I remember having a great time camping with my dad when I was young. I don't know if he had the same issue, but the choice out there is frightening. We bought a cheap tent last year on Ebay, wont be doing that again. Can anyone advise on which brands to look out for and where to shop? Family of four camping 4-5 times per year. Weekends and longer holidays.
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Poly-cotton. Reliable ,robust and will last. In your case would not by a polyester tent only poly-cotton. There are various makes out there. You have outwell wolf lake 7, vango salina 600, these are my two favourite poly-cotton tents (will pick one shorty) with the number of people you must have good living space in case it rains. But also remember you can get extensions too. Buy a good second hand tent. You would normally get it half price . Carpet and footprint are a must to keep your tent clean. Happy camping..........
Hi and welcome
Decent brands Outwell, Kampa, Vango no doubt this will get added to and end up a long list.
I prefer to shop where I can actually see the item im buying, has helpful staff and I can take it back if it doesnt work, So a good place to start is somewhere local to you that has a decent display of tents.
Dont believe a 4 person tent will sleep 4 comfortably it wont we find a six berth is ideal for us 2 adults and 2 kids. Try and avoid tents that are overly wide as this could lead to problems with campsite pitch sizes, lots of topics on here about that one
No doubt you will get loads of recommendations on which tent to buy but at the end of the day its down to which one suits you best and is within budget
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Budget would be the most helpful starting point. From there we can help you look at brands and models and whether polycotton is a viable option.
What age are your children and would you want any of them sleeping in with mum and dad or are they old enough to have their own rooms and if so do you want them next to mum and dad or away from mum and dad! This will help narrow down the models and whether a vis a vis style (bedrooms at opposite ends of tent) or more traditional arrangement with all the rooms across the back of the tent is better.
Some extras you could almost put as essentials these days especially canopies or extensions. These give you that bit more overall living space and can be used for wet kit, shoes and general storage or quite often to cook in thereby freeing up the main living area of the tent as just that.
Other extras (footprints and carpets) are not so essential and can always be added at a a later date. However, depending on budget you might be lucky and get a package with these included.
Good brands are Outwell, Vango, Coleman, Sunncamp, Kampa, Gelert and Royal but just look at the tent review section to see how many brands there are! There are definitely some to be avoided though. Don't go near Rage, Leben and Skandika which often appear on ebay but are generally not thought to be worth the money as too many build quality and reliability issues.
Also, once you have started shortlisting tents read the user reviews and as already stated, try and get to a dealer with a tent display to see your shortlisted tents.
As above. Decent tent's are Outwell and Vango. Models are another matter. As already mentioned budget does play a fair part in it all!!! Suggestions could be narrowed down if you let us know you how much you are willing to shell out for your new pad!!! Oh and welcome to UKCS
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Topic: Which brand and where to buy? HELP!
