Which tent?

[MikeRafone]

Im a seasoned tent camper, I went away for a month and had a decathlon 4 man tent - the pole broke after 10 nights away, as I was taking the pole out of the sleeve (tunnel tent) So they gave me a refund when I returned home with broken tent.

I don't want such a big tent this time as not going to be spending a month in it, I deal want a 3 man tent that I can put airbed inside (about a foot and a half deep)

That is going to have a lot of water resistance in heavy rain (planning to travel to Scotland) and is easy to put up (happy putting up pole tunnel tent)

https://www.blacks.co.uk/19652965/vango-refurbished-beta-350xl-three-person-tent-19652965

looking at this tent - any recommendations or knowledge would be happily received

I had a Vango Eos which was very similar. They do a lot of variations of basically the same shape. I found it great for one person and it would take 2 easily. There's enough height for sitting in a chair inside which was important for me. I had no issue with leaks at all. The Eos had a bathtub floor in the front which I think is the same as the Beta, which was good at keeping everything dry. (It did mean I had to catch a mouse once that couldn't get out).

Will it survive Scotland? That's where I loved going with it. It was dry and stood up to the wind well. Very well. To be honest, I totally screwed up during a storm. I didn't check the weather, pitched on a promontory, side on to the wind for a better view. During the night there were 60-70 mph winds. The tent got bent into ridiculous shapes and was virtually flat on the floor sometimes. Out of 4 tents there 2 survived, one was mine. The other one was also a Vango.

The only problem I had with it was the door. With it on a sloping side you can't get in or out without letting all the water on the outside of the door inside, and you can't keep the door open to enjoy the view as rain comes in. I solved that issue by rigging up a tarp covering pretty much that whole end of the tent, and making a nice little porch.

It got retired due to the material getting a bit brittle after many years of use.

I would recommend, but you'll need a tarp.

Have fun!

Got a humble Eurohike Dlx 3 man tent that’s served me well for many years now and still going strong. Might have a problem with such a huge airbed though, mine is a luxury large double airbed about 7/8 inches thick and the sloping side walls mean your feet can end up against them if you’re not careful. I can imagine if your airbed is a foot and a half deep (!) that’ll be a problem in most 3 man tents though so you might need to either size up the tent or get a more normal airbed.

Appreciate the comprehensive advice - why do you say this?

I would recommend, but you'll need a tarp

not used a tarp with a tent before?

I might have to just take the 4" self inflating mattress instead of the electric airbed!

Lonelycrab

thanks for the comprehensive reply, im not sure if the euro hike is as good as the mango, or should I just save some money and get a euro hike!

Mike I will just say I’ve only used it in relatively dry summer months, and also some of the recent reviews say that the newer version isn’t as watertight (especially the porch area) as the older version that I have, so bear that in mind. I’ve got a few of their bits of budget kit and generally it’s very well made for the price.

You can't have the door open if it rains because the rain comes in.

When you open the door when it's covered in rain all that water comes in.