No-one wants to start a camping trip with an argument over the best way to pitch the tent. What you need is a tent that’s easy to put up.
So, which are the fastest to pitch?
We’ve taken a close look at what’s available in quick-to-pitch tents – inflatable tents, pop-up tents, quick-erect pole tents and even bell-tents and tipis.
Here’s our easy guide for tent buyers.
10T Outdoor Equipment’s cool-looking tipi hybrid. A central pole makes it easier to pitch.
The best Vango tent for four is the 2020-model Stargrove at around £550 (in our opinion!).
Latest update: October 2020
Quick-erect tents – Coleman, Khyam, Qeedo, Slumit and more
This sort of tent has poles ready attached, which then click into place – sometimes using an umbrella mechanism, sometimes using hinged joints. They’re supremely fast and easy.
Speed and
Coleman Instant tents
Some of our favourite quick-erect tents these days are the Coleman Instants.
The Instant Tourers are up in less than a minute. Plenty of room, and very affordable.
Coleman’s other fast-pitch tents are the Hub tents – light and compact tents without a separate living area (extensions available). Up in seconds and simple to use.
Choose from Hub Drake tents for 2 or 4 people – from £100.
Fast and
Qeedo Quick Up
German company Qeedo make a range of five Quick Up system tents. These are very affordable.
The Pine sleeps three (porch, £70); the Maple sleeps four (£140), the Ash sleeps two (£70), and the Oak (with porch, £120) sleeps three.
Here are the Pine and the Maple – available in a choice of colours. Set up in under 30 seconds too.
They have super-fast-to-erect preattached and hinged poles that lock into place.
The cabin-shaped Qeedo Villa is super-affordable and a great shape for space. It makes a really good awning when the Qeedo campervan awning isn’t available (which is often).
The is the five-person Villa for around £250. The three-person Villa is around £125. Bargain, eh?
The five-person is a big 320 x 320cm but packs to 110 x 27 x 27cm.
You can also get a sleeping cabin that fits inside for around £70.
Great for
Hewolf instant tents
An incredibly cheap ‘umbrella’ style pop-up tent that sleeps three (four snugly!). The Hewolf tent (silly name, eh?) has a feature that we really like, which is that you can use it as a shelter without the inner.
Packs up very small, weighs around 5kg and gives head height inside of around 5′. Best bit? It’s under £95.
Best for
New Hewolf instant tent
The latest model has a great shape for maximising inside space. Same features in that it can be used as a shelter or as a tent. This one costs around £90.
200 x 180 x130cm (H),packs to 75 x 18 x 17cm and weighs just under 3kg.
A option
A Clas Ohlson tent? Well, it’s only £90
The Asaklitt tent is very fast to put up, if not all that sturdy. But it will sleep four at a pinch and weighs only 6.6kg. 240 x 210 x 160cm (H).
A bell tent? A tipi? Really?
A bell tent or tipi can be surprisingly easy to put up because there’s usually just one central pole. The rest of the work is in pegging and guying.
The advantage is the space and headroom. Lots of choice – from heavy, but durable canvas to lightweight polyester – and from less than £200 to thousands.
Some of the we’ve seen are by Robens – not least for the enormous range of shapes and sizes. Even the smallest tipi was roomy. They do some lightweight models with aluminium alloy poles, a whopping air yurt that sleeps eight (and weighs 30kg) and an Outback range of six teepee-style tents in heavier polycotton, sleeping from four to 10 people. Optional inners, porches and flooring.
We also like the Campfeuer range and have included some of theirs below.
Here are some of our favourite tipis, yurts and bell tents.
Justcamp teepees
We love this black beauty of a tipi-tent. And it’s so spacious. It’s designed for up to 10 people, measures 5 x 5m x 3.5m and costs around £160.
It still packs fairly small – to 80 x 24 x 26cm and weighs around 14kg.
Campfeuer Teepee
Way bigger than it looks, this Campfeuer teepee tent costs under £130, but £25 delivery.
It has a sewn-in groundsheet so isn’t quite as versatile as some of the others, but it packs to just 60 x 20cm and opens up to 365 x 365x 250cm. It also weighs under 7kg.
