Seasoned campers, may I ask your advice?

[Lwrenn]

Hello 👋

I'm hopeful someone with experience and common sense can help me choose a tent?
Ideally weather and bug-proof and easy enough to put up.
I'm planning to take my wee ones camping including a baby who'll be around 1.

It's probably a batshit crazy idea but I've been desperate to take them for years now and circumstances have stopped me.

These are the tents I'm deciding between, Coleman 6 man tent and the Ozark Trail Olive Green Yurt Tent 8 Person (for some reason I can't link them, the Coleman tent is on amazon and the ozark asda) now the reviews for both are conflicting so if you've used either tent and have an opinion or even another suggestion, any advice is appreciated greatly. Thanks!

The Coleman's quite small and fiddly to put up, the 8 man version they also do you can stand up in.
The yurt is ok, I have the teepee version but tbh both are rather Fairweather tents and no tent is bug(or frog, mouse, daddy log leg) free.
Can you borrow from a friend or have a look around a tent display nearby?
Let me know where you are and I'll may know of one.

Also if you give a budget, who's going in terms of setting up and space we can recommend a few tents 🙂

@swapcicles hi, thanks for replying! I'm in Merseyside but can travel a bit out.

All my friends are high maintenance so not a tent between them 🤣

If Coleman does an 8 person one that would be great, I'll Google now! Thanks again x

Myself and my dp and 3 of our dc, however he is refusing completely to sleep in the tent and will sleep in the car, as he detests the elements 😂

Budget I'm unsure on, I'm happy to invest ☺

What about something a bit more glamping for a first trip with little people. https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/glamping/

😉 talking as your future self: Don't do it! It's crazy, exhausting fun!

But as you don't know yet, I'd be inclined to go for the one that you can stand up in & are able to pitch yourself with limited or no help.... as for the bugs: no comments.

That's what I did many years ago, and worked out fine. For the cost of some beers, I even had help with the tent from fellow campers. 😁

PS, if you are serious about camping, check out air beam tents. Never had one but look a lot easier and quicker to pitch.

How many of you are going?

I highly recommend getting a coleman event shelter as well as the tent.

Travel cot is brilliant for containing small people while cooking etc.

I have the Coleman 8 man tent. I can stand in it am 5 11” and have put it up with children before (under 10.) With a bit of careful folding it does get back in the bag. I got mines from Amazon warehouse so was fairly cheap about £240

Def get one an adult can stand up in as if it's wet and you have to spend time in it during the day, not being able to stand up is a pain. A porch is also useful for storing shoes and sitting in if it's damp. We ended up with a 14 berth one so we could all have separate bedrooms, a changing room and a kitchen annexe!

Thank you all so much! Absolutely loads to think about and consider!

Winfields Chester has quite a few tents on display that you can look inside.
If you like Coleman their range of weather master tents are really good, especially if you like a blackout bedroom!
Others that might be good are kielder 5/6, Airedale 6, or the joro 450/650
Air beam are easier to put up but bigger, heavier and more expensive, last much better in the winds though!
Get the sleeping right and hubby may just kip in the tent, a camp bed is great, I use one on its own but many use a SIM on top, much better than an always deflating airbed( will always deflate in night due to colder temps)
One thing though, the kids will love it, even if you're not keen, they'll make friends on the campsite and have great fun exploring.

I would be wary of any single skin tent. The yurt one will be running with condensation unless you can keep the side vents open, which you probably won’t want to do.

You need a tent with a flysheet if you want to camp in the UK.

@Lwrenn and @Elephantswillnever I also have the Coleman 8-man, I am also 5’11 and love standing up in it! And it fits a large inflatable double mattress (pop a futon mattress on top of that and you’re toasty!).

I have camped in it with 3 teens/tweens too, & it fit all four of us easily plus stuff. BUT unless you’re camping somewhere really warm, it can feel cold at night, like sleeping in a church hall because of the high “ceiling”. Maybe something to think about, others on here may/may not agree.

We got a decathlon 4 man last year, less than £100 which was amazing but to be honest not that easy to put up. Can’t stand up in it and dear god it’s bright in the morning. It also needs a picnic blanket in the porch as no floor.

