UKH

I'm looking to buy a bigger tent for car camping on climbing trips as my currently tent is a small two man, and it's a nightmare trying to cook in the porch or be social, or for sharing with anyone. The Robens tipi tents caught my eye - particularly the Green Cone (a regular polyester double skin tipi) or the Fairbanks (a single skin polycotton tipi). Having been born in the modern world, I've never owned a cotton tent before. What are the good and bad aspects about them (particularly in single skin guise)?

Breathable but very heavy even with a car and very prone to mildew when not dried thoroughly. Less noisy in the wind than a nylon as they’re so heavy( or were) .

heavy pain to dry but can last a long time.  

We used a £6 single skin cotton tent (from ASDA!) for a cycling trip in France.  Apparently, they were recommended as throw-away tents.  With two people inside, it was like Niagara Falls in the morning, it was soaking in condensation from our breath.  Which was not good as i was using a thin down sleeping bag.

Got the Obelink Eldorado a few years back. £300ish. Its great, big but easy to put up, even on your own, easy to sit two people in and cook. Sleeps 3 or 4 even. Quite and great in the wind. Easy not to touch the sides, but also has inner part for sleeping. No rain gets in. It bloody heavy but so what? Just dry it out and store well and it should be OK for years. Seems to be the best cheap option out there. Highly recommended! So much more pleasant than squatting in a mountain tent....

https://www.obelink.co.uk/tents/pyramid-tents.html

Thank you all. I saw last year's Green Cone half price about ten minutes after I posted, and so went for that instead of the canvas Fairbanks. Probably the right choice for the UK - I'm not convinced of the practicality of a single skin tent in the UK, and have limited ability to easily dry 10kg of large cotton tent.

Just need to get out and use it now!

Where did you see it half price? Looks like a feasible family backpacking tent.