Tent Showcase: Outwell Michigan L
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2010
6
29.10 KG
ฃ399.99
2
Fully Sewn-in
In one
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Average User Rating:
8.92/10 from 12 reviews
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User Reviews of the Michigan L
By: Mark1809 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating:  Date: 26/08/2009
I love this tent because its easy to pitch, isn't too heavy and I can put it up mainly by myself with a little bit of help for my twelve year old daughter (if she can be bothered!) with just three steel poles for the main tent.The footprint makes pitching so easy deciding the best position for the tent (a must).
I wanted a tent I could use for both a short weekend at my local campsite in Gower or for a long stay so needed central living room just off the bedrooms.I decided to purchase the extension for longer camping trips but it is so easy to pitch and gives a lovely sitting area in the evening we used it every time.
I'm a big fan of the fitted carpets and wouldn't consider not having one as they are lovely and cosy and the children do look after the tent always taking of their shoes off in the porch.
The porch door is sloping like the hartford so you do have to get on your knees to open the door (not great if raining outside)this is another great point for the front extension no wet porch door to roll up.
This tent is great for a family of four (2+2) however we often use the middle living area for extra guests.The living area is lovely and light with long narrow windows,the back door is great and we open this up on warm summer days giving a through draft.
I would recommend this tent to families with slightly older children (ages 5 plus) as the bedrooms are opposite each other, ideal for older children or guests.
By: ScottLangham Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating:  Date: 23/08/2009
I bought this to replace a worn out tent, I wanted to improve on my previous tent on the following 3 major items:
1. Quick assembly/disassembly
2. Plenty of headroom
3. Sewn in groundsheet to keep out water/insects/slugs etc
I've just returned from a four day trip to Scotland where I used this tent. It didn't stop raining for the entire trip.
The tent seemed to be excellently waterproof. However, we did get a bit of water inside due to condensation, especially from drying clothes. Also, because the porch door is angled, you have to get on hands and knees to reach the zip to get it open - this meant that we often used the back door instead because it is nearly vertical and a lot easier to use. The problem with the back door though is that you step straight into the main body of the tent with your wet footwear. You miss the porch which is the obvious place to take your shoes on and off. I think Outwell have messed up a bit with this. Extra poles for an additional arch over the porch to make the main door more vertical would make the tent far more practical in the wet.
I have seen there is a front extension. This would be good as it would make the porch better. However, I've seen it priced at ฃ100. I paid ฃ200 for the tent, so feel I've been a little cheated into spending a lot more money. I did trust the Outwell brand, and thought they would have field tested it and would not have left it with a sloping door if it was not practical. Also, if you get the extension, the extension has no door. This means you're still going to have to get on your knees if the weather is particularily bad to be able to seal the door up. Or. You'll have to get a tarp or something to fashion your own door at the end of the extension. Some other Outwell tent owners with a Hartford tent at the campsite had done this and used a tarp to make a bit of a door for their extension.
The windows in the tent were ok, but as it was raining it was actually a bit depressing to look out. I imagine in warmer weather they'd be good. As long as they don't act like a greenhouse to heat the tent up. Surely if it's warm and you're camping you'd sit outside your tent anyway. Also, the windows all have curtains which roll up. In my way of thinking this is extra material and toggles to deal with that you probably didn't want, I might scissor the curtains out. There aren't any pockets in the main room of the tent. I would have seriously preferred it if some of the space used for windows was used for some pockets instead.
Also, I think I will purchase a carpet for the tent. The tent hasn't shown any wear yet on the floor, but we had camping chairs inside the tent and I was worried that over time they may break apart the fibres in the ground-sheet. I don't know. It might last for ages, but I think I'd prefer to get the carpet to toughen it up. If the ground-sheet does go, the whole tent would be useless as the ground-sheet is sewn in.
Assembly of the tent was excellent. I thought it was a lot easier than a full dome tent. With a full dome you're messing about flexing long poles through sleeves, with this you didn't have to. The instructions recommend two people are needed to erect the tent, but now I've done it once, I think I could do it myself.
I did have a bit more trouble taking the tent down. Well, it was raining at the time which wasn't helping. But, I had trouble fitting the tent back into the bag. The bag does have some compression straps so you can increase the size, put the tent in and then pull the straps tight. Unfortunately though, you have to work quite hard to get the air out of the tent and to roll it carefully to get it small enough to fit it in the bag even when the straps are loose. I found myself fighting with it and trying to jam it in the bag a bit. I even ripped the instruction sheet that is sewn into the bag off the bag because I was pulling it to try and get the tent in. I'm just not that bothered about getting the tent to pack up small, I just wanted to get it in the bag quick so that I could get out of the rain.
