Any drawbacks to a 6 man tent?

[everyonesatit]

My DH and I are planning on taking the kids (5&2) camping for the first time in July this year. We used to camp many years ago, but we camped pretty rough back then and had a basic 2-man tent.

This time, we're looking at a 6-man tent. Dh would like this size so we can fit a king-size inflatable mattress in it. We're thinking of getting the Wynnster Mont Pellier 6.

I'm worrying though, that there may be restrictions on pitches for bigger tents. Does anyone know if this is the case? Are there any other drawbacks to bigger tents?

Thanks for any advice

6 man tents generally don't exceed the guidelines; it's started to hit us now we have a 9 man but no issues with our 8 man tent

I find looking up sizes on caravan and camping club a good aplce to start

IME your DH will mock you when it comes to putting it up... (we also have 5yo and 2yo, and have the Outwell Montana 6). And it's more difficult to find somewhere to air a big tent when you live in a second floor flat with a roof terrace and no garden.

We went for the Montana (shorter but wider than the Montpellier) because I thought at this age I'd rather have the two bedrooms side by side so as to be able to keep track of the DCs, then move to a bedrooms-at-each-end model when they are older.

Haven't had trouble with the size yet but tend to go for the sort of sites that don't pack tents into carefully-marked-out pitches anyway.

Main drawback - space in the car as they tend to take up several bags. Otherwise, none.

Wow - didn't expect so many replies so quickly! Thanks all .

Sounds as though it should be fine then. We've got a roof box, so that should help with the size in transit, and luckily have plenty space in our garden for airing.

Can't wait to get started, although it is a bit daunting! We haven't camped in about 8 years. I think I may have become a bit more high maintenance in that time .

By the way, "at it" or "a tit"? Enquiring minds want to know...

We've got the Vango Maritsa which is a 7 man tent, but has one 3 bed room and 2 x 2 bed rooms. Gives DH and I a little more space and gives the kids a room each. It's no bigger than the Outwell Montana, just a slightly different shape.

Professor - it's 'at it', but this can change depending on my mood!

MarionCole - do you have any inside/outside pics pretty please?

I've been eyeing up that tent!!

I don't I'm afraid, we've only been away in it once and I didn't take any photos. Highly recommend it though - the bedrooms are very handy, the main living area is vast and, a big plus for me, the porch can be closed up. I use the porch as the kitchen, it can be fully closed, half open or fully open depending on the weather. My issue with the Montana is that you have to pay extra for the porch and you can't close it up. It is quite straightforward to put up but does definitely need two people to do it. I also found the cost quite attractive compared to similar sized tents, we paid about £360 I think, which is less than the Montana before you add the porch on. Before we go away next though I am going to buy the carpet - seems extravagant but a friend has a carpet in her Montana and it's just lovely!

Re roof box, we have to put our bags in that and the tent in the car boot (Outwell Hartford XL, 8 man I think) because the tent itself is so heavy you can't get it up to the roofbox. Can put all the poles etc up there though, just make sure you can fit the tent itself in your boot.

We have had one or two problems booking sites because of limited pitches for larger tents, also it takes quite a long time to put up and down, we are thinking of buying a smaller one for weekends away to give more flexibility (2 adults, 2 DCs 6 and 4).

Thanks for the tip re the roof box, MrsDinky. I'll make suggestions to DH. We've ordered it now, so we'll just need to cross our fingers we get a pitch without any probs!

I have a similar sized/aged family to you and our tent is very much like the one you are looking at. As a transition from our little itsy pre-child 3-man, it seems huge, but compared to many others on most campsites it seems quite modest. Because it is less than 3m wide it fits CCC standard pitches - though we sometimes have to pitch it length ways when we'd rather have it side-to-side across the pitch. If you're lucky enough to know a site with little woodland clearings, or go to festivals you may find it a little too big to pitch. Finding even ground for both bedroom compartments is trickier than with a smaller tent (obviously), and it lacks the cosy feel of a small tent because the ceilings in the bedroom compartments are so high. For two adults, two kids and a potentially rainy climate I've found it to be just the right size. I think ultimately tents are a bit like pushchairs though, mostly you want something comfy and easy to push, but at times you'd rather just throw a simple stroller in the boot. So, don't be too surprised to find yourself looking covetingly at little, lightweight one-nighters at some stage.

Drawback to big tents are the space they take up in the boot of the car and the length of time they take to pitch. Otherwise, having lots of space, especially with DCs in tow is great. We have a big 6 person tent for long trips and a smaller 4 man pop-up for weekends - best of both worlds really.

It's here! We've just spent about an hour putting it up in the garden...please tell me well be able to do it quicker next time!