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Sunday 30 June 2013

Another Poly Jobby - Tepee Meadow tent

EUROHIKE

Tepee Meadow Floral Tent

 
 
Milletts have a sale on, so it would have been rude not to get one of their poly tepees.  Reduced from £300 (not worth that) to £120 (ok) I can stick it in the tent warehouse as another 'if I have to lend a tent they can use this one'. 
 
OK I admit I had a couple of ciders and pressed the buy it button in a stupor
 
Now the actual spec on the Milletts site doesnt give dimensions, so it was a bit of a shot in the dark, but was ok for a small poly quick pitch.  Arrived within 24 hours and I got round to taking it into the garden today
 
Laid it out and it soon became apparent the mini tent wasnt so mini, and a trip to the park was required
 
 
So dragging it out the car and past the local Albanian community, playing crap music at stupid levels in the car park, from a non insured, non MOT'ed heap of junk car, I had a lovely summer afternoon (well half hour) pitching it
 
It was pretty windy which made it more interesting
 
Same principle as the bells - peg all around the base, insert the pole and guy
 
It was soon up and pitched
 
 
Decent adjusters on the base
 
 
Adjustable centre pole - choice of 3 options to screw into
 
Windows closed in this pic
 
 
Windows open and looking up at the separate poly hat at the top (not a problem pitching, unlike the indian lake one which was a right b&!*ard....)
 

 


Mesh interior door

 
 Rear view

 
 
No instructions whatsoever supplied for the tarp.  As i had already pitched the main tent, it was lucky the centre pole drops down - as you actually velcro strap it to the top, just under the hat

 
 There are then 2 clips on the side, 3 guy ropes and a centre pole (there is no centre/entrance pole in the main tent)

 


Mesh panels under the 3 windows


Close up of the fabric

 
 Good Points
 
  • quick pitch
  • Spacious
  • Tarp included
  • Plenty of windows
  • Plenty of ventilation
  • pretty!

Bad Points

  • Poor pitching instructions
  • A lot of ventilation may be draughty with all the mesh in colder weather - strictly a summer tent
  • usual crap pegs, throw them in the bin
  • thin material
  • Although a 5m footprint, there is no more room than the 4m bell tent due to the tepee shape
  • Centre pole isn't very substantial, I would take a spare section of pole, and cable tie it to the original, to reinforce if its windy
Overall, you pretty much get what you pay for. Fun for the summer, quick enough pitch. In honesty I prefer the mucky brown teabag poly bell.  Purely as its simpler to pitch and has less to go wrong. It won't stand much adverse weather as the strength isn't there 


 
Specifications on website are as follows:-
 
3000mm
185T Polyester
87 x 25cm
10 mins
No
Steel
Yes
10.5kg
Large, spacious Teepee. Front large tarp for extra space or sun canopy
Quick and easy to pitch. Large PVC windows for excellent views
10
EUROHIKE
Multi
No


7 comments:

  1. An impressive weekender for not a lot of money. Maybe I should have bought this one and not the damn bell ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, you will always be better off with a proper canvas bell. These are ok for a bit of fun but nowhere near the same quality as a 'proper' bell tent.

      Delete
  2. Thanks for this post, it's really useful.I am just considering buying this tent for family of four first trip to isle of wight. There's an extra 15% off today as well. On balance, I think, I'll still go for it. Not sure what the menfolk wil think. But I like the look of it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. it looks pretty but isn't very hardy at all. Perfect weather or kids garden camping and it's fine, but rarely do we get them conditions in this country unfortunately!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi
    can you tell me the diameter...looking at buying a 2nd hand one for my teenager to have a sleepover in the garden.thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Hi - Bit late, but I'm pretty sure it was a 5m diameter. Centre pole height was 3m

      Delete

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