You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
The venerable Outwell Montana 6 (poled) is due for retirement.
It's served incredibly well over the past 7 years, sleeping the family for weeks at a time in testing weather. Poles have broken and bent in the gales but it's never leaked and replacement poles have been provided by Outwell or the vendor (Allweather's) without problem or even cost.
Looking to replace it and my instinct is another Outwell.
Probably 'Air', but my word, prices have shifted up!
Other brands look similar, but anecdotal experience of friends and family is that whilst they may look alike, they are just not as reliable / durable when the going gets tough.
Has anyone got experience of anything other than an Outwell that's likely to fit the bill?
Basically tunnel tent design for four people (i.e. six person) to camp for a week at a time on sites in wet and windy UK locations from April to September (or even October).
It's for family camping trips, not expeditions, so needs space to play cards / eat when it rains.
Can't / won't consider bell tents or canvas tents.
STW thoughts and experience welcome!
TIA
Sorry to respond with an Outwell when you specifically asked for other suggestions, but we just got an Outwell Parkdale 6pa, and it is bloody good. We have now used it for two weeks: one very hot week in Wales, and one very stormy and awful week in Cornwall, and I am impressed. Plenty of room for sleeping, storing, eating, and card playing, and I can attest to the fact that, in stupidly high winds and rain, it did the job well.
Recommend what you've got right?
We bought a Kampa Studland 6 last Autumn after our Vango Nadina steel pole tent was finally killed by the 60mph winds in Devon last August.
Spent a week in the Dales (therefore in the rain) at the end of July and it held up very well. Loads of space and just feels better built than the preceding Vango.
A weekend at Robin Hoods Bay last week tested it in a strong breeze where some fibreglass poled tents were struggling and it didn't even flinch. Rock solid all the time.
The only downside is that a month after we bough it they discontinued that model and therefore it's impossible to get hold of any of the add-ons now. And also that I'm recommending something you can't buy.
Oh and the weight and size of it when packed! 45kg in a single bag, can't be split down. And takes up 2/3 of the boot in a Peugeot 5008.
We were away a couple of weeks ago and it seemed the go-to options were Vango Airbeam or Berghaus Air. We had a mooch round Go Outdoors because we needed a chair and I couldn't believe some of the prices for the bigger inflatable ones - £1500 for a Berghaus '8' person one.
We've got a Vango with steel poles which has been fine for us, could do witha bigger porch bit though but we only bought it because it had £200 knocked off for a broken fixing inside which we fixed for nothing.
Vango Nadina steel pole tent was finally killed by the 60mph winds in Devon last August.
I'll make a note to avoid 60mph Devon winds then as that's what we have!
Vango AirBeam awnings and a tent have all worked well for me. I get the impression that this is a bad time to buy a tent generally because the increased demand due to Covid-induced staycations has reduced the usual feverish discounting.
decathlons tents are excellent and cheap. I think their 6 man inflatable is ~£500 - we just brought the 5 man at £450 because it has a triple bedroom that fits our oversized self-inflating matresses. Blackout bedrooms and a 'cool' design means you don't get the early morning wakeups like you do in most tents.
They have a polycotton one at £1k if you're feeling spendy..
Was at Camp Bestival a couple of weeks ago and on the Friday it was pretty windy.
The Berghaus Air tents all looked super-solid whereas the Decathlon ones didn’t.
I might look at an Air 4 for myself. Some of them (6xl) were huge!
Got one of the decathlon air tents where the bedrooms are separated from the living area. Construction seemed excellent to me, a lot faster to erect than our old Khyam too. Would probably get the extension for longer stays which makes it really flexible as a massive tent is a bit of a pain for a festival weekend or whatever.
I would say the bedrooms are a bit on the narrow side, be nice to have a bit more room.
Recommending what I've got (because STW): Vango Keswick 2 Air 600DLX. We've got the polycotton version which was spendy (but not as spendy as they currently are). Cheaper - relatively speaking - regular version available which is same layout but normal fabric. Pure luxury in terms of space for 4 folk. Held up great so far including a fair wind and LOTS of rain on an exposed site on Skye recently. We've had Vango tents and an airbeam awning when we had a caravan, and never had an issue.
One of the reasons we chose this was the 2-bedroom layout: 3 x 2-berth bedrooms are more common in 6-berth tents, whereas ours is 2 x 3-berth, i.e. more realistic sized bedrooms for 2 folk each with camping beds/mattresses in each.
https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/camping-equipment/697-keswick-ii-air-tc-600dlx.html
Another vote for Decathlon. With blackout - every tent for use in the UK summer should have that I reckon.
