I've had a cheap £70 Quechua 4 man tent for a couple of years and its done us well. But now i want to replace it with something bigger and better. I camp on my own with my kids usually so I want something that's easier to put up, probably an inflatable tent. I have a limited budget of £400 maximum and have looked at the Quechua inflatable tents but really would prefer an integrated ground sheet and darker bedrooms. I have looked on eBay and come across several vango airbeam 6 man tents second hand and ex display, some are 70d and 4000mm HH and some 150d and 6000mm HH. I have seen a kinetic, a spectrum, an odyssey and an exodus.
My question is if these tents are earlier airbeam models how reliable might they be? I think the spectrum is one of the first airbeam models and this particular tent is third hand.
Anyone got any advice for me or can suggest any other inflatable tents that i could get for my budget?
Thanks
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Air beams are usually made up of a soft bladder (a bit like an inner tube) a tough, zipped casing round that, and all this is zipped into an outer sleeve which is sewn into the tent fabric. The problem with early or cheap air beam tents is the tough casing between the bladder and the fabric outer sleeve. Pre-2016 these are made of woven PE which tends to split wherever a line of stitching runs parallel to the weave.
It's not the end of the world as you can reinforce the sleeve with tape at the weak points, but it's a bit of an effort to do. Ours nearly exploded last year but we caught it in time and I posted this thread, which gives an idea of what's involved. Our tent has gone 40 nights on those repairs so far.
If you're buying second hand you won't have the manufacturer's warranty, so it'd be worth getting the vendor to inflate it so you can inspect the inner sleeves. If you do this it's very important to drop the pressure of each beam before you unzip the outer sleeve, because if the inner sleeve is torn it's only the outer, fabric sleeve preventing a blow-out.
With second hand and particularly ex-display tents, watch out for UV degradation of the fly sheet. A 70D tent which has been up for 10 weeks outside is pretty much end-of-life.
Thank you TimCESmith, that is exactly what i am worried about and the thought of that happening when I'm on my own with my children fills me with horror!
I did look up UV degradation as well so i think i will steer clear of ex display models.
Are all new inflatable tents made with the better casing or just the more expensive ones? If i can get over the light and lack of integrated ground sheet, the Quechua ones are within my budget.
I really wanted to get an inflatable one as it's the only part of camping on my own with the kids that i hate. I'm usually red, sweaty and fed up by the time I've put the damn tent up and taking it down is a hassle as well!
My understanding is that most shops' own brand tents still feature the old woven sleeves. Vango upgraded their tech in 2015 and Outwell in 2016. I'm afraid I don't know about the other brands.
Compared with, for example, fibreglass poles in strong wind, early tech air beams in hot sun aren't too bad a bet, particularly if you camp in the UK. You could put one up for its practice pitch and spend an hour or two reinforcing the weak points with a good cloth tape from the off. If the inner sleeves haven't already split, you only need to wrap round the outside of the grey sleeve, so it's not a difficult job.
I do about half my camping with just my young daughter and most of the time it wouldn't be practicable without an air beam tent. As it is, we get to camp year round and have enjoyed some truly horrendous weather. Like you I was worried by the 'exploding tent' threads and lived in fear of something like that happening to us. Once it did though, and we were able to fix it (in much the same way as one might bodge fix a fibreglass pole) it became a lot less of a concern. In fact I'm on the lookout for an airbeam tent for a single mum friend at the moment and will definitely end up getting a cheapie and wrapping the beams.
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Thanks. Following your initial reply i did more of a thorough search online for new vango airbeam tents and i came across this one which is well within my budget. It's a 2016 model as well although i might splash out and go for one with a porch (though u put them up with a pole i gather which rather defeats the object!)
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Topic: Second hand inflatable tent advice needed
