UKH

My Terra Nova Quasar has done my fine for 20 years, 8 people for a whisky on a wet night, 3 chaps on a glacier, or just young son and me on his first beaver camp.

But... I need a 'family tent' for Scout family camp and soon to happen family adventure holidays.

I assumed we'd just get another TN and bridge them with a cheap tarp tent, but my wife wants a family tent. Any recommendations for a decent multi-bedroom tent?

In reply to Philip:

My big tent is a vango.  It stands up well to the weather.  I doubt they still do the exact one still but have a look at their tents.  

In reply to Philip:

I've had a Terra Nova Quasar (or its forerunner) for over 25 years. It's a great tent, so I am a big fan. But they (and all the other mountain tents, of which I have several) have become fabulously expensive and they are not really that well suited for families with young children. I think by far the best family tents, and the best value for money, are the Quechua brand sold by Decathlon.

In reply to marsbar:

I was going to get Vango, but a lot of bad reviews on them now for pole quality. Looking for other quality brands.

In reply to John Stainforth:

You're not wrong there! My now-wife and I's first major purchase together was a TN Hyperspace for around £500 some 15 years ago. There's no way I'm replacing it with the current model at £1,200!! Happily it's still going strong after many weekends in grotty climbers campsites and week holidays standing up to storms on the south west coast; it now makes a cozy home away from home for our family of 3. 

But... I need a 'family tent' for Scout family camp and soon to happen family adventure holidays.

You mention adventure holidays, whereabouts are you planning on camping? We bought a big polycotton Kampa 4 berth tent when our daughter came along. It's a great tent but with the awning it takes up most of the luggage space in a family sized hatchback! I'm confident it's take a battering in the hills or Pembrokeshire coast but it's a pain in the arse just to lug around put up for a weekend! 

Last year we purchased, what looks like, last years version of this from Go Outdoors for wekends. https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15942904/outwell-delano-5-tent-15942904 The first time we used it at Easter one of the elastic tying points used to attach the inner to the fly broke. It's not great in the rain, the sloping front and the way the door opens encourages rain to pool just inside the inner when getting in and out. I'd not be wanting to go anywhere too adventurous with it! 

I'd be looking at something like the Hoolie 6 from Wild Country, it's rated at 3 season but I'd expect it to handle a decent amount of weather. https://www.terra-nova.co.uk/all-tents/5-man-tents/hoolie-6-tent/

There's never one tent that suits every trip, with Voyager, a 3 man cycle touring tent and various others we're now a 6 tent family! 

Cheers,
Jamie

In reply to Philip:

We have a decathlon inflatable tent for family trips, one person can put it up quickly, leaving the other to occupy children. Nice porch space but not over big. We're thinking of upgrading to one with a blackout inner... 

In reply to Philip:

While the masses seem to go for decathlon/go outdoors stuff I too am also sceptical of the quality/strength, particularly in bad weather. A few years ago we got a wild country citadel, they don’t make them any more but probably available second hand and their structural integrity is rock solid. Have a look for the YouTube video of one pitched in the peak for several months over winter. Couple of minor probs like clips (holding bedrooms to outer) have broken but easily repaired. The poles will last forever I think. The only advantage of go outdoors stuff (apart from the price)  is blackout bedrooms. 

In reply to Philip:

We got a Vaude Campo Casa XT 5 

Pretty good, although you need some straps to tie the window down!

In reply to Philip:

We've had a Coleman Mckenzie 4 for 10 years which we use for trips of a week or longer. It's has steel poles & is very sturdy; the downside is that the pack size is large and heavy.

They stopped making them for a few years but it's been reintroduced with blackout bedrooms

https://www.coleman.eu/uk/p-26843-mackenzie-4-blackout.aspx

In reply to Philip:

Fair enough, maybe they aren't as good as they used to be

In reply to Philip:

We have nothing bad to say about our Outwell. They seem to occupy a good spot in the pretty tough / not too expensive part of the spectrum.  I've been pleasantly surprised by how well ours has stood up to some fairly silly weather. 

The only two negatives for ours (Arizona M) are that it's a little bit of a pain to put up - definitely needs two people and takes a while - and it weighs a ton.  For a car camping tent, that latter point is probably unimportant.

If I was buying a car camping tent now I'd absolutely be looking for an inflatable one.  I've seen a few and been very impressed.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

I have had an Outwell Montana 6 with porch extension as our family tent for about 10 years.  Once it’s up, it is absolutely bombproof.  However, it’s not quick to erect and I can’t do it on my own as you need at least two people, one of them being at least 5ft 6.

It takes up a lot of space in the car and weighs more than I do.  If you are looking st touring or doing weekends away, I’d look elsewhere, but if you want a sturdy, well made tent that will take a battering from bad weather, I’d recommend it.