I didn't have any trouble with the plastic pegs snapping as other reviewers mentioned, but the ground was rock free. I'm not sure if there'd be an issue with tricker ground.
The height of the tent was fine for us. It's really nice to be able to stand up straight when you're getting changed out of wet clothes.
I think the design of the tent can be summed up by the purpose built zip the tent has for your electric cable to come in through. In my opinion, if you need electricity in your tent, you're not a proper camper. The designers choose to make the tent appeal to people who like to see this tick list of comfort features, and in doing so they had to miss out some practical features that would have made this a really great tent.
My review has perhaps sound a bit negative in places. But, really when you consider the ฃ200 price, I've got to say this tent is good value, and it does hold up to the weather. Four days of constant rain and all we suffered was a small puddle inside the back door that was very easily mopped up with a towel. I really can't complain and would probably recommend it to others.
My main word of advice is that you should consider whether you will want the extension, footprint or carpet. Factor these items into the total price when comparing this tent with others.
By: Ruthkelsey Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating:  Date: 23/08/2009
Just returned from our very first camping trip with 12 year old and 2 year old.
Bought this tent on offer from Go Outdoors and was not disappointed. Excellent value for money and had looked very closely before buying so had already noticed the sloping porch area and to be honest really was not a problem for us.
Pitched the tent in nightmare conditions - torrential wind and rain and was really easy to put up (Other half refused to put up before we went so this really was a baptism of fire!) Think we were in in 30 mins and the kettle on while other half pegged out guy lines.
Bedrooms probably are a little too small to sleep 6 but fit us in perfectly with room for clothes and four chairs.
No problems with rain entering the tent, pitched on a slope and very wet but even the porch area stayed dry, meaning we could leave wet clothes out there and stay snug and dry inside.
We have ordered the extension just to give us a little extra space for longer trips.
Really really pleased with out little tent and shame its coming to the end of the season as cant ait to get off again.
Would recommend to first time campers due to price and how easy it is to put up. However couldn't get back in bag with poles!
By: Babygirlnineteen Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: Date: 10/08/2009
We have just been away for a long weekend to try our Michigan L out. What a great tent. It would have been annoying if we did not have the extension, which I would recommend to everyone to buy - it gave us more space and made getting in and out of the tent much easier - we only did up the sloping door at night. I love the amount of light in the tent and the fact that there are 2 doors which gives a lovely flow of air through the tent. Sleeps 4 on mattresses, more would have been a squeeze. Loads of lovely space in the centre. Nice to have the 2 sleeping pods on either side of the tent. Really loved how easy it was to put up and take down.
By: Daz944uk Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: Date: 27/07/2009
We bought this tent a couple of weeks ago and as first time campers, took it out overnight at the weekend. I had already put it up in the back garden as soon as we got it home so I had a fair idea about how easy it is to erect (took me about 15-20 minutes to get the actual tent itself up and then about the same to peg out all the guylines). Taking it down and packing it up is more time consuming especially trying to get the air out of it enough to roll it up tightly enough (although there's probably a knack which I haven't mastered yet!)
Just to mirror the other reviews, the sloping doorway could be better designed and the plastic tent pegs are a bit of a let down for a tent this price although I have not had any problems with mine yet but have been lucky with the ground being relatively soft so far.
We also bought the extra footprint sheet and the upright porch support poles which were an extra but we're glad that we did. We're still deciding on the additional extension area but will probably decide once we have tried the tent out on a few more trips first.
As people have already highlighted, with airbeds, the tent is really on good for 2 x doubles although you would get 6 people in there with sleeping bags on mats and there is obviously loads of space in the central area as well.
By: Onlyconnect Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: Date: 23/07/2009
Very good tent; we camped for a week and it rained most nights with several storms, but the main tent stayed perfectly dry. Several guy ropes came loose during strong winds but this was our fault for not banging the pegs right down, no further problem once we did that.
Plus points: roomy, strong, no problems erecting and dismantling. Lots of little hooks where you need them, eg for electric hookup.
Minus points: plastic pegs as noted by others, some rain tends to get into the porch which does not have a sewn-in groundsheet.
By: GScorpius Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: Date: 12/07/2009
Overall very happy with this tent. No need to list it all as there's plenty of info in other reviews. The footprint is a godsend as even in the wet the tent can be taken down and folded on top of it keeping it clean.
Only bad point really is living with the slope of the front door and having to crawl into the wedge to do the zips. A vertical door would give so much more liveable area and also protect from the rain more. We have the extension also and find it makes a great bit of extra area. Because of the tent door shape we usually leave it rolled up and just use the mesh inner as the extension keeps it all lovely and dry. Other than the moan about the door, the plastic pegs are pants, our first trip saw 9 wrecked as the ground was pretty stony, second trip 3 more so unless you get lucky with the site you may as well buy some metal ones first as last, pity really with a tent of this price and otherwise good quality. All in all though we love it!
