We have had it up in the garden for a few nights, but we are going on our first trip this weekend so I haven't posted a review yet.
It seems fine for what we need, a weekend tent for fine weather. If I was going camping round Europe for several weeks I might spend a bit more and get a "proper" outwell.
I think it is a LOT bigger than our two man! The flexible fibreglass poles do move in the wind but that might be because we are used to a smaller dome tent and we weren't able to guy it out properly because our garden is too small (!)
Overall I thought the quality was fine the seams look strong enough and the windows and doors all have blinds and netting (some of the cheaper tents we looked at had one or the other and not both). One of the eyelets on the side porch door looked like it was under a lot of tension and I'm not sure how long that will last but it doesn't seem necessary to have that pole to maintain the structure of the tent so I'm not too worried.
As it has a sewn in groundsheet I bought a second groundsheet to go underneath. I bought the Outwell Wyoming one, it is 15cm larger all round so we will need to tuck it in. Typically, the following week, Lidl had some cheap tarpualins in which would have done the same job for half the price, but live and learn!
The other thing I bought was a couple of poles so we can open the front door like a canopy during the day time. I'll let you know what I think when we've had our first proper camp.
I wouldn't rush into making a choice, there are loads of tents out there and lots of advice on this forum, maybe try one of the camping rental places first to see what sort of equipment you like?
Thanks for the advice - We have a two man tent for any weekends away (ie. festivals) this summer so no rush really. Though I thought the price was very good on this one so maybe worth going for. Just to complicate matters, I have about £120 on an Argos gift card from trading in a mobile phone that wants using up...
From what my local dealer said there is very little difference in the Vacanza tents from Outwell tents - apparaently they are not selling well so that is why they are really cheap - I hadn't heard of them before but Outwell's reputation is pretty good so will try one out - like the idea of the Montreal 500 style
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Camping for Kiting - if only I was fit enough!
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They initially seemed overpriced for what they were, and there was so little info in the catalogue on them. Outwell are highly regarded, but it's assumed (I think) that there has been some compromises made in the quality to make them suitable for an Argos market, especially since this range isn't available for purchase anywhere else.
I just don't know if this is the case, but it makes me wary. I also wouldn't go by any reviews, as someone who has just dropped £166 on their first tent is always going to be initially delighted. Some of them are laughable as they rave on about being 'waterproof'....they're all waterproof love go and have a lie down....
Anyway they're now at the price they should have been to start with. The alternatives at that price point are the Vango Icarus 500 and 600, the Easycamp Licata, the Gelert Alaska and some of the Hi Gear range like the Caplan. Have a look at some of those tents as they're probably comparable to the Argos range Vacanza.
Also, Argos have started doing Royal tents for online shopping only. There is a four man one which has a downfall in my opinion of not having a sewn in groundsheet. They'd be good quality though, so have a look.
Back to the Vacanza - the 4 man and the 5 man tunnel ones are the best design in my opinion. The larger domes are too fiddly to put up and with all outshot tents, you get no head height in the bed pods.
For two people I'd recommend the one you can stand up in. If that's the four man, go for it.
There is no way that companies like Outwell and Vango are going to risk their name by producing sub standard tents, but however you may find that they do not have sewn in ground sheets or organisers on partitions etc to cut costs, for retailers like Argos.
Have a look at the other tents that are available from Outwell, Gelert, Vango and the like, then it's up to you which you prefer, If you can live without the bits and have money on your Argos card then go for it
If not then use the money on the argos card for some accessories
------------- Steve
Look into my eyes, not around my eyes but into my eyes
The Ottowa looks very much like the Hartford but in blue (the Hartfords were in blue before they were in green but not that 'bright' blue )
HH is only 2500 thouhg - but is good enough.
Bit expensive - you could get more for the money elsewhere and use your card to buy tables etc when Argos reduce them to proper prices.
We did look at the Outwell Wyoming, which is very similar to the Vacanza montreal in Argos. The Wyoming is about 15cm larger (and £100 more expensive).
The Montreal does have a sewn in groundsheet and it does have an organiser partition thing between the two bedroom pods.
The Wyoming has a greater hydrostatic head of 3000 cf 2500 in the Montreal, it also has a game wall and some bats/balls etc.
We looked at the vangos, but we wanted a complete partition between the bedroom pods and the vango partition didn't zip at the bottom. I also kept knocking my head on the inner vango tension bands (we saw one up at a tent show), although I've heard that makes the tent a lot more stable in the wind.
Just waiting for a Vancouver 500 to arrive - according to my local dealer they are the same as Outwell tents and he sounded a bit miffed! Price is so good that I don't think there'll be a complaint on this one! It'll be the weekender that we need!
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Camping for Kiting - if only I was fit enough!
Just to let you know my "Outwell" tent arrived yesterday - put it up in the garden last night - great tent. Having looked at Outwell's at the dealers I can't see a difference except the colour and the wife loves it! It went up easily - about 1/2 hour for a first go! Feels good and just great value and only £174.99 - half price at the moment!
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Camping for Kiting - if only I was fit enough!
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Topic: Vacanza by Outwell at Argos
