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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.

Original poster

scary camping experience!!

41 replies

Ineed2 · 29/08/2010 17:52

Have just come back from a short weekend with some friends at a local water park. Sooo windy, yesterday had to hold on the the porch during some torrential downpours where the wind was gusting, Should have taken the porch down but the wind dropped in the early evening. Woke this morning to gusts again. my OH [not camping with us] came to help me take the tent down. It took 3 of us to hold onto the porch and as I was undoing it from the main tent it ripped badly. Luckily I had managed to detatch it from my new quechua pop up. We got the pop up down without too much trouble and came home. Some friends who were staying another day have just text to say that their large vango has collapsed in the wind and many poles are broken.
Morale of this story beware gusting winds, unfortunatly this site was very open with no hedges to pitch near, we won't be returning.

OP posts:
fabsoopergroovy · 30/08/2010 09:55

Vango's and wind - ooooooooohh. Don't even go there.

A couple of years ago we had extraordinary winds (winds are normal on the north cornish coast but these were exceptional). Morning broke and throughout the day, debris was collected and 14 tents had to be binned - most of them Vango's! (including ours Sad.)

Vango refused to acknowledge there was a problem.

Moral of the story - don't buy Vango BUT don't let it put you off camping. It's not always like that Smile.

MollieO · 30/08/2010 10:01

I'm looking at getting a vango. Which one did you have? I'm looking at one with steel poles so I'd hope it would be okay in wind but your tales are putting me offSmile

Fennel · 30/08/2010 10:08

We have 2 Vangos that do fine in the wind. One has been going strong for years. Vango do a range of price/quality, I don't know about their cheapie ones but we have had lots of tents and do a lot of camping, and I am quite happy with the Vango ones. We are always careful about their shape though, we like wind-proof shapes, we wouldn't buy one of those huge tunnel/garage shapes that people seem to like at the moment.

MollieO · 30/08/2010 10:11

Fennel which ones do you have? I'm looking T the Artemis.

Fennel · 30/08/2010 10:15

We have a Diablo 400 (for 5 of us, we find it huge, but it isn't as big as most people woul dhave for 5 people, which also makes it better in the wind of course). We've used it loads over 6 summers and it's been absolutely fine.

And we have a smaller backpacking vango, can't remember the details but it it one of those very light and low ones, it's pretty wind-proof.

I do look at all those huge tunnel shaped tents and wonder whether these people ever camp anywhere windy, they are (to me) fair weather tent shapes. people seem more bothered about whether they can stand up in the bedrooms than about wind, I think, quite often.

stripeyknickersspottysocks · 30/08/2010 10:36

I was at a campsite the other weekend in strong winds, hadn't taken my pop up tent this time was just in the campervan. It was really windy, I saw a big Sprayway tent collapse, me and a friend tried to pull it back up as the owners were nowhere to be seen but we couldn't do it. The tent was too big/heavy for us.

Then a couple came to try and pitch one of those Kyham rapid erect tents where the poles are already in situ and just click into place. We went to help them as they couldn't hold onto it and pitch it in the wind, 2 poles broke and they had to go home.

The week before I'd being in Devon and my Quercha pop-up blew across the campsite one afternoon! It was a very exposed, cliff top site.

fabsoopergroovy · 30/08/2010 10:42

Hi - TBH I don't remember the name of our Vango that went in the severe wind but did not have steel poles. It was a large dome tent (as were the others that went although only one was the exact same tent) and the poles were flexible fibre glass.

As we had had a tent with flexible poles that had snapped and severed the tent before we did some research and ploughed a bit of money into the Vango. The poles, if put under severe stress and broke, would not splinter we were promised in the blarb.

There is no doubt whatsoever that 2008 summer weather was extreme and we are well seasoned campers. We were not however expecting to vacate and see the carnage that we did. What was striking was the amount of Vango's that ended up in the bins and we Vango owners all had great discussions about it at the time.

Have not looked at Vangos since as we got very 'unhelpful' responses from Vango (ie. these things happen, weather was extreme).

Tent styles have indeed changed quite markedly in those 2 years.

Sorry - didn't mean to put you all off but these are my experiences. I imagine, if you're happy with your research and have read other users reviews etc. then go with it and enjoy.

Unfortunately, can't do anything about the weather!

LadyBiscuit · 30/08/2010 10:45

My friend's Vango collapsed (pole broke) on top of my baby which was a bit scary :(

What is a 'good' shape in windy conditions? She's just bought one of those huge tunnel tents which blew away when we were taking it down because she thought it was a better shape

Fennel · 30/08/2010 11:14

A "good shape" isn't too high, has gentle slopes up and down. Not vertical sides, or anything close. So the wind can rise up over the tent not batter into it. A bit like the angle of a car windscreen, designed in the same way for air to rise up over the car not slow the car down by hitting the screen.

