Which tent?

[andrewk]

I know this is an odd topic for a 4x4 owners club - but I'm looking for advice on buying a tent.

By inclination, I'm not a tent person - but I do have a caravan, which we love and use regularly. I've never had a tent in my life and, so far as I can remember, have never slept overnight in one even as a child. My only reason for buying a tent is so that I can use it on very occasional weekends away greenlaning - and for no other purpose (that I can think of at the moment). I can't really use a caravan for this - as towing one prevents you driving lanes on the way to wherever you are going. It's also a bit of a fag washing it, picking it up from the storage site and returning it afterwards - just for one night on my own.

So .......... my bet is that some members will have addressed this problem before and bought a little tent. So what should I buy? I guess what I really want will be .......

* Cheap
* Easy to erect
* Cheap
* Waterproof
* Cheap
* Big enough for me, a blow up mattress and a sleeping bag.

Oh yes ......... and cheap.

I know about stuff like the Gelert Quick Pitch and Tornado 3, Vango Alpha 200 and 300 and the Lichfield Apache 3, all of which are less than £50. Does anyone have any experience of any of these or any recommendations?

Or should I just sleep in the 'Troll ?

Cheers
Andrew

[Terranosaurus]

Forget the blow up mattress - for just a night or 2 get a karrimat or if funds will stretch a self inflating sleep mat. Inflatables are a pain to blow up, let down and they aren't as comfortable as you think and they are definitely cold.

I've got 3.

A small flyweight Vau-de that will sleep 2 (but cosy) and is good for back packing etc. Smilar to THIS

A Vango advent 250, which is what I'm taking up to Grinton tonight for Dadbas BBQ sleep over, sleeps 3 but confortable for 2. Very similar to THIS one from Gelert

Bought a Easy Camp Salerno 400 to go away with family last summer - cheap but functional.


For what you want I'd prioritise something easy to put up. Which for my money would be a tunnel tent. Conventional ridge tents are few and far between these days and geodesic domes tend to be a bit more complicated to put up and down, whereas a tunnel has 3 separate hoops to put in then, peg in the the back stretch it out put in 2 pegs at the front and you can get inside in the dry. If its a bit windy can be worth putting more pegs in but most of the time 4/5 is enough with this style. I did many years with a Lichfield Hornet and the Vango advent is also that style.

Go-outdoors seem to be reasonable to deal with, I call into my local outlet, Mitchells of Wakefield, but they should be fine online if ones not convienient to you. They do a discount card in store for £5 IIRC which gets you 10% off what you buy for the year. Theres a buying guide ontheir site too.

I'd stay clear of these single skin pop up affairs, leave them to the festival crowd, they'll either leak or suffer from condensation, you can't have it both ways.

[Terranosaurus]

I'll take a few photos tonight of some of the tents up there.

[andrewk]

Originally Posted by hummingbird

Forget the blow up mattress - for just a night or 2 get a karrimat or if funds will stretch a self inflating sleep mat. Inflatables are a pain to blow up

I've had one in the cupboard for years. We used it last for my nephew who stayed with us in the late 90's. He used it in an awning bedroom. I found that the easiest way to blow it up wasn't to use a compressor or pump - but by mouth (must have a big one). :

A www.buy-cheap-tents.co.uk, which is what I'm taking up to Grinton tonight for Dadbas BBQ sleep over

Lack of a tent is the only reason I didn't go. Must put that right. :smile:

Actually, thinking more about this - I might need one of these too. http://www.bumperdumper.com/

Cheers
Andrew

[davemud]

hi andrew

was looking at this myself last weekend, but just could not make up my mind.
try your local millets, mine has 50% off with free £50.00 sleeping bag to. better than there web offers
but i could not decide on the best one let us now how u get on need one for the landy show in july.
would like a roof one but cant warrant the cost its expensive just for the roofrack

[elty001]

have a look on e bay,ive just bought the full get up,4 birth tent,2x airbeds,pump,2xcookers,gas cylinders,4xchairs,2xwindbreakers.only thing i had to buy was sleepingbags and a kettle.its used but in good condition.job lot for £75.00.if your only going to use it occasionally is it worth spending a fortune to have it sat in a cupboard most of the time.i went for second hand stuff as the mrs and kids have never been camping so if they dont like it i'm not out of pocket as i could probably sell it on for more than i paid.

ps i find yeomans to be cheaper than millets especially if you visit one of the camp shows.have a look on their website to see if there is any near you.

[JonathanM]

Have a think about some of the easy to pitch tents, I have an old Khyam that is too big for backpacking, but enough for a night or two away from home, and it can be pitched inside a minute or two. The difference between this and some of the more modern "quickpitch" tents is that a lot of those are based on the sprung metal hoops system, and are usually single skin. This means when condensation forms, which it will in a tent, you will get into contact with it - cold & unpleasant.

I wouldn't look at the strictly one or two person tents, as they are going to be quite small. Maybe head to Decathlon in Stockport or Go Outdoors, again one in stockport, one in wigan. Weigth & pack size isn't an issue for laning, you can go for a bit more comfort.

The obvious suggestion might be a roof tent........

[andrewk]

Originally Posted by JonathanM

Have a think about some of the easy to pitch tents

I have been thinking about exactly that. The Outwell Jersey M looks the business. It's a double skin pop-up tent with a 3000mm HH for the flysheet & 5000mm for the groundsheet. Cheapest I've seen it so far is about £65 - gets rave reviews everywhere I've looked.

There is a 2 man version which is about £20 cheaper. I worry though that if I bought one, the very first time I used it, I'd regret not having bought the bigger one.

Cheers
Andrew

[jims-terrano]

Unless you are short of space such as back packing then go for the bigger one everytime.

Jim T

[JonathanM]

Originally Posted by jims-terrano

Unless you are short of space such as back packing then go for the bigger one everytime.

Jim T

Agree, the only time space (and weight) becomes an issue is when you have to carry the darned thing yourself!