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Hi there

I've got a dit of a dilemma and am wondering if you guys can help me make up my mind.

A friend of mine is selling her Wynnster Mercury 9.Only used it twice and is in immaculate condition,for £150.I'm looking for a tent for me,hubby and 3 children but don't know whether its gonna be right for us as i quite fancied the sunncamp olympic 12xp as it has sewn in groundsheet (which i quite like as it keeps out all the nasty bugs)and 3 quite seperate sleeping pods.Do you think my friends tent will be big enough for us all as my children are 8,16 and 17 so the older boys will need some "space" from their sister.Now we're first time campers so i've gotta get it right as its taken me a lifetime to convince my other half to go for it,so if i get the wrong tent we won't get off to a very good start!! and prob never go again!!

Also,my friend wants to buy a smaller tent for her,hubby and her daughter,so if i buy elsewhere i'm afraid that i'll offend her!!

On the plus side,it is a very nice immaculate,reasonably priced tent.

Help!!

Hi, I looked at a web site that had a picture and dimesions of the tent (£239)  To me it looks to small for basically 4 adults and 1 child.  The living space would be a  bit of a squash.  Mind you in a couple of years will your older kids want to come with you?  It may then just be 2 adults and 1 kid. 

We had a tent design like this first of all and found it bad weather it was a bit cramped, but this one does have a porch, something we didn't have. It took me nearly 20 years to persuade my OH to camp and we exchanged our tent after the first holiday for a Norfolk Lake.  My husband loves he space, light and zipped in ground sheet. 

Thanks for the reply.

Thats what i was thinking,if i buy a monster of a tent,will it be too big in 1 or 2 years time??But then again,is more space much better for storage etc with the amount of stuff my 8yr old daughter takes with her!!

Hi, We bought the Wynnster Mercury 9 excel last year and went camping for the first time ever, and I have to say it's the best holiday weve ever had. The tent is huge and there's 6 of us, my kids are:- 8,10,12 and 13. And the best bit is if you pick the right camp site you don't see the kids because they are so busy. I was worried about the ground sheet not being sawn in because of creepy crawlies but the only thing we saw was an ant and other campers said that not having a SIG has its advantages as well as dis-advantages just like a SIG. The size was never an issue, very big.

Sharne

Hi thanks for the reply.

It's good to know there were 6 of you and it wasn't too cramped.The last thing i'd want is for everyone to be under eachothers feet so to speak.And it does have a porch which makes it feel a bit roomier.Also,if i bought a larger tent,i may get charged extra at our local campsites.

The day won't worry me so much as once the kids are fed and watered,they'll be out and about,its just the evenings when the tent is all zipped up.I don't want it to feel squashed if u know what i mean.

Although it is a good tent, it is not that much of a bargain at £150, certainly not enough to sway me away from getting what I wanted.

There are plenty of offers around (new 2006 models) for big three bedroom tents with SIGs (Coleman Magellan 9, Wild Country Halo 104, Aztec Cantera 9) for £175-£200. So £150 for a S/H two bedroom tent does, to me, not seem that good a deal. I.e. for £25 more you could get a new tent, with 3 bedrooms and a SIG.

Quote: Originally posted by Pam-Wales on 01/2/2007

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Hmm you do have a point.Can you tell me what sites you've seen these on and i'll take a look.Oh and thanks for the reply

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There are others similar offers, so worth a look around the net (lots are selling their 2006 stock off).

World of Camping have the Magellan 9 at £190 (a tent that also pitches outer first), Royal Montpellier 12 (4 bedrooms) at £200 and Cantera 9 £175.

http://www.worldofcamping.co.uk/shop/Results.asp?category=1&subcategory=2

and

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aztec-Cantera-9-9-Berth-Tent-Brand-New-Bargain-Deal_W0QQitemZ180031484079QQihZ008QQcategoryZ82292QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

They also have a Sunncamp Tourist Plus 12 for £230

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sunncamp-Tourist-Plus-12-XP-12-Berth-Tent-Brand-New_W0QQitemZ180025394109QQihZ008QQcategoryZ82292QQcmdZViewItem

and for the same price, an equally large tent, the Wild Country Halo 104.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wild-Country-Halo-104-10-berth-tent-Brand-New-1M-Canopy_W0QQitemZ170071028894QQihZ007QQcategoryZ82292QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks for your help.

I really like the Aztec Cantera 9 and the sunncamp.I think either of these two will suit us more than the Wynnster.Its the extra pod sleeping area that i'm drawn to,if not for sleeping then just for added space.I think the wynnster is gonna be feel a touch cramped compared to the other two.And the prices for brand new bigger tents don't compare.

Just have to think of a diplomatic answer for my friend

I can understand why they would ask for £150, given what they paid for it; however, it is like anything secondhand (as I have learnt to my cost with expensive cars!) it is not what you paid for it, that dictates the price, it is the market now. I suspect, looking at all the shop sell-offs of 2006 tents, that there was a lot of over production last year.

Plus excellent tents from the likes of Aztec, Wynnster, Coleman and Wild Countrry don't get so well marketed as Vango, Outwell etc. Hence, are the ones more likely to be left on the shelf at the end of the year  - but armed with a little bit of knowledge make a great bargain for someone.

To me, £100 would make your friends Mercury interesting.

Yes i totally agree.I wouldn't mind paying £100 as if it was too small,i could always keep it for when me,hubby and our daughter go in a couple of years,or maybe weekends away (if i dare leave 2 teenage boys alone in the house,may not have one to come back to!!)I think she feels as she paid alot for it and has only used it a few times,so she wants half back.

Maybe i'm best off getting a brand new one anyway as Wendy said,if i buy new i can always go back to the shop if theres any probs.

I think she'll get what she wants for it by advertising in the local paper etc.As i've been reading this forum for quite a while,i've been getting so many tips from other posts,it's given me a clearer idea of what to look for,rather than jumping into buying a tent and regretting it later on!