Erection advice :-)

Now that I have your attention, I have been offered one of these real cheap.

Anyone had one, got one? Any good? Seller reckons about 20 minutes to put up. Does that sound about right or is she blagging to get me to buy?

It would be ideal for me, the wife and boys for a spot of camping but if its a dog then I'll steer well clear.

Would be handy for AR09 too

Ta

Gordon

Looks similar to one I had aaaaages ago... they are easy enough to put up once you've done it once and know which poles go where. It kinda looks like a mess and really hard for the first 75% of the way - then suddenly a couple of key poles go in and it pings into shape.
Even better if the inner 'tent sections' can be left hooked onto the outer flysheet after it's gone up the first time.

The real trick is packing it all back into the same bag again afterwards!

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Jamaxx

Now that I have your attention, I have been offered one of these real cheap.

Anyone had one, got one? Any good? Seller reckons about 20 minutes to put up. Does that sound about right or is she blagging to get me to buy?

It would be ideal for me, the wife and boys for a spot of camping but if its a dog then I'll steer well clear.

Would be handy for AR09 too

Ta

Gordon

Heya Gordon, didnt see you much after the BBQ, but that was fun

Looks similar to Ping-base One, which you should have seen @ AR07, as for my thoughts on it.....

Well its a "no name" tent - I tend to shy away from those, preferring to go with a known name.

That said, if its cheap enough to take a gamble on then I would maybe go for it

Originally Posted by SoulKiss

Heya Gordon, didnt see you much after the BBQ, but that was fun

Looks similar to Ping-base One, which you should have seen @ AR07, as for my thoughts on it.....

Well its a "no name" tent - I tend to shy away from those, preferring to go with a known name.

That said, if its cheap enough to take a gamble on then I would maybe go for it

Yeah, that was my concern but I could get it for around 60 quid which is a steal in anyones language...

We are off to have a butchers on Friday but I think I may take a punt tbh...

Enjoyed cooking too, and have something even better planned for next year...

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Jamaxx

Yeah, that was my concern but I could get it for around 60 quid which is a steal in anyones language...

We are off to have a butchers on Friday but I think I may take a punt tbh...

Enjoyed cooking too, and have something even better planned for next year...

Well you can count me in if you need assitance

Best things to check for are that it has all the poles (pegs you can replace a hell of a lot easier), that all the fixing points for ropes, pegs and zips are still present and secure and that it has double stitched 'taped' seams.

You can tell about the seams by simply taking a look at the outer flysheet - there should be a parallel run of stitching and if you check the edge you can often see a thin, sort of 'plasticy' material sandwiched inbetween the two bits of regular flysheet material. You may have to look on both the inside and outside of teh seam to find it, though if it's not visible, but the seam is significantly thicker/stiffer than four folds of the flysheet material then it's likely they are still taped ones.
They also sound sorta 'crinklier'... mess about with it and hopefully you'll get what I mean.
Ask if you can see it put up too... oh yeah, (obviously) check for any tears, but don't forget to also check the base part of the inner tent sections... if it later does leak but you don't have an obvious visible hole then a simple bike puncture repair kit will get it sorted so not really something to worry about in a second-hand tent.

Done a lot of camping in my time me.

Tis nice tent is that. The best bit, you with kids an'll, is the communal space in the middle is a good size. Important for those very rare rainy days you get when camping.

As K says, check it thoroughly for waterproofness. The other main thing to check is the poles are all there and the zips work. Rips and tears can be sorted. Don't matter if it's branded or not if it does the job.

Sound advice all. Thanks.

We are off to see it tomorrow so I'll let you know how I get on. The lady also has a load of other camping gear (stove etc) all virtually brand new so I could be looking at getting us kitted right out with everything for the same price as a new tent.

[Jayneflakes]

I used to work in a gear shop a few years ago, it was how I got all of my mountaineering kit.

Anyway, one bit of advice I will add to this here, no matter what make your tent is, if you can't see taped seams, use a seam sealer on it. I used seam sealer on my tent and I fulley proofed the outer fly too. This may sound excessive, but my tent was bought with mountains in mind. However, I have never had a leaking fly and it is still as good as new, eight years after I bought it.

So get a couple of bottles of seam sealer and a bottle of tent proofer, I use Nikwax, but I have heard good things about Grangers, unless you are
Asthmatic.

So, been round and checked this tent out.

Double stitching? Check

Crinkly? Check

All poles etc and pegs? Check

Got it and a double stove, cooking kit, gas bottle and bag of assorted camping bits for a ton.

Bargain me thinks.

I'll get some pics of the first time we attempt to put it up.