'Cinch' new tent

[Wow-wys-buzzing]

Getting a new tent for the summer, festivals and some wild camping. Has anyone used 'Cinch!' tents before, looks very incredible http://www.cinchpopuptents.co.uk . But any recommendations  and I am not a fan of getting a poor tent and leaving it, going for quality.

[cdm22]

Unless I am going blind, I can't find any mention of how waterproof they are.

[tjamest]

Don't know anything about Cinch, but if it's a pop up you are after I've used a 3man Quechua since Reading 2008 and it still works well although it does sometimes need a bit of help 'popping up'

[russycarps]

whats the difference between these and the pop-ups you can get for a fraction of the price?

 

[Keithy]

boooo to pop up tents!

Pitching your tent, faffing around with getting it taut, etc, is all part of Glastonbury for me. The moment you stand back with a beer and look at your pitched tent, marking your arrival is great. Pop up tents are too easy.

[mr gumby]

32 minutes ago, tjamest said:

Don't know anything about Cinch, but if it's a pop up you are after I've used a 3man Quechua since Reading 2008 and it still works well although it does sometimes need a bit of help 'popping up'

Happens to the best of us as we get older  

[tjamest]

7 minutes ago, Keithy said:

boooo to pop up tents!

Pitching your tent, faffing around with getting it taut, etc, is all part of Glastonbury for me. The moment you stand back with a beer and look at your pitched tent, marking your arrival is great. Pop up tents are too easy.

But not always so easy to take down and cram it in it's bag

[hfuhruhurr]

Not heard of them, and as said, expensive for a pop-up.

I've got me:
http://www.blacks.co.uk/equipment/156998-vango-sierra-300-3-man-tent-orange.html
does the porch thing that the cinch does, isn't pop-up, but is half the price.

[hfuhruhurr]

Also, on the pop-up thing, I reckon you look at your entire time with a tent: carrying it, putting it up, using it, putting it down. For me, the pop-up only wins on popping up - 30seconds v. 10 minutes. The rest the conventional wins - and I spend more of time carrying the thing and in it than putting it up. So, for me popping up is bogus, so to say....

[grumpyhack]

Saving ten minutes putting it up is nothing compared to the hours and days and nights you are going to spend it it.  So the critical things for me in any tent are how waterproof it is - measured usually in HH (Hydrostatic Head - Google it) and how much space you've got for a communal area.

Tiny tents that are just big enough to sleep in are fine till your group all wants to sit around and chat.  So I reckon a decent central area, big enough to stand up in and for a group to sit around in can add significantly to the social side.

[6t6o6m]

Purchased my Glastonbury today, always gone to festivals with mates so stuck to pop ups, decided I need something a bit more now that I'm going with the missus. I also agree with the above, an indoor area improves socialising in the rain.

http://m.millets.co.uk/tents-camping/028281-outwell-dusk-5-tent.html

Edited January 27, 2016 by 6t6o6m

[stuartbert two hats]

I don't mind putting a tent up, but taking one down after 5 days of debauchery and little sleep is hell. Pop up tents only make that harder.

Fuck pop up tents, they optimise for the part that's fine.

[incident]

2 hours ago, grumpyhack said:

how waterproof it is - measured usually in HH (Hydrostatic Head - Google it)

No no no.. As has been pointed out by myself and plenty others so many times.. The HH rating is largely useless as an indication of how waterproof a tent is likely to be.

The design of the tent (does it allow standing water to form), how well made it is (does it fit the frame, are the seams taped), and how well it's put up are all far bigger factors than any HH rating.

The only thing a HH rating can ever tell you is how much standing water the flysheet can take before it starts seeping through. But even that only applies if the material is taut and unblemished - hence the factors above. From what I've seen, most cheap tents, even ones with "low" (~1,500) HH ratings, are more likely to leak at the seams than through the flysheet.

 

2 hours ago, stuartbert two hats said:

I don't mind putting a tent up, but taking one down after 5 days of debauchery and little sleep is hell. Pop up tents only make that harder.

That's definitely true for some models, especially older ones, but it's not even close for the current Decathlon / Quechua range - they've pretty much nailed it now, so once you unpeg it you can have it ready to put in a bag about 20 seconds later. There's no complicated folding needed and I'd say it's now miles easier than any traditional tent style.

[Amy Lawn]

2 hours ago, stuartbert two hats said:

I don't mind putting a tent up, but taking one down after 5 days of debauchery and little sleep is hell. Pop up tents only make that harder.

Fuck pop up tents, they optimise for the part that's fine.