The one we tried needed a bit of tent sealant on the windows, but we didn’t mind doing that given the price.
Campfeuer tipi with porch
Compare the space you get in this, the ease of pitching and the £150 price…you might just be steered away from an inflatable.
There’s a single steel pole, a sewn-in groundsheet and a separate sleeping pod included. Substantial size of 560 x 450 x 300cm, packs to 83 x 30cm and weighs just under 14kg.
A tipi designed for stoves
This lovely little tipi comes ready for your woodburning stove (like the DWD chimney stove).
The OneTigris Iron weighs under 1.5kg, has a 165cm central pole, a separate porch and you can use the inner on its own. Around £150. There’s a superlight version too for around £110.
Robens Cone and Field Tower
The smallest and cheapest in the Robens tipi range. The Green Cone is simple and weighs under 5.5kg. It sleeps four. 
The Field Tower sleep five and eight. We like the zip-in groundsheets. Sewn-in ones add to the weight and lack versatility. £290 to £520.
There’s a pretty good range of new Robens tents at Outdoor Gear GB too, including the really nice £300 Field Base (£70 cheaper there than on Amazon, but things change so do check!).
TentHome versatile tipi
Though we can’t vouch for its durability, we do love the TentHome’s versatility.
Use the inner or the outer on its own and prop up the big canopy for loads of space. It costs only £170 and gives you 310 x 360 x 240cm of space.
Aluminium poles, bug-mesh and lots of ventilation. Great.
10T Outdoor tipis
Some of the lightest and most affordable tipi-style tents are by 10T Outdoor Equipment.
The Desert tipi is a canvas version with a huge canopy extension. It’s 250cm high at the apex and 400cm diameter. Plus there’s the extra outdoor shelter. Around £350 and weighs 20kg.
Biggest of the lot, and a great blend of modern and traditional is the Navaho 470 teepee/tunnel hybrid tent. A lot of tent for £380 and very striking. 720 x 470 x 350 cm and weighs 22kg.
Cozy House bell-tents
There’s a vast range of affordable and traditional bell tents from Cozy House, with choices of tents between 3m and 6m in diameter, awnings, floors and tarps.
They look lovely, of course, but the cotton canvas makes the larger sizes quite heavy. Having said that, it’s still possible to put one up solo in less than half-an-hour.
Prices range from around £270 to £550.
Quest Bell-Tents
A choice of sizes in these traditional-meets-modern bell-tents. Canvas so a bit heavier than some, but they still promise that one person can pitch them easily (depends on that one person maybe!).
Cotton canvas is breathable, but will take longer to dry out. The zip-in groundsheet is heavy-duty PVC.
The 4m version weighs around 26kg. From £420.
Grand Canyon Indiana
One central pole to pitch and you have a 4m diameter tent with a 2.5m central headheight. Weighs under 10kg and sleeps eight. Around £250.
There’s also a 10-person version for around £320.
Inflatable yurt from Robens
How about an Aeroyurt? An inflatable yurt from Robens with roll-up sides for air and a view. Stunning and so spacious. Around £1300.
Exciting! You can now get Cabanon tents from Olpro
They’re fantastic tents and now they’re available in the UK too. So quick to put up, Cabanon are also some of the best-made tents we’ve come across. No wonder they’re so well-loved.
Made of waterproof, breathable cotton canvas, with big front window, mosquito netting and a single pole. There’ll be seven models in the range soon.
The Cabanon Guadeloupe
The Cabanon Noumea
This is a two-berth, easy-to-pitch pyramid tent. 2.2 x 2.6m and 2m high in the centre. Porch is 0.5m. Around £600.
Inflatable tents
The main difference – apart from overall tent quality – between the inflatable systems used by manufacturers is whether the air ‘beams’ are separate or connected.
Vango, for example, uses three or more separate beams that you inflate independently of each other. In fact, that’s true of most of the bigger family tents. Some, however, have connected tubes with isolation valves – Outwell, for example.
While the Outwell people believe this makes everything faster and easier, the Vango people are convinced separate beams are better because, should there be a problem with a valve or air tube, you only need replace the one section. Outwell counter with the fact that their tubes have isolation valves so that if one fails, the whole tent won’t collapse.
