Pssst has anyone got an Outwell Indian Lake?

[tinateaspoon]

OMG OMG DH says we can have one . This is most odd as I thought he would think it too pricey (as I do!) but he really likes it and wants one.

Does anyone have one, is it a good tent or just a bit quirky? Will we really have many happy weekends away or will we look like we have put a Christmas tree up . Oh help me, I am excited but scared too. At £600 this tent will have to last a lot of years and I would hate to regret it. But DH does have his heart set on it and to think he refused to let me have a Norfolk Lake for the same price!

[tinateaspoon]

Here it is www.outwell.dk/TentMeasure.aspx?b=Outwell&bid=2&lid=1&l=en-GB&catID=322&TentId=724&pid=1

Please tell me is DH bonkers or inspired?

[hettie]

how many are you? Polycotton should last along time, but the shape of it doesn't give that much room for storage. Why not the Norfolk lake? Especialy at the same price?

[Insanity]

never heard of it before but now I REALLY want one....NOW!

[pipsqueak]

quirky but pricey i agree - am wanting after the montana 6 but looking at the webiste am not sure now ...

[tinateaspoon]

Hettie - There's four of us, two adults, two little ones and the dog! The Norfolk Lake was the one I wanted last year as a big family tent, now we have an Idaho XL for long trips and this is a weekend tent so we wouldn't need a whole load of storage. My other problem is once I have been in a polycotton tent, will I ever want to get back into a nylon one.

Maybe I should stop worrying and be grateful DH wants one . I know the kids will love it. I am thinking we will have to go camping nearly every weekend now to make it worth splashing out!

Go on Insanity and Pipsqueak get one too, we can be Tipi buddies !

[Washersaurus]

I'm that you can afford to spend so much on a weekend tent. I would love a Norfolk Lake, but can't fault our Montana (for now)

[tinateaspoon]

Believe me I think DH is mad, its all his idea, but how can I say no. He has just got a promotion so it is a treat for us and an anniversary present too. And we do camp a lot so it will be well used.

[Washersaurus]

I think it looks like a good fun tent - you will get many compliments on-site I'm sure

[tinateaspoon]

Thanks, I think it is an either love it or hate it tent - and it will stand out and I like to blend in!

[geegees]

We've just had a Norfolk Lake and it is wonderous, I was sceptical about spending so much money when I thought our Khyam Ontario was perfectly adequate but now so glad I let dh persuade me. I'm sure the Indian Lake will also be a great quality tent with that 'real' tent feel but I'm not sure it will be as practical as the Norfolk. But if dh could not be swayed otherwise, go fot it

[tinateaspoon]

Tis bought now- eek and we got a free carpet and footprint so I think we got a good deal. Just off to pour myself a stiff drink . We haven't gone for a Norfolk Lake because we just want a weekend tent that is quick to put up - our Idaho takes quite some time!

I wonder how popular they are, cos if they are not I suspect there will be a few going cheap at the end of the season

[blithedance]

Good luck with it - we seriously looked at the Indian Lake but went for a Wolf Lake because we needed more windows (for hiding away on midgy Scottish Evenings) and thought we might get claustrophobic in the tipi. Let us know how you get on !

[tinateaspoon]

Its arrived this morning - oooh the polycotton feels nice, and thats just the bag! But the footprint and carpet have been held up hmph. We might get to try it this weekend but dd1 is not well so we might have to wait - I am not risking her chucking up in it .

I'll let you know how we get on blithedance .

[Mummyisamonster]

tinateaspoon, loving your new tent! Having serious tent envy . Hope the carpet turns up soon, we've got an Outwell carpet for our (old cheapy Aztec) tent and it's great.
Let us all know how the tent performs this weekend (assuming dd1 feels better of course).

[Jannibobs]

Hi

Sorry, but maybe you can help out a newbie here?

We're seriously thinking of buying an Indian Lake for a 10 day holiday this summer in Cornwall and would like to know how you have got on with your new tent!

There are 3 of us (2 adults, 1 child) - presumably space is okay - would you say worth getting the carpet / groundsheet? Where did you get both these for free?!

Are the sloping sides an issue? Any tips / hints / etc? These seem quite new and no-one else seems to have one yet!

Jan

[Smithagain]

Where do you live Jannibobs?

If you're anywhere remotely near, there is one pitched at Camping & Leisure World, Frensham Garden Centre, Farnham, GU10 3BP

It is much more spacious than I imagined. Definitely quirky, though.

[Jannibobs]

Hi

sorry, no we live in the yorkshire dales!

I emailed a shop who were offering this tent at £599, inc free groundsheet and carpet, but a] they've sold out (boo!) and b] they don't recommend this tent for more than a weekend!

Can't afford to spend so much and get it wrong!

Glad you think it sounds roomy though - it looks roomy on paper, but unsure about in reality.

[Slubberdegullion]

Jannibos, as an alternative to the Indian Lake could I recommend the Cabanon Barbados.

We have its little sister the Guadeloupe that 4 of us camp in very comfortably for week+ holidays.

