Seriously toying with the idea of air tents... but what if they go wrong?! I'm wondering if any enthusiasts could help answer any of the specific questions that worry us:
Well OK, what are the chances of getting a puncture, or (horror!) an explosion?
If necessary, could you do an emergency repair on the spot? How hard would it be?
Could the rest of the tent still be habitable in emergency if one beam was damaged?
Do they ever come with guarantee - and if so, is it 'real' and worth having?
(We are, possibly blasphemously, considering updating our old and lovely Cabanon frame tent this year. It has been amazing to read all the (conflicting!) advice in my previous thread - thank you!!!)
Post last edited on 20/02/2019 14:04:36
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Hi, I've been there (suffered a burst beam whilst camping). This was on an "early model" as referred to somewhere on your original thread. I currently have a 2016 version of the same (Outwell) tent, and its beams are made from much better materials, and so I do have a great deal of confidence in it. Enough to take it to France for a few weeks each summer etc. I really like my tent. I don't worry about it when it's up, and I don't feel the need to constantly check the pressure.
To answer your questions:
What are the chances? Well assuming it's a current model, I would argue fairly slim. Slimmer, I would say, than suffering a broken pole if the pole is fibreglass.
Could you repair on the spot? Assuming it was just a puncture, and the outer (strength-giving) sleeve of the beam is intact, then yes it can be repaired, in much the same way as, say, an inner tube on a bike. This would have to be done with the beam deflated of course, so the difficulty might be accessing it whilst climbing through a tent that is at least partly down.
Could the rest of the tent still be habitable? Well it would depend on which beam had gone as to weather you could still function inside, but I would suggest in all cases that even if the tent is largely erect, the skin won't be taught, and so wouldn't be rain proof.
Do they come with a guarantee - well yes, usually 12 months, like anything else. Are they worth it? Well if you had a burst beam within that period you would initially be offered a (return to factory) repair, or possibly a replacement inner for the failed tube. Neither solution would help you onsite of course.
Some makes offer spare tubes as optional extras, but they are expensive, and if your tent has beams of various sizes you'll need one of each size. I personally don't have spares. I do understand how the beams work and how they are constructed, and am sufficiently confident that should the worst occur on site that I could repair it.
Just one other point; I don't hold with the argument about high temperatures creating a higher risk of a problem, because in my, unqualified, opinion, a temperature rise from 20 to 30 degrees does not give a 50% rise in the pressure within the tube, as some folk suppose. For these calculations temperature is measured from -273 degrees, and so a rise of 10 degrees is relatively small. But all this has been chewed over infinitely in previous threads.
1) Puncture.
Very unlikely, and you'd be able to fix it with some tenacious tape. Slow loss of pressure is almost always a poorly seated valve, typically because some tent fabric has got in the way.
2) Explosion.
Rare since 2016, because the materials are much improved. I've heard of a couple of cases which were down to specific manufacturing faults which left the "inner tube" element unsupported. Test pitch well before your main holiday to check you haven't got a faulty unit as the replacement process might take a bit of time.
If you go to hot places, it'd be worth letting some air out before you go out for the day. If the air is still and you're well guyed, you can go down to about 50%. If it's windy, 70%, but then the wind will cool the beams a bit.
Inspect your beams from time to time and keep an eye out for bulges. Not obsessively: just be aware of them.
3) Failure of one or more beams
If you do see bulges, this thread should help a bit. We've now done 89 nights on taped up beams, but you can get replacements at about £110 per beam. I'm a skinflint.
4) Guarantee
Yes, you get a guarantee if you buy new. If you buy second hand, you don't, because the guarantee is between the retailer and the original purchaser (Gary Cross tells me) so even if the tent is within the guarantee period, it's void. Manufacturing defects do happen, and considering the numbers produced, some duff ones will find their way to market.
One last question... we've been worried about the pack weight of air tents - especially with my husband's back being potentially dodgy. However the weight given for this one , which seems interesting, is only 23.4kg. Should we be worried that that is too light?!
Thank you!
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That is quite light for the size. At 4000mm head height the canopy is probably quite light weight. If you camp in Southern Europe and / or high latitudes that’d reduce the life expectancy because of UV damage. Nikwax Tent ‘n’ Gear Solar Proof is a sort of sun tan lotion for your tent you might want to try as it gets older.
Also, the groundsheet will be relatively lightweight. Fine if you use a carpet though.
Seriously have you considered a single pole tent, such as a bell tent? At the weights you are talking about, they can be comparable in cotton or poly cotton, and polyester ones, considerably lighter?
Only one pole and nothing to go bang, a 4 or 5 metre one gives masses of room.
May not be your thing, just trying to think of alternatives? (10T/SpreenOnline, or Robens or lighter polycottons such as SoulPad and many others?)
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Quote: Originally posted by Caligula on 20/2/2019
Seriously have you considered a single pole tent, such as a bell tent?
Hadn't, but just had a look. Nice idea... but I'm not sure where we'd put the kitchen unit - and it wouldn't look like the romantic photos with all of our clobber in it!
I may need to entertain the idea for a little longer though, as affordable large canvas...
Quote: Originally posted by TheMouse on 20/2/2019
Seriously toying with the idea of air tents... but what if they go wrong?! I'm wondering if any enthusiasts could help answer any of the specific questions that worry us:
Well OK, what are the chances of getting a puncture, or (horror!) an explosion?
If necessary, could you do an emergency repair on the spot? How hard would it be?
Could the rest of the tent still be habitable in emergency if one beam was damaged?
Do they ever come with guarantee - and if so, is it 'real' and worth having?
(We are, possibly blasphemously, considering updating our old and lovely Cabanon frame tent this year. It has been amazing to read all the (conflicting!) advice in my previous thread - thank you!!!)
