 I purchased the Argos Tent last year.It has some minor niggles but overall you won't get a better tent for the money anywhere else.The one on E Bay for the Buy it now price of £24.99 looks like the original.The new Pro Action 1 tent in this years Argos catalogue is more of a kids play tent only suitable for the back garden.You would only get away with using it in the mountains in really exceptional good weather. Notice that the seller on E Bay has 4 available and you certainly can't accuse him of being greedy with his asking price.I have seen them sell on E Bay from £30 to £51.
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 One drawback of the PA 1 is it's not fire retardant..
Fire ! Fire,...
Hey dumbasss, you said retarded!
heheheheheheheh....
I am cornholio..
i'll take me pills now/
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2008 - The original ones are back on sale, currently at £33 and I bought one. They are some sort of a MSR copy. The build is good but I have reinforced the top two hooks connecting the inner to the poles as they looked worringly stretched. It is waterproof and fairly good in wind- better than a standard tunnel tent. The poles are of a staggeringly good quality! I have got it down to 1.85 kgs by replacing the pegs and ditching the heavy bag. The problem with the inner is that it is partially mesh - not good for a cold windy night, although hell: for £33 I've got a lightweight tent that fits inside my bike panniers, works very well and has plenty or room. I feel quite a smug little sod!
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Please say where they can be bought for £33?
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 ONE ON EBAY NOW It is someone off the forum selling it... I cant remember who
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 al anon, I assume it's this on the Argos website. As opposed to last years Sydney...
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| Edited: 18/06/08 19:24 |
 > Please say where they can be bought for £33? Argos, I believe. Here
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I bought one a couple of years ago when they were being sold for £15. Used it for the first time a few weeks ago in winds of about 30-35mph gusting in all direstions round a barn I was pitched next to. The tent stood up to it incredibly well, considering the price. Resisted several nights of rain as well. The only bad point was the groundsheet which allowed water to seep through. As this was just the damp from the grass it wasn't a major problem but if the gound had been wetter then I think it would have been a serious leak. I am now deciding whether to buy some material and replace the groundsheet or make a standalone groundsheet and stop using the inner (which cut the overall weight by quite a bit). I could use a footprint but obviously that would push the weight up. Overall though it was incrediably good value. To buy the pegs alone would cost £8-10!
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 Bailout It might have been condensation on the groundsheet inner - I wouldn't start butchering it until you're sure the groundsheet is leaking.
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I actually have one of the original ones for sale. If anyone would like to make me offer - otherwise it will go on ebay in the next week or so... It's had minimal use - probably a total of 8 nights use. Will be checking it all over tonight. If the pegs are dodgey, I will replace with the same amount as there should be of Alpkit pegs, free of charge.
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 £35? for a Semi-geodesic? I had to have one...... Initial review here
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Nice one... With snow valances too (do they come off?). Must be a copy of someone's mountain tent, then? MHW, perhaps?
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Petie, I am pretty certain it was coming through from underneath. It never forrmed puddles but objects left on the groundsheet became damp underneath and had a strong 'moldy' grass smell. I was pitched on long grass for a week and I can only think it was water vapour given off by the grass that was passing through the groundsheet? If it had been condensation from inside then I don't see why it would have the strong grassy smell? The material looks quite heavyweight but has virtually no visible coating. I don't know whether it was a bad batch as other reports seem to speak pretty highly of the groundsheet. The construction would lend itself to simply undoing the seams and sewing a new groundsheet in but I know these projects tend to take more time than I first estimate.
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I was worried that the groundsheet on a new tent I'd just bought was leaking after my first night camping in it, but it turned out it was condensation. Simple test to check if its leaking - put some water in bath, place heavy objects eg tins of beans inside tent inner and dangle tent over bath so that just the groundsheet is submerged. Check after a while if water is seeping through groundsheet. Should be obvious.
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I might test it, as you say. I can remember where the objects were that got damp (one was my fleece when used as pillow) so I should only need to test part of it.
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 So that's actually what they mean by a 'bathtub floor' then is it! By eck! 
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Tested the groundsheet by weighting down part of it in a bowl of water and there was seepage. I can only assume that it was made with a dodgy batch of material. Now I have to decide whether to replace it or just accept the extra weight of a footprint. The seams mean it should be easy to replace but I just find these jobs tend to take much longer than I think.
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