It is more expensive than the outwell but that is beacause its 100% ten-cate cotton canvas rather than polycotton (no offense to polycotton owners ).

As much as I love tee-pees I prefer the two pole style at the porch as it opens out the living space/head room a bit more.

They are fabulous tents and will last 20+ years if you look after the canvas. Oh and it takes 15 mins to pitch.

[Jannibobs]

Hi all again

Well, events have overtaken us as my mum turned up the other day and triumphantly showed us that she'd gone out and bought us one! Which is great, but now not so sure, so showed a brave face but now we have one! We off camping next weekend so little chance to swap so I think we now have an Indian Lake for keeps! Eek!

Anything else we ought to get? DH says we could use any piece of plastic as a groundsheet, does that sound about right? Also, would it be worth buying the (expensive sounding) carpet?

[louiserogers]

We have just come back from our first trip in our Indian Lake, we had an Outwell Montana b4.
It is a serious and fantastic upgrade, much easier to pitch and take down - we hated squeezing the Montana in the bag!! Also sleeping in cotton is lush, and the inner tent is beautiful when yr in bed!
We did get the footprint, though I would say it is not actually essential cos the ground sheet is very tough material and because it is packed separately to the tent, easy to clean. We also got the carpet, which I would recommend, we had rainy muddy weather, and just shook out the carpet regularly to keep it clean once it had dried, it also meant the inner tent stayed spotlessly clean.

Enjoy x x

[louiserogers]

Also can't think why on earth they can't recommend this tent for more than a weekend! We were in it 5 days and are off for 10 in august and it is a very solid pitch!
I'd happily be in it for months!!!

[Jannibobs]

Well, just back from two weeks in Cornwall and thought I'd update on the tent.

We drove down overnight and arrived at 8am. Good way but all v tired.

Cup of tea and toast courtesy of the local cafe and we thought about sticking the tent up.

It took us 2 hours ! This was deliberately slow as we all wanted to make sure we didn't break anything! We all even kept our tempers despite no sleep!!

All went up ok, but DH complained of the weight of the tent when actually doing the final big push of shoving the big pole up the middle - didn't help that we'd started pegging down the groundsheet... - but the rest was easy really.

We went to have a lie down at 4pm and woke up the next morning at 6.30! Even DD who's normally up really early, esp when camping!

That first night it rained and water did come in through the porch door, and the top of the main bit a bit too, but thereafter whenver it rained the tent stayed dry.

We had three wet days and lots of wind and the tent was fab - really quiet and not flappy at all. The material dried out pretty quickly after it did become wet, but that may have been due to the wind as much as the tent?

The space was fine for the three of us for the time we had so that wasn't an issue either.

Taking the tent down took a bit longer than we'd anticipated, but again we were trying to make sure our tent stayed in one piece and would be useable again in the future.

We did find many unmentionable creepy crawlies on the groundsheet which DH had to deal with while I did something more important...

Once home we have struggled to properly dry / air the tent and groundsheet as it is all so large and heavy! Tips welcome on that front.

Overall I reckon the footprint groundsheet would be a good buy if it stops the main groundsheet becoming dirty and making packing up easier, and I think the carpet would be good too - we laid a couple of rugs out on those wet mornings when we played Uno or similar games, but they weren't quite large enough for the three of us to be comfy lounging around on!

Taking the experience overall, we enjoyed the trip, the tent was pretty fab - everyone commented on it as being 'cool'!

[tinateaspoon]

Oooh great some more Indian lakers! We have used our twice now, having waited for some better weather . The first time we pitched it was an ordeal, although we had practised in the garden, the pole wouldn't go up straight and the hat blew off the one time we had it right!! I think we were worrying too much about getting it straight over the footprint as there is not too much room for error. And I agree that it is not essential as the groundsheet unzips so the tent stays clean anyway.

Once it was up though it was brill, and very spacious and you could definitely stay in it for more than a week! The polycotton is great, I am not sure how much I will use our nylon tents now!!

The second trip was much better, we didn't use the footprint, and it went up first time, need to get the pole right in the middle before pushing it up. Its easier to get up and down than our Idaho, which is a monster and takes forever. And it fits in the bag. We love it, although I did nearly fall out with it first time, I can't wait to go again. The one problem is the pole for the hat has a slight split already because I couldn't find the join to take it apart - definitely recommend putting some tape round the ends to mark them.

So pleased that other people are enjoying the tent, its fab and we have had lots of comments and people wanting to have a look!!

[Jannibobs]

Tinateaspoon - you are so right! I had meant to say that we just could not find the right split to pull the circle hat thingy apart!! DH has put tape round ours now, luckily he didn't break it in the process - it looked very hard to pull apart, and he went all red in the face!

Plus we also all played with the top hat - Harry Potter and the Naming Hat - hard to stop DH and DD running around with it on their heads. Some good photos though!

[thady]

hi..thank you for all comments about tent ,its the one i was looking for.

i am having difficulty locating one..anybody know who has one in stock..at a good price would be wonderful and to buy on line would be even better.

also how are they in wind?

all the best, thady.