I believe that Conway used the Marechal canvas on their trailer tents for the years when they fell out with Cabanon and they refused to supply them. Pretty sure that Conway would not have used anything but top notch canvas, so it would be the Marechal for me.
We have a Marechal tent which is around 25 years old. It belonged to my parents and is still going strong. We've been in torrential weather and it's been fab. We just bought a Montana 6 this year because the canvas tent is a bit small for us now and a new canvas one would be too expensive and too big/heavy for our car.
Good luck!
------------- Michelle
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Have just bought the Relum Palermo 6 ( my 3rd Relum ) and am very satisfied with my choice. I also looked at the Marechal range but decided to stick with, in my case, a proven make.
Just had a look at Relum & Marechal tents on the web and...they are all nice but...the Relum Palermo is a beauty.
I WANT ONE!!!
Sorry to hijack the thread but can I just ask:
How difficult is it to put up, and how long does it take? How much space does it take up when packed?
What will I have to do to persuade my OH that if he likes the look of the Outwell Bear Lake we might as well go the whole hog and get a "proper" tent?
Memories of childhood holidays came flooding back...
------------- Angela
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Hi Angela. We started with the same tent as you, a Sunncamp Vario 6, but after one 5 day holiday hubby decided that he couldn't stand the flapping and the feeling of insecurity (fibreglass poles in windy weather), so we sold that soon after the holiday & bought a 6 berth frame tent. He loves it
It's quicker & easier to erect than the Vario, in fact I've erected it myself in the garden twice. There's no flapping, you feel secure (even in a 2 hour thunder storm last August), no problems with condensation because canvas breathes, cooler in hot weather than synthetic, yet thick & warm enough in cool weather.
Also, unlike the Vario, you don't have to go outside in pouring rain to open or close the window blinds (except the kitchen vent), you just draw the curtains. In hot but rainy weather you can have the top of the door open for ventilation cos most frame tents have a stub canopy as standard. You can roll up the front wall (and a side panel too on some) on those very hot days.
The pack size is the only downside to a frame tent. We use the trailer when we take the 6 berth. Although I must admit that due to the large living area we take a lotta stuff to fill it (including the kitchen sink!), so it's not just the tent itself that takes up a lot of space We recently bought a small 5 berth frame tent for weekends & just take the basic equipment, and this all fits in the car perfectly, without the need for the trailer.
Go on, take OH to have a look at some frame tents - I'm sure you'll convince him
As I said earlier, I have replaced my Relum Super7K with the Palermo 6. Due to the c**p weather we've had this year, the trial run had to be done in a warehouse in order to check everything was OK. Obviously no pegging was involved but from putting up the frame and draping it with the canvas, it took the two of us 25 mins. Reckon it would be around the 45 min mark with the pegs. I found it was actually easier than erecting The Super7.
Well, we've done the deed! Our Marechal compact 6 arrived at 4.30 this afternoon. Incidentally, the service from Tents Direct was excellent - I would recommend them to anybody
and we certainly couldn't get one cheaper anywhere, but I bet someone will tell me otherwise!!!
Congrats to you Brookwood 100 on your new tent, I'm sure you're going to love it.
Thanks Jean & Ally, your comments are really helpful. We used to go camping when I was a kid and in those days we had a big frame tent, and I can still remember the smell, heaven! It is probably because I was a kid and wanted to be doing something else, but I always had the impression that it was really complicated and took ages to put the tent up, but on reflection (and after your remarks) it probably didn't.
I am definitely going to try and persuade him when the time comes to get a new tent (he says not before next winter but if we have a few good months on ebay you never know!).
Well, we've used our new Marechal tent for one night and then two nights and it is OK to put up, more time consuming than our 4 berth, but OK. I would only use it for long family holidays due to the set up and dismantling time, but it was good.
On the down side, my five year old autistic son tried to tie up the sleeping comparment doors and ALL the tapes came off. Now, I know he is ham fisted, but wasn't very impressed with that. They had used woven cord, which frays when cut. They sewed it into the seams without putting fray check or something on it first, which of course meant that they pulled straight out. I plan to take a needle and thread, and the fray check, with us when we go to Dorset in a couple of weeks' time.
The living area inside is fab, especially as the evenings draw in! The kids love it. Thanks for everybody's advice.
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Topic: Marechal or Relum?
We recently bought a small 5 berth frame tent for weekends & just take the basic equipment, and this all fits in the car perfectly, without the need for the trailer.
