I am new to the forum, someone on another forum recommended it as you guys are all so friendly. I hope you can help.
We are looking to buy our first tent, for a family of 5 - all children under 8. Budget - max £200 for the perfect tent. Less if we can get away with it.
We plan to give it a go for a couple of weekends this year and if we take to it will use it for 7-10 days next year - although we really have to see how we get on. We plan to go to Haven type sites which I think - if anything - tend to have slightly smaller than average pitches in general (6m * 6m) in addition to more camping orienting sites which have more space. Basically I would like something that gives us flexibility for the future. Obviously because we are tent virgins ease of pitching is also important.
So far I have established that I need 3000HH, and that the Hi Gear Safari 6 (old Gelert Zenith 6 I think) is too big for many pitches despite being a baragin price of £200 and appearing to be luxuary inside. Also having lokoed at a few styles i didn't like the tunnel tents with a bedroom at either end. They feel too enclosed in the living area.
So here are a few we are looking at, and our thoughts. I would be greatful if you could point me in the right direction, add comments and offer alternatives. They all appear to get good reviews on here (except matrix X6 which has not been reviewed yet)
Coleman Matrix X6. On paper this is our favourite. Generous sleeping and living areas. 6000HH. 6.5m by 4.7m so should squeeze it onto a Haven pitch? Can't find any reviews though (I guess it is new?), and haven't seen it in the flesh. £175
Vango Orchy 600Bedrooms seem spacious so a bit of room for storage. Skylights make it feel more spacious. I wasn't as keen on teh fact that it is an all in one tent with the bedrooms sewn to the main groundsheet. I think I can get this for about £170-£180. Felt sturdy in teh wind when I viewed it today!
Gelert Lakesbury/Hi Gear mojave 5. Very spacious for a small footprint. Didn't seem fantastically stable in teh wind at the show field though. Front and sides both open up to canopies making it feel more spacious (as long as weather allows), bit little sotrage room outside main living area. At £199 this seems less of a bargain cmpared to my other shortlisted ones.
Gelert Horizon 8Bit of an wildcard. I think I have seen this for £200ish. Not overly keen on the tunnel layout but we would probably only use 3 bedrooms at most have at least 1 bedroom for storage/inetgrated with living area. If we only need to use 2 bedrooms we can open up 1 end and use it like the Mojave/Orchy, giving us as much space as the Sahara. At 7.5m long this won't go on all of the standard pitches....
Any help, advice, other suggestions you can give much appreciated.
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Seen some good starter tents at Halfords. I've been using a Halfords voucherto save money when I buy online from them. I see they're offering a family tent pack with a discount at the mo. That might help you out. That Halfords voucher page also has offers for other camping stuff.
I did look at the Halfords pack but was steered away by bad reviews (1500HH; poor quality air beds). We also have airbeds and some sleeping bags already so don't need the extra's in that pack (although wouldn't say no to extra's like cooking stuff; footprints etc. if such a pack exists).
The Halfords tents do not have good reviews. Go for a decent brand that wont leak, fall down in a slight breeze and therefore wont put anyone off camping.
Here are a few that may suit a family at good prices...
I said this on another post but have a look at the Outwell Iowa, it's one I'm considering at the mo. It's a 6 berth, 3000HH, easy to erect, sewn in groundsheet and costs £199.
I've just noticed that you didn't like tunnel tents with a bedroom at each end which is what this is...That'll teach me to go diving in without reading the post properly first!!
Get a cheap one and assume you will need to replace it after a few goes.
After all, you use phrases like "give it a go" and "camping virgins" so you will not know whether your family will enjoy camping. There is no point maxing out your budget if you use it once.
As you have a family get a cheap package deal with mats and bags to reduce costs.
If you decide that camping suits you all then you can slowly up the quality of your gear.
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Thanks for the idea's Angie. There are a couple of possibles in there. How important are SIG and HH? The coule of Angies that I like the shape of are either 2000HH and/or no SIG.
No worries Bickers. Out of interest I googled it anyway just in case. It is just that the ones we saw on display weren't to our liking - at least the 6 birth ones weren't.
How do the ones I have selected stand up? These (with exception of the Coleman which I really, really, really like on paper) are all ones which I have been able to look at in the flesh - so would be more confident chosing these IYSWIM, or would chose something with similar dimensions of another brand as I know what the space feels like.
Family of 5 plus stuff, loads of living space required , this fits the build . You can have a bedroom spare for a while for extra storage. The Coleman punches way above this price point ,and is going to be a fundamentally stronger structure than most you have mentioned, though in fairness you have a good shortlist , so I feel you have the instinct for picking the right choice. Just bear in mind every pound saved on the purchase of a tent as a compromise will cost many times that as you try to address the compromises made. Anyway , all the best.
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We have been camping a couple of times before - but with others, without children and with no adverse weather. We are confident that we will be using it for weekend breaks in the future. I guess what we are less confident of at this stage is wether we will use it for our main holiday.
We are in 2 minds. Go for a cheap tent to test the water in case we don't like it - OR go for something which will suit for a few years, which we will be comfortable in to get us a better chance of "enjoying it" - and - perhaps have re-sale value if we absolutely hate it. At the moment we are leaning towards the latter.
Thing is we loved the He Gear Sahara 6 which is a pod design. And at £199 (in a couple of weeks from Go Outdoors) is an absolute steal. We were all set to buy it - it looked like the perfect tent for us.
Having looked at it a little more we are worried that size was an issue (it comes in with an overall size of approx 8m*7m), and complexity for pitching by novices. Only 1 of 3 campsites I called today would be able to take it without booking 12m in advance. I would worry that the Matrix X9 would have a similar problem at 7 by 7m. The X6 seems like a nice compromise at 6.5 by 5m.
I would just like to see it before i buy....
------------- I know not where to start!
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Sorry , you have me at a slight disadvantage . The Hi Gear Sahara 6 is currently £349.99 on the Gooutdoors site . Are you aware of a future offer ? I would not be put off by the size of a tent for fear of not getting a pitch or additional charges. There are plenty of sites that are not preturbed by size or driven by greed .
Yes the sale brochure we have had through the post. It will be at £199 for 1 week from 15-21st June. Not sure whether that is online as well as instore.
Thing is I called 3 sites we would like to go to - because family have static caravans on hte same site and only 1 would take it. It does put me off. It also make me wonder whether it is a little excessive as a weekender.
I do not think you have any worries there . Obviously you have strong connections with the site, so unlikely to be refused on grounds of size. Also I assume that other family members from the statics could be around to help . The Matrix will be easier to pitch ,and the living space will be more useable, you have less corners.I will put my thinking cap on now and think of other alternatives.By the way , any other offers worth posting in the one week sale ?
Is there a special part of the forum to post offers? Most of the other delayed offers are on smaller tents or accessories, clothes....but happy to post direct to this thread (or a new one) them if appropriate.
I am very much leaning towards the Matrix (X6) now that I have seen it. It looks sturdier (the sahara seemed a bit thin on the flysheet and I think it was more the perception of space rather than actual space).
With HHof 6000, this is comfortably waterproof for UK conditions.If it is like my Evolva, then I would exect after a day familiarising yourself with it , you could have this pitched within 30mins, and that does take you into family weekender territory .
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Topic: First tent. Where to start?
