My perfect tent - does it exist?

[twoterrors]

My eyes are watering with peering at tents on the internet, so any help really appreciated!

We have a Vango Rio 600, which we have loved, but it has started letting water in a bit (and hasn't got a sewn in groundsheet and the main groundsheet only covers one of the pods and the middle bit) and one of the poles has split and can't be replaced (so we are worried it could crack any time). So, we are looking for a replacement but I can't find one similar.

The things we like are it has two bedrooms vis a vis, not adjacent (our children are teens), and most importantly it has a built in porch with a top and sides so open enough to cook in, but you stay dry even in terrible weather. Most of the tents that are the same sort of style either just have a sun canopy with no sides or a more enclosed enclosed porch which I am dubious about cooking in. We camp a lot of North Wales so this is important to us!

This //www.blacks.co.uk/product/096375/berghaus-torridon-6-man-tent.html looks very like what we want (Berghaus torridon) - assuming you can put both the sides and the top of the porch up at once.

This is our current tent //www.ukcampsite.co.uk/tents/p/Vango-Rio-600/1321. It has been brilliant in high winds and rain. Drawbacks are groundsheet not being sewn in and with no lip, so water does end up in main bit and then seeps in under the bedrooms eventually.

[Guildenstern]

It's hard to see from the picture, but the porch bit looks as though it's just the front door up on poles, which is a function many tents have nowadays.

[twoterrors]

I know, it is hard to see but it isn't quite. The front door goes up on poles to form the top but then there are sides that roll out from the doors and attach to the roof, all the way along at the top and slope inwards back towards the tent, attaching at the bottom corners of the door hole. Does that make sense?

Thanks to anyone who can help, or even tries to understand my explanation!

[IloveJudgeJudy]

What about a Hi-gear Zenobia 6 plus porch/extension? You could cook out in the porch and the bedrooms are vis-a-vis.

[twoterrors]

Thanks, yes that is nearly it. Our current tent is just under 20kg, though, with the porch built in, and we'd like to keep it to about that and not have an extra bag for the porch (car not that big and we sometimes camp in places where you can't have the car next to the pitch). Will consider the zenobia though if we can't find the perfect one.

Thanks - any more suggestions really gratefully received!

[LemonEmmaP]

Twoterrors - we have the Berghaus tent you've linked to above, but I can't fathom out your description to be able to help you! When you put up the porch on the Berghaus, the sides would normally remain in place, but there's nothing to join them to the porch itself. I think if you wanted to remain protected from the elements, you'd have to be right up against the door to the tent which is quite steeply angled, so you perhaps can't make full use of the porch space for cooking in. Sorry, I'm struggling to know exactly what you're asking so I'm probably not helping much! The other thing to be aware of with the Berghaus is its size - it's a Y shape, and at its widest is about 7m across, and probably over 6.5m front to back if you put up the porch. It's huge! Which is great if it's space you want, but if you're on a tight pitch, you'd struggle to fit it in!

[twoterrors]

I know. Do I get a prize for the worst 3d description on MN?

In our tent, the sides of the porch can be zipped onto the roof (which is also the main tent door). This means that you can stand under the porch with your back to the tent and have enough cover to cook. The sides do slope so it feels open. So the porch is a rectangle along the top with a right-angled triangle dropping down on each side (the right angle is at the corner of the tent and the roof).

I think that is an even worse description.

Anyway, that's really useful to know about the sides not attaching on the Berghaus so thank you very much for that. Think that rules it out for us, given its size as well.

Has anyone used a combination of the Decathlon pop up tents instead of a main family tent? They seem to have very good reviews.

Thanks again

[IloveJudgeJudy]

I haven't used Decathlon pop up tents, but friends of ours have one that they used for a weekend (4.2). A couple of years ago in France we saw a couple of families with a few of these. They slept in the small ones and used two sort of cube-shaped ones in the middle for meals, etc. Looked good to me and took no time at all to put up.

[twoterrors]

Thanks - that sounds promising....I really like the idea of snaffling my own little tent where my torch will be where I left it!