Newbie: bell tent or normal?

[lapumpkin]

Hi campers,

We have 2 DCs (4yo and 2yo) and we have done a tiny bit of camping but without kids. We would like to go camping as a family but don't know what is best/easiest/most practical. We aren't looking for cheap and cheerful - we would rather pay a bit more and get something quality that will last. I love the look of bell tents. Are they practical? Easy to put up? Good for bad weather?!

Any recommendations? Or advice?

Thanks!

Try doing an advanced search on this thread, there are a million threads about bell tents on here.
I've got a 5 m Bell tent, we're a family of four and its BEAUTIFUL and lovely to camp in.

Ours in from Soulpad and had a zipped in groundsheet.

'is' even

...and yes, they are very easy to put up and take down but a bit of a PITA to air/dry after but worth it in my opinion. They are good in very wet weather, cooler than man made tents in hot weather and good (if properly pitched) in windy weather.

Thanks everyone. Which is the best Soulpad to go for? What about the different groundsheet options?! A bit overwhelming...

I have this one :soulpad.co.uk/products/soulpad-5000-hybrid-g
but an older version. Sometimes I wonder if I should have for the pegged in groundsheet I case the zip ever fails, but I've never heard of it happening. With the zipped in groundsheet zero creepy crawlies get in

Also,I wouldn't bother with inner tents, it wrecks the feel of a bell tent IMO. Some people that like them have found the quarter inner tent useful for one/two DC though.

soulpad.co.uk/products/soulpad-5000-hybrid-g
There's the link again

Is it worth looking for second hand ones or just pay full price for new?

If it were me, new, in a heart beat. Bell tents need proper care IYKWIM so I'd prefer to start off with a new one and look after it.

Yeah, I'm sort of anally retentive when it comes to looking after my stuff, so I think that new sounds sensible.

I agree with everything MinimalistMommi says above but just thought I would post to say that we have a separate groundsheet (not even a pegged in one - you just lay the groundsheet on top of the flap round the tent). We do get the occasional bug in but, given that DH hates spiders and I am phobic about worms and slugs, we have got by fine and never really had a problem. We have camped in near swamp-like conditions and have never had a leak so if you want to save some money and aren't seriously creature-phobic, I can certainly recommend the separate groundsheet version as an alternative.

I definitely wouldn't go for the sewn-in groundsheet version though - you lose the option of rolling up the sides on a hot day and if the base gets muddy you don't have the ability to store it separately from the rest of the tent (that said, most people with this sort of tent have a footprint for it which they can store separately, but why bother with the extra faff when you could have a PIG or ZIG?).

I agree with MM about the inner tent too. At least don't buy one straight away and see how you get on. Then you can decide if you really want one and whether you want a quarter version reather than a half one (which takes up more than half the tent IME).

Great point from Mummy about not getting sewn in groundsheet, forgotten they even existed. They would be a NIGHTMARE to air/dry and would be extremely heavy all together like that!

Oh, and if you do buy from Soulpad, ring up for a chat and ask what they actually truly have in stock, apparently their website does not show true stock levels and isn't updated quick enough. So you could click buy and pay for it etc etc and then get a phone call from Soulpad (to be fair, usually offering a free upgrade if there is one a step above but still it's best to know what is actually available) They're very friendly and helpful by the way.

Sorry to revive the thread but I just ordered my belltent from Soulpad and I am sooo excited (and nervous that its going to pour with rain...) Decided to go for 5000-lite... PIG. Hope that will do the trick. Now, next question... flooring... I have had a look at some of the other threads about flooring but thought I would ask you guys too. Our tent doesn't have the extra luxurious groundsheet (!) but really want it to be cosy and lovely in there without spending a bomb. DH will go crazy if we spend £100+ on carpets for inside the tent... so any ideas? What are the plastic ones like? [(www.campingwithsoul.co.uk/furnishings/flooring/recycled_patterned_rugs)]
Or any other ideas? Want cosy, don't want to spend a bomb.

Congrats on your purchase! You won't regret it!

As for flooring, we roll up 2 Persian carpets from home. They roll surprisingly small and fit easily in the car by the kids feet. Enjoy!

Crikey Shiraz - that must look fab. I was just going to suggest cheap picnic rugs. LIDL did XL ones recently - 2m by 2m - but I think you can get them elsewhere. Also the LIDL ones were traditional checked - you can get lovely patterns if you look elsewhere. And they are very light.

Otherwise, Soulpad no doubt sell sisal-type flooring which is meant for bell tents but I imagine that would be pretty bulky

Thanks for the suggestions. How would you clean a Persian once its caked in mud?

persians are remarkably hardy, they just shake / sweep / vacuum (once you're home) clean. Admittedly it was DHs idea, initially I scoffed, but reluctantly I had to agree with him that they looked good.