MollieO · 30/08/2010 11:38

This is the Vango Artemis. It is a tunnel but has sloping sides/roof so hopefully will be okay. We don't tend to camp anywhere especially windy - my favourite places are the Forestry Commission sites in the Forest of Dean, New Forest and Snowdon - all pretty sheltered as they are mostly in woodland.

I have a dome Sunncamp which has incredibly long poles and I stuggle to pin them (ring and pin system). Ds is too small to help so I'm hoping that this Vango will be easier as there will be no poles that require the force of ten men to bend into shape. Grin

I did look at the Outwell Magic but decided that I'd be paying about £150 for a kids room and play wall and really wasn't worth the extra.

LadyBiscuit · 30/08/2010 11:46

Thanks Fennel. Exactly like my Quechua then Wink

MollieO · 30/08/2010 11:51

LadyB how easy do you find it to take down your Quechua? I have an Outwell Alderney pop up which I struggle with. Last weekend I watched two grown men struggle with striking a Quechua (although the funniest sight was watching 3 adults erect a Hi Gear Mojave 5 which someone on MN said is an easy tent to put up by yourself!).

WhatsWrongWithYou · 30/08/2010 11:51

Sorry but I'm sniggering at pop up quechas and cllapsing Vangos Blush.

LadyBiscuit · 30/08/2010 12:21

I did struggle with it a bit last time but that was largely because I couldn't remember how to do it. Luckily the instructions are printed inside the bag. It was only the second time I've done it and it was fine the first time (but I practiced in the garden the day before we went). I find it very easy to put up.

MollieO · 30/08/2010 12:30

They look lovely but I'd struggle to fit it in the car unfortunately. It was nice using the pop up at least to put it up. I did struggle to get it to fold down back into the bag and I'd worry that it would be very difficult to do if it was very windy.

sarah293 · 30/08/2010 12:33

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LadyBiscuit · 30/08/2010 12:34

I haven't ever taken it down completely alone - I think it would be quite hard to do. And it just fits into the boot of my car which is an estate so you're right. There's no way it would fit in an 'ordinary' boot

MollieO · 30/08/2010 12:42

Riven do you have a tarp? If not what do you do about cooking? I love my bell tent but I haven't sorted out what to do when it is raining and I need somewhere dry to cook.

LadyB I have a Mazda MX5 sports car and managed to squeeze the pop up on the parcel shelf and roof line (had to put the roof down, put the tent in and then close the roof - fine as the depth of the Outwell is only 5cm, I think the Quechua is 15cm).

sarah293 · 30/08/2010 13:23

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MollieO · 30/08/2010 13:32

LOL Riven. Grin I need to sort out a tarp as I don't think ds would be impressed with cold food. We are contemplating going camping October half term so I doubt we will have decent weather.

Flighttattendant · 30/08/2010 13:33

I read the other day about someone's Obelink pole snapping in half in the wind. I was quite shocked. I wonder if a steel scaffold pole would work!

Another idea is if you have an awkwardly shaped tent (we have a sun valley 6 which is totally upright) it might be a good idea to have a giant tarp thing that you can swing over it, and fasten down a while away from the sides thus creating a teletubby style hillock rather than a toaster shape.

I don't know where you would get one that big though.

Flighttattendant · 30/08/2010 13:34

Or camp in an aircraft hangar.

or something...Hmm

Original poster
Ineed2 · 30/08/2010 16:43

The large vango that was trashed was an amazon 600, it was very square and pitched side on to the wind [ bad idea] but had been sheltered by another tent. I had 2 pop ups with me a quechua 4.1 and an outwell jersey m. They both performed well in the wind flexing and bending but then just popping back up.
I would not buy another vango as I found them specatularly not bothered when my last vango turned out to be a sieve not a tent. Compared to my other tents the fabric seems flimsy. I am well impressed with the quechua it has stood up well in the wind and rain this "summer". Personally I would recommend them over a vango any day. And soo easy to put up and down. Get the staff in decathlon to show you how to do it before you buy, its dead simple.

OP posts:
MilaMae · 30/08/2010 16:58

The Yeomans guy told us the old Vangos were good,the newer ones not so.

We had torrential wind and rain last week by the sea in Cornwall,our Outwell did us proud. Not a drop inside and not a whimper in the wind.

Was funny when we turned up to said site as it did look like Outwell city though.

fabsoopergroovy · 30/08/2010 18:38

MollieO - ooooooooohh, October half term Grin.

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