tent recommendations please

[jeangenie]

never did get around to buying a tent last year (having done extensive research we ran out of cash ) and I know that all the ranges will have changed now. we've just arranged our first camping w/e for June and I want to get the tent now so I don't end upborrowing again and having another summer pass me by without buying my own
I am incapable of choosing quickly but really don't want to slave over it all again so am hoping you seasoned campers and tent gurus can help me just do it
we need a SIG (DH critter phobia issue), large living area, large bedroom (big enough for two adults and two kids) an extra room for luggage (and kids when older) would be great. must be easy to put up
can't be too pricey but we'd stretch to £200 or so
(my fav last year was the previous season's cozenza from easycamp, ie the 2005 model, but can't seem to find that anywhere now -if anyone has seen one around I'd snap it up. We did borrow a vango 500, I think, last year and liked that, no SIG though)

If you are still after your EasyCamp Cozenza 500 then Outdoor Megastore still have them for £199.

thanks lucycat - turns out it was a mistake and it's the cosenza 600 I liked best (bedrooms too small in the 500 iirc)

ahh ok!

How many bedrooms do you want?

Do you prefer a tunnel type or a dome?

dont know about type

but i would really recommend buying from this place

Prices are really low. Have bought stuff there before and been impressed.

For 4 of you you will need to look at at least a sleeps 6 , or if you are going to use it a lot in the UK (where you often get a fair amount of rain so will need to be able to sit inside in comfort) a sleeps 8.

Vangos are a very good make and are higly regarded by people who have them

Khyams are also good

Khyam Breckenridge Family Dome Tent - 2006 Model is on sale at the outdoormegastore for less than 200.

Havn't seen it myself but a veru good make

not sure whether we want dome or tunnnel tbh lucycat, I don't want anything with too big a footprint as I don't want to have to seek out sites based on those that'll take massive tents

would like two bedrooms I think, one big enough for the 4 of us and one smaller one for stuff/kids playzone in the rain. We ere very impressed with the size of the bedroom in the vango venture/a(?) 500 we borrowed last year, but the living area was a bit tight and there was no sig

thanks mb, I think the breckenridge might just be too big (if I am thinking of the right one). I think I remember thinking a vango aurora might be good...know anything about that one anyone?

It sounds as if we had the same requirements- we were looking at the easycamp cosenza 600 too. In the end I managed to get it for £100 in Loot. Too embarassed to spend another summer borrowing other people's tents.

wow that was good luck mercedes - that's exactly it - can't do another summer having to borrow tents (apart from anything else we'd like to go camping with the people whose tent we normally take )

so, how do you like the cosenza 600 then?

How about a Khyam Indiana 8? on this site scroll down to see the Indiana.

Good quality and value at £180 and you can remove some rooms at the moment and put them in again later.

looks good lucyK, but does it have a SIG d'you think?

LucyC, I meant

My recommendation would not fit your requirements exactly but I suspect would easily accommodate you all - Outwell Montana 6. HUGE living area - 2 spacious sleeping areas next to each other. There living area is so enormous you would all have plenty of play room for the children on wet days while you and DH could quoff the vino and watch from a distance.
Price is around £300 although lots of MNers got theirs a lot cheaper last year when the sales kicked in.

sounds good rowlers, but a tad pricey for us right now

I'll do a google in case any good deals about though, thanks

aztec hawk 7 anyone? looks nice

mm maybe it doesn't now I've looked at the video!! sorry

Sorry had to pop in and add a word for the beloed Gelert Tahoma LOL! Gelert tents come with something theyc all bugproof- what they mean is, a SIG, but hey it sounds good and we still love ours! Plenty of space too.

Alternativeky if you prefer the shape, take a look at the Quebec or Utah- both rated exceptionally highly by their users.

if footp[rint is an issue, I would suggest a tunnel tbh, or a vis a vis. the vario might suit perhaps?

thanks peachyclair - will check out those options, the vario had just made it onto my list this morning actually as I was pouring over my catalogue - are they a decent tent?

in the meantime I seem to have tracked down the last cosenza 600 on the planet and have been offered it new at £159 (great price I think)

mercedes, if you are around (or anyone else who knows this tent) anything to say on it? how easy/difficult to put up? any comments on how the bedroom/living space sizes feel etc? (I have never seen this up you see)

its footprint looks about 6m by 7m - will I find that too huge for many UK or French sites?

we want a tent that we can use for weekends away as well as hopefully a week or two in the not so distant future...

Unfortunately since we got it it's either been raining or we've been sick so I've yet to put it up I'm ashamed to say.
I had been looking on ebay and loot for a while and just searching for what tent was available in my vicinity that I could drive and get it before going for the cosenza - so it might still be worth looking on these sites.
The one thing I will say is that the bag is enormous. Last year we had borrowed a gelert cadiz tunnel tent and the bag was way smaller than this one.
As we just hire cars when we need them, we're going to have to upgrade from a focus hatchback type car to get everything in if we go for more than 2 days.
I promise when we eventually put it up I'll post something.

We've got one of these

We've had a smaller Vango tent in the past, and they're really stable and easy to put up (you put up the outer bit first, and then hang the inner bit inside - useful if it's raining). You can also get a divider (think it comes with one of these) to put up across the bedrooms, so fewer arguments from kids! The bit in the middle is huge - loads of space to store stuff and cook/eat if weather is bad. This year's model comes with a built in groundsheet, so may appeal on the bug-reducing factor. Ours was just under £200, so within your budget.

that looks good stringbean, no SIG though as far as as can see
the gelert quebec is looking very attractive at the moment, it's the same design as yours but does have a SIG
wonder if it is easy to put up?
my main concern is the position of the doors, I quite like the idea of "front" door and "side" door, seems more versatile somehow. How do you find door position SB?
(I think I will never be satisfied me, this is why I never managed to buy one last year, it is all coming back to me now...)

The quebec style tentsa re really easy to put up, we ahd something similat (argos LOL) for our first, REALLY easy- DH ahd never put up a tent before either.

The side doors thing can be OK< you just position your stuff so the side is the front, iyswim. And I findthe addition of a daytent is always a bonus (gazebo type thing) for keeping the tent tidy

Oh

ime gelert very easy to pitch, they come with a good bag with waterproof instructions sewn in and theya re officially known as 'easypitch' 9though they'd hardly amrket them as awkward pitch lol)

thanks PeachyC

the tahoma looks great too, I just think we need something dead easy and fas to put up and small footprint seems like a winner until we get some more camping under our belts

am just about to show DH the quebec so we'll see what he thinks (he so sick of it all now he just says yes to everything!!!)

have you looked at uk campsite? its a website thats very highy respected, you can search for reviews on there.

HTH

have looked there (that's what threw me into paroxyzms of confusion last time so I am trying to stay away this time around tbh - I am so indecisive that being told about other possibilities stymied me completely )

I have just seen the utah on another site and just love the way the doors work, and that enormous living space, yum

(oh dear, DH had just yessed the Quebec!)

have you seen both in action PC?

I also saw the tahoma again, does look cool - do you have the 6 or 9, is it easy to pitch and have you ever had any probs with its size on a site?

My reservation about both quebec and utah is the lack of proper porch - they both have canopies, but not zipupable porches, but I guess that's all swings and roundabouts really, what you gain in living space inside the tent you lose in useable space outide

wow, this is proving not easy...again