Please enable me to buy a fab canvas tent

[ReshapeWhileDamp]

After years of drooling over beautiful Bell Tentery, we are finally poised on the cusp of actually paying out hard cash for something. I say 'we' but actually I've been alone in my drooling (and got rather soggy) because DH is of stern temperament and has no time for creative visualisation re. tents or, indeed, drooling.

We've just had a mutual and booked tickets to a weekend folk festival that entails 4 nights of camping, and given how much our holiday cottage cost to rent, I think we might have to have more camping and less renting over the next few summers. We have a 3 yo DS and a 4 mo DS (by the time the festival rolls around he will definitely be crawling) and need somewhere nice and roomy (can clear decks back, ie. bedding, if needed, to provide playroom space). I don't go a ton on tents that have permanent 'bedroom' pods, and in fact I just prefer the open-planness of bell tents and similar.

We were planning to borrow a family tent from a friend, but the first friend is using hers on august bank holiday, and the second doesn't have one any more. I did have a very very kind offer from a MNer to lend her own tent (she lives close to the festival) but we've now decided we'd like our own, so now my issue is to convince DH that we need a lovely canvas number, not something all billowy and lime-green.

We also need something that goes up in a flash, because with a 3yo and a baby we don't really want to be fannying about for 45 minutes while they scream in the car/vanish over the horizon/strangle on stray buy ropes.

I am very much biased towards bell tents because of the significant amount of time I've already invested in browsing bell tenty websites (particularly belltent co) and I'm afraid I'm already leaping ahead and visualising cheap cotton rugs, homemade bunting, wooden boxes for tables bunting extraneous ambient lighting, and other such wankery. (NOT nekkid flames though. I may be twee but I'm not mad.) It's probably not too late to head me off at the pass though, and I could be convinced of an alternative route to camping nirvana.

We've looked at 2nd hand 'family' nylon monstrosities tents on ebay and DH has grudgingly agreed that we could spend between £200-300. I suspect this could be stretched to £400, and therefore we could afford a new bell tent but probably not the Touareg (unless DH falls in lurve). (And that's before buying mattresses etc. Ooh dear.)

Could canvas-tent people try to convince DH of reasons why we should get one? He is nervous about issues such as waterproofness, leaking groundsheets if not all-in-one, mould, ease of erection fnur fnur (I WISH he would stop calling them Bell End tents too) (and sniggering), speed of erection and packability. (How large does a 4 or 5 m bell tent run to when you pack it back into the car? We have a Mazda 6 which has a TARDIS boot but would like to take some clothes too.)

If canvas-refuseniks want to offer some counter arguments, I suppose that would be ok too.

I have a 5 m bell tent (soulpad) with zipped in ground sheet. OMG, we love it so so so so much, we wouldn't want to camp in another tent now. It takes us 15 mins to put up and it is so roomy inside, nice and cool, the atmosphere inside one is so relaxed (until kids start fighting LOL) plenty of room for kids to play/mess around on wet days.
We aired ours over banister when we got home for about 4 days (yes, I was paranoid about any dampness, this worked fine) it is now living in bottom of wardrobe as i didn't trust shed outside b/c it might get damp/nibbled by mice.
The customer service from soulpad was first class, truly excellent. I also ordered a BonFire thing from them and they sent it to me same day as I said I needed it the next day!
We are extremely happy with our bell tent, they are beautiful to camp in.

oh, and if this helps, we got our camping stuff, and two adults, two kids in the back of a Nissan note without using a roof box or trailer....it was a squeeze but we did it!

I am quite scared of storage, it's true. We recently moved and the damp sinkhole called a shed is definitely damp and definitely mouse-infested. (vis, DS1's toy pram and pushchair both growing splendid spores of mould and covered in mouse shit, grr) We have a loft and I hope to god that isn't damp as it has half my books up there, as well as a lot of material and craft stuff.

Glad that the recs for Soulpad are mounting up!

Poppyboo, did that include a buggy? For the festival we're going to, we might not take too many clothes but will probably need somewhere for DS1 to crash out in the evening (DS2 will be in a sling on my back, I hope).

ReshapeWhileDamp I am afraid that didn't include a buggy, but that is b/c we have massive Moutain Buggy 3 wheeler thing so there is no chance it would go in. (In day to day life, that takes up whole boot space LOL)
Could you lay buggy in footwell of car beneath childrens feet?
We did cram eveything in, DH is very good at cramming, kids held own pillow each on lap too :)
Could you store it at bottom of wardrobe or under bed at home? I could go and measure the storage bag of it if that would be any use? it hardly takes any space in our home, it just when we need to shoe horn it into car with all our camping crap stuff that it looks big :)

We store ours under the bed. DH laughed at me when I suggested (only half jokingly) that my precious new bell tent would get cold and lonely int he garage, however when several other things were chewed by mice a couple of months ago he stopped laughing and has happily taken the BT back upstairs to store under the bed!

