Family Tent Advice

Allie79

Hoping to go camping for the long weekend coming up and we need to buy a new tent. Our last one was a 3 man which was fine for us and our first child but now we have 3 kids aged 4, 3 and 18 months. Looking for a middle of the road tent, good value for money and suitable for Irish weather. Any recommendations or suggestions as to what we should be looking for? Thanks!

Whitehawk

Your best bet would be some sort of Family Dome Tent - easy to put up and take down not to sure what your buget is but here is a good list of tents -
http://www.omearacamping.com/category/Dome_Tents/Family_Dome_Tents,l.html?sortBy=FeaturedDesc

This crowd do good tents for very good price. have a look though the list and see if any are the sort of thing you want, id say something like the Family 6 would be good gives you room to sleep + small about of space to sit in when it rains or go with the Ridgeline 6 Plus that will give you tons of room to sit in side.

Bannasidhe

I bought one of these last year http://www.tentastic.co.uk/rage-tromso-deluxe-10.html. Camped out for 2 weeks - rained every day, sometimes real downpours with strong winds and had no problems. I did take the precaution of spraying it with waterproofing as extra insurance for the Irish weather.
Loads of space - we fitted in 4 adults (one of them 6'3") and 2 toddlers and had more then enough room.
It is also one of the easiest tents to erect I've encountered. It does take 2 people but is basically a large dome with 3 bedrooms as offshoots so can be put up in minutes.
They delivered it quickly and it was a fraction of the price of anything available in Ireland.

Whitehawk

Bannasidhe wrote: »

I bought one of these last year http://www.tentastic.co.uk/rage-tromso-deluxe-10.html. Camped out for 2 weeks - rained every day, sometimes real downpours with strong winds and had no problems. I did take the precaution of spraying it with waterproofing as extra insurance for the Irish weather.
Loads of space - we fitted in 4 adults (one of them 6'3") and 2 toddlers and had more then enough room.
It is also one of the easiest tents to erect I've encountered. It does take 2 people but is basically a large dome with 3 bedrooms as offshoots so can be put up in minutes.
They delivered it quickly and it was a fraction of the price of anything available in Ireland.

Size and price thats a damm good deal and domes are not that hard to put up anyway so all you need to think about is to you want something that big!
When its packed up how much room dose it take up Bannasidhe?

Bannasidhe

At a guess it packs up into a bag about 3' x 2' - I know it's not much bigger than the 8 person tunnel tent I used to have. As an added bonus the bag is generous and it is actually possible to get everything back in- even in a field in the rain. All the previous tents I had I could never get the damn tent poles back in the bag.

I did some research on the tent on the net before I bought it and it had mixed reviews esp regarding stability in wind/rain. However the bad reviews were from first time campers who I suspect skimped on putting it all the pegs.
I have used it in both high temps -flaps allow good cross circulation - and rain coming sideways across an open field - after 3 days of solid downpour the seams had minor drips in 2 places.

Only drawback I discovered was a lot of condensation build up on the inside overnight when occupied by large groups - but as the dome is over 6 foot in the middle this was no biggy.

Best investment I ever made!

smulliga

My advice for the Irish Summer is to purchase tent with a sewn in groundsheet. Tunnel tents are quite spacious and strong in wind. Check the recomended pitch time also. A good website for reviews is http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/tents/. Hope you get nice weather.

Allie79

Thanks for the replies, we bought a Gelert Nemesis 8 for £200 and it was fantastic! Also bought the additional groundsheet and living area carpet and have no complaints, was quite windy and it caused us no issues, big spacious tent - plenty of room for all of us - only thing would be that it is big - might not always fit into a standard pitch. That said - I would definitely recommend it and at that price an absolute bargain!

Allie79

Waterproofing is a good idea - we didn't get any rain but that's definitely not normal for here - will do it for next time - thanks!

BenEadir

Hi all,

I too am after a novice family tent for 2 adults and 2 kids aged 11 and 7.

The girls (wife and daughter) are maniacs for keeping things clean and tidy so a sewn in growndsheet which will keep bugs out is probably best?

None of us ever camped before so it's a case of trying out a weekend in Wicklow somewhere maybe followed by a week close to a beach (my 11 year old son likes to surf) followed by a couple of weeks somewhere in France next year.

Key attributes for me are:-

1. Not too expensive in case this desire to camp is just a fad.
2. Reasonably easy to put up. (Don't want each 'adventure' to start with a family row!!)
3. Will allow me to stand up in - I'm 6ft 1".
4. Sewn in ground sheet to keep those bugs out. Imagine bugs in the great outdoors!!!
5. Packs away reasonably easily and compactly - is that even a word?

Having researched the websites above I've the following shortlist:-

1. Pro Action 6 Man Tent from ARgos - Best value by far at only €69.99 and I've reserved the last one in stock in the country at that price - http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9275757/Trail/searchtext%3ETENT.htm The reviews on http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/tents/p/Pro-Action/Argos-Regatta-6-Person-Frame/1686 are generally very positive but a lot of negative reviews here http://reviews.argos.co.uk/1493-en_gb/9275757/reviews.htm?sort=rating&dir=asc and it's not tall enough for me to stand up in.

2. The Bonn 6 - http://www.lebenlife.com/bonn6.htm - Looks like a better quality tent to the Pro Action. Looks like it will cost €150 or so delivered.

3. The Coleman Ridgeline 6 plus tent 2011 design - same as the one Whitehawk referred to above. http://www.omearacamping.com/product/Ridgeline_6_Plus_c205108. Sounds like a very good tent which I could stand up in and I can have it delivered via eBay for around €190.

So the question is, do I go for the Pro Action 6 Man for €69.99 which isn't tall enough (I can live with that for a few days) and is probably lower quality than the other tents but nevertheless excellent value for money for the sort of casual camping we'll be doing and save up to €120 or do I invest up to €190 in one of the alternative better/bigger tents?

My heart says just go for the Ridgeline as it's the quality option but my head and wallet say go for the Pro Action.

Thoughts and/or suggestions?

Last thought, neither of the 3 tents above seem to have sewn in groundsheets. Are they mega expensive or something? Correction - The Pro Action tent seems to have a sewn in ground sheet.

Ben

Donny5

Well, Ben, I wouldn't say to go for the Argos tent. It will do the job, although it will be low-to-mediocre quality, and it won't last. However, if camping turns out to be a fad, or even completely hated, then you haven't lost much. If it's not, you will have to upgrade. On the other hand, a one-time-used good quality tent will have resale value, if you're arsed eBaying it.

Now, just a few word words of wisdom that I've learnt about tents and Ireland:

1. Always get the best hydrostatic head you can, at least 2000m but the higher the better. This is a measure of how waterproof it is.
2. Always look at the insect mesh. Most are designed for mosquitos and other large insects, but here in Ireland, all you need to worry about is midges. Midges are sub-1mm and can make life hell, so you need a very fine mesh (sometimes called no-see-um mesh). Avoid this price at your peril!
3. You need a sown in groundsheet in the bedroom to stop midges. For the porch or living area, it's not so important.
4. You should put up and take down the tent in your garden before you go, to make you know how, and to ensure all the parts are there.
5. Camping in Wicklow with kids and a large tent will pretty much limit you to campsites. You might find somewhere wild to camp, but unless you know a landowner, don't count on it being safe or comfortable.
6. Tents keep you dry, but it's kipmats and sleeping bags that keep you warm. In the summer here, almost any old sleeping bag or duvet will keep you toasty, but you must get a kipmat or air matress to keep you guys off the ground. It's a more important choice than what tent.