Hi there, I've decided to join in too after reading through loads of helpful posts over the past few weeks.
Basically we're new to this. I camped loads as a kid with my family and loved it. Now I have a family of my own we're keen to get into it too. I'm looking around at family tents (~6 birth) but the amount of choice is bewildering. I've never heard of any of the brand names before so I've no idea which is the Rolls-Royce, which is the BMW and which is the Citroen of tents! And several seem to be the same tent under different brand names and at different prices - e.g. is a Royal the same as a Vango? Or an Outwell?
I'm quite keen to buy middle-of-the-range quality and you can get all of the above in the £150-£200 price range so, can anyone point me in the direction of any articles that compare and contrast the different brands, or even give me a quick run down of which brands to go for and which to avoid?
Very difficult to give you ones to avoid and ones that are good as it's not that simple. If you stick to a well known make such as Vango, Outwell, Coleman etc you can't go too far wrong.
Lichfield are made by the same company as Vango. Easycamp are made by the same company as Outwell and Robens and Campus are made by the same company as Khyam. Be very wary of cheap tents off ebay etc. There are bargains on there but also lots of expensive rubbish. One thing to keep an eye on is the Hydrostatic Head HH of a tent. Tells you how waterproof, general consensus on here is not below 2000HH but some will tell you 1500 is OK. Depends what type of camping you are planning to do.
How many of you are there ? How old are the children ? What sort of hols are you planning two weeks or lots of weekends ?
Cheers for the advice so far. We've got 2 kids - 3 & 5 yrs. I'm thinking that a 4 berth would be a squeeze, but a 6 berth with 2 bedrooms would be ideal - gives a little space around the edges.
Oh and we've got a Citroen. Bits keep falling off it, just as we were warned. But it was pretty much the cheapest car around when we bought it, so I liken it to the e-bay tents that people have warned about!
Hey up stevej180 and welcome to UKCS. There are some Rolls Royces and some Trotter's Three Wheelers out there in the world of camping, but you have come to the right place for advice! Some of the main things to think about when choosing a tent for family use are the options in terms of materials and style of construction:
Tent fabric - cotton canvas weighs a lot especially when wet, but will withstand years of UV quite happily. It breathes and so is less prone to condensation and will be less stuffy in hot weather. Manmade fabrics have to have the waterproof layer bonded to them, and this is vulnerable to UV and will eventually break down and peel off, so these much lighter, cheaper fabrics don't last as long as cotton. Some makers now do a poly-cotton range in an attempt to get a bit of the best of both worlds.
Poles - are either metal tubes like on frame tents etc which are strong but bulky, or bendy fibreglass, which are lighter ,cheaper, easier to lug about, but are more fragile. Fibreglass can be strengthened with a woven wrap around it. At the top of the range, there are alloy poles, whic combine lightness with strength.
Inner or outer first.Some tents have a completely sealed inner tent unit comprising bedrooms, living area and a fully sewn in groundsheet - these are warm and dry, but a bit vulnerable during erection as they go up inner first and the flysheet then goes over the top. Some go up outer first and then the groundsheeet is laid out inside and the bedroom pods are hung up. This style means that the GS is loose, so it can be more draughty and bug-prone. Some tents solve this by having mud-flaps along the bottom of the flysheet to seal the gap. Some newer models have cracked this whole conundrum by having a fully sewn in groundsheet on a tent that goes up fly first -e.g. the very popular Outwell Montana and Sun Valley ranges.
In fact I would suggest that you might want to look at the 6 berth of either of these models for your needs.
Only just joined myself - great site. After much research, we finally decided to go for it and get an Outwell Montana 6. The decision was made as soon as we stepped inside it. Light, bright, airy - loads of windows and bags of room for the kids on wet days. Try to get a look at one up.............we get ours on Mondaycan't wait.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Too much choice
