After asking Breezeblock for his opinion on the Gelert Vario 6 on offer for £150.00 on Aspinalls website I decided to buy one.
You actually all thought, thank god, he has decided.
On emailing Aspinalls I asked the question 'is the tent a 2006 model and at £150 does it include carriage' I recieved a response from Graham Aspinall himself telling me that the cost of carriage was £20 extra.
So I thought I will go on the website, order it and get it collected only to find when I looked the tent had risen in price to £195.00 + carriage.
After emailing Aspinalls for a confirmation they have gone surprisingly quiet!
They were a bit sly skatty they changed it the day after I spoke to them they must have realised they had cocked up this whole episode covered two days
Congratulations on deciding orange70 although in a strange way I'm sure we will all miss your 10 tents a week discussions! Now all you have to do is buy it, good luck & be sure to let us know when you have! Bang out of order changing the price though .
My first experience of Aspinalls has not been good.
1) They don't answer emails, pre-sale or post-sale, either via the web site or by normal mail,
2) When you ring up they never seem to have any detail of what you have ordered, because it's kept in "the book" which is never to hand,
3) They seem reluctant to quote final prices, saying that "it'll all be added up on the invoice"
3) They'll miss their promised despatch date,
4) They'll miss stuff off your order (probably lost the bit of paper from your last phone call)
5) What they send will either be incomplete, or the wrong item entirely.
6) They don't return calls when chasing incorrect orders.
i'll be heading back to aspinalls this weekend,as an unhappy easter bunny!
i purchased a ridgipod excelsior from them with all the trimmings (no probs with what i got) but also purchased a footprint groundsheet,which i was told was the same size regardless of whether it was for a classic or excelsior.
been out this afternoon to pitch the tent again and check the groundsheet fits ok.................guess what.......it doesn't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the sheet is without a shadow of a doubt intended for the classic and NOT for the excel. i was even told that the reason i can't find an excel groundsheet on the web is because they are identical sheets to the classic,hence why i'll only see the classic sheets being advertised.
poppycock!
------------- there are 3 types of people in this world......those that can count,and those that can't.
i'll be heading back to aspinalls this weekend,as an unhappy easter bunny!
i purchased a ridgipod excelsior from them with all the trimmings (no probs with what i got) but also purchased a footprint groundsheet,which i was told was the same size regardless of whether it was for a classic or excelsior.
been out this afternoon to pitch the tent again and check the groundsheet fits ok.................guess what.......it doesn't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the sheet is without a shadow of a doubt intended for the classic and NOT for the excel. i was even told that the reason i can't find an excel groundsheet on the web is because they are identical sheets to the classic,hence why i'll only see the classic sheets being advertised.
poppycock!
So why does Outdoor Megastore have the Classic and the Excelsior GSs listed separately in their Khyam accessories section here?
thats not the ridgipod g/sheets,but you're on the right track.
turns out,after speaking to a fellow pod owner that the classic g/sheet might be the best choice as you can leave the side doors open in light showers and not get the g/sheet wet in the annexe's.will have to try it out and if its no good it'll be going back for a refund.
------------- there are 3 types of people in this world......those that can count,and those that can't.
My "Excelsior" GS extends into the pods by about a foot, but it's still about 6" short of the door panels if no pod is attached. The front porch edge lines up with the webbing strip OK. Is that the same as yours?
the porch dimensions are the same on both the classic and excelsior,so the GS fits no bother,its the pod annexe's where it falls short,considerably more than 6 inches away from the door panels,probably around 15 inches.the only issue i can foresee is that the webbing/tension straps in the doorways will have to be pegged down to stop the late night forward roll/diving when people trip up on them when the panels are rolled up,but thats not a problem really.
just a bit annoyed that Lynn at Aspinalls told me some white lies to get a sale out of me,which isn't on considering the amount of buisness they've had in the past from me.
still,i think it'll all work out ok in the long run,if the worst comes to the worst i can always add a little bit of extra GS as i have a few grey sheets spare in my loft that i've accumulated over the years.i'd take it back and get a refund if the excel sheets where readily available,which owing to the discontinued ridgipod range means they aren't.
might give khyam a bell on tuesday and see if they have any in stock,but i'm still playing with the idea of keeping it after the suggestion of the smaller sheet staying dry in showers with the panels rolled up.
------------- there are 3 types of people in this world......those that can count,and those that can't.
if you had ordered the gelert tent when you had enquired you would have recieved one at the price quoted, as many other people did. we do have to increase prices if cost to us goes up, which is what happened with this tent.
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Topic: Aspinalls !!!!!
Now all you have to do is buy it, good luck & be sure to let us know when you have! Bang out of order changing the price though 
