Need to know more about inflatable tents

[FireworksBaby]

We've been looking for a new tent, really like the look of airbeams, but can't decide if it's worth the extra cost.
Do you have one?
If so, what type and do you recommend it?
Are they that much easier to put up?
Any problems with condensation?
Ever had an airbeam puncture/ deflate during a trip?
Are they much heavier/ bigger to pack?
Is it worth getting polycotton?
Anything else I should know?

Thank you in advance for any help!

For got to mention that our decision to go air beam was influenced by a pole breaking during a windy night. DH and DS had to spend the rest of the night with another family who were in an air beam. They knew the other family, I hasten to add. The air beam tent the other family were in was fine in the wind. To be fair, the pole that broke was pretty old and well used.

One went bang on a campsite next to us ...brand new over £1k they had jsut upgraded......at least if a pole breaks they can be replaced/patched up in a storm usually ..they were experienced campers
The wider shape tunnels do not look as solid as pole (especially steel) was pitched opposite one on the LLyn peninsula last easter and it definitly wobbled - have considered myself as love the idea of eth quick pitch ...but it was not much faster than our pole tent, took up a huge amount of space and took them lot longer to pack down...
(I hate packing down so anything that makes that worse is a no in my book)

Yes yes yes to polycotton - complete convert had a bear lake to start and have lost a lot of weight to a Eureka tent (5man weighs 15kg!)
www.eurekaeurope.com/
I would save cash from an airbeam and invest in lighter weight :)

Why not visit a camping display and have a look at them, the staff at the big camping stores are usually pretty experienced.
I have had Outwell tents in the past and thought they were great, but when we visited the camping shop the guy said they’ve had a lot of Outwell airtents returned and he recommended Vango or Kampa air tents as he said their air technology is better.

People do carry spare beams.

They do well in storms because they bend rather than break.

Some can explode in extremely hot weather if you don’t let a bit of air out in the morning to allow for expansion as the air heats.

You should not need to let air out of an airbeam tent in the heat. They are designed to cope with it.

The beams can be replaced if necessary but it’s unlikeky. I’ve had two airbeams and never needed to replace the beam.

But some manufacturers seem to tell peple to deflate the eams in hot weather to prevent damage. There has been loads of discssion about this on UKCampsite, a quick search brought up this reply from Outwell to a customer whose tent exploded:

"can assure you that our air tubes are made to last and if they are treated right they will serve you for many years to come.

The only problem you can occur when having an air tent is the air to expand too much causing it to damage the tubes.

However, with some common sense this will not be a problem. Just make sure to keep an eye on the air pressure, especially during the day when it gets hotter. If the pressure rises you can simply just deflate it a bit, and later on when the temperature is falling you can inflate the tent again."
here

There was a rush of 'exploding beams' complaints until recently, there were some Vango tents that were often quoted, too, but they do seem to have the technology more under control now.

My SIM came with an instruction leaflet that said to deflate in hot weather for fear of expansion causing damage!

we've got an airbeam evoke, it's great, no condensation, quick to pitch and never had a beam leak

Yes with SIMS you are supposed to open the valves in the daytime if it’s sunny otherwise they can overexpand and get damaged.

ScrubTheDecks

Outwell are notorious for not being the market leader in airbeam tents. Kampa and Vango brands are the best. With Kampa and Vango you do not need to to let out any air due to heat.

I own a Kampa airbeam. The instructions do not tell you to let out air in the heat.

OP I’d advise you to do your research on the brand you choose.

we've got an inflatable but not poly cotton - too dear for us at the moment. but we're on to our third season with our berghaus air4 and we really like it. no problem with the poles - even when 7yr old DD insists on inflating them. we had it up in a force 8 last summer (that's Islay for you) and the beams moved a bit but the tent was fine

Still dithering! I think the trouble is that the friend's tent we saw on a camping trip was inflatable and polycotton, we want one exactly like it, but our budget appears to be one or the other.
I am currently eying up the Kampa texel (poles and polycotton), but still not certain enough to take the plunge and buy it.
I'm also discovering that DP and I have different taste in tents, which is making it even harder to make a decision!

