than that, it really is an excellent tent, with great flexibility, a very high standard of materials and construction and a reassuring Hydrostatic head measurement of 6000mm (6metres), double most of the other tents we own or have looked at; it is well capable of standing upto the great british summer. And for us to replace our trusty Mercury 9 is no mean feat.
Pitching time is around an hour for the full setup with both sleep annexes and chef annexe, including me pegging and guying while the wife sorts out the inners and gets the kettle/ dinner on.
We used to use our Royal Nevada 4 as an overnight stop quick pitch tent and then the Mercury 9 Excel as our destination accomodation. The Evolva has replaced both these tents as it is easy to pitch in simple 1 bedroom form for the overnight stop and spacious enough for our destination luxury accomodation with kitchen, dining room comfortable bedroom and at a price tomake you think twice about buying any other tent.
I think we paid around £250 for ours, complete with 2 sleep annexes, chefs' annexe and coleman coolbag, that zips to the side wall of the chefs' annexe making sure it stays upright and preventing spillages from untightened drinks bottles replaced by the kids.
We also found that should the water container leak in the chefs' annexe(oh yes, it did), the ability to completely unzip the ground sheet from the annexe, move it away from the tent, pour the water off and wipe it dry was a blessing. Also I have had friends complain about not being able to get water out of a sealed in groundsheet when the kids have been in and out in the wet weather. With the Evolva, it is not a problem as you can create a drain point and dispell the water.
All in all a brilliant tent, and once I have replaced our guys with dayglow ones that run through the bowsies easier, I think I can safely say we need never buy another tent again.
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By: Mr Bluesky Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2008 Rating: Date: 12/03/2009
Gouldyfish
We used our Evolva for the first time last summer for a weekend in Yorkshire.
Surprise, surprise, it rained very hard and long on one of the nights. So much so that in the morning, part of our tent was effectively floating in a puddle of mud. Walking along the groundsheet felt like walking on a water bed.
I'm pleased to say that there were absolutely no leaks from anywhere on the tent, including the zipped joints of the main tent to the bedrooms and chef annexe.
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21 User Reviews of the Evolva - Showing 01 to 10 Page:
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Specious tent including central shelter and a separate inner room for 3 persons. Modularity is key on this tent as the inner room can be zipped on any of the 3 vertical sides ; Ideal for a week end or short stay camping stay, no sites are a problem for this tent since you can set it up according to your needs. Central shelter can be used by itself (without inner room) as a summer configuration. Fully insect proof thanks to the mesh doors.
• Flysheet fabric: Polyester, 6 000 mm PU coated, taped seams • Inner tent fabric: Polyester breathable and no-see-um mesh • Inner room groundsheet: PE 110 g/m², welded • Living area groundsheet: PE 140 g/m², welded fully integrated • Poles: Wrapflex™ • Carry bag type: Modular carry bag • Carry bag dimensions: 65 x 50 x 45 cm • Headroom: 235 cm • Cool Air™ Port • Entrance mat and wings • 1 set of awning poles included
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Date: 23/04/2009
Date: 21/06/2009
