TENTS | Boutique Camping 5m Canvas Bell Tent – Review

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bell tent

The Lowdown

  • 5m Flower Pattern Canvas Bell Tent
  • zipped in groundsheet
  • Flysheets covering vents and doors
  • Comes in a carry bag

Stockists

This tent design is now out of stock.

Boutique Camping

Our Verdict

We have a lot of friends will bell tents, so we had been considering buying one for a while. After sustaining a serious snowboarding injury, we realised that in order for me to be able to continue camping, we needed something that could be put up by one person easily, but that still gave us the space we like.

Wondering if a bell tent is right for you? Read our bell tent buyers guide.

Flower Canvas Bell Tent

We settled on a 5m bell tent having researched the market thoroughly, as we felt that was the size we needed, given the amount of gear we take camping with us. We were swayed by the funky colours and patterns of the tents on offer at Boutique Camping, and friends told us they were very well made. We’d initially planned on using it only for shorter camping trips and taking our Coleman Fremont 8 when camping for more than a couple of days. We loved it so much however, we ended up camping exclusively in the bell tent last year.

Erecting the tent

This comes with a sturdy metal pole, in two parts which slot together. To put the tent up, lay it out and flatten, put the pole together and take it into the middle of the tent. Push the pole upwards until vertical and play around with the positioning until it looks straight – it’s handy to have someone outside of the tent to guide you.

In order for the door to maintain it’s shape there is also an A shaped doorway pole. This comes in 3 sections,  and is made of the same metal as the larger central pole. The frame has a spike at the top which you hook through an eyelet at the apex of the doorway, and the is then tied either side of the door to hold it in place.

inside our bell tent

The first time we put it up, we pegged the bottom down, then had to tie on all of the guy ropes, before pegging them down too. It took us around 15 minutes the first time, and we can now get the tent up and fully pegged, in 10 minutes. Much quicker than any of the modern pole tents we have (currently a Vango Icarus 5 and a Coleman Fremont 8).

Space

The tent is 5m, so technically you could probably easily sleep 6 people inside it on single airbeds. There is an immense feeling of space due to the height of the tent, and the first few times I slept in it, it felt a bit like I was sleeping inside a circus big top! A 5m bell tent might seem like overkill for just 2 of us, be we have a full camp kitchen, table and chairs, and furniture and that’s before we’ve added our walking, photography and star-gazing kit.

While the floor space is immense, due to the sloping sides, you do loose some usable space. Tables and kitchen units can feel like they are a bit in the way, leaving quite a bit of unused floor space behind them, which is my main irritation about this tent. I’m also not keen on the height of the doorway which means I have to stoop to get through it, which I find annoying and impractical since my injury.

This tent is superb at regulating temperature. We camped very early in the season in this tent and we also camped at the end of September and whilst it being thick canvas it won’t necessarily keep you warm, it does keep heat in a little better than most modern tents and on hot days, you don’t wake up sweltering.

castlerigg_hall_31may2014_04

Features

We love the zipped in ground sheet, and like the versatility it provides, though to be honest, we’ve never used the tent without it, though you can do. The tent is designed so you can roll the sides up on a hot day, which looks fabulous, but we’ve never done it.

There are oval window/vents around shin height around the tent, which are nice for letting breeze in on very hot days. These, as well as the doors, have a zipped fly sheet, which helps to keep bugs out which is always a bonus.

The large central pole has one hook on it, pretty high up, which is ideal for hooking a lantern to. However, this is the only practical hanging point in the tent.

Would we recommend it?

The bell tent was a brilliant purchase and I wouldn’t be without it. It’s fast to put up, looks amazing, is great at coping with the highly variable weather of the UK and is extremely well made and sturdy. Be careful with the carry bag. Because when packed it’s quite heavy (I can’t carry it on my own, we tent to carry it between us), if you attempt to lift or pull the bag by just one handle, you might rip the bag, so always use both handles.

The pattern of mine won’t be to everyone’s taste (I don’t do blending in), but there are lots of different colours and patterns available to choose from. This specific pattern is no longer available, but there are still plenty of fun patterns to choose from.

Before you make a purchase, I’d urge you to read our feature should I buy a bell tent.

Boutique Camping

DISCLOSURE | This tent was privately purchased. We were not asked or paid to write this review.

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Shell Robshaw-Bryan
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