A high-quality investment tent with plenty of space for family adventures.

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Published: August 10th, 2022 at 6:15 am

I couldn’t quite believe the size and weight of this tent when it was first delivered to my house, and indeed I had to recruit a neighbour to help me pull it along the street and get it into the back seat of my car – we couldn’t have lifted it into the boot. Transporting it, and pitching it, is definitely a two-person job. Thankfully, its carry case has wheels on one end to make it easier to move. The 49.8kg weight is partly due to the tent’s thicker than usual 250-denier ripstop fabric, heavier than most tent fabrics but, of course, stronger and more durable, making it a good choice for variable British weather. With a 6,000 hydrostatic rating, it’s also super-waterproof.

Thankfully we could drive right up to our pitch at the campsite so I didn’t have to haul it across a field. Pitching was easy and, once we had found the four corners it was simply a matter of pegging them down then pumping up the beams using the top-quality supplied pump. Finding the four corners was a bit tricky, as the groundsheet for the porch area is not built in and is laid separately, but once we had worked out the shape of the tent’s footprint, pitching was done in about 20 minutes. Once it’s up, three bracing beams – also inflated – easily attach to the central ceiling with Velcro, giving extra support and structure to the tent.

The bedroom’s black-out inner tent –pre-attached – is super-dark and a real luxury, feeling restful and allowing you to sleep for longer in the mornings. The 360cm x 230cm bedroom can be split in two with the supplied divider if needed. But we did find that it was the perfect sleeping space for four people – trying to fit six in here would be far too cosy! There are also long ventilation flaps in the bedroom, helping to reduce condensation, and useful storage pockets at the sides.

An Outwell innovation, the ‘quick and quiet’ magnetic doors – both to the bedroom and the living area – are pure genius. No noisy zips to wake up sleeping children and, as stated, super quick to open and self-closing. It will be hard to go back to the effort of zipping doors after these.

There are super-large tinted PVC windows with zipped curtains on both sides of the living area and the porch area, giving a lovely open and airy feel. There are storage pockets in the spacious porch area, which has plenty of space for food preparation, sitting or storage. A good hook track system also means you can hang lights from the ceiling.

We loved sleeping in this tent and are now sold on the speedy-to-pitch-and-pack-away inflatable air tents.

Type of tent: Family air tent

Pack size (cm): 100 x 51 x 51

No of bedrooms: 1 (can be split into two)

Poles: Inflatable tubes – 5 main beams plus three bracer beams

Standing room (cm): 215 tallest / 200 inner

Groundsheet: Sewn in double-coated waterproof polyethylene, 100% polyethylene

If you’re on a budget and looking for a family tent with lots of room, consider Easy Camp’s Palmdale 600 series. The Lux version has plenty of room and is relatively lightweight, using fibreglass poles rather than air beams. It’s smaller, but has plenty of useful features such as interior pockets and a hook to hang a lantern. A great budget option for family holidays.

She now lives in Cardiff and takes every opportunity on the weekends to explore the Brecon Beacons National Park and South Glamorgan’s stunning coastline and wooded hillsides with her family, often encouraging her young son’s obsession with discovering woodland fungi.