Oh my GOD i am in love with my new tents. Yes, that's right, TENTS! and what a bargain, chaps, get over here and admire.

[Aitch]

POP UP, ya bas!

I really think I need a base seconds to stick onto our 4.2 for extra space . Do you need the groundsheet if you have the bedroom inner?

i didn't buy one, but i'm going to. logically i just feel for a tenner i'm better off with that extra layer, and while not a sig it does velcro in nicely and form a wee tub. plus if the groundsheet gets wet it's a wet groundsheet, if the bedroom groundsheet gets wet i've got to hang the whole thing up.

oh, and yes it would give you extra space if you put it on the 4.2, but like a porch/corridor space (unless have design of 4.2 wrong and it has more than one door?)

Good point Aitch about the door, not much good as a porch, really want a bigger bedroom space. I will just have to go back to Decathlon and chat to the cute French chap about what the best options are .

just use it as a porch during the day and put the bedding in one of your sidies, then put the bedroom in at night when you and dh go to bed. it takes about a minute. i think that's what i'll do when i go away with the girls, just put our gear in car overnight, make up beds (self inflating mats will come into own here i think) and get to sleep.

that, btw is the reason i didn't get the 4.2 or 4.1. i figured i was getting much the same sleeping space as those offer but full height in bedroom.

Sorry - been out for ages ...

They do not do the base seconds full anymore - that was the one with 2 'drape overs' to cover the smaller tents. The base seconds now has two doors with 'hoods' one blnk with hood and one blank with no hood (as I know to my cost having left the window open on a wet night!)

They do not zip together but teh hoods fully interlock / cover each other and the XL comes with a couple of triagular pieces to fix inside and onto the pegs to cover any residual holes. They are waterproof - or were in the rain that we had which was rain and wind but not howling as it were.

I do not see why the XL would not fix to the 4.2 - the poverlap arrnagement is exactly the same as the base seconds which worked fine. I would say yes to two adults and two small children in the one base seconds, especially as you will upgrade when they get bigger.

If you can get to a store, do. I got to Merry Hill on a train to Cradely Heath via Birmingham with a plus bus ticket for £1 all day then a bus to Merry Hill - very easy

I luuuurve my base 4.2. I like having a 'living room' and two bedrooms. I didn't realise you could attach all those ones together. There was someone who was looking for something like that a while ago - have a look. This would be just the ticket I reckon

4.2 is great but i couldn't have got that as i want dds in with us for foreseeable. for the extra tenner or whatever, we were better off with two pods. plus i can get another pod and then we've got a fab l-shaped mega tent for two hundred and something, or i can just take one pod and the bedroom when i want a quicker stay with just the dds.

possible downside of the green is that it seemed to be a bit fly-friendly. hard to know as the people with us seemed to have a lot of flies too, but they were also in green tent.

other downside is no windows, just a gauze, which is to be fair very see through. but if you were trying to avoid midgies you might prefer more light, iykwim?

although did i say I LOVED THEM?

did poppy get all her qus answered? i got lost on thread.

I have my DS in with me and so far have used the other bedroom as a dressing room

They are brilliant tents though aren't they? So clever

really amazing. it's great to be confident in my ability to put it all up by myself, without any (useless) help from dh.

I was particularly pleased by the amazement of the men I was camping with who laughed when I got the tent out of the car and then whose jaws subsequently dropped when I put it up. And the people who arrived after us didn't believe it could possibly be a pop up tent!

So pleased to see this thread as we've just had our first weekend in our new Base Seconds 4.2 - it is AMAZING and has changed my camping life completely! I never thought I could feel this way about nylon!

Jareth.... that makes my wee wee a bit tickly, that tent.

if it doesn't pop, i'm not in the shop.

Quechas are lovely, lovely, lovely. We have a Base Second (regular, not XL) with two 3-person Airs to come off the sides as sleeping pods, one for us, one for DCs. Oh, the smugness about turning up in a pitch, waving your tent-filled arms around for a minute or two, then putting the kettle on next to your 'tent' with living room and two sleeping pods.

The modularity makes them really flexible too, so you can arrange the design of that weekend's tent based on the shape and size of the pitch.

We've also just got one of their beach pop-ups, which is equally magic. And have you seen the little rucksacks, that go from being a tiny ball to unfolding into a backpack (bit like the way kagoules used to fold into their own pocket).

specialmagiclady I've actually been trying to convince DP that next year would be a great year to start camping with DS, just so I have an excuse to buy that tent.

At least i know what we'll get when we do start (DP is a novice and terrified 3yo DS will escape )

We have the 4.2 and also have the Quechua tarp which makes a large covered porch/shade/rain cover/cooking cover. LOVE it!!! All bought online too with very quick delivery.

Cabanon, do you have extra poles for your tarp? We bought one but to use as cooking cover but haven't used it yet. Any photos of it as a porch on your 4.2?

Thank you for this thread. Just bought last two from the Fort (with the cute french guy), so if anyone is heading up there to do the same, it might be best to call first to check stock levels.

I must be mad... camping with a just 4 year old and a two month old... was tempted to sleep out tonight. DD1 had to be practically dragged in.

Thank you again

Wiggle - no we just used the two five section poles that came with the tarp and strung the rest of it back over the tent. I have added a photo to my gallery but don't know if it's visible or not. I'll keep playing with the settings - new at this!

I'm so innocent as to all this stuff!My parents would rather knaw off their own legs than go camping but I love the idea of the spontaneity of it all.

I took my dc camping last year (while dh was working) to the IoW and had a lovely time in a little cheap 3 man tent that my dh had bought for when we went camping before dc.

So having wetted my appetite where do you get these wonderful tents? You mention the Fort - that wouldn't be the place in Brum would it (she asks way too hopefully)

I'm a complete novice really, and would really appreciate a where to start guide!

Groovy the Fort I refer to is Glasgow, sorry.

I also am a camping-with-children novice. Coped fine pre-sprogs, but was tiddled most of the time and lived on take-aways. I tried camping when DD1 was 18 months old, and she hardly slept and kept saying 'wassat' at every little noise. It did not help that it never seems to get dark in Scotland!

I swore I would never do it again, but here I am, the proud owner of two Base Seconds!

Groovy - I am miles away from any stores that sell the Quechua pop-ups, but bought my stuff online from here www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ Very quick delivery.
If I could get to a store I would probably spend a fortune more.

Its nice to hear they are good - cos we were camping (oh yes! for the first time!) at the weekend and we took down and packed up our 8 berth Wynnster tunnel tent in less time than it took the 2 young women next to us to get their Quechua into its bag!! Dh eventually took pity on them and he is not a natural camper!