Thanks very much for the input - very informative!
I do actually have most of the gear left over from when i had the Orchy, so what tent should i buy for around the £100 mark that will keep us dry and not fall down?
Get a Vango Icarus 500. Yes, it's about £135 but really you won't regret it. It will definately keep you dry and not fall down (assuming you peg it well and don't have 50mph winds, same as any tent) and will last you quite a few seasons.
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Thanks Val - i actually like the look of that tent and its not mahoosive like other that are on the market! Also i have decided we would be better with a SIG sheet due to us living on the midgie infested west coast!?
Once again, thanks everyone for your time and input :)
i know this post is kind of wound up now but i just must tell you what i saw last year.
(by the way, those halfords tents are different to the ones from the last few years, but they're porbably as bad at the Argos ones!)
anyway, i'll get back to it. whilst camping last year a couple pitched up across from us in their halford tent. the female said that she hasn't been camping since she was a child and was looking forward to it. anyway the weather turned showery and they dived inside every time it started. the night went on and it poured down. there we were all dry and well rested in our evo 400 in the morning, and out they came out looking like they'd had little or no sleep and a bit on the damp side too!
i did give them points for determination though, as they stayed for another night. i believe they binned their tent on leaving though!
Quote: Originally posted by JellyBabyRiot on 04/5/2010
(by the way, those halfords tents are different to the ones from the last few years, but they're porbably as bad at the Argos ones!)
I would rate the current Hoalfods/B&Q tents as far below the Pro-Action ones in quality, tbh. I don't see a lot of complaints about the Pro-Action ones here, apart from the usual bit of pole breakage you'll get with even the best tents. They do lack features though and they're expensive for what they are. Wait for the end of season sale when they go for half price is my advice!
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I'd encourage anyone trying camping for the first time to hire all the kit from a site which does it. That way hopefully your first experience will be with some decent kit and you won't be freezing all night.
Having not been camping for years (since being in the cubs) we were given a Halfords tent a few months ago. Went camping in April and had a lovely weekend (rain free, so didn't get to see how it would stand up to the wet). When we pitched up there was a family over the way in the same tent who complained how cold it was the previous night. I noticed they had the sleeping bags bundled with the Halford package whereas we had a bit better quality ones. Although the temperature touched freezing overnight we were warm in our bags and had no real problems with the tent.
I did however note that there did appear to be a bit of tent snobbery in evidence against those Halfordians including myself. Having conducted a successful camping expedition, we have now aquired a Coleman tent (not sure what the name is) which is bigger and seems to be of much better quality.
The £100 package is always going to attract people and I am sure it is not only those who buy "cheap" who subsequently give up after a first attempt at camping, you only have to look at the thriving second hand market in "hardly used" or "never used" equipment to see that.
In summary, I would say that if you are on a budget the tent will just about suffice in good weather, but definately bin those sleeping bags and get some better ones!
Truly dreadful tents! I bought one of the packages & had an awful few days in it last year. It was not waterproof and ripped in the wind. We were soaked for 4 days! The airbeds dont stay inflated and the sleeping bags as thin and slippery.
A complete waste of money.
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Just got an email to tell me of the reply to this old thread...
Still not actually bought another tent yet, was tempted yesterday by an email from go-outdoors advertising the Hi-gear atakama 5 at £59, now after reading reviews this seems a decent tent for the money BUT i still have a hankering for the icarus 500....
I will decide when i come back from my fortnight in Olu Deniz, flying out on saturday :)
If I was to buy a halfords deal to try out camping i would go for the next package as everything in it is a bit better.
The tents in teh packages are different tents this year to last year.
in the £100 package the tent has a 1500HH rating so not much use in wet and windy weather.
In the £170 package the tent is 2000HH which is comperable to many tents in the £100 or less catagory.
The tents are made in the same Chinese factories as the other tents. They come from the same suppliers as Gelert and Hi-Gear and most probably the Argos ones (Pro-Action?). They are rebranded and made to a price point for selling to each of the companies customers.
I would like to stand up for the "cheapie" tents, we wanted to see if our kids would want to go camping on a frequent basis so as Argos were doing their 50% May day sale so we bought the Pro-action 6man tent for £44.50. We have recently returned from our first 5day camping trip, although we didn,t have any bad weather the tent held up well, in fact the only problem we encountered was condensation. I have since read all of the reviews on this site and the vast majority of them are positive.
Although my kids have decided that they want to go camping again as soon as possible and we have made the decision to save and get a far bigger, better quality tent, we shall continue to use the Pro-action until that time. I would quite happily reccomend this tent for the price.
Steve
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Topic: Halfords family pack`s?
