Tent Advice

Milly33

Hello sorry if tis in the wrong section but not sure where to post. Looking for someone who knows a little about tents.

I am looking at three online but would like someones advice

looksee

What kind are you looking at? What do you want to know?

fits

All I know is if its Colman you'll be grand

Milly33

Thank you for the replies.. Hi Fits

Right so we have an old school canvas tent that is great but if you are camping for lets say one or two days somewhere it is a bit much to be putting up. So I was looking for a nice good rain proof tent for 2 people (but im looking at 4 people so well have room for a bags). I did get one of those ones in Dunnes but I think water got into it and it is no longer rain proof (bargain for €20)

Ok so I was looking initially at Vango this one here

http://www.outdooradventurestore.ie/products/tents/tent_specials/alpha_400-2070.html

Which I was told by a scouting person would be goo water proof tent for what I wanted.

Then looking at O'Mears I see they have a few deals

One being this Meran tent (package deal to link)

http://www.omearacamping.com/meran-4-man-tent-
package-2275-p.asp

And then I saw this one too http://www.omearacamping.com/kampa-brighton-4-man-dome-tent-march-delivery-2521-p.asp

Its killing me trying to pick I like the look of the vango one but not sure

fits

You might get good replies in outdoor pursuits forum. I think vango is a good brand as well. Are you going on honeymoon soon?

Milly33

I was just looking at a video there on you tube and the vango one does look rather decant.. Thank you sure im sure the mods might move it on for me if tisnt in the correct thread....

Hooneymoon haha you know me so well.. We aren't going on just one as such we are taking lots of mini ones. So far we have been to Skibereen Cottages for couples for a weekend, Bologna in Italy and Warsaw just before Christmas so we are getting to a few places..

Thinking honeymoon haha maybe I should be aiming for a bigger tent

looksee

Couple of points, one is that you can get waterproof spray for tents if the proofing has gone but its a decent tent. The other is that you don't touch or allow anything to touch the canvas in wet conditions or it will leak. (if you do touch it and it leaks, use your finger to draw a line down the canvas to the ground and the water will follow the train down rather than dripping in.)

kerry4sam

Thread moved to where it would be better suited.

Thanks,
kerry4sam

Milly33

Thank you Kerry4Sam! and thank you Looksee I must say I never knew this before...

I was considering alright picking up another cover for the Dunnes tent but me thinks ill let it go.. I took it on a trip to inisfallen island and got lots of flea bites so the thing may even be infested since...

Looking like the Vango is the winner, went to order yesterday but darn ran out of money..

Tigerandahalf

I have a Vango 250 (2 & 1/2 man tent). It has worked fine with 2 people but you wouldn't have much spare room.

What are you looking to do with it? Once off use or longer?

Some tents come with a sewn in groundsheet. Others don't. Sewn in stops the water and bugs coming in but would be a bit harder to clean out dirt and debris out of it.
If you youtube tents you will get a lot of info.
Waterproof rating is important.
Groundsheet is waterproof if rating is 10,000mm.
And the tent itself would want to be 3,000 at least.
That is what I learnt before buying ours.

Orion

The Vango Alpha 400 is a decent tent. But I'd got for a Beta if you can find one. That has a big porch that you can leave your gear in to have more room in the sleeping area. Look around other places than the OAS - their prices are generally ridiculous although in this price range even they can't screw it up too much. That said Charles Camping have it for 110.

These are fairly low so not ones you can sit in easily if it's raining. If that doesn't matter go for it - otherwise maybe increase the budget if possible and get a head height one with a porch. E.g. This is the one I use for family camping - plenty of space to sit in if it's raining out. That particular model isn't available anymore but there are others. If you can get out to Blessington Charles Camping have a load pitched so you can see them.

With the Kampa you linked I'd avoid it simply because it pitches inner first. That's a pain if it's raining when pitching - the inner is already wet. I always prefer a tent that pitches fly first - then you can keep the inner dry in the bag until it's ready to hang.

