Polyester vs polycotton

[reallyneedmoresleep]

O wise campers of mumsnet, I am trying to decide between an Outwell Harrier and an Outwell Hornet. Is polycotton so much better than polyester?

I would find it very hard to go back to polyester now- although they do have their place (I wouldn't want to hike with a cotton tent).

We have always had cotton canvas apart from one small two man tent for walking trips which was good for its purpose.

Cotton takes a bit more looking after, it has to be bone dry before you pack it away (assume poly cotton too but I haven't had one). Cooler in summer, warmer when cold, does not rustle, generally sturdier but heavier and bulkier to transport.

My 27 year old cotton tent is still going strong, I gave it to a friend in 2008 - it looks like new, although a dated style now a days but really it looks as good as it did when I bought it.

We bought a new cotton tent last year and I expect to be camping in it in 20 years.

Maybe someone else will come along and tell you about polyester.

Thanks Lavendar.

Prof - what do you prefer about cotton? Is it really worth double the price?

We never considered a cotton one until we went inside one at a camping show- it feels warmer on cold days, cooler on hot days, it's quieter (especially with wind and rain). It feels proper! But I agree with all of lavender's points about the care and negatives.

It may well be worth googling polycotton tents a bit more, Outwell are a good brand but there are other good polycotton brands too. We have a Eureka tent which is Dutch, and I think there is Obeliek? that do cotton/polycotton. Ours was £700.

I'm yet to find a polycotton inflatable tent that isn't by Outwell.
Thank you very much for your advice

Karsten are polycotton and inflatable.

Warning- will make the Outwell seem like a complete bargain!

This is the site I was thinking of, but I don't think they do inflatable.

Made the move to polycotton 6 years ago- would never go back. More robust (stands up to anything the uk weather can throw at it), less steamy in the morning and a tad warmer at night. Plus, the tent will probably outlive us . We have a robens, which is not too heavy (they are £££, but becasue they are not as well known as outwell you can often pick up a great bargain). Also obelink have some great options cotton pyramid tent here (if you are old styly or a range of great family polyctoon tents see here and here. I have hears very good things about the quality, delivery times and customer service on other camping forum threads, and if I was purchasing new would seriously think about them....

We had a small Obelink pyramid for a couple of years as our weekend with the dog tent (we always seem to have three tents on the go, don't ask). It was fine for the cost but wasn't perfect, even when it arrived. Small things like the bits that fasten the bedrooms in were broken, there was a small, tiny, hole on one of the front bits. Stitching was ok, not fab in places - but, it cost £250 ish and I got £170 for it on eBay after two years of use.

Depends on how much you want to spend OP and whether you are new to it as in want something to give it a go, the Obelink would be perfect for that. Or whether you are seasoned campers making the switch to canvas because you think you will prefer that so are willing to spend a small fortune more on something you know you will love.

We switched to a DeWaard tent at the beginning of last year after years of Cabanon tents as our main tent. It was a big investment (£3k ish) but I can see us keeping it for 20 years, not sure we have felt that way about a tent before.

You can spend as much as you want to really - just tricky when you can't look at them all in one place to help you decide.