Hi all, just booked up for a week at warren farm in Brean for the first week in June. Also got a week booked for park foot in the lakes in august. Now, for those weeks we will be using our idaho xl, but we also plan on having numerous weekends away without the children.
I have been searching a lot for a 'weekend tent' and have finally settled (I think) for the outwell virginia 5, but unfortunately cant find any reviews. Apparently it's exclusive to yeomans and a good price at £149.99. Can anyone on here recomend it?
Post last edited on 10/02/2010 19:43:44
------------- April 22-25; Pen-y-bont, Bala.
May 28-June 4; warren Farm Brean.
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It's certainly not on Outwell's own website which would suggest that it is a special for one retail outlet.
It appears to be a copy of Vango's well-reviewed Icarus 500. Two differences are that, unlike the Icarus, it has the small canopy over the side door (useful but not perfect) but it wont have Vango's TBS (Tension Band System) which helps stabilise the tent in windy conditions.
As a rule I prefer Outwell to Vango but the lack of TBS may be an issue with such a tent.
Hi
Looks a nice tent and I think this sort of simple tent, weather its a Vango or Outwell wont really matter. The main thing you need to look at re Virginia 5 vs Icarus 500 is the bedrooms. The Icarus 500 can fit two double air beds, one in each bedroom. The virginia 5 has a small double bedroom, more suited to a single air bed and the a larger double bedroom. I would say the virginia 5 would be a good choice if the tent is for a couple, maybe with one child. The Icarus would be better for a couple who may share the tent with another couple or have two children.
I hope this helps
Gary Cross
Retailer
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Depending how many people will need to use the tent, I can highly recommend the Licata 400 as a great weekend/small family tent. If you search the Net you can find it for less than £100 - BARGAIN!!
Sorry to sound like a stuck record, but if you like this tent, then have a look at the Icarus 500 at Camperlands. Only £125 in their current promotion.
I think the bedroom layout in the Vango would be more practical in the majority of cases.
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Liked the look of the Virginia 5, and realised it's essentially an Outwell Minnesota 4 with fibreglass poles instead of steel, and windows in the corner panels. The footprint is almost the same dimensions, except an extra 5mm width in the bedroom area :-
Virginia 5 :-
Minnesota 4 :-
That extra 5mm must make all the difference for the 5th person :-)
Saw it in the flesh today at Yeoman's camping show in Warwick, and it looks on par quality wise with both the Nevada M and Minnesota 4. The places they've saved the money is with the fibreglass poles, and that the room divider is a simple dropdown curtain, rather than a zipped affair.
------------- Tents : Outwell Nevada M, Outbound Oberon 3, Outbound Sierra 1, Pro Action Hike Lite 1.
OK, this is where I admit that TheShaggyDA is my better half :-) I was there and saw the Outwell Virginia 5 with him.
It's really been bugging me that the Virginia is so much cheaper, I couldn't see where Outwell had chopped anything to make that savings, just the fiberglass poles instead if metal didn't seem enough as the Nevada M has them. Now I get it. The inner tent is one piece/one room with a curtain in the middle thats only attached to the ceiling. It has a toggle at each corner to attach it when it's down, and it rolls up horizontally. So where you can take out one of the inner tents in the Nevada, you can't do that in the Virginia.
For the money it's a heck of a tent. One of the things that may rule it out for us is that we have been told there is no extension made for it should we want to add one some day.
Thanks for posting the pics, it has helped me decide to get one, will be ideal for weekend camp trips, and when the grandson wants to come along, seems very good quality and value for the money.
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It does look a great tent, but in the end I couldn't resist the Carolina 3 at £159 from camperite.
I'm off to the Warwick show tomorrow, 'just for a look'.
------------- April 22-25; Pen-y-bont, Bala.
May 28-June 4; warren Farm Brean.
Did you happen to notice whether the eyebrow pole above the side door was pre-angled?? This is an improvement for this year and I just hope it's included in the Virginia.
We took a punt on the Virginia even though we hadn't seen one in the flesh. We've got 3 Outwell's now and happy with them all, so confident this one will be good too.
It arrived this week, but I can't pitch it today as planned because it's peeing it down.
I know many people have recommended the Vango Icarus, but we thought the Outwell was worth the extra few pounds for 2 main reasons.
1. It's 3000mm HH versus the Vango's 2000mm - and surely "waterproof-ness" is the major factor when choosing a tent.
2. The Outwell has insect mesh on ALL doors whereas the Vango doesn't have it on the big front door. This was a major factor for us because it's nice to keep as many doors open as possible in the warm evenings, but without inviting in all the bugs.
Hopefully it will be dry tomorrow, so I can pitch it and have a proper look.
I know many people have recommended the Vango Icarus, but we thought the Outwell was worth the extra few pounds for 2 main reasons.
1. It's 3000mm HH versus the Vango's 2000mm - and surely "waterproof-ness" is the major factor when choosing a tent.
2. The Outwell has insect mesh on ALL doors whereas the Vango doesn't have it on the big front door. This was a major factor for us because it's nice to keep as many doors open as possible in the warm evenings, but without inviting in all the bugs.
Hopefully it will be dry tomorrow, so I can pitch it and have a proper look.
Hi,
Sorry to be a pain, I started another thread on the Virginia 5 and then saw this thread - sorry about that!
When you say the Outwell has mesh on all of the doors, are you refering to the Virginia 5 or another Outwell? We are keen on the Virginia 5 as well but mesh on the doors is very important to us! We haven't been able to have a look at one yet to confirn whether it does or not.
Yes, the eyebrow poles were pre-angled, and yes, the doors have mesh.
We liked the Virginia, but were finally swung by the extra door and bedroom size of the Nevada M. Shame we couldn't get it at the Virginia price though :-)
------------- Tents : Outwell Nevada M, Outbound Oberon 3, Outbound Sierra 1, Pro Action Hike Lite 1.
I've had a look on the Yeoman's website and am just about to press the "buy" button. In looking at the webpage for the Virginia 5, Yeoman's don't seem to have a foorprint for the tent despite the fact that their tent catalogue indicates that there is one - there's certainly not one on the Yeomans website!
Do people think that it would be acceptable to use the Minnesota 4 footprint with the Virginia 5? The specs seem to indicate that they have the same dimensions - eg 3.15m x 4.80m.
For that matter do people think that the Minnesota 4 carpet could be used with the Virginia 5 as well?
I realise that this is early days but I guess the question is directed at those of you who have already made the purchase of a Virginia 5 - namely, what did you do, if anything, for a footprint groundsheet to use with the tent?
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Topic: Outwell Virginia 5
