Family tent and equipment recommendation please

[TheHouseofMirth]

Having camped as a child I have decided 2011 will be the year I force DH to go camping and hopefully make him fall in love with it!

In order to improve my chances of success I want to get the tent and equipment right but things have moved on a bit in the 20 odd years since I last camped and I don't know where to start so I'd really welcome some some tent and equipment suggestions please.

We are 2 adults and 2 children and we have a small hatchback car. If my plan succeeds we'd probaly be looking at weekend camping with maybe a week in the summer.

I know DH will most enjoy camping in small sites with few facilities but he would also like to be comfortable. A tent he can stand up in is essential. Also one that will perform well in windy and rainy conditions. I'd like a spare bedroom for storing stuff.

Over to you...

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Hello, this thread is a little old and some of the recommendations might be out of date. For more up-to-date suggestions, take a look at our round-up of Mumsnetters favourite family tents. MNHQ.

Wow that is a BRILLIANT price poppy.

MrsQue - The Dozer is as good as my memory foam mattress. It's about 10cm deep and filled with foam. We take them when we go visiting now. We volunteer to sleep on the floor so other people can have the bed. I get a better nights sleep than I do in a spare bed.
(I never sleep well in spare beds, strange smelling wash powders that make me itch.)

They are a bit hefty though, not that much different in weight to out old airbed, but they take up more space.

DD has a Little Kippa from Alpkit. She's seems happy with it, although we do still have to put blankets all over the floor for her because she fidgets and rolls off... handy for me when she has a bad night though because I just crawl in with her and I get to use her mat :o

slubber thats what I thought, as I said earlier I need one but I know nothing about that website...anyone used it?

Thank you for making me so welcome!

The last tent I camped in was an 80's canvas frame tent the size of a small bungalow, and thanks to my mother, equipped like one too. Things have clearly moved on a bit since then.

Slubberdegullion I hate compromising but I can see that there are lots of trade-offs when it comes to tents. I suspect we might need something of a stop-gap tent at this stage though; good enough to entice DH but something we'll trade in once he's fallen in love with camping and wants input into it. I am kind of planning this behind his back you see, though if I fail to convince him then I'll just have to take the boys by myself.

So budget is as small as possible - ideally sub £200 for tent plus whatever we need for equipment. I was hoping with your fantastic help to draw up a short-list of a few tents (or ones to avoid) and then see if I could bag a bargain on eBay/Gumtree/classified ads on camping websites as well as looking for deals on new tents.

Those bell tents look beautiful and if we ever get a bigger car I'd love one but bearing in mind our current small car boot I think canvas is out so that leaves polyester or polycotton. After our attempts last summer to get down a pop up beach shelter a pop up tent would definitely be inadvisable, though no doubt greatly amusing for our fellow campers. I guess as far as layout and style is concerned I should take your advice and actually go and look at some tents.

Am I right in thinking tents have seperate inners and outers? Is it best to get one where you pitch the outer first? Can you talk me through ground sheets (and what's a footprint btw?). Are there any other features we should be looking for?

And do people still take chemical toilets and toilet tents these days?

I think most tents can be pitched as one these days. All of my collection can be, the first time you have to pitch the outer first and then hang then inner in. When you take it down you leave the inner attached.

Groundsheets are eitehr sewn in (SIG) or not. SIGs are warmer and less draughty. Advantage of not having a sewn in one is that you can brush any muck out. The bedroom bits are always sewn in but my big Outwell the living area isn't sewn in. I do prefer SIGs though.

I'm not 100% sure what a Footprint is but I think its something the same size as your tent's floor area that you put under the groundsheet. Protects the groundsheet from holes being made with stones, etc.

Its very unusual to take a toilet tent these days, 99% of campsites have loo blocks. I take a chemical loo with me as we often stop at very basic fields campsites.

The footprint is the amount of groundspace you need to pitch the tent. Outer first tents are better IMO, because it keeps all your inside stuff dry if you pitch in the rain.

Check with the campsite, but most have a toilet and shower block like VivaLeBeaver says, make sure you check before going whether this is so.

Poppyboo, I'll have to make do with my trusty airbed at that price, and the bulkier one isn't really an option because I usually go to festivals on the train, so I have to carry everything on my back.

That's my plan Viva. Both of us, but DH especially, has a horror of organised spaces so I'm imagining very basic site.

I wouldn't be parted from my electric cool box to keep my beer DD's milk cool. Cost us £25 from Lidl about 5 years ago & still going strong.

And I am in the Cadac camp - for the moment anyway

There are plenty of camp sites with unorganised space that still have loos. Try one that allow camp fires as they tend to be less precious about where you pitch.

Be careful about getting a too cheap tent. Firends got one of these buy all you need for £200 type deals from Halfords and the tent was not great, luckily they went camping with a group of seasoned campers so the DH saw all the other tents you can get and fell in love with camping, otherwise he may not have been keen to go again. Do you know anyone who can lend you a tent?

I would also advise for a sewn in groundsheet, warmer, keeps more insects out, less noisey dryer and cleaner too. IF you're able I would get a zipped in ground sheet then you can take off the groundsheet for cleaning.

Also don't rule out the bell tents on price, some of the companies do clearance deals at this time of year. Or if you know anyone in Europe you could buy directly from Obelink (we did, though we drove over to get it) as its a lot cheaper.

Anyway, good luck and look forward to hearing about your first trip!

Needanewname my plan was hopefully to get a high quality second-hand tent in good condition rather than a new cheapy one. I'm sure in camping you get what you pay for.

Prresumably anything you'd save on buying a tent from Holland would be spend on travel to bring it back? But I guess you get a "free" weekend away ? Just looking at them again, wouldn't bell tents be quite dark inside though?

HouseofMirth - I hate sites with organised pitches/club houses, etc. But there are plenty of sites without those that still have loos. IME its only a few of the small Camping and Caravan club sites and Caravan Sites that don't have loos.

Having thought about it, when we used to camp, some of the sites we used had toilet block as I recall, but we still took our chemical loo and toilet tent. I guess because it was more convenient at night? (unfortunately parents both dead so I can't ask them!)

bell tents occasionally come up on e.bay....

Op with a small hatchback you may as well put a topbox or a trailer at the top of your list. This site is FULL of recommendations for more and more and more kit!

HouseofMirth, not seen what tents are out there'd this season but I've always liked the Vango Icarus for a weekender tent.

Do be very careful when buying tents second hand. Polyester degrades in uv light. Make sure you ask how many weeks the tent has been used for even if the description says it's in immaculate condition. One of the benefits of buying new is if it leaks you can always take it back for a replacement!

Canvas however doesn't (degrade in sunlight) I would absolutely buy a canvas tent on eBay if your car can stretch to fit it in. Check that there are no patches of mould or holes though.

Just to add, keep an eye for belltents on Gumtree too. Oh, and definitely not dark inside - a lot lighter in the day than our Vango (bought pre-belltent).

Batteryhuman lol

You're right op the money saved on tent went on travel and hotel, but we had a lovely night away from children in a fab hotel and would now love to go back to holland!