Afraid I have no plans to camp in your area any time soon, but I will come back on here if that changes!

another Canvas tent fan here (I even created the Joy of Canvas website all about Canvas tents) and they are a wonderful way to camp with kids (and other halves). Just wanted to clarify Obelink will not deliver Bell Tents to the UK but will deliver other Canvas - www.tents-tents.com is their uk website

Would say that Pyramid tents make better use of space than Bells - but lack the vibe you get from a round/cream tent

If you are looking for space used Ebay Frametents are very good value so long as you buy carefully - pick Relum rather than Cabanon for a well made bargain

EDIT (well cant edit previous post) SORRY

Obelink Uk is www.tent-tents.com

mis typed, really sorry about that

A bit late, but in case you haven't bought yet - another huge vote for canvas. We drove to Holland as well (but be aware, close to Germany, so quite a drive) to get ours as I get obsessed wanted to see the choices available in real life. I loved the Tripstein, but bought a 4m bell in the end. I will upgrade to either the Tripstein, or, if dead grannies funds permit, an actual De Waard in a couple of years.

I've bought from Soulpad before, and they have great customer service. It was a hammock though, so more of a comment on the company that their tents themselves.

Oh, and OP, I would seriously recommend trying (even if only sitting inside) out a canvas tent before buying another. Mind you, you might not like it and actually prefer nylon, but at least you'll know it was an actual choice. Bell tents are relatively common now, so I bet you if you go to a campsite nearby the owners wouldn't mind it if you ask them questions. Unless it's us of course. We bought our Vango tent before the bell, and although it's actually a lovely one, we never use it anymore. We tried it out just to make sure one weekend, and hated the noise. Oh, and it took longer to pitch, which is something I didn't realise before we owned our bell - always assumed that would be more hassle.

Well we've just camped in the Bell Tent properly for the weekend and it was fantastic. I absolutely loved it, even DH admitted I was right and has forgiven my constant going on about wanting a bell tent for the last year or so!

Am at work now so will come back on later to bore you!

Bought a bell tent last year from Soulpad - cannot recommend them enough for customer service, it arrived the next day and the lovely Zoe has patiently answered all my stupid questions about drying out and folding up (I am a bit dim and couldn't fit it back into its bag no matter how origami-ish I was - sorted now, though) by return.

It is heavy, that is my only bugbear as I have limbs of spaghetti, but I have put it up by myself in 25 minutes (10 mins to take down - without said re-folding origami) and compared to the tent we used to have (bendy poles that would un-couple themselves inside the sleeves, bits that wouldn't go in, over-complicated 'easy' instructions - took over an hour to put up, boiling hot in daytime, freezing cold at night...) it is a delight and a dream of simplicity.

Plus it looks fabulous. We went for a 5m hybrid, so we get the benefits of the SIG but can roll the sides up. Which I haven't had the weather for as yet, the zippy windows have been enough thus far.

It is soooooo peaceful and lovely being inside it. Why this should be I have no idea, but it is very zen and calming in there. DD adores it and even DH (the tent-abominator) has given it an approving harrumph.

I am poised to buy a 1/4 inner tent, purely to have somewhere to stash stuff/loo bucket area, just trying to work out how I justify it to DH....:)

However, I have as yet to have to dry it out, we've been very lucky with our weather, so have that hurdle yet to climb... (does one climb a hurdle? I've forgotten the end of that metaphor!) I don't think our garden has enough grassy area to pitch it properly for drying. Eep.

So I've been eyeing up this as a weekend tent, which seems an interesting (and cheaper) compromise. Any use to you?

We got a bell tent from Obeliink a couple of years ago when they were still delivering to the UK and I can't recommend it highly enough. Easy to pitch, warm(ish) in cold weather and cooler (definitely) than nylon in hot weather. We get lie-ins when the rest of our group are saunaed out of their tents at dawn.

I have also heard bad things about belltent.co.uk's customer service but the thing that did it for me is that it is their agreement with Obelink that means that Obelink won't ship direct to the UK. For a tent that cost us 149 euro (at the time - was about £120 I think) Bell Tent.co.uk were (then) charging £249 and setting themselves up as sole UK supplier of Obelink bell tents. At the time you could get round it by ordering in Dutch but that option has been closed down now. It really pisses me off even now that I actually have a tent. Camping with Soul my arse.

So if you can't justify a trip to Holland, Soulpad seem to get great recommendations even though the cost is similar to Belltent.co uk

I wonder if anyone from Bell Tent is aware of their reputation? I'd be worried if I were them.

I just wanted to say that Oranges123 I can see why you're annoyed about the price thing, it is silly...

...but then again when it comes to my bell tent I don't care how much I paid for it as I don't think I could camp in anything other then a bell tent now so it's priceless to me IYKWIM if I had to buy another one tomorrow I would! :)
There is just some sort of zen thing going on as Lovecat said.
We're going camping in it in three and a bit weeks time and I can't wait!
Dh adores the tent too!

I agree with you about the all round wonderfulness and, I guess, pricelessness of the bell tent Poppyboo but I think what annoys me most about the belltent.co.uk rip off is the whole "Camping with Soul" hippy-love schtick with extra bunting they are trying to sell on their website against the ruthlessly protectionist capitalism they are actually practising. It just makes my blood boil!!! Soulpad are around the same price but I don't have a problem with them.

