The camping essentials - I've found a bargain which you all need to know about thread...

[coma girl]

Well worth waiting and getting one with a decent porch area. Do you have any camping shops near you? My last couple of tents were all bought in the January sales from a camping shop, got them less than half price.

[zico martin]

Well worth waiting and getting one with a decent porch area. Do you have any camping shops near you? My last couple of tents were all bought in the January sales from a camping shop, got them less than half price.

Yeah I'm starting to think that's the best option but I can't help bidding on eBay for something which looks suitable. It's just me and mrs Martin going but even the 4 man tents don't really seem to have as much porch space as I'd like. But then that's possibly due to me looking at the sub £50 ones all the time!

For a built in groundsheet and double skin am I being unrealistic?

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Yeah I'm starting to think that's the best option but I can't help bidding on eBay for something which looks suitable. It's just me and mrs Martin going but even the 4 man tents don't really seem to have as much porch space as I'd like. But then that's possibly due to me looking at the sub £50 ones all the time!

For a built in groundsheet and double skin am I being unrealistic?

I think this is double skinned and there's £66 off, bringing it within your price range. There's a porch too;

http://www.sportsdirect.com/gelert-tornado-4-tent-789110

[FloorFiller]

I think this is double skinned and there's £66 off, bringing it within your price range. There's a porch too;

http://www.sportsdirect.com/gelert-tornado-4-tent-789110

nice one for this! been looking for a cheap as fuck tent and this may just be the one!

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

nice one for this! been looking for a cheap as fuck tent and this may just be the one!

Happy to have helped.

[zico martin]

Jury still out on this one, great price but not sure if it's gonna be big enough for us two. Tempted to buy it and try it out though...

[dondo]

If anyone spots any good trolley bargains let me know- I'm after the ones that are garden carts- 4 wheeled kind that can be used for lugging stuff around but also double as kid transportation

One like this

Edited January 27, 2014 by dondo

[rischbrit]

If anyone spots any good trolleys let me know- I'm after the ones that are garden carts- 4 wheeled kind that can be used for lugging stuff around but also double as kid transportation

]

Web site called toy planet today have some in. Were £99 now £53. Sides fold down and comes with liner too

[UEF]

If anyone spots any good trolley bargains let me know- I'm after the ones that are garden carts- 4 wheeled kind that can be used for lugging stuff around but also double as kid transportation

One like this

They're all over eBay for £50-£70

[zico martin]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gelert-Lunar-4-Man-Family-Tent-NEW-FAST-DISPATCH-/370994809532?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_HikingCamping_Tents_JN&hash=item5661038abc

Latest front runner in my search for a tent? Is it any better than the sports direct one though as it appears a little flimsy!

[snoopyhill]

If anyone spots any good trolley bargains let me know- I'm after the ones that are garden carts- 4 wheeled kind that can be used for lugging stuff around but also double as kid transportation

One like this

Robert Dyas great price at the moment £39.99 free delivery if you spend £40

http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/heavy-duty-garden-cart

[FloorFiller]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gelert-Lunar-4-Man-Family-Tent-NEW-FAST-DISPATCH-/370994809532?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_HikingCamping_Tents_JN&hash=item5661038abc

Latest front runner in my search for a tent? Is it any better than the sports direct one though as it appears a little flimsy!

is that not the exact same one you posted yesterday?

not the biggest expert on tents, but they're both made my Gelert (so space-wise i imagine are very similar) but the sports direct one has better waterproofing / hydrostatic head and is almost a tenner cheaper

[mikeb]

Well ... my shiny new every-little-helps tent got a rather spectacular blustery monsoon stylee soaking yesterday (as did I putting the stupid thing up needless to say !) but checking it out today suggests >99% tent <1% covered paddling pool Having to pitch inner first meant it got pretty d@mn wet inside to start with but having mopped that up, there was no significant sign of any water ingress afterwards despite several hours of seriously p!$$ing rain. There's just a few water stain marks now on the inner that's all. I reckon that counts as a result

