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The Hi-Gear 5 Metre is a very classic polycotton bell tent with good ventilation and the ability to use a stove. The choice to use polycotton over canvas makes it a little lighter while still staying breathable and more durable than a polyester tent. We recommend our British-made Frontier PLUS Stove for this size, which already comes with a FREE Bell Tent Flashing Kit, or our Orland Camp Stove, hand-made in Denmark. You can look at our Camping Stoves and Ovens to see the full range of stoves and stove accessories.
The weightiest and most expensive tent we tested is also one of the very best. Vango’s excellent Illusion eight-man tent is your best bet if you have a large boot, a large budget and are planning to camp in one spot for a week or two. Accommodating up to ten people, the Quest Touareg Bell is a tipi-style tent perfect for summer camping with large families. During the summer, roll up the sides and enjoy the spacious socialising area. In the winter, roll down the sides and socialise comfortably around the single central pole. Stay cool in warmer weather and comfy in the winter with the 100% cotton canvas flysheet equipped with breathing and insulating properties. Big family tents are heavy, take up space and can be fiddly to erect, so make sure you’ve got space in the car to store a weighty model. Newer family models are now often inflatable with pumps instead of erected with traditional poles. These “air” tents can be a real time-saver if you have a decent pump. A style favoured by campers, glampers and scout groups alike, the Polycotton 5m Bell Tent is a standout tent with a polycotton mix canvas construction. Polycotton is a highly breathable fabric which is brilliant at reducing tent condensation; which in turn creates a comfortable climate inside the tent. More breathable than polyester tents, polycotton canvas tents are also incredibly durable and can stand up to the sun’s UV rays for longer. Planning a summer camping holiday with the kids? A great family tent is probably the most important element to ensuring a gang of happy campers. You need somewhere roomy, waterproof and comfortable, both to sleep and hang out in, especially if the weather isn’t looking so balmy. Family tents don’t come cheap though, but it’s worth investing in as good a quality model as you can afford – with care it will last you decades of camping holidays in Britain and beyond. Waterproofing
Construction - It's a well-constructed tent - no issues with the durability of fabrics, zips, guy lines etc. All of our 5m canvas tents can be easily fitted with a Flashing Kit to allow for the use of a stove. You can learn how to do this by reading our blog post Installing a Flashing Kit/Stove Hole. Key specs – Weight: 41.9kg; Size: 8 man; Material: Polyester; Waterproofing: 6,000mm; Bedrooms: 3/4 Versatility - With a 10 minute setup time and being by no means light, we'd see this tent as being great if you intend on doing longer stays.
In 2023, Kampa took the lead and won the best family tent of the year in our Tent Owner Satisfaction Award. A staggering 94% of participants agreed that Kampa’s range of family tents are worth the investment. Working out the right sized tent for a growing family can be confusing. Be wary of the number of people a tent claims to sleep (e.g. “four man” or “six man”) – this usually means how many adults you could squeeze in at a push, sardine style. We recommend halving the number to work out how many the tent will sleep in comfort, so a six or eight man tent will usually fit a family of four nicely, with plenty of space for gear and cooking kit.
The living space isn’t huge but there is good headspace, and the tent was one of the most breathable we tested, with plentiful vents for hot nights. We also found the Buxton easy to pitch, with colour-coded poles making it intuitive to erect. If you’re after something a little different, consider investing in a canvas “glamping” style bell tent instead of a polyester one. While they tend to only be water resistant and won’t withstand torrential rain, canvas tents are ideal for hot weather, as they are cool and breathable, and they also tend to be very spacious, with plenty of head height. It’s the ideal option if you’re off on a camping holiday in the Mediterranean or for taking the family to a summer festival. Perfect for a small family camping trip, the Vango Beta 450XL can comfortably accommodate up to four people. The tent gives an impressive space-to-weight ratio due to its tunnel design. The Vango Beta gets its sturdy stability from the Tension Band System, which can be adjusted to prevent sideways movement in strong, changeable winds. You can also store various pieces of camping gear in the functional porch area. Features - It has the aforementioned ventilation and stove aperture, as well as zip-off ground sheet and an internal point to hang your lantern, but otherwise is relatively lightly featured. Some ports to run power for a full glamping setup would've been great. Key specs – Weight: 17kg; Size: 4 man; Material: Polyester; Waterproofing: 4,000mm; Bedrooms: 1 or 2
Comfy, roomy and straightforward to pitch, the Robens Klondike Grande is a retro-styled bell tent equipped with modern technology. Designed with HydroTex Polycotton Fabric with a water-repellent treatment, the Klondike Grande benefits from reduced condensation and natural breathability. Housing up to nine people, this model has a stovepipe port, ideal for a wood-burning stove. Pitching a Bell Tent can usually be achieved in around 25 minutes but this version of the 5m Bell Tent comes with a porch attachment, adding slightly to pitching time. The porch attaches via a zip and has its own series of poles, pegs and guylines to contend with, somewhat taking away from the feeling of simplicity in the main body of the tent. Specifically designed with family camping in mind, the Dometic Ascension FTX is equipped with spacious bedrooms and innovative features. The polyester construction guarantees a comfortable night’s sleep and protection from all types of weather. This model features mesh panels on three sides and a large porch door which can be opened on a particularly sunny day. Despite its large size, the Coleman Mosedale 5 is surprisingly easy to pitch due to its simple tunnel construction. With two bedrooms and a spacious living area, the Mosedale can comfortably house a family of up to 5 people.Despite its vast size, the Zempire Aerodrome is surprisingly simple to erect. The Aerodome can sleep up to six people in two separate compartments, giving you a variety of options for sleeping arrangements. There’s also an attached awning that provides great shade and an outdoor spot for family chats or camping games. It’s waterproof to a very decent 4,000mm and has a strong sewn-in groundsheet underfoot – this is a tent ready to deal with the foulest weather without a fuss. “Airbeam” blowup poles make it easy to inflate with the included pump, despite its hefty size and weight.
Our 5 metre Bell Tent Collection is our best-selling size, an ideal camping size for a family of five, as a luxurious space for four adults, or as a truly glam suite for two. The Luna is the ideal first canvas tent to invest in for annual summer holidays and family festivals. It’s a lovely spacious size for a family of four, with tons of head space and big circular windows, making the inside feel airy and light. The generously sized and light living space is brilliant in bad weather, and the outer porch can be folded open as a canopy, which is ideal for cooking. A fantastic quality tent that will last you for years of camping adventures.In 2022, Zempire tents were voted joint 1st in the Best Family Tents category at the Tent Owner Satisfaction Awards.
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