Help - buying our first tent too!!

[nimbs]

Had a quick look on the other thread but there are more of us! 6 (2 adults, 4 children) plus dog - we're looking for a decent size tent that has a big living area as primarily we'll be camping in the uk with our inclement weather! Also another section to cook under - budget is up to £500 - so any help would be much appreciated!

either go for a canvas outwell tent, or a canvas bell tent(s), they will last a life time, easy to repair, child and dog proof, they can take really bad weather, and very easy to put up, they also resale easily, canvas is much nicer in hot,cold or wet weather, and is UV proof.

everything else you will be replacing, so false economy.

I would say get thee to a camping shop with a good display and have a mooch about. Apart from the fact they are wonderful places to roam around it will give you a good idea about what layout would work for you and what you can get for your money.

You need to think about the size of the bedrooms, not all 6 berth tents could really fit 6 people to sleep comfortably. Steel poles or bendy ones, bendy is lighter but steel are stronger.

The more common nylony stuff or polycotton. Polycotton is more robust and apparently warmer in winter, cooler in summer and less rustley, but it's heavier and more expensive.

Outwell tents are very popular and pretty good quality. You always see loads at every campsite. We have a Kampa Filey 6, would only fit 6 at a squeeze I think but I highly reccommend Kampa tents, theyare very good quality and cheaper than Outwell.

The ukcampsite website is a great resource for tent reviews too with loads of pictures from users of the tents which helps to get a feel for how a tent could work for you.

Keep in mind that the bigger the tent the longer they take to put up too. If you are only going for 2 nights an hour to pitch can feel a bit much.

We have just bought a Royal Athens 6, its fantastic for a big family. We have also bought a royal Atlanta extension that fits on the side to create more space. It takes about an hour to put up and can be done by one person pretty much. We have 5dc and it felt quite spacious.

Personally I would go for an outwell if you can afford it. They stay up in all kids of weather and are really spacious inside.

We have an outdoor revolution tent which is great but they don't make them anymore. We are planning on an outwell next when we have worn this one out

If there are 6 of you, I would look at tents for 7/8 to get a decent amount of space.

Vango/Outwell will come in under budget and have numerous options for 6-8 people.

If you can stretch the budget, I'd suggest the Robens Triple Dreamer. Yes, it's more expensive, but the materials, build quality and features are so much better that it'll last so you get your money's worth.

fab thanks so much for that -lots to think about - we're very excited - lol -

we have had a look at go outdoors as they are the only ones near here with 'big' tents up - so have a bit of an idea of what layout suits us -but needed MN recommendations too as it seemed the sales people just wanted us to buy the biggest (and most expensive ;) )- without really taking our needs into account.

Off to research some more - this is getting addictive - god only knows what it'll be like when trying to narrow down our first camping trip!