[Closed] Inflatable Tents - any experiences?

I don't have a tent but I have a Kampa Air 390 awning for my caravan. Very quick to actually get up and in shape but still takes a while to peg out. It holds air well and is very secure in wind unlike a poled awning which always seems to loosen off in bad weather--I've lost count of the amount of times I've been up in the middle of the night re-tensioning poles with a standard awning. A bit irrelevant I know but it may still apply. The air tubes are quite large diameter but I think a tent tends to have less tubes overall so not so visually obtrusive. weight wise it's very good and packs down reasonably small with the added benefit of no poles to lug around. Again, I realise tent poles are considerably lighter & smaller. would definitely buy again even though it is quite spendy for what is essentially a lightweight awning.

I saw an impressive demo of one in a shop. It really did go up quickly and leaning on it indicated that the air beams provide good support

But I was quite struck by how heavy they are. This smaller family tent was 20kg. But other than the pegs that's one bit. 20kg isn't too bad but I shudder to think how much your lifting with some of the monster tents in the shop. I'd be interested to hear from other users about this

But I was quite struck by how heavy they are.

Fairly heavy compared to tent with steel poles? My tent is 50kg with poles. I doubt the air tents of similar size weigh anywhere near that. (Outwell Vermont )

Fairly heavy compared to tent with steel poles? My tent is 50kg with poles. I doubt the air tents of similar size weigh anywhere near that. (Outwell Vermont )

To me it looked like they weighed the same or more. But the poles can't be separated so you are lifting the whole lot in one go

Have a airbeam vango drive away tent for the camper. Was surprised how heavy and large it was bagged up, compared to a cheapy.

However,it really is worth it to set up in a minute or two with your small toddlers staggering around a busy camp site. Just put in a few quick pegs and you are good to go in good weather.

Went to a Yeomans tent show a couple of years ago when airbeam tents were the new thing.

It was a very windy day. The airbeam tents seemed a lot more stable than the regular pole tents, but not enough to justify the pay hike!

but heavy in a good way - i.e. better quality nylon as well?

Yes, I suppose being in one bag will have it's drawbacks. My poles are separate, making it more manageable. Considering you would be shifting it around in the car, and not having to carry it far, I wouldn't mind it being heavy. They are very solid when up

I've used a couple. On of the early Vango tunnel-type ones that worked really well until the poles exploded in the heat at 24/12 last year. They've significantly uprated the things in later versions though, roughly twice the pressure tolerance and a blow-off valve on the pump so you can't over-inflate them even if you want to.

Have also used a camper van awning, which was hassle free. Also tried the Nemo lightweight bivi tents using a much smaller version and seen the Heimplanet, sort of 'normal' between size all-rounders.

The system works a bit like a tubed bicycle tyre with the inner tube encased in a tough outer casing. The big pluses are that the Vango tents anyway, pitch all in one and go up properly fast - if you've ever struggled with a steel-framed family tent, you'll appreciate that this is a big plus. They're also just as rapid to take down.

Yes, they're quite big and heavy, but they feel well made and fat family tents tend to be heavy regardless of what technology they use. Final plus is that if the air-beams do take a serious load, like a freak gust, they tend to deform and spring back rather than failing catastrophically.

If I were in the market for a family tent and the budget ran to it, I'd buy one tomorrow for the sheer convenience of the thing.

First night in France...

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With hindsight buying a tent that can get a puncture wasn't my greatest decision.

We bought a vango airbeam and tried it for the first time at the weekend. I wasn't bothered about the air but our old tent takes us 2 hours to put up and the wife said she would never camp again if we didn't get a new tent. It was very easy to put up and probably took about 1 hour which doesn't seem bad for its first time up including reading the instructions, setting up some stuff for its first use,trying to inflate it using the wrong pump setting. And the hardest, rockiest ground I have ever experienced. The quality of the tent seems really good and much better than the generic rubbish from go outdoors and some of the little details are very well thought out.

