|
|
Post by standing stone on Aug 4, 2016 17:36:37 GMT
Recommendations, advice, tips, piccies, bargains spotted, swapsies, whatever tickles your fancy......
|
|
|
|
Post by standing stone on Aug 4, 2016 17:51:04 GMT
Looking to replace our tent possibly in the next year; liking the look of the Coleman Cortes Tent Big Top Octagonal Orange and wonder whether anyone has any experience of it. Also liking Cal N Del's with the porch area which would mean we could leave the gazebo at home.
Looking for a large robust camping chair carry case - Gelert FUR096 bag with no success so far. Does anyone have a spare at all?
Has anyone tried using one of those big scoop the air beds to sleep on? Saw a few in the arena; haven't had a go in one - have you?
What's your favourite campsite meal - one you make at your tent? Porridge with golden syrup and bananas worked very well for brekkies for us this year.
At the end of each night, we attach our glowsticks to the loop at the top of the bedroom and find that the residual light is just enough to let you see what you need to during night without disturbing the other's sleep.
|
|
|
|
Post by dorsethelen on Aug 4, 2016 19:23:08 GMT
Looking to buy our first tent......we don't want a little tiddly bin bag one like the £5 Tesco one our daughter bought for Glasto one year.
It needs to sleep 4 as although there are just 2 of us we like to have a 'living room'. Must be tall enough to stand up in, robust but easy to put up without us coming to blows and not speaking to each other for the rest of the festival!
We did rather like our shelterbox one this year but suspect that something of that spec will be well out of our price range!
Like the idea of a porch rather than a gazebo too!
|
|
|
|
Post by bloohair on Aug 4, 2016 19:23:46 GMT
Loving the big Orange Octagon tent - good price for something so big, I could sleep in a corner and you wouldn't notice.
My sleeping bag is brilliant, a 2-3 season NiteStar, lovely and warm. I wouldn't be without my air bed, I don't mind what kind they are, box or tubed, but need one. I don't think I'd last long on a sweep the air in sofa tho, I think I'd slide off very quickly.
|
|
|
|
Post by sindigo on Aug 4, 2016 19:52:07 GMT
SS/DH - We bought a Vango Inca 500 3 years ago and love it. Bit of a pain to get up, being a large tunnel as you need two people to lift the poles but the large living area and the optional addition of a canopy for extra space (we park our all-terrain double buggy in it) are great for us. Especially if it rains all weekend and you need somewhere to hang out... We found Go Outdoors well worth a visit as you can see loads of tents up and the staff are pretty knowledgeable. Then we 'camped out' on ebay and got one at the right price. They have their sale on at the moment too, though they're a bit like DFS in that respect... Definitely worth waiting until the 'off-season' though--you'll save a ton. As for the big scoop air bed things--a couple of our friends had some with them and we saw loads at Camp Bestival. They're great but there's a bit of a knack to get them inflated. We loved them so much we bought one as soon as we got home (in pink, obvs.  ) and managed to find an off-brand one for £15 on ebay. I can't attest to its quality yet as it literally arrived today but I'll let you know and post a link as soon as I've had a chance to test it, likely Saturday. Not sure if you could sleep on one overnight but a great day seat as they fold up to about the size and weight of the Saturday Guardian. And come with their own bag, also like the Saturday Guardian.  Also, got cord pull light bulbs from the Range for £2 a pop (we have 4 for our tent). They're a bit like these www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portable-Retro-Style-Battery-LED-Pull-Cord-Light-Bulb-Lamp-Bright-Pink-new-/291837116592?hash=item43f2d900b0:g:SfsAAOSwjXRXXs~k and they're great. Much brighter than you would think and really convenient. Even with cheapo batteries. Hot chocolate with brandy for the end of the day is Mrs Sindigo's favourite and our fav. meal to cook has to be traditional Hungarian Goulash. The recipe for which is available on request. |
|
|
|
Post by deserttraveller on Aug 4, 2016 20:11:02 GMT
Looking to sell my quick erect Khyam ridgi dome tent which is too big for just me but easy to put up on my own. The lounge area is great and the spare bedroom space I used for a shower this year! I'm downsizing. ![]() |
|
|
|
Post by calndel on Aug 4, 2016 21:03:20 GMT
Del bought some hanging light bulbs from aldi this year and they were great in our tent at night and very light and easy to use (powered by a AA battery)
|
|
|
|
Post by grey on Aug 4, 2016 21:37:24 GMT
Third year for our four man tunnel tent which is brilliant, only three poles and lots of porch space.
