Bell Tent Advice Needed!!

[DizziDoll]

I am really sold on the Bell tent (5m) but having trouble convincing my DH. I decide on purchases using gutt instinct and 'the heart', he always uses his head. This makes for a great balance but it also means we can never decide on things :)
His worries are (and he has great points with these!) are:

1. Mess: we tend to be quite messy (not dirty!!). We would also buy the inner tent so my argument that the mess issue would be the same in a tunnel tent as the sleeping pods there are only big enough for a mattress. Any other good arguments? We have 2 kids by the way.

1. Loss of space on the sides: my DH is quite tall whereas I am a shortie. He is worried that he won't have much room to walk around. I calculated that he would have a diameter of about 2.5 meters. So a question to all of you: does it feel small inside with the inner tent in place?

1. Eating inside the tent: as a minimum we would want to be able to have a table and 4 chairs inside the tent in case the weather is too bad to eat outside. Is this possible?

1. Space in general: my DH has visions of us having to spend a lot of time in the tent if the weather is bad and driving ourselves mad in the Bell. My opinion is that if the weather is so bad, we would get in the car and go somewhere rather than staying in the tent. What are your experiences with this?

Any insights are welcome!! The alternative is the Outwell Bear Lake 6 by the way. I like that tent but don't 'feel' the same way about it as the bell tent (eventhough I have never seen one in real life )

We would get either tent from Obelink in the Netherlands.

Have you checked out the Pyramide tenten on the Obelink site? Nice compromise there of bell tent slopey sides at the back/bedroom area but straighter more upright sides at the front end for the living area, tables chairs etc. Look at the Palamos and the Superieur. Front end also moves to make large inside area on rainy days or smaller inside area with porch for the sunny ones.

Great tents.

Don't think you can buy the Obelink tents from the UK because of the arrangement with mm can't remember, one of the UK bell tent companies. You can buy the pyramid tents though iirc.

Thanks Slubber. Will have a look at the pyramid. Obelink is not a problem as we have family in the region so we can get it shipped.

here are some more photos of the lovely Palamos as the one on the obelink site is bobbins and doesnt show the lush curvy ass end [technical term]

re Q4, having spent 5 days in syphilitic bastard British weather in a 3x4m pyramid you absolutely have to get in the car and drive somewhere or risk stabbing someone in the eyeball with a fork.
Unsure if this would be any different in a bell or the bear lake but I suspect that there comes a time for any family where remaining in close proximity to one another as the shite-house rain batters down on the roof of the tent exponentially increases the risk of someone doing actual physical harm upon another.
My husband argues that you can just play more UNO and all will be well but he is a fantasist.

Bijou inner or half inner? How many people.

I've got a 5m bell tent with a bijou inner.

So one back quarter is the bedroom. Other back quarter is a table a two chairs. Could prob have shoved another two chairs in.

One front quarter is cooler box, stove, big box with pans, plates, etc. Heater and ehu cable. Other front quarter is mainly empty, tend to keep a holdall of clothes there.

I felt it was spacious but only two of us and I'm short.

Well I am biased as I love my bell tent with all my heart and soul but, luckily, so does DH. In answer to your questions:

1.Mess - we are messy too so do understand this is an issue and it is undoubtedly more so in a bell tent than one with lots of rooms and hanging storage pockets etc. However, we got an inner tent very recently and we did find it means you can basically put all your stuff into that and keep the front half of the tent clear, at least during the day. If you have two children on airbeds next to your double mattress in the inner tent there may not be much room for other stuff at night but a quick clear up in the morning should sort that.

1. Size - it does feel smaller with the inner tent in, yes. This is one disadvantage and a reason why we only intend to use ours for cooler weather to make sleeping more comfortable rather than all year round. You can improve the feeling by keeping the inner unzipped and folded back during the day but then all your stuff is on show so it is a bit six of one, half a dozen of the other.

1. Eating. A table the size you describe should be fine, definitely without an inner tent, almost certainly with one, provided most of your stuff is in the inner.

1. In bad weather, space in a bell tent (at least a 5m one) is not so much of an issue. However, you have no windows as in a normal tent so could feel a bit closed in. We either rig up a tarp (get one which matches from Obelink - we have the Decathlon one which doesn't) or we have recently invested in a Coleman event shelter which we use for bad weather (and for cooking under) but, of course, this may not be an option for you. However, in bad weather we usually head out in the car as you say.

