What size bell tent for 2 adults, 2 children and a dog?

[BreathlessCommotion]

Dh has agreed to a bell tent! (possibly so ill shut up about it!)

We are two adults, two children (11 and 8) and a labradoodle (27kg). Will a 5m Bell tent be enough? I'm planning on getting an awning too.

Bell tents are tall, draughty, and unless they've got suspended inner rooms or a second skin they'll be cold in anything other than the perfect summer. They're a romantic idea right up until the point you try and use it.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but try hiring one before buying.

I agree they're a a pain in the arse especially if you have to dry it at home. They look beautiful though.

How often will you use it? How big is your car?

We have a trailer for camping stuff, so space not an issue. And the alternative was a polycotton tent which was just as big and heavy- a airbeam one probably, a mansion tent.

We will get a stove at some point, although not right now. I tried to hire, but could only find the Glamping ones where they put it up for you in the garden.

I've never seen them described as cold, canvas is warmer than polyester I thought? And cooler in the heat. We went last week in our polyester tent and we were all too hot at night.

We'd otherwise go for polycotton which would also need space to dry at home. In fact nearly any tent does. We find our polyester tent far too hot and sweaty in the day. I hate the heat, and what most people consider a nice sunny day is too hot for me.

This year we will have gone away 3 times at the end of August, obviously covid has stopped a lot of camping. Usually we go away quite a lot, usually for only 3-4 nights at a time.

With the awning it is also half the price of most of the other tents we've seen that would be big enough (and polycotton).

I have a 5 foot one and love it. You would be fine in a 4 foot. 5 foot will give you a big more room. And 6 foot loads of room!!

We had/have a 4/5 man polyester tunnel tent and last week it was far too small for all of us. We were sleeping pushed up against each other and the dog was lolling on us all, making us hotter!

I think I'm just nervous to make sure dh enjoys it, as he wanted to get the polycotton air beam mansion tent!

We have a five foot bell tent. Two adults and three kids. I hate it! Impractical storage spaces and no privacy.

I'm sorry, I'd be with your DH and go for the polycotton airbeam mansion.

Bell tents look very lovely but always seem so impractical.

@DogInATent is the first person I've seen post negatively about bell tents but this is actually my experience also. We used to camp loads and I coveted a bell tent for so long, and since we got one a few years ago we haven't camped as much. We mostly just camp at festivals now and then don't take the Bell because it is far too heavy to carry and too big for a campervan pitch.

Issues for me have been that it is definitely cold. Especially the time I went just me and the kids. Everyone says get as big as you can afford, but I disagree. I think you'd fit in a 4m with no extra hanging out space and a 5m should be as big as you should go. It's harder to warm a big tall tent.

I can't lift the thing on my own. I can't even get it in the boot.

DH is paranoid about it getting mold or muddy. So set up time isn't any quicker because he spends so long being anal about the footprint we had to buy seperately and then cleaning it down thoroughly when taking it down. It's not the super quick up and down I dreamed of. But I guess that is partly a DH problem.

We often spend ages waiting for the sun to come out and it to dry before going home because we don't have a garden big enough to dry it. With a poly, you can hang it over a washing line.

Now my eldest is a teenager and often brings a friend it's a pain for getting dressed all in one room. I know we could buy a divider but the space isn't great with one. In fact the older all the kids get the more impractical it seems.

I actually didn't set out writing this post to put you off, and feel bad now. I don't regret our tent enough to sell it, I just think the bell tent groups are a bit unrealistically over the top about how amazing they are so bare that in mind. You can often get a bargain at the end of summer, we got a black Friday deal. Keep your eyes peeled. Don't spend too much.

If you have a big garden, you will find it more useful I think. I'd love to be able to set ours up at home for garden camping, outdoor movie nights, kids parties etc

We glamped in a bell tent a few years ago, there was no glamour in it.

They regular ones have a huge volume compared to the usable space which combined with being single skinned makes them draughty. It's all one space, so there's no privacy. There's not even a corner to hide behind when someone wants to open the door to go in/out. There's nowhere to put your bits and pieces out of sight. They're all eaves - a very small area where you can stand up and an awful lot of useless edge.