Anyway, I must get off my soapbox and go tidy away the camping gear from the weekend....

Raising another glass here for bell tents - just come back from a weekend camping in a VERY windy spot in staffordshire and the tent, bought last year, performed wonderfully once again. DS, 2yrs, slept soundly through the gale as did we, even despite slow puncture in blow up mattress resulting in us waking up on solid ground! Certainly would have been lying awake all night under nylon that's for sure. Bell tent was rock solid and an oasis of calm.

Ok so I said I wasn;t going to gush but reshape did say I could!!!

It was lovely and warm inside at the weekend (not so warm in the night however, but then it wouldn;t have been in a nylon tent either!)

I really enjoyed lying down on my bed in the middle of the afternoon (something I could never have done in the old tent) with the sun streaming through the gorgeous canvas and the wind quietly blowing against the tent (again, wouldn't have happened in the old nylon one).

Was easy to put up and down again, its not hi tech, its very simple but we actually liked that, it had an almost romantic feel to it.

Was a litle concerned about keeping the tent tidy (am a bit of a neat freak!) and it wasn;t a problem, just had a collapsable box to put shoes/wellies in, another to put dirty washing in. We also had a tarp so some cooking stuff was outside, not sure how that would have been in wind as it isn;t as good as a porch but I really don;t care!!

Just asked Dh and he totally agrees with me.

So reshape - whats it to be, have we convinced him yet?!

at NeedaNewName!

This is all very enabling helpful. When I can get DH alone (ie. no small children hanging off us) and without him being catatonic on the sofa (not his fault, he got bitten nastily by a sodding Blandford Fly a week ago and is still zonked out on Piriton) I will tie him to the laptop and prop his eyelids open and MAKE him read this thread.

I've been stalking bell tents on ebay - there's one at the mo that has serious mould stains going cheap, but I'm not sure I want a spotty one. I am so so shallow, you see. Am dithering about a 5m versus a 4m. DS2 is v small at the moment but apparently that'll change soon. Would be a better bet to get a larger one?

Oh dammit, I want one! NOW!

Definitely a 5m. The 4m are lovely and very cosy but you wouldn;t really be able to have an inner and I have to duck to get into the 4m (and I'm just over 5ft) which isn;t a huge problem but I know it would piss off DH (just over 6ft) and cause him problems.

Of course you could always be extravagant and get the emporor which is 6m by 4m, (and thye now do one with ZIG that has the hooks for the inners) but so far only Obelink and belltent.co.uk do them (I think canvas and cast have one but not with ZIG, I'll check!)

DS2 will indeed get bigger!

5 m one! You will not regret it! I would get one with mould stains on it, apparently even if the have been washed, it can still give nasty spores off mould stains which would be no good for you or your little one!

we too have a bell tent and are looking forward to it's first outing!
I am somewhat cross at myself (having read this!) that we have got a 4m one though.... am cross I didn't go for 5m

belltent customer service was awful - definately avoid!
And to make it worse soulpad and belltent know each other and BOTH of them bitched about each other to me (via phone and email)

LIW - you have to spill re. the bitching!! I am !! (that's agog and shocked, just in case you didn't get it...:o)

Go for the 5m size. There are only 3 of us and DD is only 6 and teeny, but I just love, love, love the space!

Are you anywhere near the New Forest? We're camping there over the May Bank Hol and if you'd like to come along and view our one I can gush talk sensibly about its advantages....:o

loving this thread!

Just come back from a week borrowing a friend's 4m tent for a week. It survived scottish gales and rain no problem at all. As it was a friend's they had fashioned a sleeping area for the kids, about a 1/4 of it with blackout material pegged off a line from the central pole. I've decided I'd like an inner and a 5m one but apart from that it was fabulous and has rekindled DH's love of camping again... which is good cos we have at least 2 more trips booked in for this year.

Toying with whether to bite the bullet and pay for belltent's prices or use up airmiles to go to Holland to buy one. I would like an inner that can be sub divided, which I don't think soulpads do.

We've got a 5m bell (from Belltents - before I KNEW) the customer service wasn't fantastic - ordered mid March (before the price hike), but didn't need it til the end of April. When it hadn't turned up 2 weeks later I looked online to discover they were now out of stock... So called them and was told we'd get the first of the new stock, Finally arrived mid April - NOT a problem to us, but the general lack of communication and the fact that we only knew about it through chasing them up , left us with a sour feeling.

I adore it.

The inner from belltents this year has the option of dividing it into two MIFFYTASTIC. I asked the owner of belltents about using one of soulpads inners (I was toying with the quarter inner) and he seemed to think it should fit... so may work the other way too if you go with the soulpad?

Personally so far we've used a pop up tent for our children at night, we just pop it up within the main space at bedtime, and they sleep in there, allowing DH and I to read/chill/whatever within the main space.

my friend Marcus over at Green Outdoors now makes a fab bell tent with a tentipi type top hat. His has a higher A frame door so that you can walk straight in, and they have a porch tarp coming which comes from the top, so again makes a full height area out the front.

Its bell tent uk's fault that Obelink wont sell to the UK - threatened to sue them I believe