hmmm..my 'devon-delight' of a bell tent, has a 'canvas and cast label' sewn on in devon..the rest of the work is done ...in China!!! i though this was pretty normal!
maybe we need a listing on here of all the cheap nasties that are out there for the misfortunates to heed from!! a lot of these tents are ok to see if you like camping, but not for actually camping in lol
ultrafitt (our first mistake lol)
skandika
pro action
tesco value
halfords
errrmmm....any more for the list??
------------- tina xx
mum to 5 kids
DD-20
DS-16
DD-14
DD-9
DS-3 and a half!
and a large, daft, black dog!!
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Quote: Originally posted by tinallkn4 on 18/6/2010
hmmm..my 'devon-delight' of a bell tent, has a 'canvas and cast label' sewn on in devon..the rest of the work is done ...in China!!! i though this was pretty normal!
maybe we need a listing on here of all the cheap nasties that are out there for the misfortunates to heed from!! a lot of these tents are ok to see if you like camping, but not for actually camping in lol
ultrafitt (our first mistake lol)
skandika
pro action
tesco value
halfords
errrmmm....any more for the list??
yes
Rage tents and leben tents two more e bay specials
Quote: Originally posted by tinallkn4 on 18/6/2010
maybe we need a listing on here of all the cheap nasties that are out there for the misfortunates to heed from!! a lot of these tents are ok to see if you like camping, but not for actually camping in lol
ultrafitt (our first mistake lol)
skandika
pro action
tesco value
halfords
errrmmm....any more for the list??
I don't think Pro Action are as bad as the rest tbh. They are a bit basic but they do last for a season or two. Actually I'm not convinced that Skandika deserve to be in there either. Really bad tents are the ones that self destruct when you first put them up, or dissolve in the first rainstorm, or collapse in the first breeze.
Yes, but the other tents mentioned, such as Pro Action and Halfords, are what they are; lower cost starter tents, this Skandika claims a RRP of £719.99 which implies it is an expensive, quality tent being offered at a bargain price, when in fact it's a lower quality tent at an inflated price. How easy for newbies to be drawn in, then disappointed.
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Some of the Halfords tents are actually quite OK if you look at their stats (go on the web site and see - especially some of the web only ones) - it's mainly the £99 all in one family packs that are pretty naff at 1500hh
Slightly off topic, but aimed at Vango lovers. Try spending the night in a cotton Vango Peace 800, when the wind is blowing, and turns through 180 dgrs, so the front is into the wind. The entire front is open, (2.8 mtrs of air gap) as there is no door to floor closure, and the bath tub does not stand up, as there are no fixings. It just baloons about and tries to take off. I say cotton, well really just a plastic bag with a cotton cover. For £250, I think it falls into the Skandika catagory. I have a few other Vango tents, and I've always regarded them as pretty good, but the Peace !!!!!!!
I will be spending ten days in a Vango Aspen soon, and I'm really looking forward to it, as I love it. I think this is the fourth season with it. (don't know why the print style changed)
OK, back too the Skandika debate.
------------- Canvas tent, paraffin light, petrol stove. Heaven
I'd rather be kayaking.
Spent up, not pent up, just had my new tent up.
not sure you can pin this on one or two manufacturers - and I suspect what we have here are 'brands' (in the Nike sense) who design stuff and have it made affordably in China. And companies who just buy cheap and have it labeled as theirs
A good tent needs three things, decent maker, decent design, decent materials
as has been said, most mainstream tents are made in China these days (even expensive ones like Force 10) and presumably in China you have some factories that do a good job and some factories that chuck out cheap tat
That leaves decent design and decent materials - which one would hope the 'brand' companies are caring about. Vango, Outwell and the like have reputations to worry about and teams of people who create product ranges. The reason people trust them is they (usually) do decent design and use decent materials. But even they get it wrong sometimes
In the case of ProAction et al, I suspect you will find they buy whatever a chinese factory is making and have it labeled - why should they bother doing anything else?
As to Skandika I don't know where they sit, the only kit of theirs we have is self inflating mats and they are pretty good
Think I might just buy as ESVO next just to feel smug
a while ago I did some ststs on tent review on here and you can see about 4 makes were noticeabbly poorer in their results
Wonder where Oldham is lurking - not seen him about for ages.
I suspect that they are all made in the same three or four factories in China - just to different plans and with different materials.
I think most of the 'makes' have had at least one bad tent at some point.
The thing about Rage and Skandia and Leben is that they are only sold via eBay/internet and where do you go if something goes wrong and the seller decides not to bother responding to emails and or phone calls.
I'm thankful OH searches for product reviews (and listens to me) before he buys anything 'big' or else he would never have found this site and we would be the not proud owners of a £500 Skandika for £80 - even though we had been caravanning for years before buying a tent.