After much window shopping we bought the outdoor revolution 6xt inflatable tent.
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We used it at the weekend and camped through the thunder storm which was exciting!
It took us about 45mins to inflate and pitch all the guys and pegs. Compared to other conventional tents we had ours up quicker. The bag it comes in is massive and takes up a lot of boot space, but it's only one bag compared to a steel or fibreglass framed tent. The bag weighs about 50kg. One of the best features the tent has is pressure releasing valves. If the air in the tubes expand in hot weather or they are over inflated the valves dump the excess pressure.

The MSH Quechua range of inflatable tents @ Decathlon are on sale.. They are excellent value

So if it gets really hot in the day, air leaks out.. then when it cools down again....?

So if it gets really hot in the day, air leaks out.. then when it cools down again....?

You dont have burst chambers...

It goes saggy?

This is where molgrips states that a caravan doesn't go saggy 😉

Hadnt thought about my tube over expanding in the hot weather.. could end in a droopy disappointment.

They do absolutely go saggy, when they get to around 20 years old or so.. then I have to fix them...

So if it gets really hot in the day, air leaks out.. then when it cools down again....?

Go on, have a guess.

Don't be shy, nobody will laugh.... Just think really hard..... "what would I do in that situation" and have a go. 🙂

He'd strip it down until he's down to the bare chassis.

I'm quite capable of imaginging what happens, the reason there's a quesiton mark on the end was to indicate that I was asking if anyone's experienced a problem because of this as I am genuinely interested.

Maybe if you'd been thinking really hard you'd have figured it out. Try again next time you might do better 🙂

What are the inflatable tubes made of? Are they easily repairable?

Havent had any problems with mine staying hard. Should be getting alot more use in the summer holidays so will keep you informed of any drooping issues and whether i have to use my pump to get it back up again.

Yes cloudnine, but what about your tent?

simonpedley - Member
After much window shopping we bought the outdoor revolution 6xt inflatable tent.

Havent had any problems with mine staying hard

In hot weather like the weekend if the pressure exceeds 4-5psi the release valve works. Therefore in theory the beams should stay hard. They recommend an inflation pressure of 3 psi so hopefully there should be enough expansion space anyway. If one of the beams burst outdoor revolution will replace it free of charge for the duration of ownership.

Bigger is always better Lady Gresley. It's only 8x4m 😆

Good idea to canvas opinion before purchase, hopefully wont be a let down.

Had a Vango Tigris 600 for 8 years, re proofed once but I started to get pole breakages every trip so decided enough was enough and bought an end of season Outwell Harrier. Went from 1 hour to pitch to 20 mins. Really like the design of the Outwell - small porch at one end gives a bit of shelter for cooking out of the wind.. We went for the poly-cotton one as our 'forever' tent but the Outwell hornet is the same design but nylon. You pay a premium for that though in terms of cost and weight. It's been brilliant - quality kit. Stood up to 50mph winds on a clifftop in Cornwall in June without any flapping about or bending.not had any issues with poles expanding in the heat, they're just rock solid.
The downside is the weight 35kg all in and the pack size. It's massive! Can just about get it in the boot, but have had to rationalise some of the stuff we used to take - eg buy food when you get there. Still managed kit for a week no problem. You see the dimensions written down and visualise it, and measure your boot but it is bigger in the flesh!
Another downside is the pump. Possibly the weakest link. And as 5thElefant said, if you can't blow it up you're buggered and a laughing stock on the campsite.

Took ours to Harris last year. It was windy (as usual).

In the night some of the other tents blew away. We didn't notice. Ours hardly moved, minimal flapping.

I'm sold.

Oh, and it's much quicker to set up than its equivalent poled tent we had before.

Gotta say, we're big fans of the Quecha popups, got a four man that literally takes five minutes to put up (plus pegging time), might take ten to take down.

Pushed the button on one of the Decathlon inflatables. Unsure if they can easily be repaired if tey pop but gonna take a big roll of gorilla tape and a bottle of stans fluid with me just in case 🙂 Tubeless tents! - who knew!