By: Ambops Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: Date: 07/07/2009
We bought this tent after looking at all the others out there,a few weeks ago and got to use it at the weekend for the first time
We are 1st time campers and never put a tent up before but found it very easy and pretty fool proof really,it took about 45mins from start to finish so not bad for 1st attempt.
The tent itself is a very sound one with plenty of room for all your gear in the middle,the bedrooms are not for 3 +3 my wife and me was comfy in one while daughter 13,and friend was in other,but we all had air beds so maybe they do take up a lot of room.
The only bad point on the tent is that they supply plastic tent pegs, not having camped before didn't know they were not up to the job, they bent while knocking them in and even snapped 3,for the money you would think they would supply better ones or is this just another way of getting you to spend more money,
I knocked 3 points off the rating because of the pegs which I consider a big part of it,other than that all ok and looking forward to getting off again
By: Dadsbeaniemad Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating:  Date: 01/07/2009
Just back from a first weekend with the Michigan L
We bought this as an easy up weekend tent so were not expecting it to be huge in size but just comfortable for 4 (2 adults, 11 and 12 yr old)
Pitched the Michigan in the drizzle and fog - didn't quite get the sleeves in the right places over the bedroom poles and as it was damp the pole (even after drying off) were quite slippy. Would have redone if not for the weather.
It's quite simple to pitch for 2 people as there are basically 3 steel poles to fit. Each comes in 3 sections - 2 legs and the arch piece. They are threaded sections so there is no mistaking the poles. After you get them in then there is just the bedroom carbon fiber poles to insert and they slot into cups on the legs of the main poles - one each side. Peg out, guy down and voila!
Inside you then fix the two carbon fibre cross poles in the central living area and velcro them in place - easy. I'm 5'5' and managed to do this no problem.
The tent is very light and airy and the 'sky light' is a good idea as are the two window panels each side of the 'back door' and 2 triangular windows either side of the front porch. All have curtains that can be rolled up or down and fasten with the usual toggles. The Mocha colour (better in real life than in pictures) makes everything seem lighter too but is not a problem at night time.
The tent is vis-a-vis style - meaning sleeping areas at either end facing each other.
This is supposed to be a 6 man tent but is definitely NOT. Even as Outwell say - comfortable 4 I would take a little issue with it as the bedroom pods only just fit the double air bed (Aero bed Active Explorer double. Not the biggest double I've seen by any means).
The girls have Aero bed weekender singles and thank goodness one likes to have hers deflated as they wouldn't both have fit in if they had both been inflated. The deflated one was under the inflated one by about 3 inches.
There was plenty of standing height in the central living area. We used out kitchen unit up against the 'backdoor' (you can see in the pictures I posted) but that didn't leave all that much room and we put our little Alu roll up table out in the porch for cooking. We managed to get all 4 chairs in and sit down so there is enough room to stay comfortably (over a weekend). WE spent all our time outside though - even with the rain.
The porch - this is where it gets disappointing.
For the money you pay for the tent you would expect to get porch poles - well you DON'T so remember to take or buy some - we realised before so took ours.
The 'front door' slopes and once again with an Outwell tent you have to crawl on all fours to get to the zips to zip it up at night and undo it in the morning.
This is no good if it is raining as you tend to find some rain has crept in under the door and you get wet knees.
I have no idea why they don't put double zips on here as it would be so much easier - especially for night time visits.
We struggled with fastening down the door completely too.
I don't know if it was the way we pitched or the design of the tent but the rain seemed to roll off the roof and straight down the sides and got inside the porch area through the gaps at the bottom (going to pay more attention when pitching next time to try and get this bit perfectly right) meaning we had to be constantly mopping up. After being out for the day when it rained all day we had to take everything out of the porch area and dry it up as it was swimming.
This could have been due to the field as it was far from flat and level and there were lots of pools of water between the tent and footprint when we decamped (large pools)
This is also the reason that it sat very high at the front- we think and hope)
This said, not a single drop of water actually came in the tent at all. Everything was dry and snug.
It was very warm in the tent the whole weekend.
The fabric and manufacture is up to the usual good Outwell standard.
The footprint fits perfect and is well worth buying as it saves cleaning the bottom of the tent (thought we had to dry ours because of aforementioned rain).
The carpet too is a great fit and just makes for a softer warmer underfoot experience (not completely necessary but good to have if you want to spend the extra)
I'm going to give it another weekend away before I decide if it's a keeper or not.
