UKH

Dear inflatable tent owners,

What's the verdict on these tents, best thing since sliced bread or total let down? (pun intended). 

I'm a fan of decathlon tents, they have served me well over the years. Suggestions for family size (4-6 person) traditional style tents or inflatable tents very much welcome. Thanks

Lake district - in recent high winds the only large tents left standing were airbeams

We've had a family decathlon inflatable that after a few years failed and despite 2 free repairs from decathlon kept deflating. A zip also failed.

We replaced with a Berghaus inflatable from go outdoors. Which stood up very well to high winds and is very waterproof. Quality seems a bit better but will be buying spare replacement air beams. We have a 3 beam version you can get much bigger. 

I have a Berghaus Air 8. Had it for 7+ years now. Never had a problem with it, apart from it takes up a lot of room in the boot and is hard work getting it back into the bag!

Loads of room and I love having a tent I can stand up in.

Oh and whenever I've pitched it in the garden to dry out I've kept our cat away from it. No idea if her claws would puncture the air beams but I don't want to find out!

Have been the only family tent standing with an airbeam in Wales after a very windy night. We've had our Decathlon one for 3 years now and I can't fault it. 

Since I bought a Decathlon blow- up family tent about 6 years ago I haven't touched my Outwell framed tent, unroll, 4 pegs, compressor on and relax with a beer. Survives thunderstorms, collapses in 2 inches of wet snow but brush it off and it springs back up. I use it about 6 times a year, maybe 20 days each year.

Buying one might well be my last ditch attempt at enjoying camping as a middle aged lazy sod..

they aren't exactly an innovation are they?  I remember using one in 1976

Later than you, but I can recall ours quite literally exploding on a hot day in a field near Corfe Castle one summer in the early 80s. It was very heavy and almost impossible to get in the boot of the ford cortina...

It had a weird metal threaded cap at the apex; the extraordinary thing, apart from the noise it made which was like an artillery piece, was that the threads sheared almost smooth under pressure. Happily the shrapnel went upwards before falling back to earth away across the field. Tent was a write off and I have avoided inflatable tents ever since... I think I have got over the shock now but have had a healthy respect for pressurised gases ever since!

b

Not a family one, but I've had a 1-man alpkit inflatable thing for a couple of years and its been great, no complaints from me

I had one of the decathlon Air tents for quite a few years and it was brilliant! used all over the alps and UK for family trips, we had a 5 man one I think with Black out bedrooms, this allowed for the little ones to sleep during light if needed. So easy to set up and take down, never leaked once. the only reason I sold it was because we got a van. I now have an air awning and just as impressed.

Brilliant. this is all most encouraging. I've ordered a Berghaus Air - 4 person tent. 

Thanks!

I had the same experience - two rubber tubes arched over to provide a support at each corner and joined at the centre with a brass connector which exploded and hit me in the back of the head. Also on a very hot day and I remember being in the tent, smelling the rubber and thinking that it was a total sweat box before it went.

So, perhaps the "innovation" is not the inflatable tent but the lack of a deadly metal connector?

On the other hand the black out tent is a proper innovation and I'll concede that the current tents beat my attempts (using a space blanket pegged to the fly) because they don rustle like you're in a giant crisp packet all night.

I think they're great, but I couldn't justify the cost at the time we bought our family tent, when air beam ones were still fairly new and very expensive. We don't go that often, as my wife's not a huge fan of camping.

I'd definitely consider one now, though - couple of friends have them and rave about them.

Was once chatting with the chap in my local Millets - he said they kept a spare "pole" in store for every tent they sold, but they'd never actually sold one, which is encouraging.

The down side, as others have said, is the packed size and weight - although that might just be a function of the size of tent they make possible.

Very satisfied Decathlon Airtent user. Had it three years, bought when we sold the van having borrowed a friend's a couple of times. Love it.

Quick to pitch, very quick to strike, copes admirably in high winds and the blackout rooms are amazing.

Blackout tents are not a new invention.

Used one (same design as the classic force ten ridge tent, but blue) in Iceland in the late 80's. 

I borrowed my sister's. Think it was a Berghaus, and she definitely mentioned it cost £800 as I had to promise to be extra careful.

It was fine once up, but it wasn't simply a matter of pumping it up, sticking a few pegs in and it's done. The beams would twist, the valves were fiddly, pumping felt like it took forever, the whole system was bulky and heavy.

I think it took longer to erect than a traditional tent (however, it was the largest tent I've ever erected). 

I would be inclined to buy a smaller pole tent I think.

We have the Decathlon family air tent - and love it for car-camping.

With 3 kids, it means you can put up a large-tent single-handedly whilst the other parent entertains the kids.

Survived a gale in Wales - collapsed on us at 2am, but didn't actually break unlike pole tents we were next to. 

That's not specific to air beam tents - speaking from experience of a selection of conventionally-poled tents.

Well, that's conclusive, then! Ours has survived when other similar poled tents have been shredded.

You got (borrowed) the wrong tent, my Decathlon needs 4 pegs and I have a manifold to pump all 3 tubes at once, plug the connectors in and retreat to my car with a beer while it inflates. I need to be in the rain for 2 minutes and 6 minutes later it's finished, as is my first beer.

What? I had to pump all the beams manually one by one like a chump.

We've had an inflatable Decathlon family (there's only two of us but we're old, fat and cantankerous) tent for a few years. it's been great, really, apart from putting it back in the bag, but we do always manage that in the end and other tents are no better. 

I am not an engineer so I don't have a fancy 'manifold' for pumping it all up in a trice, but even without that it's pretty quick, albeit sans beer.

We did have a hefty blow last autumn and it stood up to it while other tents around broke this and that, but it wasn't exactly restful. It didn't help that I'd pitched it right into the wind. I stood with my back agains the wall, hoping it wouldn't blow down. It didn't.

We've never managed to get our Decathalon black-out tent back in the bag ever, we keep it separate. It was wonderful in Font for two weeks this easter:  the porch fitted 5 chairs and a small table (plus our kitchen boxes and a bouldering mat) for our group drink and chat, one rainy evening. We discovered it needs careful pegging at the entrance to stop the skirt of the outer tent slipping inside the grey groundsheet, when weighted by being wet.

wouldn't mind this setup: youtube.com/watch?v=8r0ZufleDjw&