Our Filey has a flat front, but then an additional open fronted canopy, about 1.4 deep.
Like so...
Can't say we've had any problems, but must qualify that with the admission that we have experienced little in the way of storms or high winds when away in this tent.
With what little experience I have, thus far, coupled with my uber-confidence in both my pitching technique and equipment (rightly or wrongly!), I'd have no qualms in having a flat fronted tent for the type of camping we do. Yes, we go in winter, and yes, we camp at the top of the hill at Beechcroft (Peaks/Buxton) and similar, but we haven't succumbed, as yet, to mountains, cliff tops, or rugged beaches!
It may prove folly on my part, but my current plans are to upgrade to a Karsten pod sometime in the near future... but with a flat/vertical front to the awnings!
I know they are more wind resistant, but we just can't seem to get on with sloping fronts!!
As a matter of interest, dmsplat, (Ok, Ok... I'm nosey!!) what are you looking at?
It's pretty much the only new polycotton 6 man we can afford at the moment.
The Explorer 6 is almost perfect (the sloping front has a screen and a canvas door, not shown in the pics), but it's v.long and the extension doesn't zip off for shorter trips / smaller sites. Also, it only has two bedrooms and the guying system at the back is a bit nuts, IMO.
Give me an explorer 6 with a zip off canopy & 3 bedrooms and I'm sold, but right now it's a toss up between the two with the Familia just ahead.
That is a question I am also wondering about having recently bought a flat fronted tunnel. I have had it erected in the garden in a fairly stiff breeze and it seemed to cope. I have only been camping in it once and that was a fairly calm period.
The problem with sloping front tents is that the door is difficult to get at and on going out first thing in the morning you usually get a cold shower from the dew on it, unless you use a canopy, and then that makes it little different to a flat fronted tent.
I always used the side door on my sloping fronted tents whereas I can now easily use the front door (and send the tradesmen round to the side entrance)
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Quote: Originally posted by dmsplat on 06/6/2014I know what you mean, Bob.
In our Sun Valley, we never used the front door as an entrance and used the side doors instead.
I'm a bit nervey about the flat front in the wind, but I guess I'll just have to make my decision and soldier on...
And maybe even bite the bullet and buy a couple of deltas for the front guys, just to make sure they stay put.
And I always said I wouldn't buy a new tent and that Deltas were great, but not completely necessary! How things change!
ROFL...I haven't resorted to Deltas yet but I do have 3 guys holding up the front pole which is a bit of a nuisance sometimes because you can behead yourself on the centre one if you are not careful. I may dispense with that one and just use it on particularly windy days.
I know exactly what you mean Bob61. I used the side door, for the same reason, rarely used the front door, because of the drips of dew. Lololol yuk.
Then bought a flat fronted tunnel, to gain space lost through the slope.
Worried like you how the tent stand up to the wind if hit from the front,for the same reason not to pitch side on into the wind. I know for sure my tent stands up to high winds, but bum into winds.
------------- New Year: Hesketh Bank
Feb/March: Red Squirrel
March: lakes
June: Morecambe
Aug: Lake District(not camping camping)
October: Red Squirrel
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The Familia seems to stand up ok to the wind. We haven't pitched in gale forces winds (!) but we did experience quite windy conditions over the Easter weekend. The mesh zip on front of the porch/canopy seems to act as quite a good wind break if you happen to pitch into the wind. The mesh breaks the force of the wind up a bit rather than it hitting a solid wall - if that makes sense.
------------- August 2013 - Kingsbridge, Devon
April 2014 - Ladram Bay,Devon
May 2014 - Whitehill Country Park, Paignton
July 2014 - Rivendale, Derbyshire
The Kampa Croyde 6 or 8 is very good in bad weather due to the internal horizontal poles that go front to back down each side. You can also buy two sets of webbing storm straps which fit to the already attached clips front and back. This is the most stable steel framed tent we have ever stocked and the classic (poly cotton) is Soooooo nice.
------------- Gary Cross - The masked camping guru.
My Coleman has two clips just behind the front pole at either end which I had assumed was for storm straps but I believe they may be for clipping on an extension.
Our SunValley 6 had a big sloping front door which imo was a downside to what is a fabulous tent.Our Bear Lake 6 has a flat front and an open canopy and we have never been troubled by wind,in fact people have stopped and said how well it stands up to the wind.
The big plus side of flat fronted tents are they give much better internal storage as you can stand units etc right against the flat wall without the loss of space.
------------- Sue & Phil
--------------------- I Love My AeroBed
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A good tip to anyone who has a big sloping front door..We found it difficult to reach right to the bottom to get to the zips to open the door so we attached a piece of guy rope about 2 feet long to each zipper and then you could just pull the guy rope to open the zips without reaching right down into the bottom corners
------------- Sue & Phil
--------------------- I Love My AeroBed
Quote: Originally posted by dmsplat on 06/6/2014I know what you mean, Bob.
In our Sun Valley, we never used the front door as an entrance and used the side doors instead.
I'm a bit nervey about the flat front in the wind, but I guess I'll just have to make my decision and soldier on...
And maybe even bite the bullet and buy a couple of deltas for the front guys, just to make sure they stay put.
And I always said I wouldn't buy a new tent and that Deltas were great, but not completely necessary! How things change!
ROFL...I haven't resorted to Deltas yet but I do have 3 guys holding up the front pole which is a bit of a nuisance sometimes because you can behead yourself on the centre one if you are not careful. I may dispense with that one and just use it on particularly windy days.
Bob you could always get another vertical pole a similar height to the tent, place it 6ft in front of the tent and run the central guy over that before going down to the ground. It might give you a bit more clearance around the front then.
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Topic: Flat fronted tunnels in the wind
