need a tunnel tent with SIG and porch for 4

[jeangenie]

help please!
we want to start camping this summer (went last in a borrowed tent and loved it so want to buy our own for this summer)
we are 2 adults and 2 kids, the kids are small now so we want a tent with 2 bedrooms but 1 must be big enough so we can all sleep together if necessary
we need a sig as DH has severe rodent phobia
we need something relatively easy to put up
need decent indoor space as we'll be camping in Ireland on occasion (and it rains a lot there!) but soemthing also suitable for camping in France
I love the gelert quebec 8+4 but it doesn't have a porch and I thought a porch would be good for a numebr of reasons, cooking, storing extra junk, sitting in and watching the world go past without feeling totally on "display"
anyone know of a tent that is like the quebec but with a porch (or willing to persaude me porch isn't necessary!)
we can spend up to about £200
thanks

How about a Gelert Lokon Vario here This one comes with a free canopy and windbreak too.

Really easy to put up, good bedroom arrangement for you, you can use the little 2 berth bedroom as a storage area. Not sure about the extent of the SIG, but I can honestly say that I've never seen a rodent near our tent!

My dd's are too loud!

We are getting one of these have seen it up and its fab!!

Actually look at their Khyam Breckenridge Family Dome Tent it is exactly what you want and last years model is £195

How about the khyam Ontario 6? we have the Ontario 8, there's a porch you can buy as an optional extra so even though its not there in the pics, it is available- think its £50? Outdoor World tend to have good deals

The Vario unfortunately (it was the deciding feature for us) doesn't have a full SIG.

Here you go here

5000HH is extrememly high- highest I know of anyhow.

Our 8 man takes 25 minutes to put up, even with kiddy interference. Our old Gelert Tahoma Dome Tent, though much beloved, took more than double that (to fully pegges stage with both).

Peachy is that the same tent as the Khyam Kansas 8 that I linked to? IT looks the same and you can get carpet and a porch for it.

The Kansas is the one without a SIG isn't it? Its also only available from outdoor medastore as a one off, not a general release- but the SIG is all that's in it afaik. The canopy / etc are the same (And the kansas carpet is really an outwell but the only one available)

Course that may be crap- purely done from memory! And if its right I get to progress to the next level of tent-savant LOL!

we bought an outwell indiana 6 last year. Its nice and light inside and plenty of space for 4 of us. We are very happy with it. HTH

Oops no almost right

Ap[aprently the only difference is that its only for outdoor megastore

and its a different colour

Now experience has taught me that I like lighter coloured tents- last year our dark tent superheated so much in the sun that our plastic wone glasses cracked through! But its preference I suppose

The Ontario is a bit cheaper at outdoor world, and you get the footprint free which imo is a better investment than the bag, simply because it protects the SIG and if you lose the SIG you lose the tent.

I shall link to a pic of the canopy etc all up this weekend, hang on...

We've got a Sunncamp Vario 9 , but they do a Vario 6 which is smaller. We don't have a SIG but the latest models have SIGs. We are really pleased with it.

here- our tent up this weekend

As you can see with the canopy its a bit of a monster tent but without it its quite slim (if very long) and even with the canopy it conforms to camping and caravan guidelines, which is a must for us.

The Sunncamp Vario range is good- imo superior to the Gelert ones (although I usually like Gelert), for some reason they just seem better quality.

Our Tent

-We got the Gelert Utah 8 from here and it was much cheaper than other places. Its a bit smaller than our last one (which was a 12 person canvas monster which took up all the room in the car- but oh the space inside was heavenly!! ) We havn't used it yet, but in a trial run it took us less than 30 mins to put up, and that was the first time. -Looking forward to half term

ohhh peachy I like it..we were thinking about getting the footprint as will help to make sure we dont pitch on a dodgy ditch..lol Will definetly look at the lighter colour aswell thanks. It does look rather fab with the porch on but will prob save for that for next year!

peachy - yours looks great - very like the quebec except you can split the bedroom which I guess would be handy, and the living space looks bigger
I like that canopy - even knowing it is out there would make me more inclined to buy the tent and try it, knowing I could add on a porch if I really felt the lack, do you think that porch would fit on the Quebec? it says somewhere it fits most tunnel tents..
I like the price of the quebec, and the colour (I know, I know...)although a different coloured porch would ruin that carefully contrived effect
the ontario 8 is 750 long - I was looking at a campsite today where if your tent was over 7m you had to pay for two pitches have you encountered much of that?
purpleduck - I did toy with the utah in a previous incarnation (this tent choosing has been going on for some time now) and can't even remember now why I decided against it
surfermum - the varios with SIG are just that bit too expensive, look fab though

X 5 metresI liked the Utah, Dh was against it as he likes his space divided down a bit more. I liked the way it opened up, Outdoor revolution also (look on uk campsite in their shop) do one that opens up but it was just a bit too small for us.

We haven't yet been refused anywhere, partly that's because we go with the caravan and camping club / forest holidays sites mostly and they accept tents (forest holidays actually do any size) up to 9 X 5 metrs, so we can in fact just get the canopy on- the size criteria for them was aprtly our reason for the choice of tent / disposing of our last tent. However I am aware there are a few that won't- it really is a few though, uk campsite has a huge list on their site of sites that take huge tents but most should take the Ontario ime. The non- C&CC / FH sites we're usingt his year are pentewan in Cornwall (13 X 13 m square pitches!) and broadway house in Cheddar (varying size pitches).

I reckon (but can't promise) that canopy would fit pretty much any tunnel tent, looking at how it's fixed. You have a frame on the front and then just chuck a flap over the top of the tent, and peg in.

I would have no qualms about the Quebec, they have one at the local shop and having owned a Gelert I can only say they were A1 quality.

(no idea why that starts X5 metres LOL)

Your canopy is very much like ours Peachy, we have an Outwell silver one here in Dorset

Ours is big enough to cook under and fit our table in, athough as our tent is a tall, upright walled one, the canopy doesn't sit snugly against the tent. The people had a fat little Montana and their canopy fitted much more snugly to the tent than ours.

They are similar aren't they LOL? We can get our (quite alrge) aluminium roll up table thingy under it, and that doubles up as a drier as the slats wiggle about for drainage LOL! You could cook under it I suppose, I'm a bit wary of it (too many years girlguiding saferty drills )

I acn't make myself like the Montys. Don't know why, I know they're good tents but- no idea!

so peachy I take it you recommend the khyam??We have sold our car and with some of the money are planning on getting the tent.

oh I just get SO confused with all these tents. the fact that DH couldn't care less (apart from insisting on a SIG) makes it even harder as I am indecision personified

Could someone PLEASE tell me which one to buy

(we are planning a camping w/e in early June and at this rate I'll be borrowing a tent again)

I would definitely recommend the Khyam to anybody, yes. nemo or Jeangenie LOL!

Apart from everything else 9which we love) it has a HH of 5000 which is amazingly waterproof, and I do like the add on canopy / carpet etc options.

I would say go for it, you won't regret it, either Outdoor World, or Outdoor Megastore. We got ours at the camping and kite Centre 9they do have a website but we wenta s its local).

outdoormegastore is local to us as thats where we saw it but we do like the idea of the footprint.

I like the footprint, apart from SIG safety its another layer of insulation and also handy because on sites like forest holidays you can pop it down and know how close your tent is to the next - they dont have amrked pitches.