I would recommend the tent to families for 4 only if the children are younger than mine or for weekend use only but that depends on how much space you like.
I would also say it is the perfect tent for a couple for weekends, weeks or longer stays.
By: NTHurzzz Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: Date: 29/06/2009
Took the tent out for its first test drive this weekend. Was a bit concerned as the weather forecast stated probable end-of-the-world torrential downpours if you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thankfully they got it wrong again and we had a glorious weekend in out new tent.
The tent is fantastic - a great size - I'd say larger end of mid range size - if that makes sense!
Easy to put up. Considering it's out first weekend away with it we put it up as if we'd used it loads of time. It's pretty foolproof and impossible to get the poles and fastenings mixed up. Very impressed with the quality of the tent both construction and all the trimmings such as guys ropes you can velcro, decent poles and equipment, decent quality pegs (although I did buy some deltas on everyone's recommendations as didn't fancy unravelling a new tent from the hedges in the middle of a 3am storm!)
Great design - two sleeping inner tents facing each other - comfortable 2 + 2 (rather than the 'over cosy' 3 + 3 as advertised) - a very spacious middle part which you can comfortably stand up in. The porch a real plus - means you can drop your mucky stuff before stepping into the tent proper. The pale beige fabric along with loads of windows make it one of the brightest tents I've been in.
We also bought the ground-sheet footprint - which was a perfect fit as you'd expect and did the job of protecting the sewn in ground-sheet. Also got the tent 'carpet'. Again a perfect fit and although I wondered whether we were being a bit decadent it really added a cosy feel to the interior, and removed that echo-y crinkle noise you get from ground-sheets. Really made the interior a very nice place to be. Recommend it highly.
Its clever design means its both easy to pitch ( so great for weekend camping) and makes great use of space (so great for longer trips).
Highly recommend the tent - perfect choice on so many levels. You can see the level of thought and experience thats gone into it. Can't wait for our next trip out in the few weeks time.
By: AliD71 Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: Date: 01/06/2009
Just spent a fantastic weekend camping in our new Michigan L. I can recommend it to anyone. It is great because there is plenty of room for a family of four, but it is compact enough to fit in the boot of the car. It was very cosy at night, no drafts unlike our old tent. We have also got the footprint groundsheet and the carpet which definitely kept out the cold. It is very quick to put up. We were up and running in less than half an hour, which is good for Friday night camping.
It took a lot of research to find the right tent. We had considered other larger Outwell tents, but the need for a trailer and towbar makes some of them too expensive. The Michigan L will see us through weekends and longer trips very well without this added expense. Absolutely the right choice and cannot think of a single bad point.
By: Sandieandarthur Reason: I own(ed) one Made in: 2009 Rating: Date: 04/05/2009
We bought this tent last week and have just got back from a bank holiday weekend away and had a lovely time.
We have owned tents before and would have to say this really was quite easy to erect especially as its not fiddly like some as it's one layer with the bedrooms already hung.
We also have the kids bedroom and they loved it, we found it cosy and light with the various windows. The porch area is great for leaving dirty wellies as we also have the carpet and did not want it to get dirty.
The large window in the porch area is also great for looking out of when it rained and as a family of four with two dogs we found this had plenty of room.
We would recommend this tent as a great family tent with no faults that we have found so far and hopefully we wont.
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Manufacturer's Description
The result of innovative Outwell design, the Michigan L integrates the unique structural advantages of both the Outwell Extended Frame System and the Outwell Space Frame System to offer accommodation for up to 6 persons in two side cabins, a large, standing-height living area, and a remarkably wider and more attractive porch. Maximum interior comfort is secured by the sewn-in groundsheet and the detachable groundsheet in the porch. Other strong features in the Michigan L include the skylight which ensures ample daytime light in the living area. The Michigan L is certain to meet the approval of camping families who want high-quality comfort in their home-away-from-home.
Specifications:
Flysheet: Outtexฎ 3000 with taped seams
Hydrostatic Head: 3000 mm
Floor: Double-coated polyethylene
Inner tent: Breathable polyester
Pack size: 38 x 80 cm
Weight: 27.1 kg
Poles: Steel poles 19 mm,
Duratec fibreglass 11/12.7 mm
Features:
Detachable groundsheet for porch area
Pre-attached inner tents
Stow-away O-shaped inner tent doors
Mesh pockets in the inner tents
Rear door
Fully seam-sealed flysheet for maximum protection
Reinforcement patch on all stress points
Lamp holder and light cable tidies
Adjustable pegging points
Pre-attached guy ropes
Luminous guy ropes
Heavy duty Outwell zips
Outwell doormat included
Optional Extras:
Carpet
Footprint
... there may be more info on their website
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