Tent upgrade -any experiences of these models?

[FuntimeFelicity]

We're planning on upgrading from our Wynnster Faro 5 whenever a good price can be found, i.e. sometime between now and next spring.

Size, budget and bedroom layout preference has led us to:

Kampa Bamburgh 6
Kampa Croyde 6
Outwell Cleveland 6
Vango Calisto 600XL (limited model)
Vango Maritsa 700

We've also looked at a couple of Scandika tents online but some reviews comment on poor material quality.

Does anyone have experience of these models (good, bad or indifferent) that they'd like to pass on? Or any other similar makes/models that I might have overlooked?

Can't offer any helpful advice, except that before we succumbed to the bell tent, the Cleveland 6 was what we were swaying towards. It's lovely - I still go into it at the local Go Outdoors tent display and finger the built-in storage wistfully. GO had an excellent offer on it (with their discount card) and presume they offer good deals on it much of the time.

Vango 500. Harrumph.

Sorry Notters, but we want to be able to completely split the bedroom into 2 at some point. I know how much you love yours though .

We have the Kampa Filey 6 which is the same layout the Croyde but with an annex on the side.

We love it!! It really is a great design. Lovely to sit outside in the porch area in nearly all weathers and with the Filey the whole front zips open so if it's really raining we can still sit in the main bit of the tent but with the front open.

Ours is a cosmetic second so we got it for less than £300 iirc.

we are looking to change our tent which is a Vango Verona just because it doesn't have a SIG. But the tent itself is very good quality and great for a family of 4.

And the bedroom splits into two

Ooh, thanks for that Doyouthinktheysaurus.

Reshape - only the Cleveland 5 in GO at the moment . We don't have many places around here to go and see them in the flesh.

The big Quechua pop ups are amazing and they're double skinned with a built in awning. :) Whenever I used to festival or go camping my friends would call it "the pop up hotel". :o

I've got a Quechua pop up too. Not the biggest one of all but they are rather fab.

But would the bedroom be too small for DH?

Had a look at the Filey and, lovely as it is , we need the 4+2 rather thaan the 3+3 layout to start with.

Hmm, I can barely get ds2's play tent thing back in it's box, might be entertaining for the other campers to watch me wrestle a Quechua back into its bag .

I would go for the Croyde 6 in that case.

I do love Kampa tents, I think they are very good quality and the layout is fabulous.

The outwell cleveland 6 is nice but the the Kampa Croyde has steel poles which is a huge bonus.

Dh has just had a look at the shortlist and quite likes the two Kampa one. We's missed that the Outwell Cleveland was 3+3, so that's off the list.

Does anyone have the Bamburgh?

what about an Outwell Vermont M Here...

We have the XL version. It is mahoosive, but we love it!

I'm not sure about the size but he's one of the bigger ones. :)

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1300&bih=707&tbm=isch&tbnid=XEG98r3I6Fe1LM:&imgrefurl=www.ukcampsite.co.uk/tents/p/Quechua-Base-Seconds-4.1/1615&docid=XbNRh6uvXVP7yM&imgurl=www.ukcampsite.co.uk/tents/userimages/6351.jpg&w=800&h=600&ei=IiHRT-uxOIWr8QOv3vxn&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1000&vpy=161&dur=444&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=180&ty=128&sig=102076029033101705203&page=1&tbnh=157&tbnw=211&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:79" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Quechua Family 4.1

Funtime They're bloody easily to get down! Mind, at festivals I go around the campsite on the last day helping people put them down.

Or this bloody massive one

Just had our first outing in our Vango Samara 600 and were really really pleased. Lots of room for our family and the family we were camping with to have meals and hide from the rain play inside and much easier than I thought it would be to get up and down. I was really tempted by the ginormous one Schro linked to too but as our boys are still very small I wanted them near me. And I wanted a sewn-in ground sheet.

Sparky The 4.1 is only one room, you could still have had them near you.

Sorry, I'm just bloody obsessed with the Quechuas, I found a pink one left over at a festival a few years ago that someone obviously gave up trying to put down and have been sold on them ever since. :)

We have the Maritsa and I love it. It is massive but not too bad to put up/take down. The rooms work out well with the DCs. Quality seems pretty good, it's been in some severe weather and we've been bone dry inside. Withstood high winds well too.

darn it..... I think I'm obsessed with tents now. Everyday I come on the camping forum and hound out tent recommendations.

If I can't be found in our tent when camping, you can be sure I'm doing a recky of tents around the sites. And when Yeoman Outdoors does a summer display in our local town... I can spend a good afternoon there nosing around.

Think I need therapy.

Now then... what else ya got for me!!!???

(whispers as unsure of MN rules regarding selling) For Filey 6 budget you could buy my used once but immaculate bear lake 6, footprint and BNIB tent carpet. I'm putting it on auction site tomorrow.

DH has surprised me with a bell tent to soften the blow of news that I will be camping on my own with the DC for a while, due to his work schedule. Therefore, he said I needed a tent I could pitch by myself. I will be, reluctantly, selling the bear lake, as the layout is perfect for our family of 4 and it is such a luxurious tent.

Which site Carla?

ebay . Only just got around to listing it.

I've got the Croyde 6, not stayed in it yet but put it up in my mum's garden for practice. There is a video on Youtube showing a different method of erecting it than the instructions but I couldn't work it that way. Deffo a 2person job unless you are spectacularly tall and gangly.
Seems sturdy so far, taking it for its first trip in 2wks so will report back.
I bought it for the layout and got a good price from Best-buys Great outdoor, was able to justify buying the footprint sheet with the savings.

Silk we gave a Filey 6 which is very similar to the Croyde but with a side annex.

After lots of trial and error we have found the quickest and easiest way to pitch......

Open doors and windows. Hops with air circulation to raise it up.

Put all the poles in place but don't hook them in.

Starting at the back raise the pole, will be a bit tricky but stick with it. Pin it and guy the back to keep it up.

Then just move forward doing the same with each pole.

We watched online where they started in the middle but that has never worked for us.

It still isn't quick, there are so many guys to peg out but it's a fabulous tent once it's up.