Newbie tent question

[ecuse]

Right then. I'm new to the camping boards. DP and I have foolishly committed to a weekend of camping with our 14mo DD. I love camping but have not yet attempted it with a toddler.

Challenge 1 is to buy a tent. We want to be able to stand up in it (although we are neither of us tall), and to have a separate bedroom area. We are two fairly rotund adults and hoping to have more kids in the future so probably a 4-6 berth? Also there's a chance we'll be rolling up to this campsite late a night to pitch for the first time, so easy to put up is an advantage.

Have been looking through past tent porn threads on here and have come up with Montpellier 4 Provincial, Vango Callisto 600 and Seconds Family 4.2 or 4.1. Can anyone here help with reveiws/recommendations/dire warnings to steer clear any of the above? Or suggest a better option? Budget no more than £200.

Secondly - any tips to make it easier with a toddler? Should we bother with the travel cot or just pop her in woolly pjs and a sleeping bag in between us?

All advice gratefully received.

We are a family of 4 and have a Vango Icarus 600. Plenty of room in the bedroom pod and a large living area for the inevitable wet weather. It is easy to put up too.

by coincidence, dlady, I am planning my first tent purchase and after nosing around a campsite investigating my options I am planning on a Vango Icarus 600. Currently £170 in Millets, but I'm holding out in hope of further sale reductions end of season.

If your toddler does go inbetween you, what will you be sleeping on? I slept on 2 single airbeds me then 4 month old then hubbie. It was a hideous experience and a miracle dd2 is still alive, for risk of falling between the mattresses . Good job I was an experienced co-sleeper, even though I was a hopeless camper! Next year she will be 2, so hopefully it will be easier!

We have the Vango Callisto 600. It's the slightly older style one, not the new one with "wings" at the front entrance.

We found that there was plenty of space for 2 5'7" adults and one toddler in a travel cot. (For us, travel cot is essential! We have tried co-sleeping but DS just thinks it's a massive game and none of us sleep a wink. In his own cot, sleeping bag etc he's asleep all night.) With more/bigger children it might feel a bit tight, we will find out next year!

It is really heavy due to its steel poles, but we were glad of these on night 2 when it got very gusty (Scotland) and the tent felt completely solid. The additional weight of the poles does make it harder to put up, so it might be worth considering the Icarus which is very like the Callisto but with fibreglass poles.

Have fun whatever you choose!

Thanks everyone, some good advice. Had just been planning to sleep on roll mats with her between us, but maybe travel cot after all...! Sounds like we can't go too far wrong with a Vango.

Ooh anyone got any experience of Coleman tents? The Instant tourer claims to go up in 1 minute. Can that be true? If so - what's the drawback?

Gelert Atlantis package here also looks like a bit of a bargain and claims 5 minutes up. Should I be ?!

Haven't been in Coleman Instant Tourer but the Quechua pop-ups have lots of fans on these boards and many, like Seconds Damily 4.2 are currently on sale at Decathlon. I think they will be a bit bigger than the coleman too.

This one www.decathlon.co.uk/seconds-family-42-xl-id_8171231.html looks like good value at the moment. We have a 4.1 and can vouch that pop ups are really easy to deal with once you have got used to the technique (do practice before you go though so you don't end up as entertainment for the whole site at the end of the weekend...). But I think a 4.1 would probably be too small for you in the long run. Ours is fine for me, DH and DD (2.8) for weekend camping but if we had another DC I think we would upgrade (we have a bell tent for longer trips anyway so are ok).

We co-sleep with DD sometimes and it has been fine and means we don't have to worry about her keeping warm. However, we did buy a king size airbed to do it - this fits in the bedroom of the 4.1 but might not in the 4.2XL. It might be worth checking if you are thinking of doing that.

That's: www.decathlon.co.uk/seconds-family-42-xl-id_8171231.html

Just to add, that Decathlon have been having problems with their website over the last month (not sure if they are resolved now or not) but I'm sure that the tent MummyPig links to used to be more like £230, so it really is quite bargalicious at the moment. Can you tell I want one?

Right then, I'm torn between the Quechua Family seconds 4.2 - tempting because of the ease of putting up - and the Gelert Atlantis 5 - bargain because you get a footprint and carpet thrown in for £179. Having fun doing tent research, though. It's like a whole new world!

Yes I thought that too Sparky. It is a little too tempting now....

Ecuse, if you decide to go for a Quechua pop up, seriously consider the larger one - the 4.2 XL - if you can afford the extra £50. The living space and bedrooms are both larger and even a small amount of extra space can make a big diffference.

Right! The Quechua Seconds Family 4.2 it is. Thanks everyone!