Me and the wife have taken a look at this tent and really like it. Its light, airy, spacious and I looks really cosy in the living space with the outwell carpet down. Just a bit concerned about its size/trying to find a pitch, whether I can get it up in the back garden to air it/dry it and whether its gonna take too long to pitch considering with have 3 kids (5, 3 and 1).
Its gonna be this tent or the Khyam Indiana 8 Polycotton 2008 (just comcerned about the poles!)
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I've pitched this tent on my own in about 45mins. The hardest part is getting the first poles into the dome shape, because you need someone to lift it up to stop the strain on the poles.
That was my third time, but the first took about 1.5hrs.
Another problem is finding a pitch... loads of sites don't let you have over 6m tent :-( or they charge you for two pitches :-E
I don't see the problem, it's not like my tent is much bigger that a large caravan and awning, and I don't need a hard standing.
Sometimes I feel a little 'second class' citizen because I've got a tent?
We have had a trial pitching in the garden and i guess it took approx 45-50 mins(without guy roping) now my question is....
Is it best to thread ALL poles through sleeves before lifting as instructions suggest or would it be easier to do the three main poles first and insert the rest when erected?
One more thing.....on the Ouwell official video of pitching the tent,the chap pegs down the tent before inserting poles or atleast one side,but,no mention in the instructions? which is the way to go?
Great tent,tho only thing we have struggled with is getting it back in the bag,unsuprisingly not shown on the video....i imagine the chap was F'ing and blinding by then
I always insert all the poles first. If you only put the main poles in first you'll have trouble getting the bedroom area poles in.
I never peg down the tent until all the poles are in, that way you can move the doorway to any postion that you like. I would guess that if you had a winding day, then you should peg down!
If you ever have to put the outer sheet on by youself, best to peg in down on one site so that it doesn't slide back off as you pull it over the tent.
As for getting the tent back in the bag, I find it quite hard to do it on my own. A lot easier with two.
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We pegged down the footprint then put in all the poles on the Hartford. We had to be careful not to poke our eyes out. As it was our first attempt we pegged down the back as in the video first, but we may not do that again, as we couldn't tell properly if it was lined up enough with the footprint. I was a bit miffed as the footprint tore slightly from the seams in a corner when I took the groundpegs out, but that could have been my fault as I wasn't very careful.
We love the Hartford XL, we have phoned 4 campsites and gave dimensions of the tent and no-one has refused us so far, that was one of my biggest concerns. (After we had already bought it!!) Theres plenty of room inside and my OH likes the height of the main living space as he's 6'1", so he can stand up in it.
We struggled to get the tent back in the bag and had to try twice, and then on the way home my OH announced his phone and wallet had been left in one of the bedroom compartments, so we had to take it all out again when we got home!
Can't wait till our next trip in July as the kids are camping with us for the first time. ROLL ON!!!
We owned a Hartford XL a few years ago and found it too big for putting up quickly and wanted something for last minute weekends etc so sold it to a friend. We've had smaller tents and a frame tent and are now thinking about something flexible for weekends & longer stays and hopefully abroad. I've been down the tunnel route but they didn't feel very cosy or have the space (I know, I know, I'm fussy!) and then I read something about someone commenting on the changes to the Hartford this year .... one bugbear for us was pitching inner first and then flinging over the cover. Now it all pitches as one and the poles are mainly on the outside. The windows are much bigger and the carpet makes it very cosy. The porch tunnel looks ideal for cooking .... guess what, we're gonna get a Hartford again!! We are better at pitching now and know it's all part of the weekend and the children are old enough to help and need more space ironically!
------------- Angie ~~
~ If you see someone without a smile give them one of yours ~
Caro1.....The eye poking bit is largely the reason i wondered if it was possible to insert bedroom poles at a later stage,whilst the wife was lifting the inside,i was ducking and diving like a crazy thing!
It is a fantastic tent and once we master the bag stuffing(fingers crossed) i shall be more than happy.Im not too worried as i remember our previous Royal tent-first time out i refused to believe it would ever go back into the bag,once you suss it,the task becomes routine.
Now please dont anyone tell me they got the pole bag back in the tent bag!
Angie,we previously had an inner tent first followed by fly and the all in one pitching on the new Hartford is a dream,saves an awful lot of faffing about...windows as you say are great.
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The poles are more visable on the outside of the 2008 Hartford and the porch poles are arranged in an almost 'gothic' style, quite pointed. This increases the head height. The colours are sage green and a very pale creamy green colour. The pale colour is more dominant than in last year's and the windows are positively huge, from top to bottom.
If you look on Outwell's website, you will see a new Hartford, some dealers are selling the 2007 variety, but they should stress it is the 2007, the roof looks more 'rounded'. Also the canopy from last year will not fit this year's. World of Camping worldofcamping.co.uk list the accessories very well and clearly state which year's tent it will and won't fit.
Hope this helps!
------------- Angie ~~
~ If you see someone without a smile give them one of yours ~
Thanks Angie and HardyLardy. I see now that the 2008 models differs quite a bit. Go Outdoors in Wigan have said they will price match if we see it cheaper anywhere else. I think the best price is £275 at Outdoor Megastore
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I've been told this is a great site for kids... I contacted them yesterday and they said no tents over 6m :-(
If you look at the video you'll see that it's not a space issue, and you'll notice the massive caravan in the first few seconds. Once he gets his awning up, I think he might be a bit bigger than me.
Gutted!
Maybe you should ring them up, they might get the idea that this is a family tent, with living space when required.
Quote: Originally posted by SydneyBassett on 13/6/2008
Thanks Angie and HardyLardy. I see now that the 2008 models differs quite a bit. Go Outdoors in Wigan have said they will price match if we see it cheaper anywhere else. I think the best price is £275 at Outdoor Megastore
And at World of Camping ...
------------- Angie ~~
~ If you see someone without a smile give them one of yours ~
Quote: Originally posted by HardyLardy on 13/6/2008
Caro1.....The eye poking bit is largely the reason i wondered if it was possible to insert bedroom poles at a later stage,whilst the wife was lifting the inside,i was ducking and diving like a crazy thing!
That comment made me laugh, it does take some dodging doesn't it.
If it helps anyone, when packing the tent away we folded in all the bedrooms and porch etc then we fold the whole tent in half, we then fold the 2 long sides to the middle and fold the whole tent in half again, so it was a long thin rectangle. We then put the poles (in the bag!) at one end and literally rolled the tent tight round the pole bag till it got to the end. Just make sure the tent is no wider than the pole bag before beginning to roll.
Hope that made sense to some, I can visualise how we did it, but explaining is a different matter altogther.
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Topic: Outwell Hartford xl 2008
. As it was our first attempt we pegged down the back as in the video first, but we may not do that again, as we couldn't tell properly if it was lined up enough with the footprint. I was a bit miffed as the footprint tore slightly from the seams in a corner when I took the groundpegs out, but that could have been my fault as I wasn't very careful.
