Recommend me a tent

[Julia9054]

For the first time in years due to job changes and other circumstances, we are in a position to take off to France for about a month this summer. Looking forward to it as it has been years since we have been able to go away for more than 7 - 10 days at once. We will be in the car with the bikes on the back and touring about wherever we feel like it.
To keep costs down, we will be camping. I have a family style tent that is about 20 years old. We used to use it a lot when the kids were under 10 and once they were big enough to be kicked out into their own tent, it is very comfortable for 2 people, I like being able to stand up in it. We last used it about 5 years ago. However it is a pain to put up and take down as it takes ages and there is so many bits to it. A friend recommended looking at one of these pop up tents - you can get them to fit 3 people so they are not as cramped as the ones for 2. Does anyone have one and recommend it? Is there anything else that people would recommend as a compromise between space/comfort and ease of putting the thing up. Technology and design have probably moved on in the last 20 years!

 

[numbnuts]

Most pop up tents are single skin that equals condensation

 

[the stupid one]

I got a 4-man pop-up tent from Decathlon some years ago - sadly they no longer seem to sell family-sized pop-ups - which is wonderful for two people and palatial for one, and after studying the youtube videos and practising at home I've never really struggled with it "in the field".

They do now sell inflatable family tents, the cheapest being a four-person tent for £200:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/air-seconds-family-41-xl-id_8384152.html

Seems roomy and tall enough. Other manufacturers make similar products. A guy down the road put an inflatable tent up in his garden last summer, I went along and had a look and he had only good things to say about it.

 

[wisdom]

Vango
They do some cracking family dome tents.But as mentioned practice first.

 

[pawl]

A waterproof one.A nice fluorescent one will help when you come back Brahms and Liste from the Bistro.

 

[stalagmike]

Inflatable tents are the latest innovation. They do them at Decathlon too. Sadly I can't speak from experience as to whether they are any good or not but they certainly review well.

 

[Vantage]

The other half and I have two tents we use.
First purchase of standupableinside size is a Decathlon Arpenaz.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/arpenaz-family-41-id_8378237.html

Granted it's a 4 person tent but it's dead easy to put up and easily withstood some mega strong storms a couple years ago in Wales. Plenty of room at the front to keep the bikes in.

I bought a smaller 3 person Coleman Coastline 3 last year that was even easier to put up. It too stood up well to a bit of a wind and rain bashing but from my own experience and other online reports, the right door zip sometimes leaks a bit. I can forgive it that fault as all three front doors open up and the main one can be pegged out as a sun shelter with the supplied poles. Nice and airy. It's an old tent though so worth snapping up while they're available and going for 70 quid..........I paid 125 for mine.........
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0030BG9QA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_JokVAbRBSC4ZP

 

[Heltor Chasca]

As above: Vango.

It’s also worth looking at the offerings from GoOutdoors. I picked up a 2 man and a 3 man OEX tent’s for silly money in a sale. They aren’t so light but as you are car camping it probably doesn’t matter. If you are cycling, they do separate into 2 bags to share out amongst yourselves. The 3 man has a ‘bedroom’ and a covered area which we used as a family or kit area when it rained. Used it Touring the NL with my 2 daughters. Oldest in her 1 man tent.

Either that or one of the high end makes like Hillerberg which requires a visit to your mortgage adviser. In Stephen Primrose-Smith’s book, ‘There’s no place like home (thank god)’ he has constant issues with Hillerberg poles breaking. In Hillerberg’s defence, they posted him all the new poles he needed and he was fine. There were problems with his particular model I think.

 

[MichaelW2]

My Hillerberg has survived frightening high winds that had me sheltering in a hut, on the insistence of the Norwegian campsite owner. They use the best aluminium poles as used by other premium brands.
I have had Gelhert fibre glass poles break, and Gelhert replaced the poles with no questions, pretty good product support on a £21.00 solo tent that I bought because the hotels were all booked up that night.

 

[Bodhbh]

Funnily enough, out of the tents i've used the easiest one to pitch is an old skool Force Ten I inherited from a great aunt. Although you really need a tarp as well to sit under if the weather's crap. We've got a 3 man vango too, that doesn't take long either. The problem with the family size tents, is not how long they take to pitch per se, just all the camping furniture and other crap you end up taking to fill them.

 

[Crankarm]

Budget?

 

[Julia9054]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I now have some ideas of what to go and look at. My budget, I think, would be no more than £200 - and would prefer to spend less.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I now have some ideas of what to go and look at. My budget, I think, would be no more than £200 - and would prefer to spend less.

Not bad thinking. No tent of mine has cost more than £150. For that price you could get a new one every couple of years. My old Vango lasted 15 before finding out to replace the groundsheet cost more that a new tent. My one man Eureka Spitfire Solo+ was £99 and is still in good nick 3 years later. The 2 and 3 man OEX tents I share with the kids were just over £100 each and in mint condition.

That all said, I wish I could try out a £500 tent and see what the advantages are.

 

[Julia9054]

Budget is what is putting me off the inflatable ones.

 

[Crankarm]

Budget is what is putting me off the inflatable ones.

I wouldn't bother with an inflatable tent as the pump required to pump the beams up can be a large style track pump or electric pump not lending itself to cycle touring.