New tent needed - help wanted
Submitted: Thursday, Sep 29, 2016 at 15:30
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neil p5
Hey guys, Our family of 5 need a new tent. Our Oztrail fast frame lasted one night in the strong wind and our black wolf turbo is too big for the boot.
What we want:
* a tent that sleeps 5 ( i realise in reality we will need a 9 person or greater) with an area to store stuff as
well
* a wet area section eg the black wolf has a pathetic awning that doesn't allow for bad weather
* ideally about 4m X 3m or larger
* we are going for 3 months camping so price is lower down on priority as opposed to quality, functionality, easy of packing away/setting up and a smaller pack up size than the black wolf turbo 240
* not sure about canvas or nylon - you hear different things
* we have seen a Roman Explorer 9 Extended Dome Tent that seems to fit the bill but not sure about this brand or quality - like the geodesic design though
any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated.
thanks, neil
Reply By: Les - PK Ranger - Thursday, Sep 29, 2016 at 15:51
Thursday, Sep 29, 2016 at 15:51
Minefield you've entered Neil :)
Personally feel there is no perfect tent, there is always a compromise to be had.
An extended tourer would be my
pic, or better, get several 3 second Malamoo type tents, 2, 3, 4 man available.
This might not be practical with weather issues over 3 months, or if there are numerous very little children tha need to go in with mum and dad.
I'd say the only answer for your post points above is a multi roomed dome type tent.
The big drawbacks here are weight (though not much more than say an Oztrail), and the biggy, they take so long to put up and pack up.
AnswerID:
604746
Reply By: Baz - The Landy - Friday, Sep 30, 2016 at 08:57
Friday, Sep 30, 2016 at 08:57
Take a look at the
Southern Cross range of canvas tents, we’ve had one for 15 years and still serves us
well when we use it.
Mind you, they won't come cheap, but you get quality for your money...
What caught my attention was your requirement to have something that fits 5 people, and importantly will withstand strong winds. We have had our
Southern Cross up in atrocious weather and high winds and never once did it feel like it would fail us…
You might like to take a look at this one.

Southern Cross
Good luck with your deliberations,
Baz – The Landy
AnswerID:
604763
Reply By: wendys - Friday, Sep 30, 2016 at 20:22
Friday, Sep 30, 2016 at 20:22
We had a tent made by the Australian Canvas Company, in Bayswater,
Melbourne. The company owner had originally been a tent repairer, then he designed his own tents that eliminated most (if not all) of the faults he had to repair.
Ours was a rectangle, about 5mx3m and
well high enough to stand up in. We loved its ease of putting up - 6 side poles all the same length and 3 ridge poles all the same. Plus a couple of veranda poles. We bought with it, two side flaps or extensions that zipped onto the sides of the veranda and shaded or extended the outside area. It had side and back windows - straight zips, no wicking of rain inside! Big front door and flyscreen - again straight zips. The flap at bottom of front door had velcro fasteners at the side so it wouldn't tear when tripped over. Was tropical canvas, heavy duty floor. We loved it and used it extensively over some 12 years.
It was not cheap, but we were so happy with the product that when we wanted a smaller tent to put up just for quick overnight stops, we bought their dome tent.
Both tents were packed in an envelope shaped bag which made fitting them back in quite easy.
AnswerID:
604786
Reply By: Member - Emma76 - Tuesday, Oct 04, 2016 at 23:57
Tuesday, Oct 04, 2016 at 23:57
Hi,
I'm a new member and I don't know if this is allowed on this
forum, but I am selling an enormous tent on ebay at the moment, it's brand new in box, so I can't comment on how easy it would be to set up.
It's called Large Family Tent Oxygen 10 man, if you search ebay. It's a geodesic design. I bought it for a trip to the
Flinders Ranges with a friend of
mine who uses a wheel chair and her Aunty, so we wanted the three "bedrooms" as
well as the large central area to store the scooter, wheelchair and all our other crap. It has 3 double bedrooms as
well as the large central area, like I say I don't know if it's quick to set up, but many hands make light work and if you need a tent this size you must have many hands!!
It's a tent-mahal!
On another note, my partner and I just bought the new Speedy Earth Tent, it's canvas and is almost 3 x 3m, it comes with a large awning and folds up smaller than a 30 sec tent, so fits in our dual cab canopy. We have had it up a couple of times and it is quick and simple. Taking it on it's first trip next week.
Good luck with the tent hunt!
AnswerID:
604905