New Tent Buyer - Advice Please

[Mummalish]

Went out this weekend looking to buy a tent. Was too confused so bought nothing.

Have no idea what "single skin/ double skin" means.

Which is best?

Don't need a massive tent, just for 2 of us. Preferably a cheap one, ie under £80. Is this possible?

Must be easy to erect, take down. Any recommendations please? And where to look?

Definitely go for a double skin. I've never had a good experience with a single skin tent. 'Double skin' just means that there's an outer part (the bit of the tent you see from the outside), called a fly sheet, and an inner part for the sleeping chamber, which clips onto the fly sheet or poles. The gap between the two 'skins' stops moisture getting inside the tent - you need to make sure the two skins don't touch except where they're connected.

For two people, I would go for a 3-person tent. The rule of thumb is that you need one more space than there are people as otherwise there's no room in the sleeping compartment for any bags etc. If you take a lot of stuff then get a tent with a porch area or get a 4-man tent.

For ease of use, get a dome-style tent. They usually have 2 poles that go in a x-shape through the outer skin, with an inner skin sleeping compartment that snaps onto the poles inside. You can get pop-up tents but I wouldn't recommend them because they're so hard to get down again!

Good tent makes include Gelert, Vango, Coleman and Eurohike. They all do 3-man tents for well under £80.

I can personally recommend the Gelert Rocky 3-man tent, which I bought as a wedding present last year and the recipients love.

I have a Vango tent and can also recommend the Vango Atlas 300.

I bought my brother a Gelert Eiger 3-man tent last year (you can see the theme with presents here!) and he thinks it's brilliant. It is very light and folds up into the tiniest bag I've ever seen too. Out of the three, this is the one I'd probably get.

Lovely, that helps alot. Will get one of those 3.

Just had a thought. If you want more space then this one is the 3-man version of the one we bought last year. It just squeaks into your budget but it has a fairly large porch area for bags or to sit (on a rug, not chairs) if it's raining/cold in the evening. It's still fairly easy to put up - I could do it by myself but it's easier with 2 people.