Days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer and the football season is over – which all means one thing to music-lovers: festival season is upon us!
If you’re one of the millions of people in the UK currently looking forward to hitting a festival this year, then you’re probably starting to think about what you need to take with you.
Over the next few weeks we will be putting together a series of Festival Essentials, detailing everything you need to take with you – starting with the all important tent….
Pop-up tents
Camping is an essential part of the festival experience, so making sure you get the right tent is important.
Here, we’re focusing on pop-up tents as they are perfect for festivals – easy to carry, quick and easy to put up, quick and easy to put away. As anyone who has dragged a huge heavy tent 3 miles from the car park to the campsite and then spent 2 hours in the wind and rain trying to put it up will tell you: a pop-up tent can improve your first-day festival experience immeasurably.
We’ve hand-picked the top five pop-up tents currently available for you to buy.
Top tip: when buying a pop-up tent always go for one that sleeps more e.g. if it’s just for one person, then get a two-man tent. If you try and get two people in a two-man pop-up tent it’s going to get a bit too cosy!
Gelert Quickpitch Compact Tent
This two-man tent (i.e. suitable for one!) is a great option if you’re looking for an affordable but reliable pop-up tent. You can literally assemble it in a matter of seconds, and it boasts an added hydrostatic head sheet for extra rain protection.
It’s not a tent that you would want to spend a long time in (i.e. on a long camping holiday), but for a few nights at a festival it’s a perfect cheap choice.
[box type=”info”] >>> Buy the Gelert Quickpitch Compact tent from Amazon now – £21.99[/box]
High Peak 2 Person pop-up tent
One of the major drawbacks of a small pop-up tent is that they lack ‘chill-out’ space. They’re great for sleeping in, but when it comes to chilling out at night or in-between bands they don’t offer much. That’s where this one comes in. The front porch is perfect for relaxing and doing your morning routine, and the added space in front of the door is great for storing those muddy wellies!
[box type=”info”]>> Buy the HIGH PEAK 2 Person pop-up tent from Amazon now – £67.99[/box]
Gelert Tornado 5 man tent
Onto some bigger tents now. This sturdy pop-up tent sleeps five – so is perfect for three people, maybe four at a push. For quite a big tent it’s surprisingly easy to put up and the large front storage space is a very useful feature.
[box type=”info”] >>> Buy the Gelert Tornado tent from Amazon now – £73.00[/box]
High Peak Colorado 180 Four Man Tent
Now this is cool – if you want a pop-up tent that’s a bit different then go for this. It shares all the important characteristics of other pop-up tents – light, easy to erect etc… but has one main advantage: headspace! Most pop-up tents are designed with laying down in mind, which is fine but it makes it a bit awkward to get dressed in the morning. You won’t have that problem with this tent. It’s slightly pricey, but between two or three of you it’s very worth the cost.
[box type=”info”] >>> Buy the High Peak Colorado 180 from Amazon now – £97.30[/box]
Heimplanet – The Cave Inflatable Tent
It may be a bit on the expensive side, but did you see that it’s an inflatable tent!? If you want to look a bit cool and forward-thinking on the campsite then this is the tent for you – it looks futuristic and it’s actually a very sensible option. It’s very durable and has loads of storage space. It sleeps three, so is probably perfect for two people. Everyone is going to be rocking the inflatable tents soon so be an early adopter and go for one this year…
[box type=”info”] >>> Buy the Heimplanet Cave tent from Amazon now – £388.55[/box]
