I am going to camp for the first time with my young children this year. I have camped a lot in the past, always uning a Vaude two man tent which was superb. My concern is with choosing a good family tent that will be able to stand up to some bad weather should we get caught (I am not intending to camp in bad weather, but you never know!). So does anybody have any good recommendations? I am considering the VauDe Badawi Long and would like to hear from somebody who has lived with this tent. Many Thanks.

FWIW, my latest in a long line of family tents is a Khyam Tourer 400. Goes up quicky, and they have a reputation for being fairly bullet proof. Loads of room inside, and I like the "vis a vis" layout: inners at each end with living space between them. My only real criticism is that it's a bit dark and gloomy inside.

Folks around here tend to be more into lightweight camping / backpacking. I'm sure you'll get more replies presently, but you might be better asking this question on this site, which is much more into family camping: www.ukcampsite.co.uk, You'll find a forum solely dedicated to tent recommendations!

Thanks for the advice,much appreciated

David, I take it it's you who started the thread on ukcampsite.co.uk - Family Tents _ advice needed, and you say "I like the sound of the Vango being good in bad weather."

I bought a Vango 4 berth a few weeks ago as I didn't trust my 2 year old in my Hilleberg. I bought Vango because of the name.

Wanting a good nights sleep I slept in my Akto whilst Mum and Son slept in the Vango. I woke at 1:30am because the Akto was rattling, and realised that there was nothing for it but to go out and adjust the guylines. When I got out it was to find the Vango bowing down, almost to collapse in the wind, and several other Vango's nearby doing likewise or worse. What was enough to rattle the Akto was causing havoc in Vangoville with pyjama clad men struggling in the wind.

When we took it down next morning I found one pole had split, and one end ferrule had gone.

This was a hoop style tent, I shan't get another like that or another Vango. I'm actually a bit puzzled as to what I should get as that wasn't the good nights sleep I'd planned, and I don't want a repeat.

John

what type of vango is it?...as i have the vango equinox 450 and it's superb in the wind....infact we were hit by a really bad storm in it and all it suffered was a slightly bent pole. when we got out in the morning the campsite we were staying at was complete devestation.....only a few tents survived, ours being one of them...most people in the night had got out of there tents and taken shelter in their cars. I thoroughly recommend the Equinox series

Interesting! It is good to hear so many aopinions, good and bad. I will try to find a showroom with them erected. It is very hard to judge a tent withou seeing or using it in the flesh. Thanks for the advice. I would still like to hear from somebody with the Vaude though.

"what type of vango is it?"

A Gamma 450. I guess you get what you pay for, I paid the same as shown on that web page, and I see the Equinox 450 is several times that.

I recently got this Vango Venture 500 and it a) cheap b) massive c) easy to erect (with the aid of some om friends mind you) d) pretty robust.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/5023518584836

My concern is with choosing a good family tent that will be able to stand up to some bad weather should we get caught (I am not intending to camp in bad weather, but you never know!)

Read the specifications. The Vango Gamma mentioned above which failed in wind is described as "2-season low-level".
Anything 3-4 or 4-season will stand up to the sort of weather you describe although not much would survive catastrophic storms. We had a Vango 4-season Equinox for years and it survived many storms and was replaced by another, updated model when a mouse ravaged it in the garage. It also depends on how you pitch it in relation to the wind.

"The Vango Gamma mentioned above which failed in wind is described as "2-season low-level"."

I assumed May was included in 2 season. Perhaps it isn't. We were at sea level. Other Vango's (and other makes) were having a bad time, but I don't know what models they were, or what season rating. I'll certainly pay more for a decent model if the recommendations keep coming in. But it seems to me that tents don't scale up very well, and whilst a small tent of a certain design might work well, a bigger tent of similar design is just not as stable. I'll hestitate to buy anything bigger than necessary (3 person). I've been considering buying a 3 person backpacking tent instead of a family tent - probably more stable and much easier/quicker to pitch/take down. There's something rather depressing about owning a family tent too, I feel it's the start of a slippery slope that leads to visits to CenterParcs and other themed entertainment.

"It also depends on how you pitch it in relation to the wind."

The trouble with large family tents and all the clobber that goes with them is that you're hardly likely to repitch the tent if a strong wind comes in from a new direction, it's just to much hassle.

John

Aye, John, but 2-season refers to weather expected rather than a strict monthly range. the weather you encountered wasn't what you thought would be seasonal May weather, yeah?

Some tents scale up very well but only if the structure is appropriately strengthened. See this http://www.gearworld.com/backpacking/Tents/Gear/394.html

Generally speaking, "Family tents" are designed to be not very wind-friendly.

When I spoke about pitching into the wind, I meant the prevailing wind. No-one is going to re-pitch any tent each time the wind changes
;o)

Having said (above) that I wouldn't buy another Vango or large tunnel tent, I've now ordered a Vango Equinox 350. This follows Burwa, Ninja's and other's recommendations. £156 at Gear-zone.

I have greater confidence in this tent already, but it's good to have someone to blame if it does blow down :-)

John

I don't think season ratings are that helpful for tents. You can get howling winds in a summer storm and cold dry still conditions in winter. I would prefer to see tents rated by, say, Beaufort scale survivability!

Anyway, on the family tent front it all depends on budget and what you need it for. If it's car camping, you don't care too much about the weight and could get a strong A-frame for example. If on the other hand you hope to be able to carry the tent on hikes and pitch up with the family, it is worth investing in something made for tougher conditions.

I don't have any personal experience with this kind of camping so can't comment on specific tents - sorry