We've just bought an Outwell 5. We're about to do our first week it had a good weekend in it. It's our first non polycotton tent so think I'll have to adjust to that when it's not but we have more vents etc.

Just realised texel is not polycotton, as well as not inflatable. Looked at so many I'm starting to mix them all up...

We've got the Kampa Studland air pro. DH had never been keen on the idea of camping so when he finally came round I thought that air beams would be less likely to lead to divorce! We can have it up in 15 minutes and it is an absolute beast (8 man) and so far both times is been up erection has been in high winds! I would be very confident getting it up by myself, the only downside is the size and weight but I can get it downstairs and into the car by myself

We brought this one:
www.decathlon.co.uk/xl-fb-air-seconds-family-63-id_8492639.html from Decathlon a few weeks ago and love it already! It keeps relatively dark in the early mornings, so easy to put up and pack away and comes with 3 pods (one detachable) which works brilliantly for our family and it was literallly half the price of the Vango one!

@FireworksBaby if I could only get either a tent that was inflatable or polycotton (but not both) then personally, I would go with polycotton. Once you have been in a polycotton tent on a hot day, you really won't look back.

I like the way our inflatable tent is quick to pitch, and it has the larger Vango airbeams (I think they are called superbeams or something like that) - they are VERY sturdy. But once you're inside the tent, the most important thing is comfort and a polycotton tent with poles would be just as good on that front. Heavy too but at least you could carry the poles separately!

The Kampa Croyde Air Classic (polycotton) 2016 model is selling here for £820:
www.jrleisure.co.uk/2016-kampa-croyde-6-classic-air-tent/p2676

If you are willing to wait until the autumn you will probably find some good bargains on polycotton air tents as that’s when the camping shops reduce the stock.

Those with polycotton tents - did you ‘weather’ them in first? Ours says to put it up and get it wet then dry it thoroughly before first use, but I haven’t had time to do this and we are camping this weekend.....

@hestia2018 we did weather ours first, but the man in the camping shop said it wouldn't be a deal breaker if we couldn't do that, just that the walls might get a bit wet.

We didn’t weather ours and it was fine.

@Hestia we are looking very seriously at your link, haven't seen any other air polycotton anywhere near our price range, which makes me wonder if there is a catch! I can see the 2017/18 models have some minor improvements, but the reviews of 2016 still seem pretty positive. Definitely most hopeful yet...

Our local camping shop has 0% finance on purchases over £500.

The 2016 does not have the ‘quick pitch’ system which we love on our model. It makes it super quick to put up.

The bedrooms on that model are not darkened either but they are on the later models. My toddler sleeps past 6am with darkened bedrooms so it’s a must for us!!

We bought it, thank you @hestia for the link! Will report back when it arrives, but I think it was loads better than anything else within our budget.

Very excited and looking forward to a happy summer camping.

We took the Kampa Croyde Air camping at the weekend and it was great. Once we got the hang of the air beams it went up fine. We’ll be quicker next time. The beams feel very solid. Pack size is big, but no bigger than our friends who had polyester tents. It’s very heavy though so needs two to carry it or a trolley. We watched some YouTube videos beforehand and had no trouble getting it back in the bag.
It was a roasting hot weekend and our tent was definitely cooler in the morning than our polyester one and without annoying condensation dripping down! Yes the 2016 model doesn’t have the quick pitch guy ropes or the blackout bedrooms which I agree do look good - but my budget was under £1k so it was the choice of an older model polycotton, or a newer model polyester, so the polycotton won! I’ll just have to give everyone eye masks
I am really pleased with the tent, the fabric feels really solid, I like the way the door is set out, the porch gives you the option for putting in chairs shoes etc. and having it totally open or completely enclosed. I think it’s a tent that will last us a fair few years.

That sounds brilliant! We were the same on budget and places we were / weren't willing to compromise. According to the tracking ours arrives tomorrow, so hoping to test it out next weekend! Thank you so much for sharing the link.

Have you got a footprint groundsheet? The camping forums seem to recommend the idea, but cutting a tarpaulin down to size instead of paying £50+ for the official version...