Come tell me about your Bell tent

[Needanewname]

We currently have an old Outwell Hartford XXL but to be honest its a bit too big and takes forever to put up and dwn (OK not really that long but long enough!) Was camping with friends this weekend and they have a bell tent which was lovely top look at and lovelyvand cool inside. The had the ultimate version with a zipped in ground sheet so no creepy crawlies of rain getting in but still able to roll the sides up if you want.

I love it and want one but with the inner.

My questions are is the inner all one room or can you divide it? Is the 5m one big enough for 2 adults and 2 children with occasional children for sleepovers? Whats it like in heavy rain and wind? I know its great in the heat! And is the awning any good?

Thanks if you able to answer any of those questions!

Can't answer most of your questions, but can confirm that it is great in heavy rain. We have a 4m ultimate one, but use it without an inner.

The awning is an unexpected necessity on the packing list: When I bought it, I thought it might not really be used, but reckoned it would be €40 wasted at worst, so worth a gamble (bought it in Holland). However, we've been able to sit outside whilst raining, not feeling at all "tented in", whilst other tents had to close up for the day. . Also, we were able to sit in front of the fire when it drizzled last weekend - the fire obv not under the awning, but close enough for us to still feel the heat whilst the tarp kept us dry.

Thanks MisSal - really really want one!!!!

Is www.belltent.co.uk any good?

Is the inner tent all one room or can it be divided into 2 - it looks as though it has 2 doors going into it

We didn't buy ours from Belltent UK (drove to Holland and got it there), but I know for some of the other accessories we've bought, Soulpad worked out slightly cheaper for the same product (we bought a hamock.

So, if you want to buy in that price range, have a look on Soulpad and Belltent to see which company offers the best option at the time.

I think it only really starts differing when the quality (and weight though) gets a lot more - then Albion Canvas and some others have bell tent options too.

Sorry, no idea re inners. I've seen Soulpad having two options - one dividing the tent in two, and one only "fencing off" a quarter of the inner.

Belltent UK have the type dividing in two here, but I'm not sure if you can then divide those types any further. Someone will probably be along with actual experience soon.

Think DH will say no now, spoke to Belltent Uk and they said that their inner tent is one room and doesnt have a divider, SOul Pads do have a quarter inner room so in theory I could have 2 inners but I prefer the look of the Belltents UK bell tents IYKWIM!

Anyway, we may go take a look at one and see if I can convince him as I'm sick of taking nearly an hour to put up and take down a tent (really I'm just bored of the current one!!!!!

I think the Soulpads and Belltent UK tents look the same in real life, Needanewname, so if the inner is an issue, you might as well get a Soulpad.

To be honest, if I didn't buy ours in Holland where it was a lot cheaper, I would have gone for a Soulpad anyway.

Apparently they won;t sell to the UK anymore cos its a hell of a lot cheaper. With soul pad I don;t think you can roll up the bit by the door but am happy for anyone to come and convince me that this is a good thing!

Yes, I originally tried ordering direct from Holland, but they're not allowed to ship to UK anymore (supplier agreement with UK companies).

Oh, I didn't realise the doors are different - the Soulpad pics looked the same as the Belltent I have (which is the same tent as Belltent UK). Live and learn.

The inner makes it warmer but its really flimsy and seriously affects the spaciousness of the tent. It cuts it in half and the 'bedrooms' are only divided by a pieceof material. We used ours a couple of times but prefer without to be honest.

I thought that too at first MisSal but I looked at more of the pics.

Do you have 2 bedrooms Devendra or one big one? Also which size do you have?

Thanks again