I have decathlon's airseconds 4.2 - its two "bedrooms" + central living area which is erected in one go very quickly. it wasn't cheap, weighs a lot, and will take up a fair amount of boot space but so far it is: (a) the most comfortable tent I've slept in (the fresh and black really does make a difference with temp in hot weather and sunlight in the mornings); (b) the fastest 4+ man tent I've ever put up; (c) the best interior "living" space I've owned - its predecessor had no ground sheet in the middle and was 6" too small to stand up in.
With blackout – every tent for use in the UK summer should have that I reckon.
Why? I don't get why people are so obsessed with the blackout tent thing. Unless you're hung over in which case I get the adversion to light but these are family tent rather than go clubbing tents.
Why? I don’t get why people are so obsessed with the blackout tent thing
stops our toddler and 5 year old deciding that 5am is getting up time. They get up (and go to sleep) when they're told to. Worth its weight in gold
We have the older style Berghaus Air 8, it’s good but even with a footprint one stoney pitch in Annecey destroyed the groundsheet. Prior to that I had quite a few Decathlon Base pop ups and never had that problem without a footprint. Although the Berghaus is most used used in Southern Europe it has survived some biblical thunderstorms and didn’t leak dispite it been surrounded in foot deep water after a 24 hour storm.
I’m out in France and the moment and on this site 2/3 of the tents are Decathlon air tents and gazebos. I really like the look of the 6.3 which I may get when this one dies.
We got a Coleman Mckensie 6 this year after finally selling the van.
Why? It was just about the smallest large family tent with 3 bedrooms so that the kids have their own space and don't repeatedly jump on each other instead of going to sleep.
It is large but not as large as the big tunnel tents and one bedroom is separate from the other two which suits the older child. Living area is still plenty of space for cooking, eating when it rains and card games.
Odd logic of a small large but it worked for us and survived a Cornish summer storm no problem. Not as solid as the big cotton tents though.
Steel poles are generally more solid the fibreglass and mean the tent can be split for transport. We looked at air tents but apart from preferring other layouts they are usually one piece and 40kg plus to shift in and out of the car in one doesn't work if backs are not great.
We bought our first Outwell tent in the Spring (having been using an Vango Tigris 800) for the past ten years.
We splashed out on a Knoxville 7sa air tent. Cost us £1500 (gulp) with the footprint and carpet.
We’ve only used it for 1 week so far but absolutely loved it. Magnet doors are the best thing. Every tent should have them!
It Goes Up really easily given the size of it. Plenty of pegs! Loads of room for the 2 kids and 2 dogs. We Can all easily fit in the bedroom.
Takes up a fair bit of room in the car mind.
Why? I don’t get why people are so obsessed with the blackout tent thing. Unless you’re hung over in which case I get the adversion to light but these are family tent rather than go clubbing tents
I guess it depends on where and when you camp. Around here (NE scotland) the sun can be streaming into the tent by 4:30am in June. Not fun, hangover or not!
We've a Decathlon from a few years back. Getting it up in a wind is I assume why it's called Family because you need a family to do it, but once up it's remarkably sturdy for something for something so tall, big and 229e. As for gales, I sleep better in the car parked somewhere safe and the tent in the boot.
the decathlon 5.2 is easy to put up in wind - you peg the 4 corners first, pump the poles up then peg it out. Their old 4.1 is marginally more faff, but I suspect the newer 4 man is similar to the 5man
@slowol - probably too late but the 6.3 decathlons are (I think) the layout you were after. Didn't work for us as the bedrooms are too narrow for grande-width camping mats.
I guess it depends on where and when you camp. Around here (NE scotland) the sun can be streaming into the tent by 4:30am in June. Not fun, hangover or not!
I go all over but never had an issue. Don't close use curtains in summer either. Sleep until I wake up. Your body will soon adjusts and you will sleep if it's light if the body needs sleep. I think creating these artificial dark environments mean people become dependent on it to sleep.
My Outwell Roseville 6 is in the classifieds - used once. It’s a really really good tent lots of brilliant features - it replaced an Outwell but it’s too big for us and we are reverting back to our four berth.
stops our toddler and 5 year old deciding that 5am is getting up time
‘Nap-cap’ for the toddler and sleeping mask for the 5 year old?
If that doesn’t suit then some blackout fabric with some velcro patches sewn onto both it and the inner (or outer) tent-walls of any bedroom pod will quickly transform the space leaving you free to choose any tent you wish.
https://gearuphiking.com/how-to-blackout-a-tent/
One plus for Vango is they have an online spares shop and repair centre. I think when you're spending that much it's good to know you can basically get any bit of the tent replaced if needed, and for many years.
