Considering buying a Coleman Northstar 8 Tent

Jen if you're planning on spending around $900 do investigate getting a canvas centre pole style tent. At that price you can get about 13 X9. They are MUCH easier and quicker to put up than domes and will stand up to bad weather - srong winds and rain, much better. After all it's only the bad weather you really need a good tent for - you could camp under sheets in good weather - and the problem is you never know when it's going to be needed. The style I'm referring to is based on the 9X9 centre pole and has an additional ridge pole for an extended section making the floor section about 13X9. Have a look at Southern Cross and Freedom's sites. Good luck!

We purchased a Sportiva Odyssey 6. It's a twin geodesic dome, with each of the 2 rooms being 3mx3m. We are a family of 4 and we use one room as a bedroom (with 4 twin size air mattresses, 3 across and 1 along), and the other as a sitting/eating/sunroom. It is fine for stays of a few days or upto a couple of weeks. Set up time is about 20-30minutes and is a two person operation (someone has to lift the dome inner, while the poles are inserted into their pins). We have experienced heavy NSW north coast summer rains a number of times with it and nothing ever got in. The fly dries quickly for packing. We have also experienced high wind with it, things looked a bit scary for a while but it didn't take off on us. There are 14 points on the fly for guy ropes and 14 peg down points around the base of the tent, though I suggest you get longer pegs and proper guy ropes rather than use the stuff supplied with the tent. Heaps of windows, doors and vents to let the air in when you want, a tubbed PE floor for both rooms, all fits into one bag and weighs about 24kg. Keep in mind that is not as tough as a canvas tent. If you accept that, then it's good value. I've seen some places selling it for $880 but I got mine for $600 12 months ago as part of a deal with a stack of other gear from Budget Camping at Minchinbury. To have a look at the tent, go to www.oztrail.com.au.Check out places like www.discountcamping.com.au or www.budgetcamping.com.au for the best deal.

I have just returned from the Simpson. Five families. Three had a Northstar 8. Bloody good tents! Much easier to erect and dismantle than it looks. We pitched and broke camp every day for ten days and once you get the hang of it, it's a breeze. I was very impressed.

We were travelling with a Tanami Tourer. Also great, and very strong. But not really big enough for a family of 5.

Happy camping!

Well, there was no rain in the Simpson, understandably. It was utterly and totally dry! However, it did get windy and the Northstars stood up really well. We went camping near Lithgow with the Northstars in June and it rained the whole wekend. There was no water ingress at all in the Northstars, albeit the Tanami got quite seriously flooded.