OH and I have camped for years, first in a 2-man but quickly upsized to a 5-man (venture 500) which has served us brilliantly for many years home and abroad.
However, with the arrival of sproglet last year we really have outgrown it, particularly for living space and storage, and want to do a fortnight in France next year.
Been looking for a while now and we keep coming back to the 8-man vis-a-vis tents (Tigris 800 and Gelert Horizon 8 in particular) - but would this really be too big for 3 of us?
We like having a big bedroom (space to get dressed!) and another for sproglet, but then are debating whether the 6-man ones we've seen really give us enough storage space.
How does everyone else get by? Any other suggestions? (BTW our tent budget is around £250 + a BIT extra for accessories so can't stretch to Monty etc)
Oh, and OH is 6'1" so likes headroom!
Any advice greatly appreciated!
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We are a family of 3 including a 3 year old lad and went for the Vango Columbia 600 as it has a 2/3 bedroom option, large open living space and enclosed wet weather entrance for wet shoes, balls, toilet at night, etc. The 2/3 bedrooms means that the large bedroom with divider gives us and our son our own "space" but I can reach over and tuck him back in his bedding at night without getting out of bed. The other separate bedroom is then used for storage, keeping the living area free from clutter. In the living area we have a kitchen set up, separate playmat/ Thomas trainset area and dining area - so plenty of room! An 8 berth would IMHO be overkill - but some like big!
The steel poles, the TBSII internal strapping for windy weather and 5000HH waterproofing also means that the tent is incredibly stable. At the moment there are still a few around for £280 or even less in some retailers (RRP in 2009 £450) - a real bargain for a top end featured tent. For the extras - those for the similar shape but lower spec Sungari 600 will fit.
Imho there is no such thing as "a tent that is too big for us".
Most manufacterers are a little , how shall I put this, over enthusiastic or optimisitic when it comes to declaring their tent is a 4 person eg. What they mean is , you can fit 4 self inflating mats (60cm wide max) in and the people sleeping on them must have no gear and must not be wider than the mats.
So add 2 berths on to make up for this.
That brings you to 5 berth .
Then with a sproglet (your words not mine lol) comes lots of gear so adding another berth for that wouldnt do any harm :)
If you're heading to France then I'd say yes, a tent can be too big. For some of the sites we've stayed on you'd struggle to get some of the bigger 8 berth+ tents and a car on to the pitches. Something to bear in mind maybe.
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it causes you problems to store or transport it, if you can't put it up or down as safely or quickly as you'd like by yourselves, if you'd struggle to dry it off when you take it home wet, if you'd find yourselves weighing your trips down with extra gubbins just to fill up the space.
All of those reasons are very personal and down to individual judgement.
------------- Tackling life the Western District way
How about say the Tigris 600 plus a side canopy, to keep the cooking stuff etc out the main tent? If you got the one with the door it would hold quite a lot of stuff. We (family of four, 2 adults + kids of 14 & 9) use a similar older style of Vango (Oregon 600) as a weekender tent, add the side canopy for a bit of extra sheltered space if necessary and use our Oregon 800 as a long stay tent, with or without canopy as desired. A canopy gives a lot more flexibility and also protects the side door so you can leave it open when it rains and also is a welcome bit of shade in summer.
Have to say though that there's not a huge amount of difference in either pack size or pitching speed between our Oregon 600 and 800. Also they're both long skinny tents so usually fit on most pitches. Never had any problems with either. The Tigris is a direct descendant of the Oregon in general design and size so the same will apply to it. I'd just go for the 800 tbh.
Helen - I did see the Columbia 600 last year and LOVED it, but couldn't convince OH (and it was a fair bit dearer then...) - now I think he wouldn't consider one that he couldn't look round first, so with it not being a current tent I think my chances of changing his mind now are scuppered
We're not too concerned about pitching etc the tunnel tents as they look fairly straightforward with only 5 poles (hahaha, "famous last words", I can hear you all sniggering now!!!) and just a bit more pegging out than we're used to.
I do like the canopy/porch idea but they are about £100 extra and make an already big tent much bigger again!!! Is it generally difficult to get these accessories a few years down the line when there might be a bit more cash and the family might have expanded a bit more?
Am thinking we might go shopping again tomorrow, not sure where will have the best display this time of year though.
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In my, admittedly very limited, experience the answer would be no, a tent can't be too big. As far as tents are concerned at least () bigger is definitely better! I took my two girls away in August in a borrowed "4 berth" tent. It may have suited four people of very limited stature, with no fear of confined spaces, but the three of us were very cramped. My girls however were very keen to camp again so I agreed on the one proviso that I had to have a tent I could stand up and move around in! So I just bought a second hand Vango Diablo 600 off ebay for the next trip and I reckon it should be just about right for the three of us. And on that note I really recommend checking out ebay - you'll be amazed what you can pick up well within your budget now the end of the season is almost on us.
I agree that manufacturers' tent berth numbers are based on undersize bed/people sizes, and that one should allow an extra 2 berths for comfort.
I use a 3-berth tent for me and my dog, and a 4-berth one for two people and the dog, and they were just right.
DK
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We have the gelert horizon & which we used with the porch and a pup tent for 5 of us plus dog. We have also used it when it has just been the two of us with no kids without the porch - it was great, slept in big pod used small pod for toilet/bowl for getting washed. Left one pod out where we set up table/kitchen prep area. We have just invested in a van with a 3/4 conversion which we will sleep in but are still planning on using the horizon for long holidays to sleep the kids and provide a living area for us. Little ones need lot's of room to play when the weather is bad so if you have the budget and the space I would say an 8 berth is perfectly reasonable.
As an aside I can certainly vouch for the horizon tent it withstood some pretty horrid storms with no problems.
We are a family of 4 (girls age 4, and 4 months) We have a Vango Icarus 500 and canopy for short trips - pretty cosy, and a Kalahari 10 plus porch for longer trips - huge! - Could easily cope with one inner only, and have a massive living space, but ample with both in - me and girls in 1 bedroom, DH with big camp bed in other, plus a pod for the toilet, and a store room. Luxury. Room for visitors too.
Storage is a consideration with the Kalahari, as is transportation as previously mentioned, but I love it, and if you get to G.O. at the right time, within your budget.
------------- stinkypinky
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tent sizes are only a guide, for a weekend tent the berth number should be 1 and half times so 4 people equals 6 berth tent, then for longer trips the size needs tobe doubled so 4 people need an 8 berth tent to live in comfort. so what you're look at would leave room for a growing family as you are.
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Topic: Can a tent be too big?!
