Hey. New to this forum but would appreciate any advise. We already have a tent. An old regatta pole tent. The things I don't like about it are. The bedrooms are on either side and living area in the middle. The ground sheet is not sewn in which can cause quite a draft and leaks. It is complicated and time consuming to put up and needs two people at least to assemble.
What I'm looking for is an air beam tent that I can put up easily and quickly by myself. My hubby is a farmer so sometimes he can't always come hence wanting to be able to put it up myself. I want a good size living area and the bedrooms all to the back of the tent rather than the side. I also would prefer a sewn in ground sheet.
Could you send me some tents you might think would be good for me. Also forgot to say it's a family of 5. We live in n ireland so its mostly likely going to be wet! Don't plan to be using this tent anywhere else but just for local fun family camping trips.
Thanks in advance for your responses. :-)
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Not going to recommend a tent but I recommend a revisit on your basic requirements - you may find a fibreglass pole tent or a single pole tent to be better.
We like bedrooms to be separate - as in feet apart - if you have 3 kids plus yourselves sleeping in the same space are you actually going to get any sleep or privacy? Does that matter to you? Do you want a porch? 3 kids wet weather...... Also, with the kids, would blackout rooms help?
Air tents can be very - and I mean very - heavy (youll need AT LEAST a 6 man, we have an 8 man for 3 of us :-) ) - especially as they usually come in 1 bag, you may find it easier to have a pole tent. Even with an airbeam you still need to peg it out, and getting them down and folding them up can be difficult on your own. Also, make sure than spares for the airbeam are easily available, and avoid single point of fill tents as if you get a hole the whole thing collapses.
SIGS are pretty much the default on family tents of the GoOutdoors (etc) variety.
Strongly recommend you see them put up in store or at least watch a bucketload of youtube videos.
I'm assuming your budget isnt into the thousands so probably worth looking for a deal (tent, ground tarp, carpet, porch), if you go for a generic Vango, HiGear etc you wont go far wrong for your money. We like Kampa - just that little bit better without messing up cashflow.
We've had a few Khyam Quick Erect tents in our family (including a set of five) and really like them. The down side is they're expensive unless you buy in a sale or second hand, and can be heavy, but are so easy to put up, roomy and comfy. Any tent could probably use a going over with a waterproofing spray, e.g. Nikwax especially if 2nd hand, but this is easy. You can always look at two smaller tents, which might work out cheaper and give the kids their own space if old enough. Decathlon have modular tents where you can add "pods" together, but I've no experience of these. They're fairly reasonable, though.
I wouldnt nikwax a new tent - messes up the breathability and itll be wetter on the inside than the outside - and youll invalidate the guarantee. Only consider it for an old and worn tent with visible leakage. Leaks are usually only at the seams anyway and theres seam sealant for that. As Annie says could be worth doing if 2nd hand.
Two tents is a great idea - gives lots of flexibility - be aware some sites might charge you for 2 pitches.
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I have a vango airbeam tent. As has been said before, they're easy to put up, but incredibly heavy. I would need a barrow to take it more than a few feet. Having said that, I'm not in the best of health for starters!
The older vangos have big beams though, so you may find one younger and lighter.
A thing they call a bathtub groundsheet is brilliant. It means the outer is all in one. Search for vango Sungari. They're old models but the images show that type of groundsheet.
One thing though...someone suggested an annexe. Brilliant idea and stops any rain getting in doors. It doesn't necessarily have to match the tent though (unless you're posh!) we had a totally mismatched annex on both our tents (couldn't afford matched) and they worked just as well. They obviously don't fit exactly, but they do the job.
Good luck with finding your tent
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Topic: Easy put up tent
via mobile 29/5/2020 at 12:47am
