Decent Tent Manufacturers?

[carlpenn]

It has been a very, very long time since I have been camping (1988 was teh last time lol) and my Wife and I have decided to invest in some camping equipment, starting now, ready to go camping next year.

However, there is just so many manufacturers etc we don't have a clue, so can anyone recommend some?

We are looking for a good size tent, preferably 6 person, to allow room for the four of us, without being too cramped.

General equipment, ie Stove, Tables / Chairs and so forth.

Also, any specific Camping Gear you may think is useful.

Any help / Advice will be greatly appreciated

[Freebyrd]

I'm just back from a week in the Lake District camping with my new 'Vango Icarus 500' tent. Four days of heavy rain, two with high winds and tent stayed completely dry inside. Easy to put up and lots of room inside, well pleased with it.

[carlpenn]

Originally Posted by Freebyrd

I'm just back from a week in the Lake District camping with my new 'Vango Icarus 500' tent. Four days of heavy rain, two with high winds and tent stayed completely dry inside. Easy to put up and lots of room inside, well pleased with it.

Funnily enough, I was looking at teh Vango range earlier.

[bigrob73]

Outwell, Vango, Coleman and Kampa are the most popular brands of tents and equipment. I dont think you can go too far wrong with these brands and you will have a huge choice too.......

[The_Monk]

Look at the Jet Boil for a stove. I have one for camping whilst climbing and its great. Built in cup if needed when solo, but you can boil water for everyone and it can be converted to a single burner stove.

[carlpenn]

Originally Posted by bigrob73

Outwell, Vango, Coleman and Kampa are the most popular brands of tents and equipment. I dont think you can go too far wrong with these brands and you will have a huge choice too.......

Originally Posted by The_Monk

Look at the Jet Boil for a stove. I have one for camping whilst climbing and its great. Built in cup if needed when solo, but you can boil water for everyone and it can be converted to a single burner stove.

Cheers Guys

[mark d3]

i bought a halfords 4 man family tent came with 4 sleeping bags and 2 mattresses,it does not leak got mine for 60 quid but they are on offer for £100 at the moment

[guru]

We've just done a couple of weeks in pretty bad conditions in a Vango Vista 800.

The thing we liked about it was how easy it is to put up and take down. Our previous (pre-family!) tent was a Coleman bi-space 500 which was probably only a third the size and yet took a lot longer to put up then the Vango.

I would avoid cheaper tents like pro-action etc as they tend to have very poor hydrostatic head ratings which means that in very heavy rain they could well leak. From memory for 2 season use in the UK you should aim for an HH rating of at least 2000mm. The Vango we have is 3000mm which should be fine for most conditions here.

As for accessories I think the most useful thing we had on this trip was the gas heater! I've never used one before in 25 years of camping but the difference it makes on cold evenings is amazing, it's just a shame that it's actually needed in the middle of August!

[carlpenn]

Originally Posted by mark d3

i bought a halfords 4 man family tent came with 4 sleeping bags and 2 mattresses,it does not leak got mine for 60 quid but they are on offer for £100 at the moment

Originally Posted by guru

We've just done a couple of weeks in pretty bad conditions in a Vango Vista 800.

The thing we liked about it was how easy it is to put up and take down. Our previous (pre-family!) tent was a Coleman bi-space 500 which was probably only a third the size and yet took a lot longer to put up then the Vango.

I would avoid cheaper tents like pro-action etc as they tend to have very poor hydrostatic head ratings which means that in very heavy rain they could well leak. From memory for 2 season use in the UK you should aim for an HH rating of at least 2000mm. The Vango we have is 3000mm which should be fine for most conditions here.

As for accessories I think the most useful thing we had on this trip was the gas heater! I've never used one before in 25 years of camping but the difference it makes on cold evenings is amazing, it's just a shame that it's actually needed in the middle of August!

Thank you both. I think we are going to go for the Vango tent, we only need a 4 man, but I am thinking of a 6 man, to give that little extra space. But will have to go and look at them first, there are a few places around us here that we can go see, so that would be the best bet I think.

Thanks all for your responses

[kevin]

Originally Posted by mark d3

i bought a halfords 4 man family tent came with 4 sleeping bags and 2 mattresses,it does not leak got mine for 60 quid but they are on offer for £100 at the moment

have one used for a few years there great,
As I no longer use it, if any one can make use of it , pm me your for free.