Am struggling to work out which tent is the best and maybe its a case of flipping a coin! We have had an Outwell Sun Valley 6 for the last 6 years and its done a great job but the kids are getting older, the tent is starting to look quite tired despite tent tape and lots of cans of fabsil and the kids are hoping we change to a pod tent.
I've looked at both the Kasari and the Hartford XL and can't decide - any comments?
Thanks
Davina x
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One thing to bear in mind with "pod" style tents is their large footprints.
Once tents go over 5m wide (which both the mentioned tents do) you may find your choice of sites is more limited. Some sites will simply refuse you, some will charge an excess and some will charge you for 2 pitches, making your trips away very expensive!
We used to have a pod style tent but now use tunnel tents as we find: * they are quicker and easier to pitch * they make better use of the internal space * they fit on a pitch better (never experienced any problems) * the bedrooms are better as the roof doesn't slope so steeply
I've asked myself the exact same question over the last couple of days, as the campsite I went to had lots of the large family dome tents. I was wanting to get one of them, but then saw a deal to get an Outwell Montana Lake polycotton tent for £599 in JR Leisure Leicester that I couldn't miss.
However, as I've been looking at the same two quite closely, I've noticed a few things about the Kasari (i'm assuming the 800) and Hartford XL.
Kasari strengths:
1 - Stand up height is possible in the bedrooms. I'm 5'11'' and the top of my head just touches the top of the pod.
2 - There is a side door which can be opened when the tent gets hot.
3 - Smaller footprint than the Hartford XL - 5.8m x 7m, meaning it may squeeze onto smaller pitches.
4 - Bedrooms are arranged 2,4,2. Meaning the kids (i'm assuming you have no more than 4) get to have the two small pods, while adults get the massive 4-person bedroom
weaknesses:
1 - 2011 model has very small windows
2 - There are two vents at the back near the large pod that can only be closed from the outside, so when it rains you have to go outside to close them.
Hartford XL strengths:
1 - Massive living area, due to the tent being bigger (7m x 7.55m) than the Kasari.
2 - Lots of windows to let in light.
3 - The bedroom layout is more even 3-2-3, so if you have 3 kids, you still get a 3 berth pod.
4 - Initally, it looks like a better quality, stronger tent as it has more crossover points in the poles, but this is reflected in the price difference, as it is generally more expensive.
weaknesses:
1 - Previously mentioned huge size means that some sites will no doubt want to charge more for it than for the Kasari.
2 - The people we spoke to on site about them mentioned that they had difficulty ensuring that the outer fly remained separate from the inner pods, sometimes causing water to come through at the corners.
Overall, I was going to buy the Kasari, until I saw the Outwell Montana Lake.
thanks for info! well I really am leaning to the Kasari and one of the big points is the bedrooms having more height - no one ever wants to sleep in the corner of an outwell as the tent is on your face! and the pitching area being slightly smaller a plus! I'm greedy and want an extension too but even so think it will be worth it and yes the kids will have the smaller pods leaving a nice big pod for me and husband - may even make him go in a seperate one!
I just need to find a campshow to see it in action and I will take a leap of faith!
Thanks
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If youre looking for that type of tent why not consider the Kampa Tenby excellent quality
------------- Experience enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Everything has been said before, but since nobody ever listens we have to keep going back and saying it all over again and again and again
I was reading in the camping mag that they reviewed both these tents and the kasari came out better as it was easier to put up pitching time was 20 mins
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Topic: Vango Kasari or Outwell Hartford XL
