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I am totally new to camping, we are a family of 4 (2 small children) and are keen to take up camping this year.

So far me and my husband have narrowed our choices down to the Vango Maritsa 500 (2010 model) and the Khyam Ontario 8.

Obviously there is a price difference between the two, however I like the porch on the Vango, it is 3000 hydrostat and the Khyam is 5000 hydrostat. I know that we could purchase a porch (not sure of exact name) for the Khyam.

As the Vango is more expensive, would you recommend a second hand one?

What are you opinions, any help would be much appreciated.

Thankyou

What makes you like the Vango Marisita 5 man as opposed to the Vango Icarus 600 and it's porch? I don't really see the point of the Marisita myself, I'd rather a rectangle shape all the way through than a point where it get's narrower.

Khyam have an extension called the Atrium but I don't think it fits on the Ontario tent as the Ontario has a side entrance. Hopefully someone here knows more about that. It is alot of tent for the money and one of the things I like about it is that each bedroom pod is separate and you can leave one or two out to increase the living space if you don't need all the bedrooms.

I prefer the Icarus 600 because I like having all the bedroom pods at one end and then a large living room at the front. That's just my own preference and I know alot of people like the central living space with the bed pods each side.

I think that if you can possibly get to a place where there are a few tents erected, that would really help you to decide. I know when you're looking online you can get tent overload and that's where seeing them in the flesh really helps.

And a big Welcome to the forum!

We bought the vango maritsa 500 last summer as camping newbies, and are very impressed with it.  Great living area, 2 seperate double bedrooms and a walk in wardrobe, plus as you mention a front porch which we used as a kitchen.

Looking at the Kham Ontario, it certainly looks a little more cramped, but available  at £100 less than the maritsa.  I would always look at more living space which the maritsa gives rather than wasted bedroom space.  For our next trips this year we have already purchased the front enclosed canopy for our maritsa 500 and there is only me and the oh and our dog.

Yes the 2010 Maritsa is only 3000 hydrosat, and I have read a few reviews regarding leaks in the 2010 maritsa range ( 2011 range now 4000 ), fortunately we had no rain on our hols last year so cant comment.

I would reccomend spending the extra money at the outset on a tent with greater living space, but as a newbie I am sure others will be along soon with more oponions.

Happy camping

The main difference would be that the Maritsa is a steel poled unit whilst the Ontario is only a fibre one.

The maritsa has two living areas where the ontario has on

Hydrostatics heads are just a promotion tool as any tent is waterproof in the Uk from 1500 mm onwards and once a tent is waterproof then it doesnt matter how high the HH is its still waterproof.

The Maritsa has a wardrobe with hanging rail built into it.

Overall the Maritsa is twice the tent the Ontario is Imho. Others will disagree I know but its horses for courses and you cant really compere these 2 tents are they are not the same.  Compare a horizen 8 or haven 8 or atlanta 8 as they are the same but theres nothing like the Maritsa out there so no comparison.

Have you seen Kampa's variation on the Maritsa:- www.kampa.co.uk ?

helen

I can highly receommend the Ontario 8 - we love ours.

Spacious living area, large bedroom pods which can be removed giving even more living space, genuine 8 berth (can accommodate 75cm wide airbeds rather than 65cm mats), standing height throughout, SIG, 5000HH, large windows, excellent ventilation, quick and easy to pitch.......

Ours is 4 years old now and has withstood everything the great British weather has ever thrown at it and it still looks like new.

You can buy the sun porch and carpet to turn it into a real home from home.

You get a lot of excellent quality tent for your money.

tbh all this uv exposure comments are really an excuse for some to buy a new tent most tents would have to have some serious prolonged uv exposure to cause serious damage.

there is still a tent in my family that is about 30yrs old and still in good yearly working order!! its been to Spain/France/Italy~~~~~~good uv exposure!!!

do we really get that in the uk at such high exposure as these countries??

it amazes me how some say a poloyester tent will be good for 5 years??

again maybe if used 365 days prolonged use!!

on the maritsa looks good my friend has bought one recently his rained in by windows as previously stated in reviews but he cured this with seam seal Khyams are excellent tents.

A modern 75 denier polyester tent is anticipated to last about 6 months exposure under even "Welsh" UV exposure before the flysheet starts breaking down. For example, most tents in outdoor tent displays last just about a season. It depends how much you use the tent in a year as to how long it will last. Keeping tents in such as attics with extremes of cold and heat can also affect the life span of a modern tent. There are tents that have lasted longer and some that have given up sooner (as reported on the forum over the last year or so), delaminating and becoming brittle.

The 100 denier polyester flysheets used by Kampa in their "feel the difference" Ultimate range will have potentially double the UV life span of the standard 75 denier polyesters used by such as Vango, Outwell, etc. Khyam use 68-72 denier in their tents. The higher the denier of the polyester, the longer the natural UV life span of a tent, but also the more bulky and heavier the pack size.

A long lasting tent from years gone by could well outlast a modern polyester tent, it just depends what it was made out of.... nylon, higher denier thicker polyester, cotton.....etc. Manufacturers in recent years have gone for materials that reduce pack-size and weight, but the reduction in life-span may be the cost.

Helen

wow Helen!! excellent knowledge on the uv factor well impressed!

as you said depends on use of tent

what im trying to say is i think a tent will last longer than 5 years as a few say purely on the basis of actual time used each year + tents on show all season get bashed by all year round weather and uncaring customers lol

im really liking the Kampa stuff ~ maybe one day !

Thankyou very much for your replies, it makes good reading and is giving us some food for thought.

The Meristsa, we'd seen was a 2010 display model which has probably been outside since the start of 2010 season.

Many thanks for your replies, please keep them coming.