Will it get punctured?
For us, any talk of things going wrong with valves, punctures or leaks is a bit scary. Snap a regular pole while camping in the wilds of Portugal and you can always rig something to keep your tent upright. We weren’t sure how quick and easy it would be to find a leakage problem and fix it on-site, let alone get a replacement part.
This really comes down to confidence in the tent manufacturer, so we would certainly advise against buying an unusually cheap inflatable. And, if the materials or design seem a little low on quality, we would definitely not take the risk that their inflatable system would be trouble-free.
How do they work?
You lay the tent out in position, peg it loosely and inflate the air beams using the two-way pump (supplied by most manufacturers). The beams fill with air and the tent rises magically. You then shut off the valves. To unpitch, you open the valve and the air races out under pressure, though there may still be a bit of squeezing out to do to get a tight pack.
Inflatable tents do tend to be a bit heavier than those with poles and the bags can be quite big – in fact, some of the larger family tents come with wheeled bags.
The best air tents
The choice is overwhelming, so we’ve narrowed down the list to our absolute favourites from the best manufacturers. For each, we’ve chosen a two/three-person option and a four/five-person family tent.
Bear in mind that we all have our own preferences for shape, colour and so on. We always go for spacious and airy with lots of windows. We like hinged doors rather than zips where possible. We like blackout features for sleeping past dawn. Read on…
Decathlon and Quechua inflatable tents
Decathlon have some of the most unusual-looking and most affordable inflatable tents.
The Air Seconds series (that’s seconds as in time, by the way, not slightly faulty ones!) offers tents to sleep three to eight people.
We love the lightblocking lining on the Fresh and Black range. Some Quechuas can also be customised with extra rooms, a shelter roof, awnings and so on. A 10-year guarantee is great.
Our choices
Quechua Air Fresh and Black
The Quechua Air Fresh and Black four-person tent. We’ve chosen a slightly larger tent for our two-person option here as the extra space makes it brighter. Dark bedrooms, but a bit of a squeeze for four adults. We prefer it for a couple (maybe one child), but the extra room makes storage a doddle.
- Size: 480 x 280 x 190cm (max height)
- Pack size: 75 x 35 x 35cm
- Weight: 14kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes, liftable at doors
- £250
Quechua for eight
The 8-person Fresh and Black Quechua tent has four separate bedrooms and a central living area. The bedrooms stay dark, which is great.
- Size: 740 x 310 x (max) 225cm
- Pack size: 85 x 38 x 43cm
- Weight: 30kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes
- £700
Decathlon Air Seconds 4.2XL
Look at this pale, interesting and VERY affordable Air Seconds 4.2 XL tent, which won the 2020 Best Value Family Tent award. It has great blackout bedrooms, plus a zip-out groundsheet.
- Size: Only stated for two bedroom sections – 140 x 260cm. Living room height 195cm (max)
- Pack size: 77 x 38 x 38cm
- Weight: 18kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Zip-in, detachable
- £300
Outwell’s air tent range
There are 23 inflatable tents to choose from and they range in price from around £600 to a whopping £2,500. Some combine inflatable with steel poles and some with fibreglass.
Our choices
Lindale 3pa
The Lindale 3PA is the smallest of the Outwell air tents and has a separate bedroom and a living area. It has fibreglass poles at the front.
We like the steep sides that give you more headroom and the big windows in the living area. The extra canopy is good for keeping blustery weather out.
- Size: 250 x 440 (inc. canopy) x max 210cm
- Pack size: 71 x 36 x 36cm
- Weight: 15kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes
- £500
Avondale 5pa
Roomy and bright, this tunnel tent sleeps five comfortably with two separate bedrooms inside and an extended living area and porch.
- Size: 625 (inc. canopy) x 330 x max. 210cm
- Pack size: 90 x 40 x 40cm
- Weight: 22kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes
- Around £620
Vango Airbeam tents
The Vango Airbeam range is maybe not the most eyecatching range, but they’re relatively fast to inflate and deflate. There are 30 to choose from ranging in price from £1700 to £450.