As expected, it's pretty small inside, ideal for 1 but you'd have to be *very* friendly and not have much in the way of any gear if you were sharing. It's definitely surprising well made for an el-cheapo tent and I can't see anything much to complain about. The material is quite thin and the zips far from heavy duty of course so it will need a reasonable amount of care. A bit of wax to help the zips move better and avoid potential strain would be a good idea. It even came with more than sufficient pegs which is an unusual bonus ! Without any doubt, well worth a lot more than the almost embarrassing £11 I paid for it. Whilst I rather suspect most of them bought will be going on a one-way trip to some festival or other I reckon they're easily good for several years of occasional use if looked after reasonably well.

The only downside I can see is the one that affects virtually every dome/tunnel stylee tent that I've ever seen: insufficient clearance between the inner tent and the flysheet. That and the general hassle factor if pitching it solo is the primary reason I've always really disliked dome/tunnel tents. Ye Olde Tent being a 'proper' tent-shaped jobbie can be pitched to give at least 6" clearance if needs be and either outer or inner first as required so is to all intents and purposes guaranteed 100% waterproof no matter what even after >35 years of regular use and abuse. No dome/tunnel tent is ever going to come close to replacing it but this one will be just fine for what I need it for and it cost me next to nothing into the bargain. Wet 'n' windy in a dome stylee tent (and this one in particular) is always likely to present problems with the inner getting somewhat damp. I have a cunning plan to help fix that potential issue mind you

If I had to buy a dome stylee tent for serious regular use then I think I'd definitely be going for outer first pitch type i.e. poles on the outside with the inner suspended from the outer. Much better for pitching in the wet plus greater and better controlled clearance so less chance of water wicking through to the inner. Other than that, the usual "buy the best you can afford and look after it properly" is by far the best advice. I think 1500 HH is the absolute minimum required for any tent to be called a tent and more is most definitely better. Having said that, reproofing a flysheet is dead easy if necessary and even the cheapest/nastiest tent is most likely to be good for at least a few years use. There's never any good excuse for buying the cheapest you can find and then leaving the bl**dy thing behind

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gelert-Lunar-4-Man-Family-Tent-NEW-FAST-DISPATCH-/370994809532?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_HikingCamping_Tents_JN&hash=item5661038abc

Latest front runner in my search for a tent? Is it any better than the sports direct one though as it appears a little flimsy!

That's the big brother of the one I bought so presumably much the same ... except a tad larger ! Too much money though I reckon. Could have picked one up for less than half of that when I bought the smaller one and I'm fairly sure they're still available for less elsewhere. It's a very old stock item (2012 or thereabouts vintage) originally listed by Gelert at £60 so I'd be reluctant to pay more than £30. Looking at the specs published by Gelert, I think the Sports Direct one (Gelert Tornado4) would probably be better and it's outer first pitching as well. Both tents seem to be made from much the same materials and are more than likely much the same quality etc. I guess I suspect the inner of the Tornado4 would be less likely to get as damp as the Lunar4 if it's wet 'n' windy, the porch area looks bigger and Gelert shows it with a side door as well which is always useful.

Edited January 27, 2014 by mikeb

[dondo]

Cheers folks for the trolley tips

[rischbrit]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gelert-Lunar-4-Man-Family-Tent-NEW-FAST-DISPATCH-/370994809532?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_HikingCamping_Tents_JN&hash=item5661038abc

Latest front runner in my search for a tent? Is it any better than the sports direct one though as it appears a little flimsy!

If you have a go outdoors near you I recommend going there for tents. They have them all out up on display so you can see them in the flesh so to speak and can try them out for size. I'm quite tall so found it useful to lie down in them to see if comfortable etc. ok I looked a bit daft but you get a better feel for them this way instead of a picture on ebay (plus they have sale on)

[zico martin]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151219387720?ssPageName=STRK:MEBOFFX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1427.l2649

I'm a twat this is the tent I was supposed to link to.