Admittedly, I’d probably be tempted by an inflatable tent if I was buying a family tent now though.

In reply to Sealwife:

Jeez, you must be thin! They are fairly heavy for sure though, about 40kg with the extension (mines actually a Vango one but they are much the same). It's just possible to put it up alone but a real faff, realistically you need 2 if there's the slightest breeze. Mine's held out Frankenjura thunderstorms and coastal Brittany o.k. but real bad weather I don't know. Nice and big though, 5 large people and the dog!

My go-for car camping tent nowadays when it's just 2 or 3 people is a Decathlon 4 man inflatable, very solidly built, 5 mins for one person to erect and seems to withstand anything except wet snow. Definately a 5* recommendation. I use the extension from my Montana on it as well.

In reply to Philip:

My wife's criteria for a tent is one she can stand up in! Hence, we have a Vango Icarus 600, bought as a bundle with carpet and footprint on sale in Go Outdoors. It's a semi-blackout lining, but not really that dark. For such a big tent, it survived a very wet and windy weekend in Wales, where other tents were shredded.

Only annoyance is that they don't warranty the poles and one of them has split, but was easily replaced.

I would really look at the Coleman tents with the proper BlackOut lining, but they'd only just come out when we got ours, so too pricey at the time.

Otherwise, I'd really look at the inflatable tents. Despite my scepticism, a mate has one and loves it. Although they keep spare, my local camping shop says they've never, ever sold a replacement pole bladder, which is reassuring.

In reply to Philip:

If this is for "car camping", i.e you don't have to carry the tent, then I recommend a canvas bell tent. Cooler, more comfortable and longer lasting than a nylon tent, also can be cheaper. I suggest having a look at Soul Pad tents.

In reply to Skip:

Or even a canvas frame tent- plenty on ebay that have been living in attics.

In reply to Philip:

I can't recommend this enough, £350. Dutch pyramid or 'storm' tent. Cotton canvas but ours has never leaked/let water in. Less flappy in the wind and nicer in the sun than a nylon tent. Heavy though, for car camping only

https://www.obelink.co.uk/eldorado.html 

We bought one when expecting first child. We have a 4yr old and 4 month old now and i think there's enough room for us all. It's obviously not as big as some of the other nylon family tent offerings (you can stand up but only in the middle of the tent really) from terra nova, wild country, vango etc but i reckon it will stand up to weather better than any of them. I expect the only thing sturdier is a proper mountain tent.  

Can be pitched solo, only pain in the arse is 1) all the pegs (but that also makes it strong) and 2) drying it out if you have to take it down wet. If you've a big garden or big house then no bother (we don;'t), and it has to be absolutely dry before you store it away. Loads of good reviews of the tent here: https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/tents/p/1/2/Hypercamp-Eldorado/1699 

In reply to Skip:

Yes, Bell tents are great. I have a soul pad, it's been through some pretty bad weather. Pic in my profile. 

I now have a wooden centre pole that I cut from a hazel tree. 

In reply to somethingelse:

We have a Cabanon Pyramid 4 which looks identical. Brilliant tent for family. I can put it up myself. Its stood up to near hurricanes in Scotland plus long hols in the alps. Our’s is 22 years old and still in annual use.

In reply to jimtitt:  I’m a shade under 50kg and very short!  We also have the carpet and extra heavy duty poles owing to most of our camping being in the North of Scotland and island locations where it’s windy.  

It is a big challenge to put up in the wind but once it’s up, it is very robust.

My father gave me his Terra Nova Quasar tent. It is great! Speaking about other brands, my friends bought Outwell and are pleased with it.

In reply to Philip:

We've had a Quecha Arpenaz 4.1 for several years we use for car camping if we're going to be in the same place for a few days. It's pretty heavy and obviously not a "mountain" tent but actually surprisingly robust (especially for the price). I'd definitely recommend rigging up some extra guy lines and getting a few big pegs though.

In reply to Philip:

We've had a Decathlon Quechua inflatable for a couple of years now for use in what have occasionally been very windy camp sites. Well, actually, mostly Trevaylor's in Botallack, West Penwith. It's up in 10 minutes or so, has  never leaked or otherwise succumbed to bad weather and you can stand up in it. Thus, great for short camp site trips by car where you want comfort. £200 + the pump, which you need.

In reply to Skip:

Agree, we bought a 6m canvas bell tent and turned up to family camp a couple of years ago and we were the hot venue for people to come and check it out and hang out which was cool as it was a Beavers camp so none of us knew each other. Another parent bought one after seeing ours.

Big But.....

