Air tents

[liveforsummer]

Decided to upgrade to an air tent - as a single parent having a faffy 2 person pitch is a pain and I think we'd go more often if it was easier for me. It's just me and 2 dc but dd1 will often bring a friend and they will be around adult height so would prefer a 5 or 6 man bit don't want it to be too huge like some of them. Not too big or heavy but understand they will be more so than a standard tent. The vango odyssey air is very reasonably priced atm am also loooking at euro hike 600 and a couple of the berghaus ones. Any one with any experience of these or any other suggestions? . TIA

We have an Outwell - love it. They're a it bigger so bear in mind when packing the car -

We have a Vango Riverdale 8 man air tent. Would recommend! Much easier than a normal tent but would caution they are really big so fill up a decent size boot. Could definitely be put up with one person. We use it more now because it's so much faster to get up and put down.

You might need a trailer or a roof rack as well. We couldn't fit 4 people and our air tent in the car, let alone include the camping equipment.

Yes size is another factor as my car is not huge although it's got a great boot for it's size - budget won't extend to tow bar and trailer unfortunately so none of the giant tents

To add as there are only 3 of us it leaves a decent back seat space too which helps

Air tents can and do explode. We were camping recently and across the way an air tent just went poof and collapsed in on itself. Maybe it was the heat or just a fault, but it ruined their holiday.

Apparently you need to keep an eye on the pressure during extreme heat - am buying new rather than second hand so have a decent warranty

Have a look on the Vango website. They give pack sizes and weights.

It's a common misconception that air is heavier and bigger than poled. I have a six man Vango Airbeam. It weighs 20kilos and is the same pack size as my previous 6 man poled. It is lighter too.

I can pitch it very easily by myself,

Mine was second hand. It's about 7 years old now. Absolutely no issues with the beams and I've camped in all temperatures. In fact, the pressure gauge on my pump is broken so I don't really know what pressure my beams are!

Buy a spare beam (like you would a pile repair kit)

There are instructions with air tents that state less air is needed for hotter temps and more for cooler temps. If people ignore that then yes they may explode, as long as the guidelines are followed this shouldn't happen. We've used ours in all weathers and are mindful of this.

OP we have a Zempire Aero Dura TL which we love, but it's difficult to get extras for it, much more available for Berghaus, Vango, Outwell etc

We have the Berghaus Air 6. Absolutely solid build and construction and I can easily put it up and down myself. It's withstood strong wind and rain and I've never felt it was at risk at coming down (the airbeams flex with the wind). There are four of us. We went for this design because we liked the idea of the two bedrooms being on opposite sides separated by the 'living area'. I'm a light sleeper, DH is a noisy sleeper and can snore and he also gets grumpy if woken early by the kids! So we sleep on opposite sides so we don't disturb each other. For this reason, we avoided the tunnel tents where we are all at the same end separated by a thin divider!

Pack size is 26kg but it does come in its own case which has wheels so it's easy to drag around. The blue isn't my colour but it does create a nice blackout to sleep in versus tents we've had in the past with lighter colours (unless they have inbuilt black out lining).

There are doors on both sides so the ventilation is really good (we keep the mesh doors closed so air flows through but insects don't come in) and it never gets stuffy.

Only regret (something we didn't think of at the time) is that it doesn't have an awning and I do wish we'd gone for a version with one built in. We ended up buying the separate Berghaus porch which is also easy to put up and provides tons of extra room. It's great to sit in if it rains but also if it's really hot as it means we can store stuff in the shade. If we only go for a weekend and the weather forecast is good, we don't bother with the porch so it's even quicker and simpler set up.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely yes. Friends have the Berghaus 6XL version and rave about theirs too.

The main thing for me is that it's so easy to put up and down on my own.

I am a single parent also! I have a vango stargrove 450xl air, it great for me and my 2 kids. I can put it up and down by my self. It has enough room for 3 camp beds in the bedroom area and for a table and folding cupboard in the main living area. It has a attached awning which you can leave open at the front in good weather or zip up in bad weather.