Yeah we should have a look in go outdoors to try some out, in the meantime I've been looking for a bargain as I'm a bit tight.

[FloorFiller]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151219387720?ssPageName=STRK:MEBOFFX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1427.l2649

I'm a twat this is the tent I was supposed to link to.

Yeah we should have a look in go outdoors to try some out, in the meantime I've been looking for a bargain as I'm a bit tight.

i remember reading somewhere (maybe on this forum) that you shouldn't get a hydrostatic head below 1500, and this one is only 1400, so might be a bit of a risk waterproof-wise

[zico martin]

Yeah that does make sense I'll have to discount it then

£40 though

Not worth the risk though, it does look a bit flimsy as we'll and I have read a comments talking about the zip breaking easily

NFR NFC anyway

[Cornish Spur]

People looking for trolleys, how about this one I found on e bay?

http:///P27FpZ I am travelling on the coach so don't think I will be able to take a trolley on the coach

[zico martin]

People looking for trolleys, how about this one I found on e bay?

http:///P27FpZ I am travelling on the coach so don't think I will be able to take a trolley on the coach

yeah that looks like the type of trolley i'm gonna borrow from someone through work (as long as i keep in that supplier's good books)!

hopefully with the use of loads of bungee cord grips i should get most of my stuff on one of them ( barring the rucksacks on mine and the missus' backs!)

[mikeb]

Hmmmmmm ... it's been kinda niggling me a bit as to why that Gelert tent from Sports Direct was so d@mn cheap despite it being an old and obsolete design but clearly not being old stock because it was a pre-order deal. A quicky li'l bit of digging around apparently provides the answer: When Gelert got into trouble again last year the Receivers were called in and they were subsequently bought by Sports Direct ! That kinda explains why some ancient and very obsolete model stock is being cleared at silly prices I guess if nothing else. But it might perhaps also explain why Sports Direct are apparently offering new manufacture 'old' stock at relatively silly prices as well unfortunately.

So it seems as though Gelert has joined the likes Karrimor in no longer being a reputable UK independent Company but is now to all intents and purposes just another 'brand' owned by Sports Direct. What this basically meant in terms of Karrimor is that the products today are just badged el-cheapo imports rather than being the well designed and made product of what was once a very reputable Company, whether they be imported or otherwise. There is absolutely no comparison between the quality Karrimor products of years gone by and the Karrimor branded goods from Sports Direct, it's now just a name on one of the various similar el-cheapo imports available from lots of places. The problem being that I would therefore kinda suspect Gelert is perhaps likely to be heading in much the same direction unfortunately Although Gelert were always importers of course, I would expect to be seeing very similar but somewhat cheaper products not so well made or supported but ultimately being marketed and sold on the previous good name and reputation of the original Gelert Company.

May well be completely wrong and all that and I don't have too much experience of Gelert stuff anyway TBH (although it always looked quite reasonable to me and I thought it had a pretty good reputation in general given the price tag) but I certainly wouldn't be relying on their past reputation any more I'm afraid. I realise that Karrimor and Gelert were two very different companies but I would still suggest that it's definitely worth keeping a close eye on quality before parting with do$h now rather than just thinking Gelert stuff has always been reasonably good so it must be OK.

[FloorFiller]

i've been umming and ahhing over buying that sportsdirect tent (for the reasons above - there must be a reason why it's going so cheap) but i've read online reviews etc and it all seems to check out so i think i'm gonna go for it

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

In terms of Glastonbury it's going to be lovely and warm anyway, so the need to be waterproof will be irrelevant.

NFR NFC

[UEF]

Robert Dyas great price at the moment £39.99 free delivery if you spend £40

http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/heavy-duty-garden-cart

I'd take their "easy to assemble" with a pinch of salt - if it's anything like the identical trollies on eBay you'll find it easier with 2 people, a bit of swearing and dropping of nuts. Gives you something to do for 30 mins though.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

and dropping of nuts.