Message Forums

We tried out camping with our young children last year & loved it!  We purchased a cheap tent from ebay, just to see if we enjoyed the experience & want to buy a better one this year.

We've been offered a second hand (used once & stored well) Kyham Espace 8 berth with an extra bedroom, specially made ground sheet, cooker, camp kitchen, water carrier, table, chairs, etc for £250, from a trusted relative.

I've done a search on this type of tent, but can't find an awful lot about it. It's 3 years old. Is it good or not?  Reasonable price?  Easy to pitch?

Many thanks!

Jo

From memory never owned one     The Espace is a ridgidome  for easy erection, full height so no ducking     ask to see it being erected this will give you an idea if it's for you    If you like it I would consider it good value 

Hope this helps 

Hi, we have a khyam espace and have camped happily in it with three children for about 5 years. We especially like the height of the bedrooms which you can stand up in fully and store all your clothes in, and it is easy to erect. The kids loved having a huge bedroom to play in-the two older boys shared one and could leave a boardgame out in the middle and drop the central divider when they were arguing!! Some things have started to anoy us though such as the non-sewn in ground sheet that needs loads of pegging from the inside before you can start to get the inside sorted - not easy in hot weather even with the two older boys helping! Also the fact that the only exit is the huge porch door - an extra small door for nipping in and out would be better as in the newer models. Also it seems huge in its bag when packed down-we have a large trailer so not a problem. Also (in the bad summer weather last year) we were in a rather windy spot and when we opened the front porch door we felt like we were going to take off (doesn't have the little side bits at the front to give a bit more protection-and hide all the jumk!), and it was hard to heat in the evenings. Havn't had a problem in other years with this though-just the direction we were facing last year.

It does seem a good price though as khyams are very expensive new. We have looked at replacing ours with a new khyam quick erect but none of them seem as large as the one we have - but we do like the newer features better. Probably being a bit hard on it as has been an excellent tent with no real problems. Got measurements etc if you need them? 

Many thanks for your replies. I'm hoping to look at photos & see the measurements today. I think we'll propbably buy it, as it also includes all the equipment, so I think the price is reasonable.  We've got a roomy roof box & I'm hoping it can all be packed into that!

Thanks again.

Jo

Mainly the light stuff can go ina roofbox eg bedding.  You will be suprised at how much room you will need especially with a large tent.

I really dont think i would consider this tent without a huge estate car or a trailer cos we even struggle with it in out tall trailer with large family car! We did manage it once with two cars when we only had two kids but even then it takes up an awful lot of room and definitely too heavy for roofbox. Good luck whatever you decide.