Quote: Originally posted by dadsbeaniemad on 18/6/2010
The thing about Rage and Skandia and Leben is that they are only sold via eBay/internet and where do you go if something goes wrong and the seller decides not to bother responding to emails and or phone calls.
you go to paypal or the credit card company and they earn some of the money they usually take off their customers - distance selling regs and sale of goods act (not fit for purpose) is on your side too
there is always small claims court too, though not sure how it helps with this kind of thing
in the current economic climate it doesnt take long for companies to get into trouble for shoddy products or shoddy service - so it is kind of amazing that people do still try it on, but they probably always will I guess
I'd like to defend ProAction please I bought a four man ProAction dome from Argos for my daughter to use for a birthday sleepover in the garden. It was ridiculously cheap, 19.99 or somethng. It was perfect for the sleepover on a dry night.
However, a few weeks later we got the chance to go camping up at Hadrians Wall. Long story short, I couldn't afford a decent tent, and wasn't sure I would like camping, so we user the ProAction. Now the week we were away was the week last July when some Lake District campsites had tents floating around the place. We had some serious rain, and the ProAction was absolutely brill in both torrential rain and strong winds.
All I'm saying is, I don't think it's fair to say every tent that a certain manufacturer produces are rubbish. Certainly from my limited experience, our ProAction was amazing value for money and kept us warm and dry.
I have upgraded to a Vango now though!
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Quote: Originally posted by plasticsdirect on 18/6/2010
Hi Gary Lincolnshire.
Can I suggest you visit the Yeomans tent exhibition that is starting in Lincoln in a week or so? They don't carry every tent from every manufacturer but you can get a looksee at many different types. F'rinstance have a look at the Colemans and the Vangos for an idea of the quality difference, also look at the Outwells and compare them to your Skandika. They also carry the cheaper end so you can gauge what a quality product is as opposed to one that isn't so good.
I'm not a fan of the multi location stores, not a fan of corporate greed in any walk of life but you can get an idea of what is on the market and make a more informed choice.
But they don't carry everything, eg: We were looking for a 500 tent, either and Artemis or Icarus. The bod in the shop hadn't heard of the Artemis as Yeomans don't carry it. The same as the Maritsa, we love the 700 but when we asked about the 500 he was blank again, they don't stock it so it doesn't register with them. Check the web sites of the favoured manufacturers and find the one you REALLY want.
I think the old adage of "buy it cheap, buy it twice" rings true on tent purchases even moreso than for many other things.
BTW, you may have probs using ebay and Paypal to complain about your Skandika, I don't think foreign suppliers are as controlled by DSRs as UK suppliers.
Just come across this thread and Im gutted. Having just got back from a thankfully mainly dry holiday camping in dorset (toms field near swanage!) we've had a really bad experiance with a yep, youve guessed it...Skandika toronto tent. The quality is absolutly shocking! ive taken lots of photos if we need to go to the small claims court. Before we went away we put the tent up in the garden as suggested. A pole split. Alarm bells should have rung, but being new to camping I put it down to putting it up incorrectly.It got worse. When we arrived, Up went the tent, Ping! one of the internal bedroom hooks snapped off, Snap! another pole split. The whole tent was falling apart. When it actually rained the rain came pouring in through the roof and windows.the whole tent should just be binned. Although we didnt pay anything like the reccomended retail price, we did pay £184 including p&p. Not sure what to do really. I think we're too late to return it due to terms of conditions etc.... very very frustrated. If anyone would like to see the pics im more than happy to post them up. I am furious, and gutted I didnt read any of this to start with.
To be honest, if i were purchasing a tent for a holiday then I would do a lot of research beforehand. If the tent is useless then that impacts the whole holiday. A hugely inflated RRP reduced massively down is a warning not only with tents but purchases in general. Another warning sign is that the tent is only available from an Ebay shop...
On another topic, I will also defend Pro Action tents. Ive owned 2 and both were fantastic value for money.
Anyway.... I see this is an old thread "resurrected" but hopefully the info in it will be of use to potential purchasers that google Skandika before purchasing!
worldofemma.... terribly sorry to hear of your tent troubles and the pictures would be much appreciated (and leave a review in the Review section) to help future tent buyers.
Firstly Im would contact the seller and if you get no joy lodge a complaint with Ebay/ Paypal. They do tent to favour the buyer in complaints and your pictures will aid you cause too.
------------- (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...
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Skandika tents are not German but Chinese
I bought a four man ProAction dome from Argos for my daughter to use for a birthday sleepover in the garden. It was ridiculously cheap, 19.99 or somethng. It was perfect for the sleepover on a dry night.
