first time camping - family of 4 which tent help!

[takethattastic]

Hi first time camping for our family this year with friends - we have no equipment and I have no idea of what tent to buy! Our kids are 8 and 4 and we need something that will be easy to put up and that won't blow up and get soaked if it rains!! Any ideas be much appreciated!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/camping/1402986-Getting-started-Your-What-to-Bring-List

I posted this thread a couple of weeks ago. DH still wants a massive tent. I hope you don't buy the last one from Decathalon!

Hope this helps and good luck. We're in your position too!

We have a Vango Icarus 600, comfortably sleeps 4 of us on airbeds, with a nice size living area and quite easy to put up. You could have a trip to Go Outdoors to see the tents and get an idea of sizes etc. Vango sits about in the middle of quality and cost, Outwell are the expensive ones and I have heard the cheap argos/halfords don't last too well.

The tent reviews on ukcampsite.co.uk may be useful.

Camping is great fun, and once you have all the equipment a cheap way of having many holidays a year.

Vango Icarus 600 for us too. Used it all last summer and can't wait to get it out again this year. A great all round tent!

Fab thanks to all of you! Heard the Vango one being mentioned a few times so that looks good - especially if its idiot proof! Thanks Ladyharrietdespook for attaching the thread you had already posted... Now all we need is some sun! (wink)

We've got the Vango Samara 600 which is like the Icarus but even bigger Not sure if we'll need all the living space yet but figure with English weather what it is, we will be hopefully happy for it.

The other tent I was thinking about was the Quechua 4.2 seconds Family XL. This family XL one is still a popup but has a lot more living space than other popups. Our boys are still young though, so I ended up getting the Samara so that their bedroom could be next to ours, but on second thought now, I wonder if we could have used one of the bedrooms for storage and then all hunkered down in one bedroom (as now we often all end up in one small double bed anyway!) I just really liked the quickness of the Quechua tents as I imagine we will be doing more weekend camping than weeklong camping, but even still, the Samara is only 20 minutes to erect once you get the hang of it (or so I've been promised by friends who have one).

sparky the tent I linked to is a quechua...the quickness appeals to me too!

We have a Vango Tigris 600 and a Quechua XXL

my advice to families who want a nice time camping - therefore being prepared for rubbish weather etc - is to buy a tent with double the capacity of your family. We are 4 and have an 8 man tent - a Vango Airbeam Infinity 800, with a large porch extension.

We use 2 pods opened into one as our bedroom which gives us lots of space, the kids have a pod to share, living space in the middle and the porch is the kitchen/storage area.

Nothing worse than being crammed into a teeny tent,when you can even stand up properly, especially if the weather is raining down on you for hours!