Loads of people had air tents which I was very jealous of!
I recently went to a big display of tents at Go Outdoors and I am now eying up a berghaus air tent which boasts dark bedrooms, a massive lounge, a porch, you can stand up in it , and basically puts itself up.

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/16537530/berghaus-air-400xl-nightfall-tent-16537530

I am an example of buy cheap buy twice!
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/camping-tent-mh100-xxl-4-person/_/R-p-105650

It's hard to see from the pictures if tents are open plan, or if they have separate sleeping pods/bedrooms. If you are investing then separate bedrooms will be useful as children get older. Most tents have the ability to remove panels to link bedrooms when children are younger. Bedrooms help retain heat at night and some tents have bedrooms that block out light (prevents 5am waking!). I'd also look for a tent with a bit of an awning/canopy so you can sit/cook outside even if the weather is not great. This will also prevent rain going in the tent when the door is open, and is somewhere you can take off/leave shoes (otherwise the tent will soon fill with grass and mud!).
We've had both pole and airbeam tents. Although airbeam are slightly quicker to erect, the beams make the tent heavy and bulky.
I'd recommend visiting a showroom and actually viewing tents in person.

The Coleman is open plan but it comes with a panel you can hang to screen off a quarter or half. I’d agree with a pp that it is chilly but I camp in Scotland and it’s fine. Layers are your friend, onesie and a hat just in case and a sleep mask ( dawn comes early in summer) I fit four single camp beds in mine and have squeezed in a double air bed too but that makes it v. tight.

I've just convinced DP to come with me to the tent showroom @swapcicles suggested! It's getting closer, thanks everyone for your help! X

We've got the Ozark one for me and (probably not DH as he is similar to yours!) and 6 year old and 3 year old.
I love it- it was the highest my budget could stretch and obviously I would love an expensive bell tent but there we go!
I bought some waterproofing spray and some strips of stick on velcro for the tops of the windows (these were the 2 'faults' I picked up on from the reviews and to be fair they are the weakest point) which has come to a grand total of £14 and seems to have fixed the problems.
So far it's really spacious, loads of room for the kids to play in even when it's rainy as it's 4m across. The little table bit is really useful.
Fundamentally it's incredibly easy to put up alone, I can do it by myself in about 10 minutes (even with Mr 3 year old 'helping'.
I think It's fab for the price, can't really fault it and that's our summer sorted- think it's getting 4 or 5 outings in the next few months.
Good luck x

Sorry gave I read that right? Your DP will be sleeping in the car?

I am a Vango fan.

I have a Beta 450XL which is over 10 years old, used at least twice a year (and often more), and I can pitch and strike it solo, in the dark, if needed. (I camp with Cub scouts mostly so leaders tents are often pitched once Cubs are in bed....). The other good things about it is you pitch the outer and then the inner, so if you are careful about keeping the bag closed, you can pitch it in a gale and still sleep dry 30 minutes later (there's always a few checks to do before we get to settle). (Another leader and myself both turned up with this as personal tents unbeknownst to each other, and our pack since had to upgrade Cub tents and went for the 550XL size of the same Beta model).

I upgraded 2 years ago as there is no covered porch on the Beta - and when family camping, I don't have a marquee. I got a 5 man (can't remember the model) and it's great but too big to pitch solo and dd doesn't camp anymore (DH hasn't for years). So last year, I got the new model in a 350 size (again forget the model but new last year and has a porch). Perfect for my needs. Am looking forward to proper testing this summer in Europe. Probably solo.

Get a really comfy bed set up and you may entice DH in - think proper airbed (I love the look of decathlons airbed to put a sim or mattress on and have heard other scout leaders love it), decent sleeping pad or mattress and proper pillow.

Being warm, and having a proper pillow, are key. I bring a hot water bottle and proper pillow on Cub camp and I have a metal framed bed that folds out with good in on top.

Yes, I keep saying stay home etc but he won't bloody listen, hates the idea of missing out, hates the idea of camping!
It's just so expensive to stay in places like haven etc isn't it?

Thanks everyone! Really appreciate your advice x