I love it!

Oh @User181019 the berghaus 6 was my favourite but I'd almost talked myself out of it thinking it was 2 big for short trips and was thinking about a smaller one bedroom one instead. Now I'm swayed again 😆

We have the Berghaus 6XL. Love the fact that the porch is integrated since so many places charge extra for awnings and gazebos now. Massive living area (we camp fir up to 10 days at a time).

I advise looking at the tents in real life.... some brands look a lot flimiser than others. Bergaus are solid.

@liveforsummer we chose it over the 6XL as we preferred the smaller footprint of the 6 and felt it suited our needs more as we do a lot of long weekends plus I wanted something I could manage on my own if DH can't join. However, we have used it for week long camping trips with the porch and it's been fantastic as well with plenty of space. We don't pay extra to camp with the porch because it attaches to the main body of the tent.

We find it perfect for 4. We've comfortably had 3 in each bedroom as well. We sized because our kids are only getting bigger and I wanted the option of being able to invite some of their friends too in the future. We also have a pop up Decathlon tent and the footprint of this and the Berghaus 6 means we could have both on one pitch.

@liveforsummer one thing to think about whatever tent you get is also ventilation. Our tent seems to always be the right temperature inside the bedrooms and we all sleep so well! We've used it during heatwaves and also on top of windy hills by the coast when it has been rainy and cold. I reckon it's because the ventilation is so well designed so air can circulate. We've also never had a problem with condensation either because of the ventilation.

We have a quecha 4.2xl. It has 2 bedrooms and sleeps 4, so is maybe too small for you. I think it is a great size for 4 though. It is super easy to put up. I went camping alone with ds when he was 3 and I got it up and down by myself no bother. It is really quick to assemble and it really is not that big when it folds. It might be worth a look if you are worried about boot space. We got ours in decathlon.

Don’t forget car space for friend + bedding + chair for friend.

You may prefer air beam anyway, but any Dc I took camping were part of the pitching crew from quite young. We worked on how fast / efficiently we could do it.

Also, my Dc slept in their own small tent once they took a friend, which gives you flexibility, maybe, on the size of your main tent?

Hi,
I am looking at buying a new Air Tent myself and just wondered if anyone else had ever needed to buy spares for yours i.e. new air beams.

I see many sites don't even list replacement air beams, or if they do they are really specific to only certain hand full of models.

The model i have ordered has no where showing replacements only the Berghaus Air / Air XL models have possibilities.

Freedom 7 doesn't seem to show anything. Any ideas ?

Many Thanks

Millets seem to sell a wide range of spare beams for Berghaus tents.

Have you tried googling your tent model spare air beam ?

I have not been persuaded to opt for an air tent yet, but the initial issues with exploding beams seem to have been sorted.

My friends have both had issues with their air tenga collapsing

I'm not sure they are as good as they are made out to be. And much more expensive

Thanks for your kind responses.
Yes i have tried googling the model and spare parts / replacement air beams etc but only replacements for other models of the same brand come up, which then say they only fit the named tent model (Which isnt the one ive looked at) :-(

I was hoping that they wouldn't be selling Air Tents that would simply fail after a short time, when we have to spend so much on them. But maybe fibre glass poles are still the better option if there is still problems with beams failing to easily.

Thank You

We are on our third year of our Berghaus Air tent without problems. (Iused several weeks over various trips each summer)

In that time we've had fibre glass poles if one of our lesser used tents snap.

Both can have their issues. Air beams need watching in hotter weather, poles in wind.

Thank You. That makes me feel a little better regards Air Tent possibility.
I heard that most Air Tents will come with a repair kit anyway, fingers crossed.
But was just thinking long term, if the worst happened and repair kit either wasn't enough or it had already been used, then at least we knew there were options to buy replacements. But weather wise, i keep hearing that and about making sure to deflate them a little when hot weather is on its way to compensate.