Our Vango 500 has served us well. Its put up with terrible weather and also some rather rough handling by kids. The last time we took it away OH thought the living area too small. This time we took the time to organise everything and ended up with a rather surprising amount of space. Added to this we also "porched" the front entrance. Infortunately, the weather changed and we faced the one problem with this tent. Space for the kids to do things in the tent when wet! We therefore found ourselves with a dilema. In a nutshell:-
1. Stick with old faithful and hope we dont get too many bad trips
2. Vango Diablo 600 (only downside is pitch inside-first?)
3. Vando TBS Vista 600
4. Vango TBS Vista 800 (do we need/want the even more space)
OK, so they are all Vangos but thats what we know and trust. Anybody have any thoughts on these models
Mike J
------------- It'll work out in the end!!!!
I didn't do it !! Nobody saw me do it !! You can't prove anything !!
We use the Venture for weekends/short breaks and the Vista 800 for longer trips and have always had Vango tents. We feel the same about the Venture when the weather is wet with our 2 kids (now 13 and 11).
We looked at some Wynnster tents this weekend but didn't think the quality/style was as good as Vango's. Nobody seems to give as good bedroom space as we like except Vango Did like the Wynnster Pegasus but bedroooms were too low,. Saw some Outwell's that we quite liked but again bedrooms were so small and we prefer not to have SIG. Liked the ZIG used in the Bear Lake etc and hope that maybe other manufacturers wll take note.
So for time being we are sticking with what we have got until we find anything to better it! The Vista is a great tent except ours doesn't have mud flaps around one bedroom (end) and rain can get blown under the flysheet and sits under the bedroom inner, but now that we know that happens we just lift the inner and dry it out.
Have you looked at the Aztec Cantera 12? (There do smaller models with fewer bedrooms) The living area is huge, it has a bath tub groundsheet and has 4 pods and 2 porches. We need the size because we go with our 5 children ranging in age from 7 to 17. The downside is that it is pitched inner first. As yet we've not had to put it up in the rain and I did say as we drove through a shower on our way to the campsite that I would turn back or go in to B and B rather than pitch it in the rain. That aside, normally when we camp I always see the tent I wish we had bought, but since we bought the Cantera 2 years ago when it first came out I've not seen anything to better this one given that with our family size we need 4 separate pods. The bedrooms are intended for 3 but you'd need to be very keen on each other.They're very comfortable for 2 be it adults or children. Its absolutely waterproof and stood up very well in howling wind in Wales this summer. Its also very competitively priced.
I've recently checked out the new Kyham range with a sewn in g'sheet and they look promising. You can view a video of the tent being put up on the website. It is flysheet first.
We bought a Vang (as I like to call them, I too have had many and won't change) 8 berth tent last week from our local shop. Sounded a good deal as RRP was £299.99 according to the price ticket and it was on sale at £239.99. We don't usually buy without looking but the salesman did a first class job on us, so we bought it. We got it home and have spent this weekend putting it up in the garden. There's only 2 of us mostly but sometimes another couple joins us on camping trips so we wanted space and privacy (the salesman said it offered both as bedrooms are at opposite ends). All went up ok, (less than an hour with 2 of us), and looks great, but, when up it's huge! We really wanted space but this is a bit OTT as mostly it'll only be the 2 of us. Do you think, given that it's a sale item, and given we've put it up (but taken it down again immediately, however, as you know, it don't go bak in the bag the same as it came out, which will be obvious), they'll exchange or give us a refund as we really think something a little smaller will be more appropriate. Another thing as well, I've been googling the model of it but nothing is coming up, which is strange, it's a Wyoming and it has 800 (presumably meaning 8 berth) in digits, only Coleman seem to do one of that model name but thats a 6 berth and this is definately Vang. By the way, if, as I suspect, they won't have it back or exchange, I'll be selling it if your interested.
------------- A pessimist is just an optimist with experience
i have been looking at the vango aspen 500dlx today, liked it alot, plenty of doors, windows, and you didnt feel closed in, i really like this tent but i think its inner first
Provided you don't mind low bedrooms, I'd heartily recommend the Diablo 600. The living space is wonderful when it's wet, or when it gets a bit chilly in the evenings.
We find it great for getting our daughter off to bed too as she's happy to go reasonably early provided we leave the bedroom door open while we relax in the main area. Of course, after a busy day she's asleep in minutes anyway!
We pitched it in the rain for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it wasn't too bad. Needed a bit of mopping out, but the inner dried quickly.
How about the marechal vario 9 ? Marechal are long established with a great track record for quality. This system will give you loads of flexibility with the kids too.http://www.outdoor2go.co.uk and plenry of living space and windows you can see out of without standing up !
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Topic: Upgrade tent - what to do?
