Tent Recommendations?

[Shotgun Rider]

Nicely timed forum!

My experience of camping stretches to a couple of festivals a year over the past few years and it gets used as a bed only. Were thinking of getting a larger tent for the odd weekend away and liked the look of this one at Cotswold today. Is Vango a decent make or are there better options out there for this kind of money?

http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/index.cfm/product/v...

Edited by Shotgun Rider on Thursday 21st June 21:50

[gingerpaul]

There are cheaper tents out there but for value for money I really rate Vango tents. I'd be comfortable that anything in their tent range was priced fairly and work as described.

[Winder]

Many successful camps in our Outwell Montana 6 Yeoman Leisure. Definitely worth a look.

[Shotgun Rider]

Thanks both for your replies.

That one is a little out of our price range I'm afraid, the one I've linked to is £170 which is pretty close to our maximum price.

[tenohfive]

We've got the Gelert Horizon 6. Gelert stuff can be hit and miss but I'm pleased with the Horizon. We tend to just use one of the 'bedrooms' for the 2 of us leaving a 4m long kitchen/dining/living room, which is enough room for 5 people to eat and relax without getting cramped (when camping with friends.) And there are some thoughtful touches to the design.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gelert-Horizon-Person-Tent...

[Tuscan Rat]

I rate Vango very highly. I have just upgraded my last Vango tent to a slightly bigger one after that had a very busy three years of service !!

http://www.tauntonleisure.com/vango-omega-250-tent...

This is the 2012 model, but if you want to save a bit there are many of the last version about for about £100. If you need more space the model comes as a 350 and 450.

[Terisis]

Winder said:

Many successful camps in our Outwell Montana 6 Yeoman Leisure. Definitely worth a look.

We have a Montana 6 and it's been brilliant in all kinds of weather. The sewn in groundsheet makes it relatively draft free and there's plenty of space for four of us. We bought the optional kid's bedroom inner which the kids love.

[YorkshirePudding]

We went for a Vango Tigris 400, same size as the one you've posted but it has a porch covering the side door which helps to stop any water coming in when opening the door when it's raining.

Only problem we had was a dodgy zip on the side door first time out resulting in the outer being replaced under warranty, no problem since.

Easy to pitch and big enough for the 3 of us for the weekends away we use it for.

[therealpigdog]

Go Outdoors do a range of tents which are essentially all Vango copies. Quality isn't as good as a Vango (but isn't appalling), but they are cheap - so aren't far from being disposable. It all comes down to how often you are going to use it, and how much you are willing to spend.

Tents seem to have moved on a fair bit in the last few years and some of the cheap tents available now are more than a match for the better brand names from say 5-10 years ago.

[Shotgun Rider]

Thanks for all the replies guys, we bought the Vango I linked to in my first post.

Can't wait to start using it. Brecon Beacons for the first outing.

[Mave]

Shotgun Rider said:

Thanks for all the replies guys, we bought the Vango I linked to in my first post.

Can't wait to start using it. Brecon Beacons for the first outing.

Just my 2p worth - give it a good waterproofing every year, whether ot not it's leaking. My first, decent (Vango) tent started self destructing after about 5 years because the fabric was going brittle. The Vango tech guy said it needed regular waterproofing (which contains UV protection) to keep in good condition. The replacement flysheet I haggled off him is still going strong 10 years later.....

[gingerpaul]

Mave said:

Just my 2p worth - give it a good waterproofing every year, whether ot not it's leaking. My first, decent (Vango) tent started self destructing after about 5 years because the fabric was going brittle. The Vango tech guy said it needed regular waterproofing (which contains UV protection) to keep in good condition. The replacement flysheet I haggled off him is still going strong 10 years later.....

This is interesting. Who did you speak to to get that advice? Vango directly on the phone or a rep somewhere?

[Mave]

gingerpaul said:

This is interesting. Who did you speak to to get that advice? Vango directly on the phone or a rep somewhere?

It was someone technical in Vango

[Tuscan Rat]

Think tent tech has come on a bit in 10-15 years so I dont think you need to waterproof every year !!

[gingerpaul]

Mave said:

gingerpaul said:

This is interesting. Who did you speak to to get that advice? Vango directly on the phone or a rep somewhere?

It was someone technical in Vango

Ok thanks. I might contact them myself and check to see if they recommend this for my tent. It's brilliant so I want to keep it in good shape. Thanks for the heads up.