Help with a new tent for long-ago campers!

[weegiemum]

We used to camp before kids and have gone a couple of times with them, but always with friends who provided everything.

We want to go it alone this year - we're off to a festival in June and we need to kit ourselves out.

I'm good at alfresco eating so we have stove/picnic gear/cooking stuff etc. We have picnic table and chairs. We all have decent quality sleeping bags.

We just need something to put it all in!!

There are 5 of us - dh and I, plus dd1 (10), ds (8) and dd2 (6). For the festival a friend is coming with us.

We think we need one of those odd shaped ones that you can stand up inside and which has 3 little pod bedrooms off the main area.

We need something not too hard to put up and not too expensive.

Can anyone give us any tips?

Was going to say Hi gear zenobia as that's what we bought last year but it's only 2 bedrooms. Have you a Go outdoors near to you? They have lots of offers on at the moment.

Also UK Campite has reviews of tents. Do you go on here? I'm always on it looking for new places to camp and leaving reviews.

So excited for you

If you can afford the Outwell Montana 6 that's very popular. Not sure how easy it is to put up though? I know a lot of families like it.

Hi weegie, Peachy here

OK well normally when choosing a tent you add 2 to the normal occupants tyo get a berth size as tent manufacturers do that too LOL

The ahape you fancy is called a geodesic and we had one, excellent for stability but does use a lot of pitch space. Will go look for you

Attwoolls Berkeley Deluxe gets good reviews

like this?

they do a 2 pod version as well, we had that for 5 and it was fine. Ours was the old version but a gelert geodesic and we rated as very good.

If you would consider 2nd hand, look for vangi diablo, gelert tahoma ot outwell hartford ranges on ebay

here it is again

We had the khyam version of that CM and liked it a lot

Liking the Attwoods Berkley thingumy a LOT!

Will pitch it (lol) to dh later!!

Easy to put up sounds good as a lot of the geodesic (check me!) tents seem to be quite awkward.

Is there anything else we need you can think of? I reckon lights of some type (though not that important in Scotland in June!), a water carrier thingy, possibly airbeds or mats of some type.

This is all exciting!! I feel like I am in the Guides again!!!

Weegie

whilst the tahopma was good, our Khyam-a-like of the attwoods was far easier to pitch- about 20 minutes and Dh could do it single handedly if I had to stay with the boys

It has lots of doors so maybe cabl;e tie any the littlies can use to esdcape (always leave 2 undone for fire risk).

Whn we camp we take lots of lights- really yopu do need them, a main one for indoors, healdlamps for loo trips and we like a good gas torch to sit outside with as a minimujm

In Scotland in June anything that can defeat midges I am told LOL

CAmping beds or mats of some variety; sleeping bags or duvets; plastic crrockery and cooking paraphernalia; chairs or cushions; corkscrew.

We have cooking, eating, sitting gear, good sleeping bags already (are youth-hostellers up to now!).

We really feel that we're going to need 3 beds as the children get older as we have 2 girls and a boy. Probably being too fussy, plus we have a very close family friend who will likely camp with us a lot - an ex-nanny who spends a lot of time with us, she's like an auntie!

We should be OK to put it up together as our kids are ok to be left to run around for a bit or sit in the car if it is raining (I know yours aren't peachy).

Festival-ing will likely be its biggest use as well as weekends away - I can't honestly see dh going for more that 3-4 nights!!

Wella ssuming its like our old one what we did was put ourseoves in a room (with ds4 when tiny), the bigger room had a curtain so we could have ds1 in a room and ds2/3 in the other: that emant we could take out the second small pod and use forstaoirage, or put it up if we had a guest IYSWIM

Do we have an emoticon!

I am!!

There's a Go Outdoors opened in Clydebank, they have a selection of tents on display if that's any use. We bought exactly what you're after with the 3 pods and high space inside last September- Outwell Michigan XL- and are the process of getting used to it. We've managed 2 trips so far and are off again on Friday.

What does anyone think of this tent

I think its cheaper as it is one of "last years" - does that mean there is fashion in tents.

Think we will go tunnel rather than geodesic for ease of putting up/down.

Dh is getting worried - he was never a very enthusiastic camper and I think he is frightened that we will want to go away every weekend once we have a tent - which we might, of course!!

They change the colours and tweak the designs- last years always a good abrgain IMO

Wynnster a good name, you should be OK

Have a look on uk campsite website for any reviews

It's good to see such enthusiasm

Hey join my website mums-tent there's a lot of mumsnetters on it. I started it last year as I was a newbie camper and mega enthusiastic...so beware

I ordered it!!!

Am excited. DH is resigned!!

Now I am looking for info about how to make it as comfy for him as possible as he is terrified he is going to hate it and then me and the dcs will make him go camping every single weekend between March and October every year for the rest of his life!

If you like it, see if you can get a sun canopy to fit (lots of brands will, not just wynnster) as we found ours ++ useful for sitting when wet in the evenings- and cooking with the Cobb as well.

Have joined ytour site cool though not looked deeper into it yet