Personally I'd suggest staying with Outwell. As someone who has 2 Outwell and 2 Vango large family tents I think the quality of the materials is far superior in Outwell.
If that doesn’t suit then some blackout fabric with some velcro patches sewn onto both it and the inner (or outer) tent-walls of any bedroom pod will quickly transform the space leaving you free to choose any tent you wish.
Probably true, but the decathlon tents are already half the price of their competitors, so not having to faff with that is just a bonus
@5lab
We actually looked at that Decathlon and choice between that and Coleman. Main dimensions almost the same (Coleman is 10 cm longer in theory).
Deciding niggle differences were Coleman had 2 entrances with the 3rd bedroom installed and a preference for steel poles and significant other just preferred the look of the Coleman in the pics and their tents usually look to pitch better IRL. In this odd summer of not really wanting or being able to take the kids to a bounce off a few on a weekend it did come down to subjective discussions over 3 cm high pictures on the internet.
Tent we chose has worked out well for this year though. Will probably try to buy it an entrance canopy when we can but space to take could be an issue. Managed all 4 of us in a Kia Ceed with bikes and roofbox but only just!
we've had a berghaus air 4 for about 4 years now and it's been brilliant. easy and quick to put up / take down by one person, well thought out with plenty of handy storage pockets and has survived some pretty brutal weather - only tent to survive some freak 60 mph winds in the lakes that were picking up and throwing other tents across the campground. you'd want the air 6 i guess and supply / costs at the moment may be tricky as i think they are only licenced to JD group (go outdoors, blacks etc) but if you can find one second hand i'd deff recommend them
Have an outwell stonelake 7atc. Got it from Allweathers. They have stopped doing camping stuff by the way and now focus on outdoor wear.
Pros of the outwell:
Space (kids call it the mansion tent)
quality
polycotton (doesn't get as hot as polyester tents)
outwell/allweathers aftercare
Cons
size and weight of packed down tent. Takes two bags and put my elbow out first year I used it!
price (even heavily reduced it was expensive).
I've loved camping with it. We had 13 people in for dinner on last night of camping in July. Felt really luxurious with all the window blinds open. My tent just missed out on magnetic zips - shame!
polycotton (doesn’t get as hot as polyester tents)
Is this basically the advantage of polycotton? Does it take an age to dry as well?
We bought a Kampa Hayling 6 air tent earlier in the summer for our first family foray into camping. I looked at others, but some similary priced were quite small inside, I'm 6'4.
Cannot fault it! Superb tent. Not overly bulky/heavy for a family airtent, 25kg ish. Priced pretty well considering everything that's going on, £775.
We got to site, I sent wife and kids to play park. Pegged 4 corners, pumped up the 5 air beams, finished pegging out the fly sheet and guy lines. Job done - love it! Chair out, beer open.
Is this basically the advantage of polycotton? Does it take an age to dry as well?
yeah, polycotton (or cotton) tents stay way cooler in the daytime and warmer at night compared to a normal tent. The disadvantages is that they're massively heavy, expensive, and they go mouldy if you don't dry them properly.
Do you want another one?
I have a big daft tent which I'm 90% sure without looking is the same model, and I don't want it.
The best tent we had was a Vango one. Pretty much the same as all the big brands in terms of features and build quality but what it has which no other tent we had was the bedroom compartments were blackout. Slept as well as we do at home. Absolutely brilliant. Also stood up well to high winds too, but I guess they all would.
I'm not a fan of the airbag/inflatable tents. Don't find them any less faff or any quicker to erect but more of a faff to take down, they're heavier and you have the risk of punctures and need to check pressure. Not a deal breaker as such but I wouldn't pay a premium over a poled version.
We bought a Coleman Mosedale 5 this year which would fit your brief. It’s fairly easy to pitch with 1.5 people (just need a second for about 2 minutes in the middle) and the blackout bedroom is revelation, especially with young kids.
We got a factory second/refurb on eBay for a lot less than RRP, which is what swung it for us over the equivalent Outwell. It’s also tall enough for me to stand in at 184cm and I can lie fully stretched out in the sleeping area without touching any wall at either end
Do you want another one?
I have a big daft tent which I’m 90% sure without looking is the same model, and I don’t want it.
Yes! If it is in 'as new' condition.
Thanks for all the thoughts here.
