Message Forums

We have used an '80s canvas frame tent for many years, but it has come to the end of its life. We want to buy a new tent and have narrowed the choice down to to the Outwell Sun Valley 6 2008 version or the Vango Amazon 600. Mainly because they are the right size and they both offer a front awning. We have counted out the Outwell Vermont L because it is too long. Not being too familiar with new fangled tent technology we have a few questions that I hope some of you could help us with. Currently we are veering towards the Outwell. 
1) Given numerous posts on this board about leaking Outwell tents, should we count the Outwell out from the start?
2) The Outwell has carbon fibre poles, the Vango has steel. I have always liked the look of these carbon fibre pole tents, and I like the idea of the tent giving a bit in the wind, but how reliable are these poles - do they break?
3) We really like the front awning on both of these tents, in particular we like the Sun Valley 6 awing because it is fully enclosed at the sides and I envisage using this as a sheltered cooking area. However I have worries about this awning ballooning up with a strong wind blowing straight into it.  I see that the Outwell Wolf Lake has a similar awning - does anyone have experience of this type of awning?

Thanks

Just a piece of general advice. We have owned 4 Outwell tents, not one leak! As for strength, a 45mph wind on top of Hayle Towans gave us a 2" rip on the porch seam. Not your average tent in my humble opinion. Hope this helps!

Another vote for the quality of Outwell. Ours has survived European storms - wind and rain. A couple of years ago it rained every single day for our fortnight. Dresden (where we were) damn near flooded. We got not a single drop.

Alan

Another vote for Outwell here!  We have the original Minnesota from Outwell dating back to 2004 and have just ordered our upgrade - Outwell Utah 6.  Personally, we wouldn't consider any other brand, just our own humble opinion.

Hi, We have an Outwell Sun Valley 8, choose the luxury of the bigger tent...lol

Regarding leaks, we have had none, however due to the sig it is worth lifting the bedroom pods every couple of days to dry the condensation which occurs.

The poles are great, light and easy to use. Both my husband and I have arthritis and find them easy to manage. Also they tend, in my option, to have more give should you choose to camp in high winds etc( i.e typical british summer!)

If you want to know more just post on this thread and I will try to help.

Steel poles give a better strength to weight ratio than fibreglass ones but the best poles for strength to weight and flexibility are aluminium alloy, as commented on by jackforever, who has an Outwell Bear Lake. However, these are more expensive and are only more recently starting to appear in the family tent market for that reason, having been the pole material of choice in the high performance/mountaineering end of camping for some years.

Fibreglass poles are prone to splintering, but the ones on the sun valley have an extra layer of woven fibres around them which make them more resistant to splitting. FIbreglass poles also are lighter and less bulky so the tent packs smaller and is easier to handle. To enhance the life and performance of fibreglass poles you need to ensure that you do not over-stress them when erecting (which can happen when the pole is inserted straight and then pushed up into an arch, lifting a lot of material with it; though tunnels are easier in this regard than domes, when you really need someone under the cross poles to support the weight of fabric)  and you need to ensure that the tent is properly and evenly pegged out so that tension remains evenly spread over the whole structure.

The quality problems with Outwell models last year included leaky Montanas and Vermonts, and some ill-fitting doors on Bear Lakes, from what I can remember picking up on here. But for every one with a problem there were several other satisfied customers, so it is a bit swings and roundabouts really.

We have owned a few Vangos and been very happy both with quality and customer service; the one advantage that Vango tunnels often have over Outwell is their patented tension band system (TBS) a set of internal straps which give extra internal support to the poles arches. This is valuable in high winds and increases stability greatly.