Hi we are going to buy our first tent i was wandering if someone could give me some advice, ie what are the best tents, budget about £300,to sleep 6 and do campsites have restrictions on the size of tents allowed ,thanks .
Your budget is pretty good, how many bedrooms and how many for each bedroom?
Tent pitches vary, if you work on a notional 10m x 10m you won't usually be far wrong. Don't forget to allow for guy ropes and usually you need to get your car on the same pitch. In some places you'll need to pitch your tent so that it isn't closer than 1 metre or so to the edge (to help form a fire break)
have you got any local stores to you? have a look about first size ,height ect and the brand names of the tents.try to steer clear of e bay untilll you have gained a bit of knowledge . hope all gos well though
have been looking at a few ,we want 3 bedrooms we like the look of the ones where the bedrooms are on each side of the tent ,prob synthetic . what are the best makes?
you need to consider the height you want in the living room and the bedrooms, the amount of windows and light they let in, how long you are going to go away in it for etc. We have been camping a few years, we first had a sat dome but found the bedrooms low and the sloping sides a pain for chairs, tables and tall husband, then had a Kyham XXL, which was great but dark when zipped up in the rain, then got the outwell indiana 8, which i love because our bedroom is seperate from the kids, tall, lots of windows and canopy to cook under.
You need to figure out what will work best for you.
we use the sunncamp vario 6, loads of space, easy to put. My advice is to wait till the tent displays go up and then have a look round and see what ticks all the right boxes. with that budget you wil have a very good choice.
Go and visit you local shops in the North East when they start putting there tents up in Early march, It may be a day out to Newcastle for the best ranges but the kids will love running round and you can physically see what layout suits you, best advice if go for the biggest and best you can afford.
David
------------- Advice and looking are free, its making the decisions and deciding that cost the money
hi there is a good camping shop in newcastle called united british caravans,we have had 2 tents from there.they have a good choice to choose from,i think we did all the camp shops in the ne but kept gettin drawn bk to this 1 well worth a look.they start gettin the tents abt end feb.alot of there accessories r quiet cheap aswell.they do good deals on sleepin bags aswell if u r needin them
Used to have a very large khyam tent and never had a problem with regards to it fitting on a pitch, but i no some campsites won't accomodate very large tents due to the pitch size, so it's best to phone campsite before you book, to make sure they can accomodate your size of tent.
------------- life is like a box of chocolates you never no what your gonna get
Quote: Originally posted by mines a carling on 14/1/2007
have been looking at a few ,we want 3 bedrooms we like the look of the ones where the bedrooms are on each side of the tent ,prob synthetic . what are the best makes?
There some good deals on sell off 2006 models right now (3 bedrooms, SIGs), if you want to save yourself some money. See some of the other threads, which cover:
Aztec Cantara 9 - £175
Wild Country Halo 104 - £230
Coleman Magellan 9 - £210
Also have a look at Outdoor Actions's Vango Kirkwood 900, which is very agressively priced and has some advantages over the Diablo (see other specific threads on the Kirkwood).
------------- Big Bunny
Robens Valley Lodge & Cabanon Pyramide 6 "... kids you distract the bear, while I run to the car...."
We recently pruchased the Halo 104 & pitched it for the 1st time this weekend. It is extremely spacious with 2 large side bedrooms (3 berth) & a large end pod with 2 x double bedrooms - which can unzip to make a very large sleeping area. It is inner 1st when it comes to putting it up but it is simple to erect with everything colour coded. I would strongly recommend the tent & with World of Camping giving a 1 metre canopy free when purchasing, at an already discounted £230 (RRP £400), it is well worth a look!
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: newbie to tents
