Anyone else got a bell tent ?

[jamieandthemagic]

Bought a 5m soulpad the other month, spent 2 nights in it in early October.........fecking freezing, think I need a wood burner.

[hedgefinder]

is this some kind of euphemism for a little early morning exitement under the duvet?

[Blackpuddin]

We've got one, haven't used it as much as we thought we would have, moths have nibbled a hole in it now, easy to put up and down though

[Sid's Dad]

We bought a 4m Soulpad about four years ago. Lovely tent. Can't imagine being in anything else. Always fancied the wood burner - get one and tell us all about it!

[Watchman]

My bro makes and sells them. New stock in the spring. PM me for contact info.

[Semi hemi]

This is our 5m Bell Tent, This was in Mull last October, 1st time we had used it and it got a right baptism. 50mph gusts and torrential rain, there was a bit of water seepage through some seams on the windward side during the heaviest of the rain but apart from that it stood up to the weather no problem.
After Mull we moved to just past Ullapool, more mixed weather but was warm & dry in the tent.
The tent is a doddle to put up. Peg out the (zipped in) groundsheet, shovre up the pole. erect the A frame door support. then peg out the guys and tension the lot. 15-20mins from start to finish including a beer.
It stood up to the wind no problem when other Tunnel/Dome were getting battered in by the wind.
The Stove is a "Frontier Stove", great wee thing, we burned wood & Peat.

Just after a Squall blew through


With the stove door open for pic only.


Solar lights optional but handy for finding the tent when you stagger back from the bar,

[fivetenben]

A few shots of mine:







It's a 4m one from belltent.co.uk, with their woodburning stove, and it's great.

One bit of advice, if you're finding the tent cold, the stove isn't quite as amazing as you may hope. It's great in the evening, and keeps the tent nice and warm; however by the middle of the night after the fire has gone out it's generally freezing again, and I've never managed to get it to keep a big log going slowly through the night as I'd hoped to when I got it. Still a great piece of kit though, and really transforms the tent into a lovely place to while away the evening while camping...

The whole thing packs down smaller than you'd imagine too

[Sid's Dad]

fivetenben said:

A few shots of mine:







It's a 4m one from belltent.co.uk, with their woodburning stove, and it's great.

One bit of advice, if you're finding the tent cold, the stove isn't quite as amazing as you may hope. It's great in the evening, and keeps the tent nice and warm; however by the middle of the night after the fire has gone out it's generally freezing again, and I've never managed to get it to keep a big log going slowly through the night as I'd hoped to when I got it. Still a great piece of kit though, and really transforms the tent into a lovely place to while away the evening while camping...

The whole thing packs down smaller than you'd imagine too

That looks great. Looks like you don't exactly travel light....how on earth did you fit that lot in a TVR? When we take our Soulpad with all our clobber, we use my 1959 Humber Super Snipe and it's packed absolutely solid!

[Watchman]

Semi hemi said:

50mph gusts and torrential rain, there was a bit of water seepage through some seams on the windward side during the heaviest of the rain but apart from that it stood up to the weather no problem.

My brother's are thicker canvas than others on the market and very well treated - you could probably pitch one underwater and stay dry inside.

That said, any of them can be treated to become flawlessly waterproof. The steep-roof design means water doesn't pool and runs off easily.

They do get cold inside though. It can be helped by buying the "bedroom" but I prefer the "openness" without. We camped on a site with hook-ups so just took a low-speed fan heater (quiet) which kept it cosy. I love the wood burning stoves but I'm paranoid about waking up in an inferno. I haven't ever heard of a disaster from anyone using a stove but paranoia isn't rational.

[fivetenben]

Sid's Dad said:

That looks great. Looks like you don't exactly travel light....how on earth did you fit that lot in a TVR? When we take our Soulpad with all our clobber, we use my 1959 Humber Super Snipe and it's packed absolutely solid!

It's a pretty tight fit, but fortunately a Chimaera has quite a generous amount of luggage space. The tent itself, the rolled-up rug and the stove flue go on the 'parcel shelf' behind the seats, while the stove goes in the boot in its box, along with all the other camping paraphernalia, while the sheepskin rugs go on the passenger seat & footwell! It's tight in a TVR, and there's no space to stow the roof if the sun comes out, but it will just fit. It helps that the bed is inflatable and packs down small, all the tables and chairs flat-pack, and one of the bedside tables is actually the box the stove comes in...