Milly33

Thank you Orion... The OAS shops aren't badly prices now I must say I kinda scouted around a few of them. Yeah we would go the 4 man tent as to a 2 or 3 man to have the extra space.

Perhaps I shall take a looksee at the betas while im waiting for pay day to arrive thank you

EndaHonesty

Milly33 wrote: »

Hello sorry if tis in the wrong section but not sure where to post. Looking for someone who knows a little about tents.

I am looking at three online but would like someones advice

Here's a 3 man tent for sale on Amazon for only £25.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00OG0KR9O/ref=s9_hps_bw_g200_i1

It looks like a decent tent for occasional use, German made, and it's for sale from Amazon direct so if anything EVER goes wrong you have the back up of the best customer service anywhere.

I don't know the brand, but on google.de it's selling for around twice as much, there are some good reviews, and as I said the backup of the Amazon customer care means you've nothing to lose.

The size will be plenty for 2 people and it's much lighter than the tents you linked, so it'll be easier to carry.

Milly33

It does look quite good but I just don't like ordering stuff from Amazon, it never ends well haha..

EndaHonesty

Milly33 wrote: »

It does look quite good but I just don't like ordering stuff from Amazon, it never ends well haha..

Really?! I buy pretty much everything off Amazon.
Once you stick to buying only Amazon direct or Amazon fulfilled the "no questions asked" customer care makes it a no-brainer.

Milly33

I think thats it i hate sites that have like a pick and mix of sellers, mind i do buy from Rakuten but thats becuase i used to use them before... Im just not used to Amazon me thinks and ya cant teach old (as in like 23) new tricks

Orion

Milly33 wrote: »

It does look quite good but I just don't like ordering stuff from Amazon, it never ends well haha..

Amazon are great to deal with but I wouldn't go near that tent. You get what you pay for. It's 2000HH for starters - i go minimum 3000. For that price the seams will be poor and you will end up with leaks. Stick to a trusted brand even though it costs more initially you won't be replacing it as soon.

EndaHonesty

Orion wrote: »

Amazon are great to deal with but I wouldn't go near that tent. You get what you pay for. It's 2000HH for starters - i go minimum 3000. For that price the seams will be poor and you will end up with leaks. Stick to a trusted brand even though it costs more initially you won't be replacing it as soon.

Did you even click the link?
2000HH is fine occasional use. Many of the "trusted brands" have tents in their range with 2000HH so it must be ok.

The tent is german made, has taped seams and is a bargain for occasional campers.

The fact that it is sold by Amazon makes it a no brainer, if anything ever goes wrong with it you just send it back and get a refund.

Orion

I did click the link. Just because it's German made doesn't mean anything. At that price you are not going to get good quality. Harvey Normal also do that tent but I can't find any actual camping shop that do which doesn't stand in it's favour. It's basically a festival tent - use it for the weekend and leave it behind.

The refund only applies for 30 days btw. After that it's manufacturer warranty which wouldn't be worth chasing for that price tbh.

Milly33

Oh no but I don't want a festival tent me thinks that is what Enda is getting at... Those Dunnes ones would make great festival ones if anyone else was looking.. Counting down now for pay day to happen, we defo need a good water proof one as guaranteed it will piss rain the min we pack the car

EndaHonesty

Milly33 wrote: »

Oh no but I don't want a festival tent me thinks that is what Enda is getting at... Those Dunnes ones would make great festival ones if anyone else was looking.. Counting down now for pay day to happen, we defo need a good water proof one as guaranteed it will piss rain the min we pack the car

The only thing that makes this tent a "festival tent" is the price. If I needed a tent I'd buy it.

How often are you planning on using the new tent?

Milly33

mmm not really now. To me a festival tent is any one that would hold the water out for a few hours and you walk away and leave it there..