Post last edited on 20/02/2019 14:04:36
If you get lots of answers to these questions it would appear that there are lots of problems with blow up tents (forgive the pun) and maybe a good reason not to buy one.
On the other hand if you get few or no answers one might assume nobody knows because nobody has had those problems, and a good reason to buy one
I have never had an air tent but have had more than my fair share of problems with all sorts of inflatables. I think I will stick with metal poles which I have never had a problem with.
Quote: Originally posted by Caligula on 20/2/2019
Seriously have you considered a single pole tent, such as a bell tent?
Hadn't, but just had a look. Nice idea... but I'm not sure where we'd put the kitchen unit - and it wouldn't look like the romantic photos with all of our clobber in it!
I may need to entertain the idea for a little longer though, as affordable large canvas...
Personally, my kitchen unit when using the bell tent goes in the awning, but there's plenty of room inside as well, and that's in a small 4metre tent, albeit with much higher sidewalls than most (Blacks of Greenock Solace*). In a bigger tent, obviously there's even more space.
Many also opt for bedroom inner tents. The variations as in most things can be manifold.....I must admit though, I wouldn't want a kitchen unit in a polyester tent, generally.
* Blacks of Greenock Solace and others are reviewed on this site
I use a Vango XL800TC airbeam tent and if I lose an airbeam, then there's enough stability for the tent to stay stable as long as it's not one of the two and beams. Not ideal but it will cope.
However, I also carry a spare air bladder. Vango oversize ones are extremely tough and a doddle to change. You unzip the strong PC sleeve from the inside of the tent and having partially inflated the spare, simple swap it over and inflate it.
The spare takes up very little room. There is also a puncture repair kit provided with the tent. I have every confidence in the Vango polycotton airbeam tents. Mine has stood up to 70mph gusts side on which flattened tents around us. Fab things.
We've been away many times now in all weathers using this tent and it's proved reliable, stable and extremely well made. In truly epic downpours, it does tend to mist through very lightly, but that was only experienced after a week of gales and very heavy prolonged rain. It's a trade off with using lightweight polycotton V's traditional heavier cottons.
For more money you can now buy airbeam tents in a new breathable material which is stronger than polycotton, way more breathable than polyester but the one's I've seen were quite expensive.
The other thing worth mentioning is that Vango have pretty much perfected the airbeam valves and mine has never leaked more than 1psi or failed. Over a space of a week, I've occasionally had to put perhaps 1 psi back into a few beams but other than that, it's been fantastic. I don't know if that is a slight very slow leak across a valve or more to do with diurnal changes in temperature....oh, these won't "blow up".
I'd say from my own experience, don't give it a second thought and buy with confidence. I can't speak for any other makes but Vango certainly make excellent airbeam tents.
Post last edited on 24/02/2019 12:40:44
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I bought a Vango Airbeam Roma 550XL tent in early 2021, I thought I had registered with Vango for a further free 12 months warranty but they have now told me they can find no trace of me registering. I can’t find any confirmation email of my registration in 2021 🤷♂️. I used my tent for two weeks camping in 2021, never used it in 2022 and I used it this year for two weeks in June. On the day before our penultimate stay, the front Airbeam inner tube nylon sleeve burst at the zip stitching causing a bulge in the inner tube. I immediately released some of the pressure and that stopped it becoming worse (see photos).
When I contacted the retailer I bought it from (Leisure Outlet), they didn’t want to know anything about it because it was outside of the two year warranty. After I pressed home the fact that this wasn’t due to fair wear and tear or accidental damage but possibly a design fault they reluctantly agreed to raise it with Vango direct.
Vango contacted me two days ago and asked for photos of the damage which I provided. They then sent an email to me to say they would ask their repair department if it can be repaired. This surprised me because I thought they could provide replacement sleeves. As they supply temporary sleeve repair ‘bandages’, I assumed they would have spare sleeves. But on checking their list of spares they don’t list replacement sleeves which I find hard to understand as it is a removable part of the tent.
I still await a reply from Vango on this matter but I have developed ‘Air Tent’ anxiety in the same way I have ‘Range Anxiety’ for my all electric car on long journeys! Thankfully this beam sleeve failure didn’t happen early on in our holiday but as it was we had to leave a day earlier than intended
It's a shame that such a good idea of no faffing with poles is let down by manufacturers putting the bare minimum of materials and build into a product that ultimately sometimes let's go.
Having an air tent makes it a lot easier for a one person set up, although I'm still not sure if I prefer the idea of a bell tent or pyramid tent for the ease of set up and less weight, I've had an Outwell Carolina M which I found quickish to set up on my own but was nylon, have an air tent which is heavy being canvas and also have a Cabanon quadeloupe which is a pyramid tent that I find reasonably quick to pitch and use this for weekends as its not as bulky.
A friend has a 4 meter bell tent that is quick to pitch, good in windy conditions, another friend had an air tent that popped and wasn't cheap to fix, but another friend has had an air tent for years without any hassle, its a lot of money to loose if it does suffer a serious problem and can't find spares later on
A week later, Vango have still not found the time to confirm if they can repair the Airbeam sleeve, but they have found the time to tell me they are very busy dealing with customer enquiries! If they can’t repair the sleeve or provide a replacement then effectively they are saying if you suffer a sleeve failure you can bin the whole tent if it is outside the warranty period! Beware buying a Vango Air Tent.
This is the problem with warranties on tents and / or campung equipment; they simply aren't used for many weeks of the year so it's pretty pointless on must items.
Thanks, they finally replied confirming they don’t stock spare sleeves but they have offered to repair it and provided me a pre paid postage label, so fingers crossed they can repair it so I can use the tent again.
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Topic: Air tents - what if it goes wrong??
via mobile 20/2/2019 at 8:04pm
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