delart wrote:Morning Campers (lol) having my last cheap tent end up in the skip at Shell Islands end of season party weekend last year, thank god I went (have) a Mitsubishi Delica with a fold down bed
s,anyway after much searching for a replacement I decided on a Icarus 500 after reading loads of reports.On the first and only use this year
the poles broke I have got some replacements.Now the weekend where I always go camping is coming, I am a bit worried the same will happen
so my question is I have seen a "upgrade" that cures this? Or should I try and get an awning for the Delica instead? I need to get some more accessories but not sure it is worth spending any more on it, or was it just a once off
High delart
I hate to knock members tents,but to go to probably the worst site for wind blowing in of the sea the Icarus 500 tunnel tent, is totally unsuitable for a coastal site any time of year That in my opinion over the years shell island as destroyed far stronger tents that external fiberglass poled tunnel tents.
For a family tent you require space, height, and a warm dry interior, so the most wind and weather resistant tents are not all that suitable for family camping. These tents, the pyramid and bell tents, lead the way in tents that will stand up to very high winds and snow, but the shape that makes them so good, restricts the internal height to a unsatisfactory level for most families. The best of all family tents, and also the most wind resistant is the Famous Karsten Inflatable, but these large cotton dome tents with the extras required are very, very expensive, but really are the ultimate family tent. So what is a good all-round family tent. I would say without reservation, the traditional Bungalow frame tent is the best. Cabanon probably are the top makers of this type of tent, made from a self standing frame of strong steel poles with the canvas of breathable Cotton, preshrunk and tested my Cababon before release to retailers. correctly pegged out with Delta pegs on the guy ropes and the appropriate pegs for pegging out around the base, these tents will stand up to anything the British weather can throw at them, I have used them for over thirty years and never been let down and we have been through some very bad gales in that time. We now move on to tunnel tents The best I am informed are the Outwell polycotton lake series, but I personally don't like single skin tents with partly sleeved poles on the outside, much prefer a twin skin tent where the inner is poled and set up first. These tents are stronger and will resist the wind much better than equivalent tents with external poles. Although Outwell has realized this and added an horizontal pole down both sides of their later tents to add more strength from the ends where the poles have no bearing. The large domed pod tents with internal poles are reasonably stable in the wind if correctly pegged out. The tents that fair the worst are the externally fiberglass poled tunnel tents,users of these tents must stay aware of their limitations in strong wind stay away from coastal sites where the prevailing wind blows in off the sea.
But whatever tent you choose to camp in, always peg it out fully with suitable pegs you never know when the wind will start to gust, always have a radio and check the weather forecast regularly
If you are going to camp at shell Island and you want a tent you can stand up in and look out of windows then their is only one I could recommend This Cabanon athena is about ten years old and will still be in use in 20 years from now properly looked after and pegged out with angled 9" pegs around the base and six Stainless steel delta pegs on the guys it will stand up to whatever shell island can throw at it and you could pick it up for under £100 and they cost £700 ten years ago.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/cabanon-athen ... 35b4b14728Good luck Delart whatever tent you choose. And you can still get curtains and fixing for these tents,if it is too big for you then look out for the Cabanon Andorra the best designed tent ever made link
http://www.attwoolls.co.uk/Tents-By-Typ ... dorra.htmlRex.
Rex.
Anybody done this?
Think you have made it clear and confirmed what I thought, reminds me of a tent I had years ago think it was a (relum) bungalow 6 great when up don't remember having any problems with it when it was up, but a few moving it around 
and I was a lot younger then.Got some more decisions to make yet again after using the icaruss once 
but I have decided to get a Cabanon for shell and leave the vango at home 
.As this will be a second hand one is there anything I need to watch out for it will be the classic type (square) and what is the difference between single and double skin 