Hi Guys, We have a Khyam Freelander tent and are very disillusioned with it mainly due to the design faults mentioned in the tent review pages of this site, but I also found it not easy to erect and impossible to get back into it's bag, however, the tent size is great and the headroom useful, we're now considering the Royal La Rochelle 4 Person Tent, has anyone any opinions on this tent please? Thanks Guys.
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Hi Fofeg & welcome to the forum I've never seen the La Rochelle in the flesh, so I can't comment. However, the tent which many campers on this forum are recommending is the Outwell Nevada 3, which is currently on sale for £89 at Go Outdoors. I've seen one in their showroom & I was quite impressed. It would give you about the same size sleeping & living area as the Freelander, but apparently it's quick & easy to erect, plus it has a full sewn in groundsheet.
Hi Fofeg. It might be worth taking a bit of time looking around this sector of the tent market before making a decision as there are plenty of dome and tunnel or tunnel tents of this sort of size and price. The La Rochelle does have the important advantage imo of having a second, side door which makes it much easier to get in and out in the rain without turning the inside of the tent into a paddling pool - which is what tends to happen if you only have the one big front door, as with the Nevada 3. The La Rochelle looks a reasonable tent but possibly a bit pricey for what it offers?
------------- Tackling life the Western District way
If I were to replace my Freelander, then it would have to be the Cabanon Pacific with just one sleeping pod.
This way, it can then be used throughout the year, as I would be able to cook inside when the weather is foul outside.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Thanks for the replies Guys. I've owned several tents over the years, the nicest one I owned was an Astec Sala3, recently sold on eBay, my only gripe with that was having to thread the poles through long sleeves, I like the short sleeve and hook type system, as on the Royal. I don't feel that the Khyam pole system helps at all, it makes the tent heavy, vulnerable to ripping and difficult to pack away, in any case, I think pegging out the guy lines takes far more time and you need to put out all of the Freelander guys to make it stable even in a breeze. There's also that stupid door position, I can see the point of having a streamlined profile, flat fronts tend to billow inwards in a wind, but a door instead of the mesh side window would have been great. The groundsheet is a dead fit consequently rain tends to get under the tent side wall and run into the center of the sheet. I think that tent is way over priced. I'm sorry my first post turned out be be a grumble. I have a very good quality traditional 3 berth canvas Lamont alloy frame tent in my loft, if it wasn't so heavy I'd get that down and use it again.
Oh, I've never heard of a Lamont! Canvas, with alloy poles, sounds lovely! Why not get it down and have a fresh look at it? It might be heavier than a nylon jobby but could well be easier to put up, stronger and more comfortable
------------- Tackling life the Western District way
Hi Merry, Lamont used to be a French quality tent maker, I'm not sure if they're still in business. The canvas tent would be great if camping for 3+ nights, but I guess I'm still searching for the Holy Grail of camping, a tent which pitches and de-pitches itself...even puts itself back in the bag. The new Pop-up tents are getting close to it. I even bought one of those, a Quachua XL3, but the porch wasn't big enough to be useful, we used it once then sold it on eBay, you couldn't stand up in it either but pitching it, and de-pitching it, was easy peasy. I think someone should use the Pop-up scheme but in two halves, so's you could get a bigger tent, i.e., two,large Pop-up tents joined together, after pitching....any production designers out there?
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
I had the same problem - I own a Khyam QE Highlander, which is fine for quick stays, but wanted something bigger for longer stays, something i could stand up in, but be able to put up on my own.
As i get on so well with my Highlander, I was planning to get the Freelander, but having heard all the problems encountered by people, decided against it. I plumped for the Outwell Nevada 3 (as mentioned in previous article). It did take me 30 mins to erect, but that was the first time and i did it on my own - a small 5'3" female, so consider that pretty good! I expect it to get faster as i get more used to it.
It's a great tent, btw and very pleased with the purchase!
I believe I have solved the issue with the door by having an industry strength canopy over it.
The canopy is 4m x 3m, and I placed one end just over the highest point of the tent, and the front extend about 2m beyond the door.
It managed to stay up all weekend so far. I used 12 x 6mm guys, 2 on each king pole, with clamp cleats (these are great) and Delta pegs.
I'll post a pic of my set up when I am back at base, as internet connection at the campsite is rather slow!
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: tent same size as Khyam Freelander?
I've never seen the La Rochelle in the flesh, so I can't comment. However, the tent which many campers on this forum are recommending is the Outwell Nevada 3, which is currently on sale for £89 at Go Outdoors. I've seen one in their showroom & I was quite impressed. It would give you about the same size sleeping & living area as the Freelander, but apparently it's quick & easy to erect, plus it has a full sewn in groundsheet.
The new Pop-up tents are getting close to it. I even bought one of those, a Quachua XL3, but the porch wasn't big enough to be useful, we used it once then sold it on eBay, you couldn't stand up in it either but pitching it, and de-pitching it, was easy peasy. I think someone should use the Pop-up scheme but in two halves, so's you could get a bigger tent, i.e., two,large Pop-up tents joined together, after pitching....any production designers out there?
