Its been a long time since I last posted
I am upgrading my Tigris 600 and extension this year and after living with it for so long I have a great idea of what I want from my next tent:
Polycotton/Canvas.
Aluminium Poled.
Attached porch area (1.5m+) that can be sealed off.
Divides between living area and porch.
3 bedroom compartments that can be turned into 2 if required.
Tunnel tent.
Mesh on all doors.
Front entrance to be vertical, not sloped.
Large enough for a family of 4.
Oh and it needs to fit in an estate car (with roof box)!
Now, with that little list, has anyone got any suggestions for me? I have been looking at the Obelink Familia 6 as this seems to tick all the boxes bar the mesh on the front porch rather than a fully sealed cover...Obelink Familia 6
I've searched and searched but there must be some I have missed to look at...
I have an older version of this tent - and the layout is fantastic. Yes it has a sloping front but this is just on the porch - The old Polycotton outwells are great, I'd take a look at some older style ones too to see if you can find anything secondhand.
at navver, thanks but i'm not going polyester for this next tent.
at katieep, I did look at that tent but the slope on the front is a real put off after 5 years of having water inside the awning everytime you open the door, thanks though!
at p1egan, I seem to be edging towards this tent, seem the best solution for the money and ticks most of the boxes. thanks!
We bought a Familia 6 last year and love it. We had a list of requirements similar to yours and it ended up between the Familia 6 and the Kampa Croyde 6 Classic. We went for the Familia 6 based on price and the bedroom arrangements.
It does take up a lot of space in the car though - but we only had a hatchback at the time (Kia Cee'd). We just about squeezed the tent and all the gear plus two kids (one of which was 6 weeks old so needed a lot of stuff, moses basket, pram, etc).
We didn't find not having door mesh as issue, but there were more bugs inside the tent than our previous Icarus 500. There is a gap at the bottom of both doors that is only sealed with a couple of bits of velcro. This allows bugs in even when the doors are closed. we are considering adding a bit more velcro to seal it better.
We're planning on putting it up in the garden this weekend (weather permitting) to give it a once-over before our first trip of this season. If you want pics of any detail, let me know.
Thanks Jason,
I have looked at the Kampa but I think the Obelink is going to be the tent for us unless I find anything else! I have read your thread now and your review & it is helping me to make up my mind. It does look good in the photos. I have a Focus estate plus full width roof box so I'm not too worried about fitting it in especially, if like you did, I repack part of it! The weather this weekend should be not as rough as of late, can you let me know if you manage to pitch it solo? Also, any pics of the gaps in the doors would be good to see what we would be dealing with. I can make a judgement on taking some additonal velcro with me! I like the idea you had of using lineloks and caribenas, which ones did you fit in the end? I read on the tent reviews that the blinds/curtains are on the outside of the tent is this correct?
If I remember correctly, the windows are mesh on the top half and plastic on the bottom. The mesh top is great for airflow, but it means that you have to have the windows half up if it's raining to keep the water out and the blinds have to be on the outside. They zip shut down the side and are very sturdy.
The weather wasn't too good yesterday, but managed to get the tent pitched today. I have not managed to solo pitch it before, last time I tried to use the "cross camping" method but had issues getting the poles inserted. In the past I have resorted to getting all the poles in then getting help standing the tent up and walking the poles out.
Today I used the reverse of the technique I use to take it down solo; starting at the back with the corners pegged out, peg out one pole at a time.
This is the first pole pegged out:
And the second:
And so on:
And so on:
Once you're at this stage you can get everything square then peg it all out properly and zip in the ZIG. I didn't put the awning out - but I've done that solo before with no problem. Being 6'2" helps with zipping it on though.
I didn't time the pitching time, but checking the camera, there's 17 mins between the first and last pic. Add 10 mins to get the groundsheet out and another 10 mins to get the awning on and the inner clipped in gives around 40 mins to pitch. I wasn't rushing either - had a couple of cups of tea while doing it!
Here's a few pics of the windows to show what I was talking about earlier. This is the window with the blind fully down. It zips shut down both sides. There's nothing at the bottom, but it can't move anywhere.
Here's the window rolled half up, this would let in light and wouldn't be a problem if it rained.
And here's the window fully rolled up, the top half is a mesh that will let in rain but is good for ventalation.
Regarding the doors, here's a pic of the side door (both doors are the similar). This shows where the ZIG zips end. I've circled a couple of clips. You can unclip these and have the doorway completely flat.
Here's a pic of them unclipped:
And the door zipped shut from the outside, note the zips are down both sides and not along the bottom.
This is the same pic from the inside. Here you can see where the ZIG zips end and a couple of velcro areas. I've circled the areas that are't attached - there's a gap here that can get a bit of a draught and a possible entry point for bugs.
If you want any more details, we're planning a trip next weekend, I can take some more snaps then.
Hi JonDoe...cant comment on your choice of tent but I have very recently bought an alaska from Obelink and can confirm their service is top-notch.Check your prices though as they change with the exchange rate.Carriage from Holland to uk was extremely cheap..About £11.00
That's great Jason, thank you so much for those. I can see the velcro and see that it could be easily added to. You mentioned in your review the line locks and caribenas but I cant see them in the photos?
It does look the business though and its great to see the solo pitching method.
at BRYANMITCH & joolsr, they are both nice tents but not what I am after. Thanks though!
One of the reasons for putting it up the weekend was to add the LineLok / Carabinas. I bought them last year but hadn't had a chance to put them on yet, other than a quick check everything would fit. I wrote the review as if I had already done this as it didn't seem worth phrasing everything "i plan to".
We got both from Amazon, I think it was these Clam Cleat Line Loks and these carabinas. I'm pretty sure you don't need the bright colours though :p.
I used the carabinas on any guy that runs through the cloth - that was one for each side guy and a couple at the front. The ones at the front had to be tied with a loop of guy rope to the guy point on the front of the awning. This has made it a lot easier to tighten the guy ropes and will extend the life of both the line and the fixing point.
The Line Loks were just a straight replacement for all of the old runners. I bought two packs of 12 and have a few spares.
Well, its ordered! I've also ordered the LineLoks and carabinas & I'm looking for extra velcro too! I'll test pitch it and fit the bits in the garden when it all arrives. Thanks so much for your help Jason, really appreciated.
So a review is coming shortly but we LOVED our new Familia 6. Its huge and so roomy! Our 2nd pitch (I did a test pitch at home 1st) took about an hour to get it up and all the zips attached. It looked great (the only Polycotton on site) and was a big improvement over our Tigris. Thanks JasonAndclare for your information, it really helped us!
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Topic: Finding the right tent...Help Please