Very heavy so only any good if you can park very close to the pitch site or have access to wheel barrow, but brilliant for camping in any weather as so much room. We went whole hog and got the full coir mat. That's excessive as it takes up loads of room in car so we only use that when we camp at home, but we have got loads of fun use out of it and kids and dog love it.

In reply to Sealwife:

Fair enough, I'm 6ft and best part of 100kg one of my sons is considerably bigger!

In reply to robhorton:

Had one of these on Skye when several other tents were destroyed by the wind!

They are universal in Europe-

In reply to Philip:

If you're tempted by a bell tent, but want a slightly cheaper version, take a look at ex military 10man Arctic tents. Very robust, quite heavy but easy enough to put up single handed, stove chimney hole and you can also get a full arctic liner for them. I added a zip to the door flaps on ours, for convenience. Usually find one or two on the usual auction site. 

In reply to Philip:

Used a Super Nova Mountain for many years but after a couple of pole breakages (25 years old) and deciding we needed something to stand up in during prolonged wet weather (both in our fifties...) opted for the Hoolie 6.

Plenty of space, pole quality is good and my head just brushes the inner roof when standing at the apex (6ft).  Been lashed with rain and the proofing seems good but I wouldn't be expecting it to withstand storm force winds, nor would I anything of that height.

Option to not use the two person inner "bedroom" gives you lots of seating/living/cooking/storage space.

Although people have recommended cotton canvas style tents I would be wary of the drying time required - unless you have access to a drying room : )

Happy camping

  

In reply to Philip:

Get a van, you know it makes sense 😋

We did seriously consider a bell tent as our first family tent but decided to go with a more conventional polycotton tent.

Cool as they may look, to get a usable tent with separate bedrooms, ground sheet etc. you end up spending a fortune on extras! The shape of them results in loads of 'dead' space compared to a more square tent.

If you're planning on using a stove then they are great option, but then you'd end up needing a trailer or van to cart everything to and from the campsite. 

Cheers,

​​​Jamie

In reply to d508934:

Decathlon stuff is well designed and tested. Nowt wrong with the quality or the customer service to back up any problems you might have.

I bought a decathlon 4.2xl seconds tent. It's a pop up family tent, in that the poles are permanently in the sleeves. It's black magic: you peg out a groundsheet with 4 large pegs, unclip the tent and stretch it out and hey presto - 4 person tent with 2 sleeping areas and a space you can stand up/sit and eat in between.  I'm always gratified by how quick it is, and by seeing others take about an hour to put up their mega-tents with a bazillion guying points that they insist on pegging out no matter the weather.

I think the concept has been superseded by the Air seconds tents (inflatable ones).  Winning  on value and convenience, and I wouldn't worry about the build quality for the price. It'll be solid.

In reply to Max factor:

What are these air tents. I guess it's the result of not having to look at tents for years but it sounds like a bouncy castle. Surely a puncture and you've no tent and no chance of fixing in the middle of the night. As for convenience, I've never struggled to get a tent up (down in a gale maybe).

In reply to Philip:

We got one of these a few years ago and it’s been brilliant:

https://tinyurl.com/t3sfjt3

Pros are it’s not plastic, it’s absolutely bomb proof and will last for years, has withstood some horrendous weather and I can put it up myself in about 20 minutes. The door poles mean it’s got more headroom than the equivalent bell tent. And the inner sleeps 2 adults plus a 4 year old comfortably.

Cons are it’s heavy and you need somewhere to dry it when it gets wet.

In reply to Philip:

Vango Airbeam are the originals, but lots of people have copied them now.  You just hook them up to a compressor that you run off the car's 12v electrics and it inflates for you.  You then close a bunch of valves between sections so that even if one bit punctures, it doesn't bring the whole tent down.  And I've not actually heard of one puncturing - they do seem to be very tough.

Also better in strong wind as they can bend, rather than snapping a pole.

If you want something big enough for all four of you, with room to stand up, it'll be much easier to put up than a traditional pole tent.  I'm definitely getting one when it's time to replace my Outwell.

In reply to Philip:

we have an outwell nevada. superb quality family tent and it was not too pricey when we bought it. Be aware a family tent that will work as a family tent in the uk needs a living area that can accomodate the whole family when the rain hammers it down outside. Awnings may work for this but ours has a living space. In consequence it is a big tent but i do not regret buying it. It is sturdy fot a big tent and it survived a storm in the lakes which flattened a lot of other tents. My advice dont compromise on the family tent.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

Not sure about the originals bit, Andre Jamet inflatable tents were a familiar sight in France in the early 1960's. The air-tubes were smaller diameter (like bike tubes) from Michelin naturally and repairable with a normal repair kit.

In reply to jimtitt:

I remember those.  A friend had one.