Hi there
Our Wild Country Halo 73 is on its last legs (flysheet is getting weak) so we're in the market for a new tent. Definitely needs to be canvas or polycotton, 6 berth at least (we're a family of 6, kids aged 13,11,8 and 6).
Was originally looking at a 5 or 6m Bell tent, but we're not really the glamping type (all our other tents are rather more 'technical'). Having discovered the delights of Obelink, I was at first tempted by the Palamos 6 pyramid, but I'm not sure it would big enough for us all, especially with only 2 bedroom sections - the Superieur 6 would be better, but no home delivery on that one. Then of course there's the fact that our eldest 2 (daughters) may want their own pup tent soon, which makes the Palamos more feasible.
So now I've almost settled in the Familia 6, but I'm not quite sure about a couple of things - maybe some current users could help.
What is a realistic pitching time for this, assuming groundsheet is already zipped in? Would it be possible for 2 people to do it in 30 minutes? Part of the attraction of a bell tent was the pitching speed. How would the pitching time of a Familia 6 compare to the Palamos 6 (I'm guessing the answer is that it depends on how hard+stoney the ground is)?
How good is the Familia tent in the wind? Our Halo 73 was pretty rock solid because of its beefy central steel pole. I'd rather have out tent pitching direction dictated by views/sun than by the prevailing winds if possible (ie having to have its back end is facing the wind - which normally means facing in the wrong direction if you're on the coast!).
Does the inner on the Familia or Palamos have many pockets? Some Familia pics show pockets on the front of the inner, some don't.
I know the Familia 6 is already pretty huge, but we do like a nice shady canopy, so has anyone had any success using a tarp to extend the front porch size? Does the front porch zip on in such a way that it would be possible to leave a little gap/hole at the top to have a pole to support one end of a tarp (although I appreciate this pole would then get in the way of the front doorway) - does that make any sense?
Many thanks for your help.
Post last edited on 16/05/2015 16:54:44
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We have a palamos and it has around 50 guylines so takes a lot longer to pitch than a 5m bell tent. It stood up well to what we received of hurricane Bertha last August.
I don't recall any pockets on the outside of the inner tent.
The front panel zips on with two zips that start in the top centre so can support a three leg canopy if that is what you are thinking. We have a cabanon rialto canopy that we use with ours although we like to leave the front panel in the middle.
Just spotted this - although I can't currently find the Familia 6 on obelink.co.uk or obelink.nl sites.
I bought a Familia 6 in mid 2014 just after they tweaked the design. One thing to say is that it's huge when it's all up (and not all that much smaller when it's in its bags...)
It hasn't been out in any really windy conditions, so I can't comment on that aspect yet.
General first impressions are that the tent is really good, but not excellent.
Positives
It goes up easily. It's polycotton. It has loads of space and the canopy/porch is really useful. The mesh front keeps the rain out, although I would imagine that if the rain is heavy enough and the wind blowing in the right direction, it might blow through. My wife grew up in a country that uses screen doors on houses and she says it will keep all but the worst rain out more effectively than you would expect.
It has three pockets in each bedroom and a single row of five or six on the front of the inner.
Negatives
The old version had a tensioning bar along the roof but the new version has done away with that, which means it's quite saggy quite a lot of the time.
The blackout blinds are on the outside - this just seems a bit silly to me.
The bedroom dividers zip down the sides, but not along the bottom - If you're on a slope, be prepared to wake up having slid into a different room.
The pack size is huge. Three big bags (although I guess you could split it into five smaller bags, which may work better for packing)
The canopy/awning is quite hard to zip on. I'm 6'1" and had to stand on a box and get someone else to take up the slack in the canvas to get the zips to engage.
Finally, the stitching is quite messy, with a lot of loose tangled threads. The stitching itself seems fine, but there are more stragglers than I was expecting.
Having said all that, we do like it, and it's growing on us as we use it more and more!
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Topic: Obelink Familia 6 or Palamos 6?