Our choices
Vango Stargrove
Vango’s new Stargrove is a lovely light and airy tent with room for four. It has a pre-attached awning and tension bands for extra stability in the wind. Dark bedrooms and a large living area.
- Size: 600 x 300 x 205m
- Pack size: 80 x 43 x 43cm
- Weight: 19.5kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes
- Around £550
We couldn’t find a larger Vango tent that we could fully recommend. Some quality issues that perhaps suggest the airbeam and fabric don’t work so well on larger structures. Don’t let that put you off the smaller ones, as these have been great.
Zempire tents
Zempire’s tents are some of the most attractive around, although definitely not the cheapest. They’re full of nice touches like blackout bedrooms, storage pockets and zips that don’t jingle!
Our choices
We’ve gone for the Evo for the smaller and the Aero for family-sized, although the smallest is still pretty spacious. While the Serolink airbeams keep pack size a little smaller, all air tents tend to be heavier and bulkier.
These tents were designed with summer in mind as they’ve got lots of ventilation and a nice airy feel. Pump with double action and gauge included.
Evo TM
- Size: 525 x 300 cm (head height tbc)
- Pack size: 75 x 45 x 45cm
- Weight: 22kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes
- Around £700
Aero TL Lite
- Size: 690 x 355 x (max) 225cm
- Pack size: 74 x 44 x 44cm
- Weight: 24kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes
- Around £700
Coleman Air tents
Keeping their range short and sweet, Coleman offer the Valdes in sizes for four to six people.
We love the hinged rather than zipped doors and the blackout bedrooms. Superfast to inflate too. But, they’re pretty expensive compared to some of the other brands.
Our choices
Valdes Air 4
The extra-large bedrooms mean you can fit big comfy mattresses or campbeds in there. Plus a good canopy, big window and a side entrance with a low threshold.
- Size: 610 x 300 x max 200cm
- Pack size: 78 x 58 x 38cm
- Weight: 20.8kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes
- Around £460
Valdes Air 6
With a porch big enough for a table and chairs, this is a very roomy tent indeed. Three bedrooms that block out 99% of daylight for nice lie-ins…providing no-one’s playing a bugle in the next tent (yep, it has happened to us!)
- Size: 820 x 300 x 200cm
- Pack size: 78 x 58 x 41cm
- Weight: 26.5kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes, welded
- Around £750
The Octagon
While we have our reservations about the Valdes, we absolutely love the affordable Coleman Octagon.
It’s a poled tent rather than inflatable, but the gazebo-like structure makes it versatile and airy.
There’s now a new blackout version too, though this is more expensive.
Dometic air tents (was Kampa)
Rebranded and slightly updated, the Dometic tents get a thumbs-up for their high-quality materials.
Our choices
Brean 4
The optional inflatable canopy is a good feature, but we like the simple shape and relatively low weight of this compact tent for couples or a small family.
- Size: 300 x 220 x max 195cm
- Pack size: 78 x 40 x 40cm
- Weight: 16.5kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes, separate for canopy area
- Around £800
Hayling 4 and Hayling 6
Dometic’s air tents have multipoint inflation. That does make it easier to get them up and down, but does take a bit of getting used to for the order of inflation. The Hayling is fabulously airy and has a nice integrated guying system.
- Size: 540 x 320 x max 210cm (4)
- Pack size: 78 x 43 x 46cm
- Weight: 24kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes, separate for canopy
- Around £650 (4) and £860 for the 6
Berghaus air tents
A relatively affordable choice of tents that come with some nice touches – like hook-up points on both sides of their AirXL and darkened bedrooms in the Nightfall range.
Our choices
Air4XL
Spacious and airy with an inside sitting area and porch extension.
- Size: 605 x 310 x 205cm
- Pack size: 85 x 58 x 49cm
- Weight: 28kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes
- Around £650
Nightfall 6
More a mini city than a tent, but fantastic for long trips and big families. Dark bedrooms, loads of space and a rather fetching dove grey!
- Size: 655 x 235 x 215cm
- Pack size: 90 x 66 x 52cm
- Weight: 36kg
- Sewn-in groundsheet – Yes
- Around £1050 (Ultimate Outdoors had a special offer at the time of writing, but things change!)
