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I'm looking to buy one of these two tents, and I am struggling to figure out which one to buy.  I'm worried that I will take the plunge for one of them, use it and then wish that i had bought the other.  So i'm looking for a bit of hands on opinion on the following.

Price:  Both about £200

Rooms

• Both have 2
• Hartford are 160cm wide and the minnesota's are 140cm
• You can't stand up in the hartford ones, you can in the minnesota.
• They are separated in the hartford, but side by side in the minnesota.

Size:  Overall size, i think the hartford L is bigger.  Bigger footprint too.

Poles:  Steel (or whatever they are) on the minnesota, but flexi more breakable ones in the Hartford L

HH:  same

Pitching: 

• From what I understand, the minnesota is about 20 minutes and the hartford is about 45 at a push.
• Minnesota pitches in one go.  The hartford is inner first then outer.
• Both as sturdy as each other?

Any thoughts would be good.  Confused.  Perhaps i should just go for the cheap Ancona 400 from easy camp.  This one i believe is let down by a low HH, is that correct.?

Cheers

Mike

I would vote for the Minnesota over the Hartford. The Minnesota is quicker and easier to pitch, pitches outer first which would be an advantage in wet weather, full height bedrooms which feel bigger and a lot of people prefer, bedrooms are feet to the door, so all occupants have equal access to the door and no-one is trapped on the inside and fewer walls in the  living space made up of bedroom doors ie more useable living space. If you wanted more floor space in the bedrooms, why not go for a Minnesota 6? MT

I would love the minnesota 6, but i was looking at the £200 price range.  Unless you know of a place to get the 6 at that price ?  (wishful thinking on my part )

Thanks for the info though, some interesting points.

Mike

any other comments?

Thanks

Mike

If you're looking at the price tag, what about £180 for an Outwell Colorado 5?

http://www.worldofcamping.co.uk/shop/Detail.asp?ProductID=1802

True, it doesn't have a SIG but for family camping in the main summer season SIGs are an option not a necessity, despite what everyone is being brainwashed into believing right now! I'd rather have a better tent and no SIG than a SIG at all costs and a poorer tent.

Outwell Colorados are a tried and trusted model. We had one and had great holidays in it. MT

Janie.. 

How long does it take you to pitch the Hartford..  The pitching time is one of the areas that puts me off.  I will just be a weekend camper to start off.

Mike

well the first time it took us an hour

we have had 2 pratice sessions and they both came in at about 45 mins

off camping tommorrow , so will let you know how we do

Good luck

Well, it was the pitching time that did it for me in the end.. i went for the minnesota 4.

I will put it up for a test this weekend..

Mike

We have a Hertford XL and it is a great tent with good living space for a family on a wet day, but it takes ages to pitch and many sites won't take tents of this size, we've had real difficulty getting good sites that have large enough pitches. Overall it is not huge compared to others in this range of tents but its shape makes it very wide, 22 ft at the widest part.

Check the size on the Hertford L if you decide on that tent.

We are about to buy a minnesota 6 for short trips and we know sites will take it.

I am also hoping I can pitch it on my own. Would welcome comments about that.

Sally

The Minnesota 4 is pretty easy to pitch with two people but don't think I  could manage on my own.It might be possible if you erect each pole section then peg out as you go along.I don't think it would be possible to put all the poles in then erect as per instructions.

Mick

Hi,  this has been very interesting.  We are a family of 4 (two under 5's!) and we have our second hartford L - We love it.  However, we are impressed by the compactness of the Minnesota 4 for exactly the same reasons as stated above.  We like the idea of the metal poles instead of the flexible ones as we have have managed to snap a few!

We're trying to decide whether to get a Minnesota 4 or two 2 man pop ups for the short weekend trips.

How do these ones perform or are they just for festivals when you're too drunk to notice!

We have a mate who is single and camps in a Montana6, so if he can erect a Monty on his own, Im sure a Minny should be able to be pitched on your own