Prices are seemingly well north of a grand for a sizeable air tent, so sticking to poled I think.
we have a berghaus air 4 plus the awning, its ok but the awning is very had to get a good fit to the tent without biggish gaps... very hard! Airbeams mean very easy to put up quickly not so quick to take down and a total pain if raining. The pack size is HUGE especially with awning as well not so much an issue now we have a T5 but again pain in the ass when using a passat estate previously. Brother in Law has nice Robens tent same size as the air 4 with poles and pack size is 50% smaller... i wish we got one of those!
Awning increases the useable space a lot though if you need to stay in it if raining etc!
Why? I don’t get why people are so obsessed with the blackout tent thing. Unless you’re hung over in which case I get the adversion to light but these are family tent rather than go clubbing tents.
I go all over but never had an issue. Don’t close use curtains in summer either. Sleep until I wake up. Your body will soon adjusts and you will sleep if it’s light if the body needs sleep. I think creating these artificial dark environments mean people become dependent on it to sleep.
So in fact you do get why people find these useful - you just trained yourself not to need them? Its a bit like saying - I don't get why people are obsessed by ebikes - I just got fitter instead.
Just in case you haven't got kids - having a family doesn't necessarily stop handovers. What can make a hangover better is a decent sleep!
FWIF I don't just find the darkness an improvement, they (at least the decathlon one I've used) seems to be cooler inside too - so is more pleasant on a hot stuffy day/evening.
Airbeams mean very easy to put up quickly not so quick to take down and a total pain if raining.
Eh? I don't understand why it is taking you long to take an airbeam down? You undo a valve on each beam then fold/roll the tent. Definitley quicker than sliding all the poles our my old one (which would get caught on the sleeve etc). Why is it worse in the rain?
my two tops tips for packing an air tent are make sure you roll it across the pipes towards the valve (don't fold it across that axis), and put the bag over the tent and flip it, rather than the tent in the bag
Yes! If it is in ‘as new’ condition.
It's been used... twice I think, it's as close to brand new as makes no odds. I've got the carpet and the groundsheet and whatever other shit I was talked into buying at the time by my then-wife. Came to about £600 all in I think. Make me a sensible offer and come collect it from East Lancashire and it's yours. I'll even stand you a pint.
</stealthadvert>
Just checked, I misremembered the model, sorry. It's a Nevada MP. The green one if you google it. It's a fantastic bit of kit but I have no use for it any more.
So in fact you do get why people find these useful – you just trained yourself not to need them? Its a bit like saying – I don’t get why people are obsessed by ebikes – I just got fitter instead
You could say that. I call it being an grown up. Which is why I make sure my kids are not beholden to needing dark rooms.
Thanks Cougar - just DM'd you.
Eh? I don’t understand why it is taking you long to take an airbeam down? You undo a valve on each beam then fold/roll the tent. Definitley quicker than sliding all the poles our my old one (which would get caught on the sleeve etc). Why is it worse in the rain?
I find it a pain getting all the air out and it takes much longer to do this than with a pole tent IMO then getting it back in the bag is also hard work. I follow all the usual tips but if its raining having to lie/kneel on the tent to move the air out and fold it all is unpleaseant and takes longer... thats all really. In reality not much in it i guess but in hindsight i might have preferred poles.
Can you not put the pump in reverse to suck all the air back out?
Andrew has declined my Big Daft Tent as it's not big (or daft) enough for his needs. So if anyone else wants it, shout.
yup you can pump it out, but its quicker/easier to lie on it while folding hence comments about no fun in the rain. TBH its not that big a deal and the tents great but packing up next to someone with a decent poled tent it was apparent the bulk, swearing and faff level was much higher on my pitch!
Left field option (and hear me out!)...
This year we've switched from a big 6 berth poly cotton family tent to a folding caravan, and it has been fantastic.
It's sort of like a halfway house between a tent and a full on caravan.
Compared to our tent the van is much more comfortable to live in, with space for two adults and three kids. Being up off the ground makes a nice warm sleeping space, and a dedicated kitchen is ace. It doesn't get as hot or cold as the tent did, which is also nice.
From a logistical perspective the van is like a large trailer when folded and is easy to tow (we have a 1.8l petrol car and that's fine), and you gain a lot of room in the car since you're not carrying a tent, beds, kitchen stuff, etc.
Cost wise the van is probably comparable with one of the more swish 1500 quid tents which have been discussed, so it's not cheap, but if you're looking at that end of the market might be reasonable.
Pictures...
https://instagram.com/ourrapidoexportmatic?utm_medium=copy_link
Downsides: they're not a tent (if you're a total tent aficionado), you need probably a drive at least to store one on, and the Rapido we have is a vintage thing these days.