I saw them in Argos last year and being my usual decisive self i hummed and agh'd if they would be any good.
On a trip to York last year there was a family pitched near us with one and it looked good for the money.
Tried to order one when we got home and Argos had sold out.I then tried to order one on the net and every where had sold out.Seems they were very popular.
Quote: Originally posted by julie-pooley on 28/1/2009
Gosh that's cheap. I'm tempted to get one but do we REALLY need it? Hmmm....
What are they good for?
We intend to use it so we don't get rain drops into the tent from the door (tunnel tent you see. sloping door) but more importantly, combined with a wind break....it will make a cheap area to cook in and store boogy boards/ snorkelling gear/ muddy shoes etc. in.
Basically a "poor mans" Khyam sun canopy which are out of stock everywhere and cost about £85.
------------- (Quechua popup addict!)
Planned for next year, hopefully!
Summer Solstice wild camp.
Chilled in a Field, July.
Crantock, August. Fouth year with the fantastic Quechua Base Seconds 4.2!
..... and the odd night wild camping in my Argos 1 man tent...
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No, I don't mind. Yup it is the Coleman Classic Awning, seen here on my Vango Oregon 800. (More pix here.) It's not a bad fit and it does give a decentish shelterd area but it's got several not so great features.
1) It's a vast bit of canvas, 4.4m x 4.5 m approx, and it's held down by only seven guylines. Take my advice and add some more using Clingons, and use Deltas. Also because it's such a big piece of canvas it's a total bugger to put up if it's windy.
2) It is only a sun canopy. It's okay in rain, but if the wind gets up then get the canopy down toot sweet. If a good strong gust got under it then it would probably rip clear despite the Deltas. Never double up pegs with your tent and don't attach it to the tent directly. Fair to moderate weather use only IMHO>
3) You'll see from some of my website pix that the canopy guylines are running directly over the tent pole sleeves in some places. I think that even in a light breeze the canopy would move around enough for the guylines to abrade holes into the sleeves. I've now got some neoprene tubes (similar to the ones used on kids' seatbelts, find in ££ shops) to put round the guylines at these spots.
4) I think it would fit most level-topped tunnels. We originally tried it on our Gelert Cadiz 7 which had a sloping top, and we could never get it to fit well. Also if you look at the pix again you'll see that it's pretty big even on our Oregon 800, which is 6.80m long. We think it would be a bit big for our smaller Oregon 600 which is 5.6om long.
5) Looking at the Argos link I see it's fitted onto a porch pod on a dome tent. I seriously worry about this, tbh, because it leaves a terrific amount of that huge canvas out front with not many guylines on it. This canopy was originally designed for the Coleman Canyon which is a tunnel tent. And as I said above it was first marketed as a SUN CANOPY, not an all weather shelter which is what the Argos page seems to imply it is.
6) The price of it has always been around the £25-ish mark in past years. I got my blue one a wee while back when it wasn't a popular idea to have an additional canopy and it was on discount at £19.99. Never seen it lower. I don't think the blue has been made for a couple of years.
Post last edited on 28/01/2009 18:08:24
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Quote: Originally posted by julie-pooley on 28/1/2009
omg i really want one now but i want it in blue. Does the fact that it touches the top of the tent affect it's ability to stay waterproof?
It doesn't affect the waterproofing, nope. They're both synthetic canvas after all. The HH of the Coleman is pretty low anyway (seem to remember 800HH from somewhere) as it's only a sun canopy, but that's fine for most purposes. The shape of it means it sheds water and there's no seams to leak. You might find it makes the interior of the tent a bit gloomy where it has the double layer, that's all.
Reminds me...there's an almost identical looking canopy made by Jack Wolfskin which is one serious bit of kit, with lots more guylines. It costs a fair bit more too! I'll go look for a link when I'm back from DS's rugby training.
I have reserved one in Argos and picking it up tomorrow. I wanted the blue one last year as on that one weekend out of 52 weeks when it was hot and sunny (nope not many others remember that either, was a blip) then it would have been good to have on the coleman trailblazer for the kids to sit under on the picnic mats. The trailblazer has gone to the big recycling centre in the sky but have bought the new (and mucho more expensive) GREEN canopy for the Coleman Cedar Creek. Now it may not be ideal for that shape of tent but figured it won't be that last Coleman I get. I shall try it out when we have the next sunny weekend, I understand this year is the second weekend in July so best plan for that now......!
------------- 2011-
Dec/Jan -Cornwall nr Padstow (cottage)
Feb - our garden (tent)
March - Llangollen (cottage)
March -Town Farm, Bucks.
April - garden..again..need to get out more...
May - Acoustic Festival of Britain Uttoxeter
Just remember...extra guylines, Clingons and good pegs, plus some padding for guylines if necessary. Oh, and a flag to hang on the front centre guyline. I lost count of the number of times someone walked straight into it, and it's not one you can leave off.
I think I will end up holding out for when places start stocking the Khyam sun porch again, or perhaps go for the Khyam Canopied 4-Pole Windbreak you mention. Apart from not stopping the rain entering the doorway it would be a cheapish and easy solution.
Thanks for the info!
------------- (Quechua popup addict!)
Planned for next year, hopefully!
Summer Solstice wild camp.
Chilled in a Field, July.
Crantock, August. Fouth year with the fantastic Quechua Base Seconds 4.2!
..... and the odd night wild camping in my Argos 1 man tent...
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Quote: Originally posted by julie-pooley on 28/1/2009
omg i really want one now but i want it in blue.
Does the fact that it touches the top of the tent affect it's ability to stay waterproof?
We too would like a blue one (to match our Sun Valley 6)I have seen the green ones in Argos but want blue,does anyone know if they are making the blue ones this year.
------------- Sue & Phil
--------------------- I Love My AeroBed
I bought one a couple of years ago and have used it on various tents,think its a great piece of kit for the money.I agree with val_scot about pegging out and taking down if really windy..it is a blue one.
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
Quote: Originally posted by julie-pooley on 28/1/2009
omg i really want one now but i want it in blue.
Does the fact that it touches the top of the tent affect it's ability to stay waterproof?
We have been using an outwell sun canopy on our sun valley 6 and sunncamp eclipse for the last 3 years and not only does it not effect the waterproofness of either canopy or tent, it effectively turns a single skin tent into a double skin tent and makes it so much warmer inside the tent it is astonishing.
Claud
I quite fancy one of these for our Norfolk Lake. It would solve the reported "rain" coming in the door when it opens problem. But if its not up to winds etc, i may think again. Also how do you think it would affect the polycotton?
------------- Always forgive,Never forget;Learn from mistakes,But Never regret;People change,Things go wrong;Just remember life goes on
Cool campers use Delta Pegs.
The happiest people aren't the ones who have everything they are the ones who make the most of everything they have
We bought one of these last year to go on our Sunncamp Evo 400. Mainly because of the sloping entrance to the door. It did cover most of the tent! But as Steve is hopeless in the sun it does add a bit of extra shelter. We put some windbreaks along the sides which made for a good cooking and eating area.
It stood up to a reasonable amount of wind but we are going to buy some stronger pegs this year as those supplied are fairly flimsy. It's not easy to put up if it's windy and you really need at least two people, peg the front down first, it makes it easier.
If any really bad weather was forecast I would take it down but this would only take minutes. But it was worth buying for the extra space if you're staying for more than a night or two. (PS, there's a photo in our gallery)
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Topic: That cheapish Argos (Coleman) tent porch?