I've got a Quechua tent that has slept 8 comfortably on one occasion, it's something of a palace. Goes down easier than your mum does it goes up

[stuartbert two hats]

7 minutes ago, incident said:

That's definitely true for some models, especially older ones, but it's not even close for the current Decathlon / Quechua range - they've pretty much nailed it now, so once you unpeg it you can have it ready to put in a bag about 20 seconds later. There's no complicated folding needed and I'd say it's now miles easier than any traditional tent style.

 

3 minutes ago, GETOFFAMYLAWN said:

I've got a Quechua tent that has slept 8 comfortably on one occasion, it's something of a palace. Goes down easier than your mum does it goes up

I am really really intrigued by this information.  A trip to Decathlon is due.  Thanks both.

Edited January 27, 2016 by stuartbert two hats

[Amy Lawn]

Mine's this one. Sadly no longer available in shops, I got it nearly new off gumtree for a steal.
 

 

[incident]

4 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

 

I am really really intrigued by this information.  A trip to Decathlon is due.  Thanks both.

Check out this video - He starts taking the tent down at about 1:30 - it takes him about 90 seconds and he could probably cut that in half if he tried.

I'd hold off with the trip for a couple months - they've got bugger all selection on their web site at the moment, and last time I went in they didn't have much in store either.. From memory they usually tend to start pushing the tents after Easter so I'm waiting until then. Still haven't decided if I need a new tent or not.

[somecoolusername]

I have to echo the above praise of Decathlon's pop up tents. I've used mine at some very wet festivals and it's never let a drop in. 

[stuartbert two hats]

18 minutes ago, incident said:

Check out this video - He starts taking the tent down at about 1:30 - it takes him about 90 seconds and he could probably cut that in half if he tried.

I'd hold off with the trip for a couple months - they've got bugger all selection on their web site at the moment, and last time I went in they didn't have much in store either.. From memory they usually tend to start pushing the tents after Easter so I'm waiting until then. Still haven't decided if I need a new tent or not.

Crikey, it's the drawstring that's the new innovation since I last tried them.  Are they double skinned these days too?  The last pop-up tent I stayed in was single skinned and condensation hell. 

[FrankieX]

Personally I've never found getting popup tents down a difficult task, and it's always certainly been quicker than doing the same with a regular 2/3 pole tent. My tent is a 6 year old 3 Man Quechua popup tent.

Regarding the Cinch popup, personally I'd avoid it. The only real differentiation in design it has from similar popups like Decathlon's Quechua 2 Seconds XL Air tents is that it has two doors with small porches instead of one. Certainly that would mean on hot days you could open both doors and get a very pleasant cooling wind blowing through your tent, so that would be an advantage. On the other hand, a 3 man Quechua 2 Second XL Air costs £80 (although this is out of stock right now online) whilst a 3 man Cinch costs £170. As has been said in this thread already, there's not a lot of information on the Cinch website about the tent compared to what's normally on a tent manufacurer's site. Finally, there's obviously a lot of people on this forum who have bought Quechua tents and would recommend them as quality products whilst there just isn't a massive number of Cinch owners.

If you were looking for a reason to buy the Cinch tent, it appears to be a British company (as opposed to Decathlon which I think is French). I'd assume both are made in China, but if you're willing to pay more than double for something designed by a British company then I guess the Cinch fits the bill.

[incident]

I believe that all of the Decathlon / Quechua range is double skinned.. Certainly all the ones I've seen. Other manufacturers may vary but admittedly there is some cheap and nasty shit out there, and I think that's why sometimes people have a bad perception of pop-up tents. But the Decathlon stuff is quality.

Some of the Decathlon models have (admittedly small) porches as well (including the one I use) and I'd definitely suggest that as being an essential feature.

[stuwilky]

1 hour ago, GETOFFAMYLAWN said:

Mine's this one. Sadly no longer available in shops, I got it nearly new off gumtree for a steal.
 

 

We have this tent also.  Its getting used less and less now we have a mini caravan (a ridiculous caravan I might add!) 

 

I bloody love that tent!

[alanr]

Checked out their web page, love the levitation feature

[sloseph]

these clinch look alright but I don't think they're worth the money they want, LED lighting and solar charging sounds ace until you remember you can get a lantern for £5 and a usb power bank for £20

personally if your in the market for a popup Quechua/decathlon is the way to go, I got the 3 man air for last years glasto and it's fantastic, quick to put up and take back down, there's an easy colour coded system of pulleys and clips to pack it away

they're all double skinned and well designed so you'll keep nice and dry

the thing I love about them is they seem to be the only tent company that realises people take things with them when they camp, all the tents are very roomy for their size

[wwinstanley]

2 hours ago, alanr said:

Checked out their web page, love the levitation feature

Presumably they have this wrong and the tent does not levitate during the afternoon sets at the pyramid but rather at 5am when you get back from Shangri-La?