To be honest, I think you buy a bell tent with your heart not your head. The Outwell is probably the winner in practical terms but cannot match the bell for how it feels.

The practical points which a Bell does win out on are ease of erection - it takes 10 minutes once you get the hang of it, compared to large tunnel tents which seems to take most of the weekend judging from people we have watched - and stability. We didn't test this theory this weekend but we have camped in very high winds and the bell has flapped about a bit but always withstood the wind (although I have to say ours has tested our nerves because it has a separate groundsheet and I do worry the tent might just take off and leave us lying there. A SIG or ZIG might make this less of a concern).

The bell tent always wins in the cool factor department. You can be so creative with them as well and delight in people's gasps of "Wow! I want one of these."
The best thing, as someone says is to get a tarp (and a windbreak) to put your table and cooking stuff under. For storage you can get various things from portable wardrobes to collapsible crates.
With rugs, duvets, lights, lanterns, and bunting, a bell tent is the winner for me

Slubber Nice pics of the curvey assend!

It is decided. We are going to Obelink the weekend after next because we can't decide without seeing all of them in real life. DH is now actually quite keen on the Emperor and though initially not so keen, I am now quite exited about the idea.

We might buy an additional 5m so that we can sell it on in the UK for a small profit, so that we cover our travel costs.

If there are any emperor cglampers on here, let yourselves be known. The main question would be if campsites would allow us to pitch it.

An Emperor!

We had the same dilemma as trying to decide between the 2. In the end the Bear Lake won!
We have had it 3 years now and I love it. It has so much space in and suits us perfectly. Our dc are 5 and 8 and they have plenty of room to play without getting under our feet if its raining.
The deciding factors for us were the head height as dh is tall as was worried he wouldn't have much room, and the lack of windows in the bell tent. When the weather is bad and eating inside I like to be able to look out and see what is going on.
The only drawback I would say about the bear lake is that it takes us 30mins to put up whereas a bell tent is much quicker.

Nice to hear from someone who didn't choose the bell khalua. I do think the bear would be a lot more practical. I could always buy a smaller bell later for weekend caming with Dh when the kids are with their GP's. I did love the space a lot.

We do have an overnight tent too! We have a Quechua pop up which is fab. We bought it in France a few years ago when travelling down to the south so we could camp overnight on the way.

They have the 4.1 on offer at the moment....

We love our 5m bell tent, but then we don't eat at a table - either picnic style on the ground, or on our knees on chairs. Tables feel too anti-social when you camp with loads of other families like we do, and our kids just eat on the go...actually, so do we . You can't get a table and four chairs in a bell tent if you have the bedroom up, in fact prob not even if it's down because f th central pole.

Mess? I tidy up every morning and evening, but it's only sorting clothes as we don't take loads of toys or anything.

Rain? Do people really just live in their tents if it's raining? what a waste of a holiday! We either go somewhere or stick all our waterproofs on and carry on as normal. We usually camp by woods, so that means den-building usually.

Maybe if you need to eat at table, have to stay inside when it's raining, and take lots of things tha make mess, then a bell tent not for you? It's big, though, so don't see why the same problems wouldn't be the case in all tents!

Please be assured I'm bit being smug or judge. We're all different people and that's define - I just think we maybe have different camping styles which makes bell tents suit us and poss not you?

Looked at the Bear Lake. It is looks great but I'd say a very different camping experience to a bell. The windows issue has never crossed my mind because the bell is very light inside and there are little semi-circular mesh windows at the bottom. It is probably more an "outdoor" tent as it would be difficult to arrange all the stuff inside and I have a tarp and have the table and cooking stuff under that. I prefer the slight eccentricity of the bell but perhaps the Bear Lake is more practical.

So I went to Bell Tent in Colliers Wood and saw the 5 meter and the emperor. I Love it, though i still worry about the weight.
The thing that puzzles me is that there is a 10kg difference in weight between the belltent.co.uk emperor and the same one in Obelink. I thought they were supposed to be the same, aren't they?

They are probably a different weight of cotton. You can get different grades.

We have the toureg tent which solves most of your issues i think. Feels really spacious. We Could do with a bigger car though now ...

Soo excited! We have the emperor
Now to accesorise... Any 'must-haves'?

Try BM Stores for cheap fairy lights, a fire pit, lanterns, etc.