I've seen one that looked practical. But it was the size of a Victorian safari tent, very tall side walls (at least 4') with two inner tents that formed separate bedrooms (each about a 1/4 of the circle inside the main tent). The owners reckoned it took 30 minutes to put up/down, and it had it's own trailer with all the furniture. It looked good, but with all the folding furniture they had to go with it (they were into Steampunk and lived-the-look on holiday) the trailer was the weight of a small caravan.

People rave about those Dutch tents that are like a bell tent material but a more sensible shape. Have you looked at that type of thing? Try looking on the UKcampsite message forums too.

Cotton (canvas) or polycotton is much nicer to camp in than polyester. It is less noisily flappy in wind, less sweaty, smells nicer.

Properly looked after it will last for years and years, too.

But it is heavier and bulkier and does need to be dried thoroughly and soon after a wet pack up.

Personally I find bells a bit impractical, though I understand the romance of them, and camping is also about enjoying the ‘vibe’.

Many have doors you have to stoop to get in. The A frame door means the door is always narrow at the top. Except for the new ones with the hooped attached porch they do not lend themselves to a draft proof, open airy cooking porch or awning. You can’t see out.

They are lovely with the sides rolled up in the heat, if you have a ZIG. And ideal for putting a wood stove in.

I have a Dutch Pyramid Tent. These can be very heavy, and expensive but have more practical space, IME.

Have you looked at the Touareg style tents? You can have a square inner at the rear of one of those and it won’t spoil the space as much as in a bell.

What is a mansion tent?

I would enjoy a bell as a weekend tent, but not long holidays. Also how do they look unless you cart all that STUFF that glampy belltenters decorate their tents with? If you want that whole glampy look, only a bell or possibly a Touareg will do

We got a 5m one and went away two nights this week just dh and me. We both loved it. So easy to put up, although I was like a previous dh about keeping the canvas clean when putting it down!

It was lovely and warm, if anything I was too hot at night. It wasn't draughty and can't see how it would be as we have a zipped in groundsheet. I loved the space to get dressed in. What I hate about the tunnel tent is all the windows - I can't take the dark and hot sleeping bits to get changed in.

One night we had lots of rain and wind and it was lovely just hanging out inside, feeling cosy, and not like we were in a big bag of crisps rustling.

We're not doing massive glamping, had our normal kitchen stand under the awning tarp, a crate for shoes. It was nice to be able to lounge in the bed and read. It felt spacious inside.

Taking the kids this weekend so will report back.

Yes, I do love sitting in my canvas tent (not bell) in the rain.

Glad you enjoyed it.

We have a 5m too. Also four of us and a dog. We have barely used ours as the PVC groundsheet made me really wheezy, I am hoping it will have offgassed enough to try again next week. There was no more environmentally friendly alternative ground sheet available, I would have happily paid more for one, as PVC is so toxic and horrible.
In terms of the space, I prefer The look and feel of it open, but bought the inner bedroom space as I thought it would be more comfortable for sleeping, and easier to keep it free of insects.
I think it will really come into its own when the teenagers can use it to hang out in, i really like the way you can roll the sides up on a hot day.

I think you will be fine with a 5m bell tent. We have a 4.5m for me, dh and 2 teenagers which is fine without the inner tent but a squeeze when that is used, but ds tends to sleep in his own tent now anyway.

I love it because it’s canvas/polycotton so warmer when air is cool and vice versa and the light in it is lovely but we mainly bought it because it is so easy to put up and pack down. It has taken us time to get used to where to put everything as no hanging pockets or straight sides but we are getting there. Although they look lovely they are not the most practical of tents but they do have a fab vibe to them and are great to be in.

Our previous tent was an Outwell Bear Lake 6 in polycotton which I absolutely adore but dh has arthritis so we struggled with loading onto our roof rack and putting it up on site. I have still got that one as can’t bring myself to sell it!

We have a 5 foot and plenty of space for the family plus dog. X

I know it's an old thread but just seen this.

I love bell tents despite the extra work of cleaning and keeping dry. We have a 6m emperor bell tent which is amazing and great for the huge roof and extra doors. But we are LARPers so need the space.

They can be a bit cold and draughty but you can get ones with flue holes for a wood burning heater, it's next on my list getting a 5m one for that. I've been in one with a stove heater and it's lovely.

Camping batteries are a great investment for electric lights too.