Pop-up tents
Pop-up tents are mainly thought of as children’s, festival or two-person backpacking options. However, some manufacturers have taken them a little bigger.
Here are the best instant-pitch tents.
Decathlon pop-up tents
Quechua has added three-person options to its range of pop-up tents.
These tents come in a circular pack and are held flat by Velcro and straps. You peg out a separate groundsheet and then release the fastenings on the tent package. The built-in poles ‘explode’ the tent into shape and you then fasten it down with pegs and guyropes.
Don’t try to get them back in the pack without having first watched the instruction video…you’ve been warned!
Quechua 3-person pop-up with blackout lining. £80.
Coleman pop-up tents
Coleman has added a four-person pop-up to its Galiano options. They cost around £80. We love the ability to open up the top for stargazing.
Cinch pop-up tents
The clever Cinch Hub has an optional built-in solar panel, LED lights, great materials and can be set up in less than a minute…and now meet the new generation of Hub.
It takes around 60 seconds to get The Hub opped up and ready to peg. The best thing is that it’s the tallest pop-up tent around. You can actually stand inside (unless you’re over 190cm tall, that is).
It’s also roomy at 230cm x 230cm and weighs around 8kg.
We liked its simple shape and the versatility of four zipped sides. The new generation has larger canopies for better rain protection, silent(ish) zips, better fabric and an optional (£70) inner tent for sleeping.
The pack is a round bag, so a bit cumbersome at 86cm, but it’s virtually flat. Thank goodness that getting it back into its bag has been made easier with a colour coding system! Costs around £250, plus £80 for the solar pack.
What’s your fast-tent tent pick? Or are you a pole person?
We’re updating this article every so often. The links will take you through to options and prices, but apologies if these change. If you’ve got a tent recommendation, do leave a comment below.
If it’s an awning you’re after, we’ve got some recommendations in our feature on lightweight, driveaway awnings.
And have a look at our choice of multipurpose camping shelters for extra space, rain/sun protection or an outside kitchen/dining room.
Finally…if basic camping is more your style, here are some good ideas for bivvying, including sleeping comfortably in the trees!
The original Inflatable tent has been missed off. Karsten have been making inflatable tents for 60 years. The pressure in them is 60PSI, (6 times that of modern pump ups) they are storm proof, 100% cotton so no inner tents needed and look fabulous. Warm in cold weather cool in hot, no noise when the wind blows or the rain falls. Whats even better is they are custom made to your specification and will last a lifetime. Even 20 year old ones have a fantastic resale value. We are lucky to have one after a big investment. Not camped once without several people stopping to talk to us about it. I could not be happier and whats best is one person can put them up in ten minutes. (More time needed if you want to add on things, but you can take what you want dependant on how long your camping). They are NOT cheap, but we figured get the tent of our dreams for a lifetime than one we need to keep replacing every 5 or so years. ED: Well, they are amazing, but it’s difficult for most people to justify a price between £2,000 and £4500. More importantly, we haven’t been seen one in real life to be able to vouch for them, though I do know owners who’ve invested recommend them. We did find a few on Ebay that could be a more affordable way to join the club. Have a look at the full range here.
We have an Ozark Trail teepee. Just £79 from Asda. Cheap as chips. Double skin,easy to erect, I can do it on my own, but usually have assistance (???) from my nine-year-old granddaughter.
Excellent value for money and hasn’t let us down yet. Highly recommended.ED: That sounds like a bargain. Sadly, these are no longer available. The nearest tipi for the price is the Pyramid tipi, but if you want to spend less than £100 on a quick-to-erect tent, we’d go for the Coleman Instant or the Hewolf.
Another vote for the Berghaus Air 6. We’re total novices but had it up in minutes. I pegged the guy lines out for practice but with little wind, I don’t think you’d even need them. The tent was rock solid. Roomy, nicely ventilated, dark bedrooms. We even got it back in the (pretty massive, wheeled) bag without too much of a struggle. We’ve got another four trips planned and can’t wait. ED: Steve bought his at Go Outdoors, but we checked prices and availability and Amazon were the cheapest for the 6XL (the 6 is no longer available) at £845 compared to £870 in other stores. We’ll keep updating that, though, as things change.
