Tents

Eurohike Avon - for festivals not wild camping

Advantages: cost, easy to put up, replaceable poles
Disadvantages: outer rips easily, groundsheet wears easily

This 3 man tent was bought for wild camping expeditions in lowland areas. I had hoped it would withstand being put up and down by enthusiastic teenagers! It can be purchased from Millets for a cost of £49.99. It weighs 4.9 Kg and has a hydrostatic head of 2000mm (most start from about 1500mm). It comes in a good size carry bag (20cm x 66cm) with great handles. The guy ropes are bright fluorescent yellow so not easy to trip over. Ease of use: The ...
...2 people about 10 minutes. There are 3 poles which are colour coded so that the right pole goes in the right place. It’s a bit fiddly to attach the inner area to the outer sheet and this took the most time. The poles split for folding and go through the loop areas really easily. Durability: I took three of these tents out on a really dry weekend and two came back in need of repair after one night. The elastic inside the poles snapped and one ground ...

dalcrest57 12.06.2007 · Read Full Review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Eurohike Avon Tent

Very Affordable Holiday Home!!

Advantages: Good size, quite high, sturdy, easy to put up
Disadvantages: Large and quite heavy when packed

...to stand up it. The Vango Venture 500 was set up and was a winner as soon as we looked at it. Dimensions and Layout The tent measures approximately 12' X 8' and is about 5'10" high at the highest point. There is a large porch at the front which takes up about a third of the length of the tent, and the rest is taken up by the bedroom. The Porch The porch is a good enough size to set up a table and two chairs to eat if required, as ...
...wind and some rain. The Vango Venture 500 stood up to the wind brilliantly considering its size and height and as long as it is well pegged down it can withstand quite strong winds with very little problems. We had a little rain this weekend and had no problems with leaks however we have been out in fairly heavy rain before and this manages to find its way through the material so I would not recomend it in the rain, however it is only advertised ...

johnny040676 28.05.2008 · Read Full Review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Vango Venture 500

Magellan 9 - a good value family tent

Advantages: Attractive, 3 bedrooms plus good sized centre, packs away small, rel. easy to pitch
Disadvantages: Was expensive originally but can be got for good discount now

We've had this tent for 2 or 3 years now and it's been excellent for ocassional summer camping trips - Devon, Dorset, Cotswolds. It's quick to put up (once you've done it a couple fo times) and easy to transport in the back of our estate. Also well designed, with sown in ground sheet (no bugs get in and you can sweep out) and individual bedroom pods, and a good size central room into which one of those standard tables easily fits. It survived a gale ...
...out, leaving flapping panels and lots of noise but nothing as serious the 'one star' review describes! No rain got in and the structure stood firm. No signs of wear and tear yet. Generally a sturdy, well designed, easy to put up tent (which is important to us going on very short breaks). ...

Doctor_Nick 28.06.2009 · Read Full Review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Coleman Magellan 9 Tent

Flying high at the campsite

Advantages: Easy to put up, tall enough to stand up in, excellent for 2 people and loads of kit
Disadvantages: Not really big enough for 4 and kit

...manufacturers, including Vango, Coleman and Wynnster amongst many others. Before the viewing I had my heart set on a Vango (I had read many good reviews, I know the Vango name and I know the Vango quality) but after spending a few hours making first, second and in some cases even third viewings (it reminded me of buying a house) I’m glad I didn’t go for the Vango as we found something much more suitable. Besides, the Vango I wanted wasn’t even tall ...
...etc. we opted for the Wynnster Buzzard 4 (the “Buzzard”). As its name suggests the Buzzard is a four man tent of the pole threading type (as opposed to the ridge frame) which means it can be erected and dismantled relatively quickly, it is relatively light and it is much cheaper. Obviously there are disadvantages associated with this type of tent in that it is not as strong, durable or hard wearing. Size of the Buzzard i) Length – 5.1m ii) ...

yackers1 26.06.2009 · Read Full Review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional
Review of Wynnster Buzzard 4

Wind problem

Advantages: Very good space for sheltering from the weather. Excellent ground sheets in vestibule.
Disadvantages: Struggles with very strong winds.

I would have rated this tent as excellent, as I was able to erect quickly and on my own, it stood up to heavy downpours of rain and it has a tremendous amount of space. However that was until I put it up in Skye and the wind effect played a part. The tunnel design does not make it very suitable for strong winds and in Scotland thats really a prerequisite. On this ocassion my tent which was very well pitched and secured ended up with two snapped poles ...

Nightboat 02.06.2009 · Read Full Review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Robens Double Dreamer Tunnel Tent