We bought a massive piece of Indian Sari from one of this years stalls so thats going to be next years flag with a bit odd sewing and a boom on top of our pole, Angus Watt eat ya heart out.
|
|
|
|
Post by standing stone on Aug 5, 2016 8:11:32 GMT
Had a good look around the tents when we were last in GO Outdoors in Bristol and Stockton; great to see them all pitched; lots of choice, but didn't see "the one". Took another look around several tent sites last night; noticed that the lovely octagonal one is 2000mm water column and we are after 5000mm at least.
Wondered whether Cal N Del and Grey would also identify the make and model of their tents and ease of pitching? A couple of years ago, H'd back went and I had to do all the decamping and packing up and hauling back to the car park; we are now in Park and Camp, so distance not now a problem, but I need to know that I can get the tent up and down on my own if I needed to.
Deserttraveller, we have marvelled at the speed and ease with which you single handedly pitch your tent (beats us every year) and can vouch for its splendidness and would recommend it to DH & DS on the grounds that it is definitely tall enough to stand in and is very spacious and fits into the park and camp space allocation. Quite a bit larger than the four man you're after; could quite possibly accommodate a trapeze, I'd have thought; but worth considering.......
|
|
|
|
Post by jax2000 on Aug 5, 2016 9:32:42 GMT
SS...do consider an air beam tent. They are really easy to erect and pack away....as long as you make sure that the beams are air empty before you start to fold! We used ours at Womad last year. We have a porch area ( which you can buy a door add on if wanted), a lounge and 2 bedrooms. We dropped the divider and our king sized airbed 'straddled' both, so plenty of space. Ours is a Kampa Hayling 4. |
|
|
|
Post by grey on Aug 5, 2016 11:35:47 GMT
Wondered whether Cal N Del and Grey would also identify the make and model of their tents and ease of pitching? Our tent is the Easy Camp Galaxy 400 which is very practicle but not so easy to put up solo as the poles are fully enclosed in the fabric tubes of the tent so with hind sight I would have got a similar tent but with less fabric tubing exposing the poles. |
|
|
|
Post by standing stone on Aug 5, 2016 12:23:52 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Zenrider on Aug 5, 2016 18:27:32 GMT
For something like this, especially if you plan to entertain, a tent with a large common area and a separate bedroom or two, would probably be best tent wise. Although. , might be a bit more work to put up. Also a good idea to see if there are any tent size restrictions before purchase. DH, I have always done the same thing. Basically halved how many the tent claims to sleep to get the real number of people who should stay in a tent. Yeah, you may be able to cram them in, but it's nice to have some room for gear, stretching out, and such. Especially, when one is going to stay somewhere for several days. Especially if it rains and room is needed to dry cloth items, shoes and such. I actually have a couple of different tents. One small Eureka and another I can't think of the name, but great for 2 maybe 3 people and can even stand in it. I don't know if I'll ever use them again, but they don't eat anything or take up much space.... I haven't used them, because once you have an RV or camper, (caravan) it's hard to go back to tents. As for food and cooking, that is based on your ability to keep raw food cold. I tend to prefer to eat at the fair. No cleanup to worry about. Though the ability to heat water for tea, coffee, porridge (or similar) and such is priceless. I recommend a coffee percolator. The most important thing is to bring a good friend when you can. If you can't bring one, meet one. Can't meet one, make some new ones. |
|
|
|
Post by calndel on Aug 5, 2016 22:54:35 GMT
our tunnel tent is over 10 years old and takes us around and hour to put up! and then an hour to put on the lights on ;o)
it was made by Gelert and was end of line stock when we bought it
we have thought about getting new one but we kind of like it even thought it has it faults
|
|
|
|
Post by calndel on Aug 5, 2016 22:55:39 GMT
we also tried some new biofuel in our trangia this year and it work a treat and was far better that meths
|
|
) and managed to find an off-brand one for £15 on ebay. I can't attest to its quality yet as it literally arrived today but I'll let you know and post a link as soon as I've had a chance to test it, likely Saturday. Not sure if you could sleep on one overnight but a great day seat as they fold up to about the size and weight of the Saturday Guardian. And come with their own bag, also like the Saturday Guardian. 