We have a Berghaus 6 berth. It takes 5 minutes to peg and inflate. Another 10 minutes to peg out the guy ropes.
The quality is superb. But always inflate to 0.5 PSI less than suggested to allow for heat expansion. That way you will never have to worry about the beams bursting, the beams are rock solid when inflated.
Have used for 3 seasons so far and never a problem. Traditional tents always only survived us 1 to 2 seasons.
Despite what Outwell etc. say. Separate beams are definitely more reliable.
I had an Outwell Tomcat, after a few trips one of the air beams exploded ripping the side of the tent. Outwell did not care at all.
If you want an air beam style tent, do not under any circumstances buy from Outwell.
I am a solo camper so find an inflatable tent so much easier to put up and take down.
I have a Berghaus Air 4. I can have the tent up, including pegging out the separately supplied footprint, in about 20 minutes.
I had 5 trips away last year and was impressed with the quality, also it has a high 6000mm HH rain protection.
The tent was supplied with an air beam repair kit in case a leak occurred but with the quality of the material it doesn’t seem likely to me.
Separate sleeping area has black out inner material and the living area has massive quality plastic windows. Plenty of headroom and storage pockets.
I can’t wait for my first of eight planned trips this season.
Big saving at Amazon at the moment. £349.95, half price.
Carole
Our 12V fridge works OK on one but we have a battery pump which may be cheaper than a mains converter
If you get one check first how many amps the pump needs
🙂
I have a 12V pump but need to put air tent up in the back garden and car doesn’t reach. Has anyone used one of these. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06Y2BGRMZ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=campfmagaz-21&linkId=93767003c0b63afad03c1a3b9c063164&language=en_GB
I love inflatable tents! We have had various inflatable awnings for our teardrop caravan which were adapted Campervan drive-away awnings. Best for quality was an Outdoor Revolution. We have now moved onto a folding camper, but hate poles with a passion, so have an Air Opus. The brilliant thing about air beams is their resilience. We camped on top of a Welsh cliff top in a proper gale. All the tents around us collapsed as their poles snapped like Twiglets. Our air beams swayed and bent a bit but were fine.
As far as leaks are concerned, it is important that each beam is properly isolated. So long as this is done, then even if a beam fails, then the main tent should stay up. Replacing the inner bladder is pretty straightforward if necessary.
These tents are heavy and bulky and not really suitable for backpacking. I would recommend not buying the cheapest, though a Sunncamp air awning that we have is very basic and simple but well made and survived heavy use last year while touring.
We bought an Easycamp Tempest online, after reading about it here and on the manufacturer’s website. It arrived within 2 days and we took it away on a trip without trying it out. I’ve never been a fan of tents as they’ve always been a pain to put up and take down.
Compared to our two previous tents, which always seemed to be Basil Fawlty style farces, this was a joy in comparison – it was out of its bag and looking like a tent in practically no time. One person could easily do it themselves, unless it was windy. After reading here about some tents having quality issues, and this brand not, I can confirm that this looks and feels like a quality product. Lots of clever features too, like the little velcro pockets for the guy lines. Time will tell as to its durability of course, but this has changed my mind about camping. Thanks to this site for the review, otherwise we’d never have known about this type of tent (and would likely still be trying to figure out our Australian geodesic dome with no instructions…). ED: That’s lovely to hear. Thanks so much for sharing that with us. Here’s hoping you have many, many years of hassle-free camping.
Wouldn’t buy inflatable tent again. Waste of good money. Poles are the best. Take it from someone who bought one, took it back after 2nd time we used it. Leak in valves, not just one either. They replaced for another one, but lasted only once. All valve pipes decayed and we’re still waiting to here from Go Outdoors. They don’t care.
ED: Sorry to hear that, David. I certainly wouldn’t buy a cheap inflatable tent (not that I’m suggesting you did!). There’s a lot to go wrong with them and, unlike a pole tent that could be worked around if a pole broke, once the wind’s out of your sails, you’re stuck!
