UKH

Hello, as the bairns are getting old enough for camping to be considered I'm thinking that my trusty North Face Westwind won't cut it now there's four of us. Can anyone recommend a 4 person tent for family use, but also suitable to be carried for decent distances to make the most of the remoter Scottish opportunities?

I've had a look at the market and like the looks of the MSR Elixir 4, happy to carry the extra weight over the mutha hubba for toughness and space. Does anyone have anything else they'd recommend?

How much wind are you planning to be out in? Larger tents invariably start to become problematical in wind, so you may be better off with a pair of 2 man tents if wild camping in windy places. As the kids are small you can dump excess kit in their tent and pitch the two porches up against each other to provide a communal cook space in the middle. You'll need 'back doors' to allow people in and out without kicking the stove over though.

I bought a Mountain Hardware Trango 4 for the use you describe.  That worked well, looking after us on many summer and winter adventures although was many years ago now and there may be better and newer alternatives.

Two Terra Nova Quasars? They open at both ends and a light tarp could connect the two? Cost you a grand or so for two but so would most holidays at the minute.

You will know that you are safe in most weathers and have options for the future with 2 decent tents.

You may be surprised to hear that a bog standard Quasar is £800 these days.

I am! Got one for less than £500 brand new two years ago. That’s quite a hike!

Quick Google and there’s some for £600 :

Camping with children presents a conundrum - when they are small, they will want to be in with you, so you need a larger tent, but when they get into their teens, they will want a tent of their own - if they are of opposite sex, one each!

I don't know exactly what sort of camping you have in mind, how old your children are, how far you are prepared to walk and what time of year you will be camping in, so it is hard to offer specific advice, but for younger children, I would definitely consider a larger tent, maybe even something like the Robens Green Cone tipi tent - looks like a strong design, and it would offer a good family space. Does weigh 6kg though (but this can be split).

Further to my comments above - The Elixir 4 would be a sound choice for wild camping - I know someone who regularly camps high on the Lakeland fells spring summer autumn, and they thought highly of their Elixir 2. I think that they changed over to a Hubba for the weight saving in the end.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/tunnel-trekking-tent-4-person-mt900-ultraligh...

Ive used the 3 person version and that was pretty good. 

Cheers folks, the wee ones are 6 months and 3 and a half, initial plans are for campsites then getting a few km away from the car for beach camping in good weather, etc. leading up to more interesting stuff as they get older like camping on munros for summer solstice and winter camping.

Only one tent is wanted to keep us all together, keep the footprint small and reduce faff. Not an expensive light one either as accidents will happen. When they're older and doing stuff themselves, we'll get ourselves a modern lightweight 2 person that we can look after. Thanks for the mountain hardware recommendation and decathlon, will have a look at both.

We're a family of 3 (wife, me, 14 month old). We were all in an MLD Supermid until littl'un started walking which very quickly felt very small. I like how light, strong and large it is (though not all the way to the edge as it's a 'mid). I've managed to convince us all that spending mega bucks on a Habitude 6 will mean that we have fun. It is massive, and weighs ~6kgs, but might be worth looking into if you are interested in the height? 

Cheers for that, have you seen the UKC review? The wind performance is poor.  I saw something similar in the NF Homestead 4, but don't need standing height in a tent.

Yeah, had a good peruse before we bought it. The walls are pretty vertical and tall, it wouldn't surprise me if it's rubbish in wind. We're unlikely to be out in the wind in it though, would likely just take a backpacking tent instead.

Terra Nova Laser Space 5. Unfortunately no longer in production. 2 sleeping areas and you can stand up in them, 5kg with titanium peg. The dogs dangly bits.