Another tent virgin question (apologies). Advice please re:Outwell Tents.

[Slubberdegullion]

Yes, I'm still researching. The piss awful weather is perhaps staying my hand at spending a fortune on tent and new camping equipment.

Anyway, was at our local camping shop with a friend yesterday (she is camping hard core). And she felt that this Outwell Minnesota 4 would be perfect for or needs. we are 4 (DC are 2&3) and are planning on doing only weekend or possibly up to a week long camps here in the UK. It is for sale at the shop for £225 which isn't bad. She advised I buy the canopy and wind break as well.

So then I went on some camping chat room last night and there was about 50% praise for outwell, and 50% who said they leaked ++++.

Oh I'm all in a dither. Any Mners with experience?

TIA

I have the outwell hartford xxl and have never had any problems with it leaking, infact we are very pleased with it. (we have had a broken pole after camping on top of a hill in very very windy weather). I have heard that it's 50/50 with some of the outwells at the moment.

As an aside I wonder if the minnesota 4 will be big enough for the four of you with regars storage and room to relax/play uring the inevitable rain storms?

I was thinking the same HP as we have a simialr Vango tent - bought when there were only 3 of us, now we are 4 we've realised that 2 'rooms' is nowhere near big enough - I think your tent is the one I want to go for for next year

Well my plan was only to go away for weekends when the weather was fine. My RL told me to stop being so bloody ridiculous and assume that it will tip it down on every single trip. .

The Minnesota 4 with the porch seemed a good size for a weekend, but then I guess you need to take pretty much all the same stuff with you on a weekend as you will do for a week (you see how inexperienced I am)?

The main problem with buying something more roomy is DH will flip out if I get something that:
a) takes up the entire boot space
b) takes 2 hours of cursing and swearing at the tent/me/DC to put up
c) Requires a complete reorganisation of the garage to fit it in

if we are only going to be away for 1 night in anglesey (and it doesn't rain).

Well, there are 5 of us and we still manage to everything you could think of and yet we have plenty of room to spare. We have also invested in the awning for extra storage.

Will admit that it does take up a lot of room to store. It resides at the bottom of our bed like an enormous fat slug!

Gawd....can already imagine DH saying
'wtf is that? It's enormous woman....we only want something to sleep in for one night ffs'.

This camping business is a plan to increase the love between DH and I, returning us to byegone days of family fun under canvas. Buying a mofo tent will decrease the love without question.

Sorrry, but whats a mofo tent?

It is nice to get back to family basics when camping, we actually talk to each other instead of shouting

Mother Fucker. (I didn't say those words really, not on a camping thread at any rate).

I see, that those words should appear on a campng thread, what-ever next?

sorry sorry sorry.

It's just that DH given enough time of sweating and re reading pitching instructions and pushing poles in and out of sleeves will almost certainly be using those words, infront of my tiny angelic daughters if I buy a tent that's waaaaaaaaaaaay to big.

Any way, back to tents......

So is a sleeping compartment (for the 4 of us), and the living space and the porch under the canopy surrounded by a wind break not going to be big enough for all the usual equipment?

at the mofo - I got you straightaway!!

We had our first outing in our Outwell Casagrande this weekend. We hadn't even tried to put it up at home or anything and I felt vaguely sick when we unpacked it and saw how complicated it looked. But in fact it only took about 20 mins to get up (while one-year-old DS sat patiently in his pushchair - bless!). So big doesn't always mean mofo!

Good luck with your decision. Impy

I would think that at the moment it probably would be big enough for short stays like you say, your children are still young so they theorietically should take up less room, therefore leaving more room for their bits and pieces and all your equipment. My children are older (12,9 and 6) the oldest is quite a private girl and likes her own space so has her own pod, the other two share leaving one more pod to store clothes, food etc leaving the middle bit to have two tables which we put things like kettle, toaster, cups, etc on. Because the tent is so big even with all this we still have room in the living area for all five of us to sit on our chairs an have space for the girls to lol about on the floor. We keep all our cooking equipment under the canopy on a table.

How about \link{http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/camping/tents/3138522032371?gclid=CJ7Ejfq1sY0CFRAFEgodjHMl0gColema n Cedar creek?}

fantastic height, light and airy

crap - try again

I have an Outwell tent, not sre of the model. Bu it is at least a 5 man tent, possibly a 6man one. There are only 3 of us and I wouldn't want one any smaller.

Touch wood its never leaked.

Ours (outwell monty 6) leaked on it's 2nd outing (first with rain)...but when we went out a third time and had torrential rain for 2 days it didn't.
I thought this was really wierd ...but then saw a post on campsite uk saying this is common

I have an outwell (style now out of stock but similar to the indiana) and it is great. We have used it in a variety of holidays over 2 years and have never had a problem.

My advice would be to buy a tent that is at least 2+ on the size of your party. So a six bearth if there are 4 of you. * if you intend to use it for longer holidays when it might rain.

Thank you to all the replies.

Lucycat re the Coleman, when it says 2 bedrooms does that mean 2 distinct sleeping areas (ie you have to completely get out of one to enter the other)? The Outwell is one big room with a zippable screen in between. This is a must for us as dd's are not good sleepers and the thought of getting in/out of sleeping bag and then in/out of bedroom several times during the night.....well lets just say it won't increase the love

The Outwell is my fav (in terms of what we need it for) atm, but I'm worried about the leaks...are some tents brands much more reliable generally than others?

soryy x-post MartianBishop.

So should I be looking at the Minnesota 6? Do I really need something that big if we are really only planning weekend trips?

sorry, maybe should rephrase...atm we are only planning weekends but if we catch the bug and want to do week long trips will a 4 birth just be too unbearably small?

Definatly would be too small, you really would be better looking at the 6 berth as the more you camp the more bits and pieces you will collect. Plus youy DC will have more room to play in on rainy days.

if you want to see if camping if for you, borrow a tent before you buy, or go on a ready set up holiday. If you go in a v small tent and it pees down you will all be miserable, unless you are wipe your bum on leaves types (and I'm not! )

Oh dear...have in the space of 4 days gone from almost buying this, to now thinking about one of these maybe?

This is not going to be putting deposits in the love bank I fear.

mb, we did eurocamp last year and loved it (but not the price). DH and I both camped for all our childhood holidays and so remember how great they can be for kids. It's the large initial outlay I'm worried about, don't want to end up with a tent that is (a) unreliable or (b) to big/small for our needs.