Just returned from France and now have massive tent envy of Dutch branded tents; Obelink, Hypercamp, De Waard, Carl Denig, ESVO, Karsten....the list goes on!
We have an Outwell Nevada M for 5 years and it has been fab in the rainy Vendee this summer, but I would like to invest in a family tent for hot, sunny hols abroad.
Am now researching and reading threads with interest on this site.
I love these tents for their look, the polycotton fabric, their durability.
I need a tent tall enough for my 6,4 Hubbie and two girls 6 and 4, which rules out pyramid tents.
I like the tunnel tents, would consider a bungalow tent too. And the modular tents look great apart, but for the price.
So where can I view these tents to find out more and hopefully buy one?
I live in SE London and can't nip over to Holland...thank you.
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Karsten has a UK dealer, namely Camping Travel Store, and they are having another tent display between 5-7 Sep 2014.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Quote: Originally posted by kemurf on 25/8/2014
Just returned from France and now have massive tent envy of Dutch branded tents; Obelink, Hypercamp, De Waard, Carl Denig, ESVO, Karsten....the list goes on!
I guess your didn't get to see any Holtkampers?
------------- Ollie
2016
Monplaisir - Provence
Camping Les Gorges du Loup
I'm in a similar position. Ever since finding the Obelink web site I've been really keen on the Obelink Familia 6.
We've been to a few tent shows and looked at the Outwell / Kampa / Vango / etc alternatives but nothing seems to offer the features of this tent for the price (mainly the ZIG and that 2m deep full length canopy with zip in screen).
The only problem is persuading the wife we need one :). This would be an easier job if we could see one set up.
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
One thing to bear in mind with these tents is that although they are marvellous, they are also huge when they're not up. We have a frame tent from c.1980, it's basically the shape of a traditional shed when it's up, with a stick-out kitchen area - and is about 4m x 4.5m. The fabric comes in a bag that is enormous - we remove a seat from the car (Picasso) and it takes up all of the space where you would normally have the seat and a passenger. That does include the separate curtains and inner pods too though. There are also three bags of metal poles - altogether it weighs over 60kg and takes up quite a chunk of car space. I don't think we could do tent + equipment + 4 people without a roofbox or trailer.
They're also slightly tricky to get up in the wind because the frame gets some of it's rigidity from the fabric, or at least ours does, but then some of the poles aren't quite as straight as once they were. They are amazing once they are up though, so quiet and cosy inside compared to 'modern' tents, and I like that I can stand up in all of it (but I'm only 6ft)
We love ours - all the more for it being £85 off eBay - but we will probably get a more modern tent in the sales simply for the convenience of being able to stick it in the boot without dismantling the car and to put it up more quickly. I reckon in good weather we (two adults) can get ours up in just over an hour. This weekend it took about 2 hours, including giving up on the first pitch and finding a more sheltered one :)
Quote: Originally posted by OliverDay on 25/8/2014
Quote: Originally posted by kemurf on 25/8/2014Just returned from France and now have massive tent envy of Dutch branded tents; Obelink, Hypercamp, De Waard, Carl Denig, ESVO, Karsten....the list goes on!
I guess your didn't get to see any Holtkampers?
I had the privilege of seeing a Holtkamper in person, very nice tent indeed, especially the kitchen.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
I have a cotton tent ( a bell) and love the feel of it, even though it is quite bulky. I am thinking of getting a tunnel tent possibly from Obelink but this is what might stop me for now- just look at the size of these bags:
We have just recently bought the Karsten 3600 tunnel tent and cannot fault it. Superb quality and a breeze to put up. Dry in the rain and oh so comfortable in the sun. They are large though, so much so, that we are considering selling and downsizing to the 2800! (See my review)
We also needed a small dome tent for when it is just myself and my daughter and so recently ordered an Obelink River. It arrived today and although I have yet to put it up, a brief check suggests that the bang for your buck is very high. No, it's not a Karsten, but blimey, for £122, I am astonished and how good it appears to be. Will provide a full review (with pics) after it gets used for the first time this week.
Thanks for all your comments, that's great. Yes, they are big, and the Familia 6 is amazing value. We have a Zafira and a roof box so can manage.
But still, nowhere to view these tents in the UK except that one company? These companies are missing a trick!
Cheers.
I don't think you can view most of the Dutch tents anywhere here n the UK - not Obelink, Esvo, De Waard or Baco. Camping Travel Store have Karsten and Cabanon, but not the others.
Quote: Originally posted by kemurf on 27/8/2014
We have a Zafira and a roof box so can manage.
It's a real shame you can't see them anywhere - we took a punt on ours because it was only £80 - these things never wear out really - could you just buy a few second hand ones on eBay and sell on the ones you don't like? I expect now is a good time to buy? Ours is, at a guess, 30 years old, but it doesn't look like it's been used much.
Actually scrub that - get a new one so I can buy it second-hand in 20 years :)
Re: cars - we have an original shape Picasso, so similar in size to your car. We had to remove two seats entirely to fit in:
along with 2 adults and a child. The child was, as is traditional amongst campers, wedged in to a space just large enough for her child seat.
Although our tent would just fit in the roof bag (I think - roof bars are rusted up so didn't try) I wouldn't fancy getting it on the roof - these things are heavy. Anyway, I'm sure you've looked at the logistics, but ours is way bigger than I anticipated when I bought it, and bigger than I remember every time I get it out the loft, so I just thought I'd warn you. We want to take a few more things next time (extra table, bikes etc) so we're going straight for the trailer option.
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Why did I look at these tents - I now WANT / NEED the Familia 6 - and a resonable price for a tent like this too - better start saving
------------- family of 6 and camping novices
July 2013 - River Valley - Co. Wicklow
August 2013 - Nore Valley - Co. Kilkenny
April 2014 - Silver Sands , Wicklow
June 2014 - Camping des 4 verts , Camping Haliotis
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Massive tent envy; Dutch tents/brands
