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Our UK Camping forum has all the information you need on finding the right equipment for your tent or caravan.

Original poster

Vango Icarus Air 800 Inflatable Family Tent

23 replies

WhatKatyDidToday · 10/08/2014 18:52

Hi, do any of you have this tent? (Or the Icarus 600) is it really worth all the money? We camp every year and currently have a 6 man tent and we take a Vango gazebo for all our cooking stuff . Our children are 2, 5 and 7. The fact that the tent inflates really appeals to me as I hate putting our tent up, I'm just wondering whether it really is as quick as it looks on YouTube!? Any help/advice gratefully received! Smile

OP posts:
defineme · 10/08/2014 18:59

Marking place as I have looked at this tent many times online and love the thought of being set up in 10 minutes!

Crazeeladee · 10/08/2014 19:04

Friends of ours have got it, It only really saves you about 5 minutes, as all the pegging down etc still has to be done. Same with taking it down, it doesn't save that much time once you've taken all the ropes down and folded it up to be worth all the extra money.

YoungJoseph · 10/08/2014 19:08

I have an inflatable, a Vango Inspire and yes it does go up as quickly as on YouTube. We've been really pleased with ours BUT we are comparing it to a frame tent that was heavy and difficult to get up.
There's still the pegging out to do and the car emptying etc etc , so still quite a while until you're fully set up.
Ours is big and heavy when down, that might be a consideration depending on your car I suppose. As there are no poles you can't split the tent into separate packs; a bit in the roofbox, a bit in the boots and so on.
It coped with the rain and wind as well as any other tent.
We love ours BUT I can see that they seem very pricey compared to other tents.

Original poster
WhatKatyDidToday · 10/08/2014 19:35

Space isn't an issue as I drive a mumbus (oh the shame!) pegging it doesn't bother me so much, it's the putting all the poles together etc that takes an age. Did you buy the footprint and carpet etc and would you recommend it ?

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riskit4abiskit · 10/08/2014 19:37

They seem so expensive to me! And I am wary of them in the wind

didldidi · 10/08/2014 19:37

We have a kinetic 600 and it is really a lot quicker than poles. Really like it and the case on wheels in v handy as it is quite heavy and sometimes it will only be me and the kids.

didldidi · 10/08/2014 19:39

Mind you I only paid 349 pounds for an ex-display model with carpet at the end of last season!

Original poster
WhatKatyDidToday · 10/08/2014 19:49

THANKYOU for all the replies, I think I'm sold on the icarus, just one final question which I can't work out from various websites... does it have to be 4 separate bedrooms, or can you remove the divide between 2 of them eg, could I put all 3 children in one room ?

OP posts:
YoungJoseph · 10/08/2014 20:08

I should add that the bedrooms are already attached to the outer tent and they stay that way. This means there's no reaching up / standing on a stool business to put in the bedrooms. Particularly useful if you are a short arse like me. Again saves time.
Not sure about the Icarus but we can zip down one 'wall' to make two bedrooms.

YoungJoseph · 10/08/2014 20:10

Yes we bought the footprint and carpet...probably wouldn't have bought the carpet as it's too big to put in the machine. Footprint is great though.

Original poster
WhatKatyDidToday · 10/08/2014 20:45

Thanks- now I just need to win the lottery to buy it! Grin

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ViviPru · 10/08/2014 21:15

We have an Outwell Harrier L and agree with what YoungJoseph says about inflatables being quick to go up but still time consuming to peg, but compared to a pole tent of the same size it's very quick.

We just camped through this weekend's hurricane Bertha with ours and it was solid as a rock. It's bloody brilliant. Inflatables are genius.

ViviPru · 10/08/2014 21:16

Also, we'll need to repitch in the garden this week to fully dry it out, the prospect of doing that with an inflatable is far less irksome than were it a pole.

Original poster
WhatKatyDidToday · 10/08/2014 23:16

Don't suppose you can recommend a good retailer that I can buy it from! Cheapest I can find is Go Outdoors- are there any online that are cheaper?

OP posts:
ViviPru · 10/08/2014 23:33

FWIW the only places I find that ever have better prices than GoOutdoors are outdoormegastore.co.uk and inflatabletentsonline.co.uk but neither stock the Icarus, so Go Outdoors is possibly your best bet.

Have you considered the Evoque? When we were looking at inflatables before I took leave of my senses and spanked a fair portion of my offsprings' inheritance on canvas Outwell madness we considered the Icarus but decided against them as I'm not keen on the sloping front door design. I much preferred the flat front and canopy of the Evoque. We figured the extra hundred or so quid was worth it for a much easier UK (potential rain) camping experience....

Original poster
WhatKatyDidToday · 11/08/2014 12:46

I'll have a look now - who knew buying a tent could take so much time and money

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Nobloomingideapgornot · 11/08/2014 14:39

Camping world have the outwell ones, we have just had to return our Kampa Filey 6 air because of quality issues but they are easy to put up! We have now chosen the traditional steel pole vermont XLP instead.

Original poster
WhatKatyDidToday · 11/08/2014 18:26

SOS knowledgeable campers! Had anyone got shy experience of the higear inflatable one? It goes up even quicker than the vango and is a better quality outer. I sent my other half to go outdoors to by the vango and now I'm even more confused!

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ViviPru · 11/08/2014 18:37

People are sniffy about Hi-Gear but our old bogstandard one was actually really good and gave us 4 years of camping in some rough conditions before starting to get a bit tired.

Is it the Nimbus 8? It gets good reviews, would that configuration work for you? with the bedrooms either end? I'm not sure how I'd feel about the living area, I really like a living space at the front of a tent that really opens out but if that's not an issue then it seems a good bet for the price...

I wasn't that impressed at the quality of the Icarus 500 when we saw it in store, it didn't seem much better than our old hi-gear. The seams were scrappy and the finish was a bit average...

Original poster
WhatKatyDidToday · 11/08/2014 18:56

The configuration for both the 800 and the higear nimbus are the same - happy with that. The bag for the nimbus is just so much bigger and heavier !

OP posts:
Piffpaffpoff · 03/09/2014 17:39

Reading all this with interest as the Icarus 800 is now on a deal at Go Outdoors -£799 for the tent, footprint and carpet and I could get it down to £760 via Quidco. I have an old Icarus 600 and I've had real problems with the poles - either they are crap or I'm really hashy with them, but they keep breaking so a pole free option is really attractive to me.

But it's still quite expensive....I think I will be dithering about this for ages!!

DebbieFoss · 28/01/2016 12:14

Hi Katy, I have just been reading your discussion from a couple of years ago regarding inflatable tents? I am also in the same position as you and cannot decided between the Vango Icarus 800 or the Hi Gear Nimbus 8 for the same reason, the size and weight of the Nimbus when folded. I am interested to know which one you went for in the end and how you are getting on with it?

logfiresspit · 28/01/2016 15:24

I know this is a zombie thread but I'm interested too - I've also got an inflatable tent thread, debbie - not looking at quite the same ones as you though (Vango Centara 800). Some really useful comments on my other thread (a few below this one).

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