You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I am attempting to assemble a comfy setup to get away in the car for a few days riding every now and again.
I would like to acquire a tent that goes up quickly, is sturdy and has room for a folding carp bed. so it will need to have a bit of head room.
I was thinking of maybe a Coleman 5 or one of those fishing type shelters, as some of them have a porch arrangement which would be really handy.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
decathlon air beam job, pick one you like the look of
folding carp bed.
I can't sleep in these. I'm too chubby. I find myself having to perch on the edge.
Large Decathlon pop up job for car duties here.
Big porch and two sleeping areas. Propper black out tent as well.
Takes about 5 minutes to throw up and peg out.
Takes about 10 to get folded up if you follow the instructions.
In a side by side test it was much quicker up and down than the folks next to us berghaus airbeam job.
Was bought for summer in the Alps and even survived some storms that came in. I was impressed with it.
If it's only you then I can recommend the two man Vango I have (can't link to it at the moment, internet going too slow), good size, quality and roomy porch (not a stand up one though). Unless you've used it already, I'd advise against a camp bed as the air flow underneath can make them pretty cold. We use an extra thick self inflator, a bit like the Alpkit Dozer, it's as good as sleeping at home.
Dear Perchy. I tend to flounder on an airbed.
So it's advice on a carp bed you're after?
You've come to the right plaice.
Have a 5 man Vango for quick trips (when the 8 man is a bit of an ask) - I can put this up easily by myself if needed in 15 mins and the extra build time over a smaller tent is well worth having a big dry space to cook/sit/read in if the weather turns. Once you're sued to them they don't take significantly longer than airbeam, or Quecha pop up types, and you can get them dirt cheap on classifieds as they are presumed tyo be too much hassle now there are alternatives.
Bed wise going to look at 10cm mats this year as yet another airbed was burst by getting over heated in the tent!
I would go for the smallest sturdiest tent you can get away with then add a coleman event shelter or EZ up type gazebo. Much more sociable with a group and small tents stand up to bad wind better. Our big family outwell bit the dust at pivot this year, as did many other big family tents. All the little ones were fine as were most event shelters.
If it's just you, i'd go with the Decathlon Air Seconds 4 XL.
Unfortunately they don't do this as a pop up any more.
I have the pop up version and it would be ideal for what you need coupled with a 10cm self inflating mat.
Porch is big enough to house a couple of camping chairs for sitting.
Leftfield suggestion, but how about this?
https://www.khyam.co.uk/tents-c174/berth-c175/3-4-berth-c176/highlander-quick-erect-tent-p2
I had an older model for donkeys years and loved it. Erects in literally seconds. You unfold it, lift up the centre piece and then snap the poles straight. That's it. A few more seconds to bash in a peg at each corner and a few guys if you're expecting a storm.
It was great at beer festivals, especially if it was raining. I'd turn up to a campsite with loads of people out wrestling with tents, grab it out of the car and be sat inside it with a beer inside of a minute later. Ace bit of kit.
They do a bigger version (the Freelander) which uses the same QE system, but still has a traditional pole for the sleeping quarter so it takes slightly longer to put up.
Many thanks for the ideas, I’d not seen those thick self inflating mats before.
I like the camp bed because you can get it quite level on sloping ground, I seem to suffer from nocturnal sliding, often waking up some distance from where I went to sleep.
I like the look of the Quechua air seconds 4. I have also seen the airgo horizon 4 which seems to be similar. Also available on eBay. They look easy to put up and pack away as they only have air beams, some of the Vangos have both air beam and poles that thread through.
I can’t find a 2 man vango with a porch, I’ll have another look later. The Khayam look nice, but I can’t tell how much headroom it has.
The Khayam look nice, but I can’t tell how much headroom it has.
It's not enough to stand up in (the Freelander is). It's not super low either though. From memory I'd guess four or five foot?
Google would suggest 130cm.
What car have you got? Both our our old Galaxy and now V70 have 7' long, perfectly flat floor. Very comfy for sleeping.
My dad had a Caranex for years, a friend now a Vaude version. Both used them for ''expanding" van/car sleeping to have big, standing room tent space. The Vaude is 'drive away'.
I had an old Kyham Highlander for years. Probably spent a couple of years in it if you totted up the nights. It was fab, the only disadvantage I can come up with was that you need space to put it up to dry it.
We've got a higear 4 man thing from GO for family duties now, and pretty happy so far. We went for one with crossed poles rather than a tunnel as they stand up to the weather better.
Decathlon were doing a 4 man airbeam one for £200 which seemed a blinder, but with a toddler, we wanted one bigger bedroom rather than 2 smaller ones.
One thing to bare in mind is that the bigger the tent, the colder it will be inside as you'll need more body heat to warm it up. If it were just for me, I'd look for something I could sit comfortably in the porch of, but not big enough to stand up in.
Small to sleep but tall porch?
Vango Galaxy.
Vaude do one but I can't remember the model name.
I did a couple of days recently down in Dorset with the g/f and I saw a couple of older ladies in a Decathlon Air Beam 4 which had a decent sleeping space and proper standing porch.
One of the ladies had a fantastic Decathlon bed, which is basically an inflatable divan which you put a thermarest on top. Looked the biz. V jealous. https://www.decathlon.co.uk/air-inflatable-camp-bed-70-cm-id_8352099.html
They had a great setup for a fraction of the cost of the folks in their bell tents getting freezing cold!
For ultimate camping comfort, put an self inflating mat on a camp bed. Pure luxury!
I have an estate car but it is too short for sleeping. I have tried it a few times and it didn’t go very well.
The inflatable divan looks cool but it still needs to be on level ground. The double height vango is a brilliant design, but decathlon have an airbeam 4 for sale for £160. Only two beams to pump up, no pesky poles and a little bit of height to wriggle into yer shorts or sit and read or eat bacon rolls. I might give it a go.
I do use a self inflating mat on the camp bed. It’s the most comfortable arrangement I have found yet.
Many thanks for the suggestions.