easy pitch weekend tent

[mumtoallgirls]

im thinking about taking the girls camping on my own. have a 1, 2 and four year old. we have a khyam ontario? for our family holidays and i love it... just a little too hard and large for me to pitch on my own and usually stay clear of dp pitching it too!
last year brought a icarus 500 but on the first day it broke after a strong gust of wind. apprehensive to try vango again, but aware there are new models...
need a quick and easy pitch suitable for us girls... i'm not technically minded and def need space for toilet as dont do family trips in the middle of the nite!
would be grateful for any suggestions or if anyone likes their new icarus model and used it in bad weather...
thanks loads

sorry, can't help as such as i am on the look out for the same!! went to a show-place today and still debating the icarus, although your comment has put me off a bit!!
i'm also wanting to get something i can put up with 3 LO's in tow.
did you manage to get your money back on the icarus? must wondering what their post-disaster service is like?
i liked the look of the vango tigris 600 too - not sure how easy to pitch.
i will watch this thread for other suggestions!!!

Vango were very good. Told me to contact who I got the tent from and they would honour a refund. The next week it was collected and they gave me my money straight back. Definatly can't complain about that.....
Others on here have raved about the icarus, so i possibly just had a very dodgy tent or bad luck. For me its a case of once bitten. Its the fact that it is cheaper than the others and the right size for a wkend tent, thats got me in a dither... i await to for suggestions....

I have just ordered this Khyam Winnipeg

We too have a HUGE tent (12 man!) and need something smaller for just me & DH (and maybe DS). Reviews on all sites are amazing - 5000HH & sewn in groundsheet, and pitches in 15min.

We have a Quechua Base Seconds 4.2 from Decathlon which is super easy to pitch, I can do it in 5 mins on my own. Full height living space and two bedroom areas. We bought it as a weekend tent as our huge Vango takes about an hour to put up.

I'm tempted to go for the quechua. have u used it in bad weather wiggletastic? as my babies are still little, think we would fit?
ive had alook on line and am taken with it, once bitten tho...
thanks for the advice

Gelert cadiz is easy.

and cheap!

If you have little ones and don't want them in different bedrooms from you at night, you might look at the Quechua 4.1 which has one bedroom rather than two but it is still a pop-up and has a living area which would fit a table and chairs.

DH and I just bought one and we put it up in the garden at the weekend. It was a LOT easier than I thought it would be both to put up and (most importantly!) to get down again. We watched the video on the quechua website a number of times to get the hang of it first.

We haven't used it in anger yet so I can't comment on stability etc but we have had a smaller pop up before from there which was great in bad weather and many of our friends also have them and swear by them.

It doesn't have a huge amount of space but for a weekend it should be fine. That's what we have it for. Not sure about the toilet situation. If it is just enough space to put a bucket at night, I would have thought it should be fine in the living area.

I have the Khyam Ontario too and LOVE it, but also lusting after Quechua 4.2 - question - can you fit airbeds in it? Both width-wise and height-wise? I would worry about the person in the corner getting claustrophobic...

IN the meantime, although I know you officially don't want a Vango, I'm also interested in this

thats a good question about the airbeds! i think if they fit, i'll be buying a quechua. i'm so un technical, think it will suit my level of patience and concentration, especially as the dp wont be with me and my four yr old is driving me crazy at the best of times!!
i'm too scared to buy a vango... i do love my khyam, but i know i cant do that alone, even stay well clear when dp puts it up!!
thanks everyone for their suggestions...

I've just spent the entire - yes the entire - evening looking at tents, largely the Quechua and it doesn't seem to have any anti-bug netting between the bedroom and the living area. It may be a dealbreaker for me (boo hiss). Can anyone put me right on this?

I love the look of them too but cannot decide which to get - part of me says the seconds base full with bedroom plus a base XL for living and another part says base 4,2 plus XL alho I have seen it attached to a base 4.1 to give 3 bedrooms and 2 living areas - decisions!!!

Cannot find anything about bug proof between bedroom and living altho there is clearly a zip up door to the bedroom and a mossie window cover in the main door.

If no one knows I am planning a trip to Merry Hill store on Monday (I hope) and will see what I can find out. Having said that, you could ring them - they are very good (I found Merry Hill easier than Surrey Quays)

I went to decathlon today and the Quechua tents are amazing!!!

We spent a very enjoyable 30 mins or so putting the base seconds and the base seconds XL up and down and joining them together, plus getting in and out of the 4.2 and 4.1 which were both up also. I could have spent a fortubne in there!!

I dithered between the 4.2 and the base with bedroom fixture, but in the end went for the flexibility of the two bases as the bedrooms in the 4.2 are not massive (but adequate) and in particular I wanted head height in the bedrooms.

The 4.2 does have a mossie net in the top half of the door which opens as a window for ventilation.

thanks articwind... ive been excitingly waiting for this email....

the 4.2, do u think the sleeping space would take a self inflating matx2? and although adequate, not too small for myself (5'5 and still shedding baby weight!) and three toddlers? sorry...questions.....

i did look at your idea of the bases on the net, but i am really quite inpatient and dim, when it comes to the practical and keeping an eye on my minxs

thanks heaps for feeding back, very much appreciated

Do you mean you and 3 toddlers in one of the pods? If so it would be a squeeze I think. Each of the 2 pods would comfortably fit two large adults - they had it set up with a good sized double airbed and I got right in to see what the head height was like. It was very comfortable and not too low for sleeping; not much space for clothes bags etc once you have the double airbed in. If you meant you in one pod and the toddlers in the other that would be perfect - plenty of space for all.
The 4.1 was up too - it has one big bedroom at the back, which can be separated off with a fabric curtain, with the same reasonable head height and you would be closer to the toddlers.
The brillaint thing about the Quechua system is that they are modular, so you can always add the extra bases to get more living space. The new base XL is truly massive!!

I do love the style of the 4.2 - it is unique and wonderful and I would have loved it, but my two are 9 & 7 and i wanted to think longer term if they want to bring a friend to stay etc

Putting them up was such fun too - you throw them in the air then unfold, then get in and push it up and out and that is it - incredible. Folding it down was easy too - easier than my vango dart; it folds like a book, then over to look like a clover (or actually, to be smutty, male genitalia ) then just fold each 1/3rd over itself and back into the bag - done!

Hope that helps. If you get any chance to get to a store I would recommend it; altho it does make life more difficult as you see the multitude of options!

I have an Outwell Carolina for Ds and I and there was room in the bedroom for another couple of kids... small ones, mind!

forgot to say - I put it up on my own in 30 minutes

thanks artic....
would be two girls in one and me and the baby in the other... although i like the idea of all three one side and space for wine and moi!
lakeside is the nearest to me, but still about an hr and half away..... plus i do get seriously sad and tempted by all the beautiful camping gear.... hence when we all go, its a small trailer and roof box full of, well stuff we dont really need....
i manage to get the three girls, buggy etc etc in my little and space magical 107, so if i take that, i will be restricted to the necessities of a weekend!!!
thanks again for taking the time to respond and share.... unfortunatly their site is playing up tonight so couldnt spend pennies, but tomorrow!!!!!
heres to sunshine, soon........

articwind, thanks so much. i am now awaiting my 4.2! and the chance for the girls and i to escape the football!!!

thanks to everyone else for their suggestions!

Would the quecha be suitable for 2 adults and 3 small children 7, 2 and 9 months?

I would probably go for the 4.1 with 3 small children and 2 adults - more flexibility with the one bigger bedroom.