Sue them through the courts. It'll cost you about £50 and they'll pay up because it's cheaper to settle than to fight. You can do the whole thing on line.
hi Jomac 185. This is uncanny. We had the same experience with our Cirrus 6. pitched it in Roscilly at end of May for two nights, no problem. fast forward to beginning of July and woke at 2.00 in the morning under a collapsed tent. It was windy and raining. the tubes were fully inflated and within the recommended zone.tried readjusting guy rope tension all to no avail. physically pushed up the arches but they kept collapsing. spent the rest of the night protecting our 2 year old by propping up the arches with bags. Lost complete confidence in the tent and The guys at Bristol Gooutdoors said they'd put it to a wind-tunnel test. returned yesterday to be told they pitched it and it was fine and refused to give money back, stating that it was our choice not to keep the tent.bought a nice pole tent and now have unwanted £300 credit note! We know it performs well in the shop! Our argument is that it's not fit-for purpose under inclement conditions. very disappointed.
Hi sprite 1275
Not sure of the exact PSI but there is a 'sweet zone' marked out on the pump dial to ensure you don't under or over inflate. Not sure of the wind speeds on 11th July in Rhosilli but there were low off-shore gusts throughout the night plus rain. In 5 fields of probably over 200 tents ours was the only one down! You'll be fine as long as it stays fine...I'm no structural engineer but I suspect Airgo might want to consider internal bracing for this tent design.
Not "being sure of the exact psi" sounds a little alarming to me, if I may say so!
Unless I'm mistaken, most of these inflatable tents (from the various manufacturers) require something between 7psi and 12 psi (depending on tent/model/manufacturer).
Taking a mean of those, so let's say 10psi, clearly every pound difference is 10% of the required pressure! I'd hope this "sweet zone" on the gauge isn't too large!
From what I've read, I'd also suggest the actual pressure appears to be somewhat critical, with talk of collapsed beams, regular checks, deflate when hot weather etc... not to mention a couple of instances of actual "explosions" of the beam(s) (not sure what tent/model etc, sorry if that's alarmed anyone!).
On a tent that needs inflating to around 60psi, even a difference of 5 psi either way would make "only" 8.3% difference (or 1.7% per single psi). (You'd also expect (hope!) that the tubes in such a tent were of a more substantial design, so hopefully any such differences in pressure would be less critical?)
As these tents appear, in some cases, to be a little sensitive, my first suggestion, with respect, would be to make sure you do indeed know the exact required pressure... and that you check it regularly/Adjust accordingly.
More alarmingly, with regards to the tent mentioned above (Cirrus 6), there is no mention of the required psi at all on the relevant web page or indeed within the linked video (from that same page)!
Maybe a deeper google search could find an "official reference", and one would certainly hope there's some sort of written instruction (with the relevant psi detail, of course) accompanying a new purchase.
Knowing GO as I do, I'd hate to think any new owner of one of these tents would have to rely on the verbal info passed on by one of their assistants on the shop floor! I doubt you'd get the same answer more than once, even from the same assistant!
Oh right so the pump doesn't show psi reading? Bit weird.
Were there other Air tents like yours in the field? If these air tents ain't upto a bit of rough weather then I might send mine back and get a pole version. Can't take much longer to put a few poles in the tent.
Further to my post above, I've just thought of something else, too...
I've no idea how accurate these supplied hand pumps are, but I am aware, from experience, that even £50+ worth of a "reputable and recognised" electric pump can prove somewhat inaccurate. At approx. 12 psi inaccuracy at the 60psi reading, that's a whopping 20% shortfall of the intended pressure!
With that in mind, I would highly recommend buying, and using, a calibrated air pressure tester, offering a more accurate reading... particularly when the margins for error are so apparently slim.
I've just had a look at the reviews on that link that Mucker posted, you aren't alone in having problems I don't think. The first review mentions very small splits in the tubes. Is it possible you have some slow punctures which would make the tent collapse?
There were psi readings on the pump don't know what they were because I sent it back with the tent! I think that sweet zone is quite broad to take into account pressure changes due to atmospheric changes; hot days etc. The issue was that despite being fully inflated the two main beams/ arches sorta bent in the middle like the golden arches of McDonald's!
Hi Stinking Bishop,
Sorry that you have had the same experience as we did and yes sounds uncanny. Ours too was sent for a supposed wind tunnel test which we found out at a later date that no such test was undertaken as the firm used did not have facilities to undertake these type of tests. We had no joy from Go Outdoors as we like yourself thought it was a design fault( COLLAPSING OF THE ARCH). We ended up using section 75 of the consumer credit act as we were never going to have anything resolved with Go Outdoors. We found the firm once they had sold us the tent were not interested in any complaints we also felt we had been sold something that was not fit for purpose and also have no confidence in this tent in any bad weather. Ours collapsed in the first week of July in temperatures of 20+ degrees. People should complain to trading standards as at least a record is kept of these incidents and may help others in future if they need to take action. Best of Luck
I find Go Outdoors to be a very disorganised chaotic experience, but to be honest have never had them quibble when returning anything, that being said I have never returned anything of such a high value.
Did you buy the tent with a credit card? If so pursue them through your card provider.
However if your tent was incorrectly pitched or it can be proven that it does stand up to the weather you experienced I doubt you will have much luck.
I have very little knowledge of airbeam tents, but this July we camped in Anglesey in some very strong winds, RAF Valley was recording steady 38mph with gusts topping out at around 55mph, there was a vango airbeam on the site and it was probably the most steady tent on the site. I'm not sure if it was necessary or just because of the windy weather, but on most evenings I saw him with his pump out. oooo errr missus.
If I owned an airbeam I know my OCD would force me to check them everyday, just as it makes me check all the guy ropes last thing at night before retiring.
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Topic: Returning a Tent to Go Outdoors..
