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Camping

Our UK Camping forum has all the information you need on finding the right equipment for your tent or caravan.

Bugger - no Bell Tents left

89 replies

Needanewname · 12/07/2010 21:56

Damn damn damn!

I've finally talked DH into a Bell Tent (5m with zig) although he said next year I was hoping to talk him round for this year but they've sold out!!!! So I'm going to sulk now!

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Limara · 12/07/2010 21:57

Bell Tent?

Needanewname · 12/07/2010 21:58

see here

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Needanewname · 12/07/2010 21:59

I wanted the 5m ultimate with inner tent but can't have one now and wish I was 2 so I could have a tantrum

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MrsWobbleTheWaitress · 12/07/2010 22:05

Try another company - they're not the only people who sell them. Have you tried soulpad, or there is an ebay seller I seem to remember from last year? Or canvas and cast?

Needanewname · 12/07/2010 22:08

Soulpad also sold out (not as keen on theirs as you can;t roll up the walls by the door - also bright orange ropes by the looks of it) canvas and cast is a bit over the budget unfortunately.

Oh well I'll just have to be patient and wait til next year!

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MrsWobbleTheWaitress · 12/07/2010 22:09

Do they have any with the separate groundsheet? You really don't need one that zips in.

Needanewname · 12/07/2010 22:10

They do, I just liked the zip one.

Thanks Mrs W I'm just being a brat and wanting one now now now now now!!!!

Patience has never been my strong point!!!

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MrsWobbleTheWaitress · 12/07/2010 22:12

Hehe! Well we have the one with the separate groundsheet and have camped twice now in absolute torrential rain for hours and hours - no exaggeration - and we have never had a leak from the groundsheet, or anywhere at all, for that matter!

Needanewname · 12/07/2010 22:14

oooh tell me more!! One of the things I dislike about our current tent (Outwell Hartford 2007) is that although the inner is all in one piece the wind and rain can still get in under the outer bit. But baically I've got a friend who has one and I thought it was lovely and cool inside (temperature, though it looks pretty cool too) and I could decorate all pretty and and and

I'll shut up now!

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MrsWobbleTheWaitress · 12/07/2010 22:20

I love ours. We bought it last year and the first time we used it, we pitched in torrential rain and sat in it all evening thanks to the rain - no bedroom at that point, but none of us got wet or anything (until DD1 started throwing up, but that's another story!).

Bought the bedroom for the next trip and pitched in drizzle, and it then proceeded to rain properly all evening and all the next day too - have some lovely pictures of loads of children roasting marshmallows on the huge campfire (started when it was still only drizzling), all in full waterproofs . We adults sat out all evening in our full waterproofs round the campfire too! Anyway, the bedroom was lovely - made a lovely cosy space for us all with a lovely living area at the front.

I made bunting for it this year, and bought some solar powered fairy lights for round the door. Didn't get any rain this time round (first trip of the year last week) - hurrah!

We bought a few £7.99 rugs from ikea for the living area too, which I love .

Seriously, the groundsheet is such a non-issue and I think bell tent only commissioned the SIG and then the ZIG for people who were moving from modern tents to bell tents - it's our first tent though, as adults, so weren't used to the newfangled SIGs on modern tents.

Don't forget, the bits that the guys attach to on the bell tent make a sort of overhang over the bottom of the tent, and any rain that does flow under it, goes under the rain flaps that you tuck underneath the groundsheet.

TheButterflyEffect · 13/07/2010 00:46

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Needanewname · 13/07/2010 09:20

THank you Mrs W, it is cheaper so maybe Mr Needanewname will agree!

Maybe that could be my new name - needabelltent - Ok now I'm officially sad!

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TheButterflyEffect · 13/07/2010 09:39

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poppyboo · 13/07/2010 10:08

TheButterflyEffect OMG I am so sorry that yours ripped. What on earth happened? Now I am absolutely terrified of ours ripping, my DH would freak out. Do these tent rip easily? Ihaven't really heard of this happening. Now I'm freaking out about this. I'm this has happened to your tent on your first trip.

MrsWobbleTheWaitress · 13/07/2010 10:43

TheButterflyEffect - I can't believe yours ripped either!

Have you had it repaired yet?

Does yours have a little plastic cap to put over the top of the spike when you've put it through the hole? It's meant to keep the rain out, but ours is pretty stiff to get off. Did you have the frame legs right up against the walls?

Have you contacted soulpad to ask them? They seem like a lovely company.

We've used ours several times now, with no problems except we can't get the blinking door to not have too much tension across at the level of the top of the walls - can't work out what we're doing wrong

poppyboo · 13/07/2010 11:35

TheButterflyEffect I was also wondering if you got in touch with soulpad and if you did what they said about your tent ripping?

MisSalLaneous · 13/07/2010 11:49

I agree, contact them and ask, ButterflyEffect, you've got nothing to lose. I've heard Soulpad has excellent customer care.

We've camped with our tent a couple of times now, and no problem at all.

TheButterflyEffect · 13/07/2010 12:01

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MisSalLaneous · 13/07/2010 12:04

Hmm, our tent has little loops that you can tie around the legs, but to be honest, on our last camp we didn't bother, and it was fine.

Do you have the guy rope running from the top of the A-frame directly in front of the door? The tension between the central pole and the guy rope from the A-frame should be enough to keep the frame in place. Also, I assume you've got the bottom of the A-frame in the loops inside the tent?

TheButterflyEffect · 13/07/2010 12:09

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MisSalLaneous · 13/07/2010 12:15

We've got an Obelink one though (like the belltent uk ones), so it might be ever so slightly different, I'm not sure.

Just asked dh, and he said he hasn't noticed that our eyelet is off-centre. Hopefully someone else can comment to compare. Did you mention that to Soulpad? Their reaction a bit disappointing, I expected more, tbh.

poppyboo · 13/07/2010 12:37

It bothers me that you followed the instructions yet you still had it rip on you. Did you have any rain at all? My mum told me that when canvas dries off it shrinks so can pull on the ropes more...but she reckoned not enough to rip a tent. I thought rain was unlikely seeing as the weather has ben boiling hot lately...

I read the bit in the instuction about the door frame being at a slight angle rather then standing fully upright.

Do you think the damage might have been caused when the door frame fell over and you didn't notice until you were putting it away?

Did Soulpad give you any reason why it might have ripped on first outing?

paisleyleaf · 13/07/2010 12:43

We went for a Soulpad lite and have never regretted it. I could understand the appeal of the SIG and was tempted by them. But not the zip. I just expect the zip to be a PITA - lining it up etc and an extra thing that could break. I'm happier securing the groundsheet to the sides with the pegs.

poppyboo · 13/07/2010 12:52

I've got a soulpad 5000 hybrid with the zip...

MisSalLaneous · 13/07/2010 12:59

Poppyboo, has yours not arrived yet then? We've got a 4m one with zip, it's really easy. Peg out, drop tent in middle, zip on (5 mins job max), then pole etc as normal. You can actually leave it zipped on, but we prefer to unzip it when packing up, because it's so easy to hang up separate groundsheet to dry / brush off whilst canvas top is packed away (assuming it was dry, obv). It also means I worry less about smearing some of the mud / ground on the canvas - i just bang the groundsheet in a black bag if dirty to clean at home.

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