Interesting, but no mention of Slumit quick pitch tents in this article? ED: There is now, Mike!.
I have been using the Slumit Cub tent for over 3 years. Fantastic quick pitch tent, goes up and down in seconds. They have different sizes using the same system. Worth a consideration. Slumit tents
My problem with tents is not just the pitching it’s all of the other gear. We have 2 kids so with the beds, kitchen unit, two wardrobe units, the ever so long pitching of our trailer awning (which made us sell it in the end as it took longer to pitch than our old Outwell bear lake 6), this has put my wife and 16yr old daughter from camping as it always takes 2/3 hours to pitch up and take down everything.
We have a four person Queenie pop up, has a living area and large bedroom. Squeezed two adults and two smallish children in. Seems easier to fold up than the smaller ones but lack size only good if car camping, too big to carry far but not c heavy!
ED: Let us know what the Queenie is, so we can have a look.
Can anyone please advise if the family ‘air beam’ style tents would be suitable for me as a single parent? I have a 12 year old to assist, but setup would be predominantly a one adult challenge!The inflatable style definitely looks as though it would be easier to construct than many of the more traditional style tents.
…..oooh, also consider, for lovers of plastic tents, the Slumit Flashframe series of tents. Very well thought of on various fora.
Bell tents, small ones such as Robens Fairbanks, and more traditional 2-3 metre ones are available, my 4 metre one (Blacks Solace), is 10-15 min pitch on my own, take any weather. Love them. Very quick to pitch, only one pole potentially.
(Obviously not talking backpacking, but if you are, and want canvas, for around £30, yes £30, take a look at the Polish tent Lavvu/Pelerina Namioty (!)))
Oztent rv series?
Ed: They are nice-looking tents, but quite expensive. We hope to be reviewing their tents and awning very soon, and will report back on whether the cost is worth it. On first view, they do seem well-made, if a bit heavy.
Overlooked in terms of ‘quick pitch’ but I would put one against a lot of these any day: tipi style. The ultimate Tentipi Safir 9 we can pitch in 10 minutes and take down in less.
Also, the ‘daddy’ of inflatables not featured: Karsten. Yes you pay a lot, but you get a superb tent that will last long after these others have gone to the tent skip in the sky!
Hi Doreen. Is this the sort of thing you’re after? It’s got good reviews?
You might also want to ask the question over on the Camping and Campervan Chat group on FB.
Can anybody recommend a small waterproof bell tent, for 2 or 3 people. Saw someone camping with one last week (one central pole – aluminium I think), but can’t track it down online Bendy fibre poles keep splitting, and I’m fed up with them. Ta!
Try a bell tent, you’ll be pitched and sat having a cuppa before the pop-ups have untangled the guy ropes.
Beware,
We bought a vango inflatable tent last year and one of the beams literally blew up in the middle of the day. We were stranded in Europe with no replacement and it rained – the tent collapsed and all our belongings were basically either destroyed and ruined. Vango were useless – they failed to replace the beam and then blamed us even though we had used it countless times and were well within the inflation guidelines. When I returned I found lots of others in the same boat. I will never buy one again. Buy a tent with poles at least they cant blow up!
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I quite like the Airbeam tents; the fact I don’t have to faff about threading poles through fabric and worrying if the pole is caught on which requires someone else to try and sort out if its windy.
I have a Vango Velocity 300 and a Vango Lumen V 400 and they are both cracking tents. Velocity is perfect for a quick pitch whereas the Lumen V 400 is great for either a long weekender or a week away from home.
I do like pop up tents but I would never consider one if I was travelling or know that i’ll have to carry it for a while. The size of them is just too unwieldy, although they make great festival tents.
Maybe i’m old fashioned but I just don’t trust the new inflatable tents. Poles – even the easily assembled ones – just seem more stable and as you point out, easy to bodge a repair when you’re in dire straights.
I’ve never tried one though so I could be wrong!
We had a pop-up beach shelter last year and it put me off ever considering them again – just couldn’t get it packed away despite watching the video numerous times and the tems got damaged in the process of trying it out! The thought of arriving at camp and inflating a tent sounds fun, though…