Paul & June

Hi,
I want to invest in a Tent for camping in Australia but want to buy here in the UK to save money. Can anyone recommend make or models for a 4/6 berth tent (family of four) that can cope with the Australian heat. Anything else we should get while here as well as good tent pegs.
Any advise will be much appreciated.

Caddy the cat lover

I would also like to know whether we need a tent with an integrated ground sheet ?
We are moving to the Gold Coast.

Alison xx

Sonn

We have an Outwell MONTANA tent, its really good. Not sure about it coping with OZ heat, i hope it does because we are taking it out there with us!

lyndhurst

Hi

we have a outwell bear lake 6 2008 and have been out in it 3 times now. (in UK) its a brill tent and has all we were looking for for a family of 4.

we are looking to move to Brisbane and will betaking it with us.

we chose it with Oz in mind as its

polly cotton (Cool inside when hot)
fully zipped in ground sheets
lots of vents (with fly screens)
lots of windows and 3 doors (2 with fly screens)

only down side is the weight (very heavy) but not planning go go hiking with it on our backs

cheryl

let us know what you think too.

daddyofthree

I find it difficult to believe that buying a tent over here will cost less than a similar one over there, esp as you need to transport it.
Not sure whether we will also have tents as good as those in Aus for this purpose. However, you can buy a specialised tent in Aus which when folded out includes a sleeping bag, ground sheet, anti-insect mesh etc. It's very easy to erect. Can't remember what it's called but it sounds something like a 'swagger'. It's certaily what I'll be buying when I move over - just in case my wife kicks me out of the house!!

rugbymatt

I have the model down to this, good in hot weather.....heat rises, and a little different to the normal ones....


http://www.nordicoutdoor.co.uk/gaise-tentipi.html

quoll

We do have tents here - and quite a bit cheaper than that. Not a car tenting person myself (bushwalkers tend to carry light) but you can see the sort of thing they sell in tent shops here Edited to add, biggest thing about camping in Aus is dont pitch your tent under a tree - big gums have a nasty habit of dropping branches and every now and again you hear of people being killed because they pitched under the shade of a nice big gum tree.

Gems

Plenty of good tents here in oz.
Prices are pretty good too. We have been looking and plenty to choose from.

Im not sure Id bother buying one in the UK, as prices are fine here. They also have plenty of camping equipment here.

Only thing that is not cheap is caravans,motorhomes. But thats not surprising really.

Id wait and get one here to be honest.

Gems

pumpkin blossom

We have been here for 4 months, and bought a tent when we first got here. They are more expensive than the UK (tent prices in the UK having dropped dramatically the last couple of years), but they all have mozzie nets built in (very handy, as you can have it open at night for a breeze).

Ours has lots of vents for air movement which you can't close, which I would not choose again. In hight of heatwave here in SA they didn't help because it was too hot anyway, and all other times the temp drops at night and we had cold wind swurling around the tent. There never seemed to be an inbetween.
We also had a couple of problems with out tent (and it was a $400 tent) and found that you have practicly no rights here. One of the poles broke and we were told they are not covered by the guarentee as they are not an integeral part of the tent (not sure how we would put it up without).

So, everyone, avoid Ray's outdoors, terrible customer services.

But then if you buy a tent in the UK and bring it over if something is wrong it is not like you could send it back anyway.

fisher lass

We checked over our tent last week with the intention of selling it. It has only been used for 2 weekends and cost £600 (upgraded from a smallish well used dome tent) so we decided to take it with us.

One problem - it is a huge canvas frame tent which has separate sealed in bedrooms but the canvas comes to the ground with 1 ft flaps which fold inwards. Is this going to be a problem? Any suggestions how to make it bug/beastie proof?

Maple Leaf

hello!

as a long term aussie camper..in all kinds of conditions...i have to say the best tent we ever had was a dome tent...with extended covered area in the front. easy to put up..easy to take down..easy to transport..and ensure you get one that has good head height.

it lasted through many storms...heat. and never had a problem with the bugs, flies or mossies.

i much prefer the dome tent over the canvas ones any day. ( been there done that aswell)

also..be sure to get one..if you do..that has the fly cover over it! and even think about setting up another shelter over the top of that..it helps!

Paul & June

Thanks, all great replies.

Do we have any other makes/models, tips and things to bring from the UK.

Maple Leaf, what make would yours be ?

Wandathecat

After camping over the weekend in the UK and using our 2 man pop up tent from Decathlon for the kids and borrowing a put up tent for me and the OH I have decided that pop up tents are the way forward. Took less than 5 mins and we took 30!!!!

Ours was wet on the inside in the morning but the pop up tent was as dry as a bone!!!!!

They can sleep up to six, good quality and great value. Lightweight too. Word of warning the first tent we bought was a light colour.....big mistake....awake at 4am!!!!

Cx

spartacus

As others have mentioned, I can't believe tents would be cheaper in the UK compared to OZ. We picked one up here a year ago at the Brisbane camping Expo, 6 berth dome tent for around $400. Integrated ground sheet, plenty of vents and extensions. If you're camping here its quite common practice to shade your tent under another tent constructed from tarps and tent poles, and then even enclose the whole with mosquito netting. Bit time consuming but keeps the inner tent cool and dry.

UK-2-OZ

I would wait till you arrive here I think you will have more choice and I am sure you could fill the space with bringing over something else.