A tent you plan on using all the time or for holidays you invest in

Orion

Milly33 wrote: »

guaranteed it will piss rain the min we pack the car

Nope. It'll start pissing as soon as you arrive at the campsite

Orion

EndaHonesty wrote: »

The only thing that makes it a "festival tent" is the price. If I needed a tent I'd buy it.

How often are you planning on using the new tent?

It may well be a good tent but I'd have to inspect it myself first. At that price I just can't see it being good quality seams or lasting too long at 2000HH. I would much rather spend the money now and get a known good quality tent.

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” – Benjamin Franklin

EndaHonesty

Orion wrote: »

It may well be a good tent but I'd have to inspect it myself first. At that price I just can't see it being good quality seams or lasting too long at 2000HH. I would much rather spend the money now and get a known good quality tent.

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” – Benjamin Franklin

In my original post I said it was a bargain mainly because it's being sold by Amazon, and as such it allows you to buy the tent with confidence knowing that if anything goes wrong you can send it back and get a full refund.

"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink" - Unknown

Orion

You're picking me up wrong - I have no problem with Amazon and buy things from them regularly. I've had to use their customer service twice and it was the easiest thing in the world to do - top marks for post-sales service. So I'm totally with you in that regard.

However that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good deal. Amazon sell a lot of stuff - some of it excellent, some of it crap - just like any department store. I personally wouldn't trust this tent - if you would that's fine. I do a lot of camping - in all sorts of weather. I want something I can trust. If that means paying extra then I'm ok with that.

Regarding sending it back - that only applies for 30 days from purchase date (or maybe delivery date). After that you deal with the manufacturer. So any faults on arrival are fine - but if it leaks like a sieve two months later then you're snookered. There's no guarantee that the manufacturer has the same level of service as Amazon. Plus I wouldn't buy something on the basis that I can send it back if it's crap - I'd rather buy something I know to be good in the first place.

EndaHonesty

Orion wrote: »

You're picking me up wrong - I have no problem with Amazon and buy things from them regularly. I've had to use their customer service twice and it was the easiest thing in the world to do - top marks for post-sales service. So I'm totally with you in that regard.

However that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good deal. Amazon sell a lot of stuff - some of it excellent, some of it crap - just like any department store. I personally wouldn't trust this tent - if you would that's fine. I do a lot of camping - in all sorts of weather. I want something I can trust. If that means paying extra then I'm ok with that.

Regarding sending it back - that only applies for 30 days from purchase date (or maybe delivery date). After that you deal with the manufacturer. So any faults on arrival are fine - but if it leaks like a sieve two months later then you're snookered. There's no guarantee that the manufacturer has the same level of service as Amazon. Plus I wouldn't buy something on the basis that I can send it back if it's crap - I'd rather buy something I know to be good in the first place.

Your 30 days thing is 100% wrong so I have to pull you on it. Your contract is always with the retailer so always with Amazon.
I've returned Merrell hiking boots to Amazon after 2 months because they were described as waterproof but leaked.
If an item is faulty i.e. a waterproof tent that leaks, then you are entitled to reject the item and get a full refund.

I do a lot of camping too, I have 2 tents - Coleman Phad x3 for camping with the missus, and a Vaude Hogan UL for backpacking, so I know tents too.

Orion

That's interesting. Here's a screenie of something I bought in August.

EndaHonesty

Orion wrote: »

That's interesting. Here's a screenie of something I bought in August.

That's their standard returns period, your rights extend beyond that period.
If the goods are faulty you are entitled to return them to the retailer.

Orion

Ok thanks - I'll get on to them and see. One of the two chromebooks I bought isn't working properly.

I'll stand buy my comments re: the tent though. I'd still rather buy something I know is going to be good than chance it and return it later.

Milly33

Went with the vango in the end, got it delivered in all yesterday mad to try it out but will have to arrange for a weekend away, thanks for all the tips..Especially the leaking one how to stop.. Heres to maybe a goodish summer so we will get to use it..Tis been raining in Cork since before Christmas we will surely be due some good weather