Buying the tent

The biggest single glamping purchase has to be a suitable tent.  

Most portable glamping tents are bell tents or wigwams made of cotton.  4m and 5m are the most common, billed as sleeping 4 or 5 people respectively. 

There's over 30% more floor area in a 5m diameter than 4m (20m² vs 12m²)and I believe that although a 4m tent will comfortably hold 4 beds, glamping needs to be about a lot more than sleeping, so a 4-metre tent makes an ideal comfortable space for two.

I’d been casually looking for cheap Bell tents and Yurts for a while.  Not too seriously - I was looking for a bargain and wasn't in a great hurry to buy one.  I also have the advantage that I work with Make Your Own Adventure and Sköldpadda making and repairing outdoor kit, so I'm happy taking on a substantial repair project.

Eventually I scored what I hope is a bargain in this 8 year old 4-metre Soulpad Ease on eBay. 


The starting price was so low that instead of “watching” it I just stuck on a minimal offer, expecting to be outbid very quickly but receive updates as the auction progressed. I have to admit I sort of forgot about the auction, remembering only on the final day thinking "I wonder why I didn't get updates on that auction?"
I was the only bidder.  
So I started to question myself.  Why did nobody else bid? 
  • It’s the middle of winter
    • maybe people aren't looking at tents right now?
  • the eBay seller was very honest about the tent's faults
    • it's torn and covered in mildew.
  • the auction was “Collection Only”
    • How much does it cost to ship a tent from Devon to Northern Ireland?
The shipping department of Make Your Own Adventure often arrange the transport of canoes and other very bulky deliveries across the Irish Sea.  They estimated £100 to get it here which would have totally wiped out any savings, but thankfully  they totally overestimated the size and weight of a Bell tent and Parcel Force through Parcel Monkey got it here for just over a tenner!

Canvas tents are made to be maintained, repaired and be used for decades, so I won't panic.  Instead I'll wait until I can look at the tent before judging if I've wasted my money.

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