UKC

I'm looking into a cheapish , 4 person family inflatable tent . Go outdoors and decathalon have very similar offerings with the decathalon one being about £200 vs the GO AT £275 . Any experience of either ? 

Edit. Typos . Also are the berghaus versions worth the extra money ? ( £100 ish extra)

In reply to mike123:

I´ve got the decathlon one but I haven´t slept in it yet, next week it will be in action for ten days. However I had it up in the garden for four or five weeks over the winter for various reasons.

It´s better made than most tents I´ve had in that price range, better than my big Gelert with more robust material. Some neat ideas like using tonkas for the guy storage, fold-down flap in the removble groundsheet at the entrance part and stuff like that. Good zips as far as I can tell.

Withstood wind no problem though horizontal wind and rain might be a problem, the top of the porch area is mesh with another layer of tent material above and on the earlier model apparently the rain could be driven in between and it leaked a bit, the newer model has a small lip to stop this (hopefully). Doesn´t effect the sleeping area though anyway.

Goes up and down as easily as they say, the bag is better than most. GET THE PUMP! It is far better than the alternative cheapo air-bed pumps, why it doesn´t come as standard beats me! Electric air-bed pumps do nothing.

The pegs are the usual rubbish. In calm weather the tent is free-standing so just for a night I probably wouldn´t bother to peg it out.

The air-tubes are replaceable.

Snow is a disaster!!!! 1/2" wet snow and it collapses, brush it off and it pops up again.

For the price I was positively impressed

In reply to jimtitt: thanks jim, the decathlon tent looks like really good value. Anybody got the berghaus air beam ?

 

In reply to mike123:

I have the Bergman’s air beam. It’s a very good tent for what it’s worth but a very tight 4 man. We use two double air beds (I think two singles and a double is too big from memory!) and that fills the sleeping compartment (air beds squeezed right together with no gaps) with the divide taken out. Me the wife and two small boys in there.

Really easy to pump up. Just make sure you have the pump set up correctly and the valves in when you pump up so it doesn’t let the air out.

Im not sure of the size difference with regards to the sleeping area but looking they seem very similar when I have looked in go outdoors at their air beam one. Although the carpet looks like it would fit and the footprint. Worthwhile probably comparing the sizes.

If you have any specific questions I will do my best to answer.

 

In reply to mike123:

I've been using the Decathlon family 4.2 xl  inflatable tent for almost 3 years. It's stood up against strong winds and heavy rain falls although I did buy some better pegs. The bed spaces are comfortable and spacious, also the living area has loads of room for some chairs and a small table. 

However, I did take it out in December once in sub zero temperatures where one of the rubber washers on an air valve developed micro fractures that let the air out. Decathlon immediately exchange the tent for a brand new one that hasn't had any problems whatsoever. I can't comment on the other brands but I'm more than happy with Decathlon. 

In reply to mike123:

I have the Berghaus airbeam 8. As another person posted, the 4 is tight for 4. They didn't have the 6 in stock and were offering money off the 8 at the time, so I went for it! I love it, and can stand up in it and walk around the spacious interior. The space is great for the kids and us when the weather is poor.

As with most air tents, putting it up is a doddle and the best thing about it. There's a bit of a knack to getting it back in the bag though.

Can't tell you how it compares to the others you're looking at. Only that I am happy with it and felt it was great value compared to more expensive Vango, Kampa etc which I looked at in the shop. At the time, hardly anyone stocked the Berghaus and I couldn't find many reviews so it was a bit of a punt, but so far so good!

Hope this helps.

In reply to mike123:

Be aware that if you are getting one of the Decathlon ones with the large vent in the roof the combination of light rain and wind will mean that the rain blows under the vent and soaks the tent. 

In reply to mike123:

We've had the Decathlon one for 2 years (got it in the Winter sales for £80). It's a decent tent, with enough room for my family (2 adults plus 2 kids). It's pretty easy to put up but it's pretty heavy to carry (seems heavier than the 12kg they quote on the Decathlon website). We've not encountered any problems with ours yet.