To pay £150 for bell tent for camping weeked?

[LifeAfterBreastCancer]

Have a year six school camping trip booked for July. We're not a camping family and unlikely to ever do so again. Have option of borrowing tents from various friends. However there is also option to have bell tent set up for on arrival, meaning no hassle setting up tent when we get there. Additional cost is £150. Is it bonkers to pay it? Is putting up the tent part of the fun?! Am not in the least bit handy so it will all fall to DH. Seasoned and not so seasoned campers let me know your thoughts.

[TakeMeToYourLiar]

Sounds very sensible to me

[Muchtoomuchtodo]

Go for it!

[Knittedfairies]

I would pay the £150 (and then sit and watch the 'fun' as others put up their tents)

[scrivette]

Much better idea than paying for a tent you won't use again.

[Branleuse]

no, putting up the tent is not part of the fun. I reckon a pre-erected, pre-furnished bell tent sounds amazin

[milienhaus]

If it’s not a huge amount of money to you I would 100% do it - putting up and taking down tents is the worst part.

[PolkaDotsPolka]

If you're definitely not going to go camping again and it isn't a huge amount of money to you then I'd say definitely go for it.

[fruitpastille]

Yes, I think it's a great idea but would worry that it won't be near the other tents. The best bit of camping is sitting outside in the evening round a fire/bbq with drinks and friends.

[CaraDune]

If you've got the money, go for it.

Apart from anything else, you have no idea how good/ cheap your friends' tent are, or how sensitive/forgiving they are to being pitched "just so" in order to keep rain out.

If the bell tent comes with camp beds, even better! (Mats on the ground are crap, airbeds are cold, airbed+thermal roll mat just about acceptable, but still not a patch on a proper bed... long experience here).

[userxx]

Do it, I hate putting up a tent.

[LifeAfterBreastCancer]

Oh gosh, thanks all. I thought I'd get a flurry of comments about wastefulness and the like. We have option (several actually) of borrowing tent but my inclination is to avoid the hassle. We also have paid for the air mattress things too. #highmaintenance ;-)

[Norma27]

The only part of camping I hate is putting the tent up and taking it down again. And fitting it back into the bloody bag!
Definitely pay for the bell tent.

[LakieLady]

Putting up a tent can be a nightmare, even for experienced campers with a tent they've used many times before. If it's really windy or wet, and you've never put up a tent before, it's hideous. If you've got kids with you, especially if they're tired and/or hungry they can be a complete pain in the arse.

I used to camp a lot (before I got too old and arthritic lol) and have a big tent that I can (could?) put up single-handed easily, but there were still times that I wished I could pay someone to do it for me.

It sounds like a bargain to me. Especially when I think of all the times I've seen couples having blazing rows as they struggle with a tent when they're tired, stressed and irritable.

[Aretheystillasleepbob]

pay it! that's nothing to saev on the hassle as a one off...

[EveryDayIsADuvetDay]

sit and watch the 'fun' as others put up their tents
Take along some champagne and proper glasses to savour the moment.

[OneMoreLight]

I'd speak to the site and see if they can set it up in the area where other people in your party will be camping. Often they set up all their tents together so you'd be away from the rest of your group.

[TypingError]

I would. Worth every penny.