Family Tent - Newbie

Redpunto

Hiya, have never been camping in my life so we decided it would be a good idea to bring the 5 of us over the august bank hol camping down country:)
it'll be 2 adults, a teenager the size of adult, kid and 2 yr old.

I would love some advice as makes, models, what we might need that I havent thought of. We do not own any camping gear apart from the kids sleeping bags. Cheers

Queen-Mise

Redpunto wrote: »

Hiya, have never been camping in my life so we decided it would be a good idea to bring the 5 of us over the august bank hol camping down country:)
it'll be 2 adults, a teenager the size of adult, kid and 2 yr old.

I would love some advice as makes, models, what we might need that I havent thought of. We do not own any camping gear apart from the kids sleeping bags. Cheers

What kind of a budget do you have for everything? It will be hard to make suggestions otherwise. And will you want camping stoves etc, for cooking.

Take a look at this list , albeit this is for wild camping when you have no access to water, etc. At the same time, I will give you an idea of the kind of stuff you will need.

These two tents I am looking at at the moment for myself & our family after a LOT of research: from Halfords (the reviews for it are ok). You'd think this tent would be good, but it gets atrocious reviews.

Just found this camping stove on Donedeal, these things are 60 or 70 euros I think so good value.

Queen-Mise

This is the one I am thinking of getting.

Orion

Queen-Mise wrote: »

This is the one I am thinking of getting.

Don't know that brand but it says it's 3000HH which is good.Groundsheet in the porch area isn't sewn in - not a deal breaker in itself but I prefer it with a family tent.
Here's another on adverts. Good brand and reviews. Again no sewn in groundsheet.

I'd head down to a shop like O'Meara's in Crumlin or Charles Camping in Blessington to look at different tents to see what suits you best. You want a head height porch which enough space to sit in when it rains.

For gear you need cooking gear. I use a Triangia for most cooking and have a one-ring Campinggaz stove which I really just use for boiling water. Bring along a foldable bbq and charcoal (about 20 quid) and you're set. Don't forget utensils I've done that and had to fashion a tongs from the base of an old disposable bbq that someone had left behind.

You'll need sleeping mats as well. Foam ones are about a fiver in Tesco. They give a small bit of cushioning (not much) but insulate you from the ground - you'll get cold without one.

Once you have these you're good to go. You'll end up picking up more stuff as you go camping. You'll see other things that people use and pick up tips. But once you have the basics (tent, bags, mats, cooking and eating equipment) you can get started.

Queen-Mise

Travel mugs were invented for camping mugs of tea - they stay hot for an hour or two. It is so civilised sitting down on the chair reading, and knowing the kids are probably stuck under a bush or up a tree somewhere

Kristopherus

There are very good camping deals on offer in Lidl next Monday. And with 3-year warranty. You won't get that in Halfords:).

Queen-Mise

Kristopherus wrote: »

There are very good camping deals on offer in Lidl next Monday. And with 3-year warranty. You won't get that in Halfords:).

And they are also crap. With tents you get what you pay.

Donny5

Queen-Mise wrote: »

And they are also crap. With tents you get what you pay.

That's not really true. Plenty of expensive tents are awful, and plenty of cheap ones punch above their weight. Lidl gear is hit and miss, but when it's good, it's very good.

mav79

Just picked up this , great price for a fairly large tent for a couple. Not sure how it would hold up in stormy irish weather, but would be fine for summer camping.

Doom

Kristopherus wrote: »

There are very good camping deals on offer in Lidl next Monday. And with 3-year warranty. You won't get that in Halfords:).

The Lidl one is terrible hard to put up and the fibre poles all splintered, I got my money back, keep an eye on Argos, I got a great tent that was 350e and it went down to 150e, a premium Regatta make.

LordSutch

Kristopherus wrote: »

There are very good camping deals on offer in Lidl next Monday. And with 3-year warranty. You won't get that in Halfords:).

When it comes to camping stuff I have found Halfords to be very good. We started off two years ago with a Lidl 3 man tent which was 'ok' but it didn't have a sewn-in groundsheet, neither did it have a decent hydrostatic head (waterproofing), anyway we went camping in it for one night, and although it was adequate, we guessed we could do better, so we took it back to Lidl and explained that we wanted something better, so we exchanged it for a BBQ

We then spent a hour or or two in Halfords & ended up buying a Vango Tigris 400 (choice of three colours) which suits our needs perfectly, we then bought our airbeds, cooking gear and all sorts of camping accssories, including a roof box for the car!

The Lidl tents are ok, but they're very basic.

Queen-Mise

We are after picking up this one, it is pricey.

When camping in Ireland though, you want something you know can withstand the weather, and have some room inside if it is raining.

Orion

That's not a bad price for the tent you're getting. I'd recommend paying the extra 40 and getting the footprint too. It will give a little extra insulation but more importantly you won't need to dry out the base of the tent when you get home.

Redpunto

thanks for all the info guys price wise Im tempted to say as cheap as possible as I dont know if this will be a regular thing but at the same time I know you get what you pay for

Redpunto

Orion wrote: »

That's not a bad price for the tent you're getting. I'd recommend paying the extra 40 and getting the footprint too. It will give a little extra insulation but more importantly you won't need to dry out the base of the tent when you get home.

whats a foot print? thanks

Orion

It's basically a tarp cut to the exact dimensions of the base of your tent. You peg it down first and then pitch your tent on top of it. It provides an extra layer of insulation from the ground. And when you drop your tent the bottom will be dry so (when not raining) you can pack your whole tent away dry and just need to dry out the footprint on the line at home. Otherwise you may need to hang out the whole tent - and believe me that's not easy on a back garden line with a tent this size.

Queen-Mise

Redpunto wrote: »

thanks for all the info guys price wise Im tempted to say as cheap as possible as I dont know if this will be a regular thing but at the same time I know you get what you pay for

give me a price you are willing to spend:

For tent:

And extras:

And I'll pull together some options for you. I have spent the last week searching websites - it would be shame to put all that info too waste...

Oh and how many people...

Queen-Mise

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_836765_langId_-1_categoryId_236914

With the 20% on line discount - this tent is coming in at 179.99, which is pretty good. It is a five man tent - ye might be tight for space in it though.


This tent has good reviews - it is second hand, worth a look

This one is amazing, but it is pricey

If you like a house for camping:D

This guy didn't respond to my 220 offer on this one

JoSoap

We purchased the Kampa Croyde 6 a couple of months ago through O'Mearas. We gave it its first test run last weekend and are absolutely delighted. The features we love are
Fairly easy to put up. Dad got a bit of help to get the first few poles up and secure, but basically did the rest himself. Took over an hour for the first time but we were in no rush and aim to get this down to about 45 mins with practice.
It has a lovely bright living space inside with natural light coming through the pvc windows. So in the event of nice Irish weather, you can zip yourselves in but still enjoy natural light and lots of space for card games, etc.
Has a front vestibule where you can cook, leave wellies, etc and they're fairly well sheltered.
We bought the carpet as an extra, which is nice and snug and means you can sit down comfortably on the ground inside the tent.
I wouldn't bother with a Footprint. They're basically another groundsheet that protects your tent from wear and tear on the bottom. However, you won't need that unless you're planning to camp on rocks. And further more, unless you know what you're doing, if the footprint size extends even an inch or two beyond the surface area of your tent, rain water will run down off your tent and collect on your footprint instead of running down into the ground. Then water will start to collect under your tent - not to be advised!! I'd steer clear for your first few trips - sure you can always buy one later if you really think you need it.