Stan's 2009 Camping, Caravan & Outdoor Equipment Bargain Bonanza

Posted BY Ian under tent-suppliers

Just keeping in touch with tent prices I saw one sale worth checking out whatever size or style of tent you are after:

Camping Sale now on at Outdoor Megastore. Bag a Bargain!

You can find lots of quality tents at knockdown prices - up to 75% off on some of the 2008 models. That has to be worth a look.

As I see more special offers I'll be sure to point them out.

Buy A Tent: It Is A Wise Investment

Posted BY Ian under camping-advice

During these difficult times there is one investment that will provide a return well above all others. This is the ideal time to buy a tent and save money on holidays thereafter.

Buy A Tent: The Return On Your Investment

So how does spening money save you money?

Spending wisely is the key. Buying a tent means that you can then save money on holidays and, let's face it, even when times are hard, few of us are willing to give up holidays completely.

A tent is ready made accommodation. It will not take many nights saved from a hotel or guesthouse to recoup your capital. This applies equally to a single person tent or a family tent. In fact, since single people still have to pay for a full room they may actually stand to gain more from the purchase.

A camping holiday saves in other ways. When staying in a hotel or guesthouse it is almost always necessary to eat out. That is relatively expensive. It is norrmal, and even fun, to cook for yourselves whilst camping - and this is considerably cheaper.

You can save money by staying in the UK and camping. This is not a requirement and you may well find that a camping holiday on the continent is a good option. Weather can be important here. Finding activities to fill the time on rainy days is not easy and may mean resorting to expensive theme parks and the like. By travelling to somewhere with a free activities on-site (swimming, hiking etc) you could well save money in the long run.

For more ideas on filling time and camp cooking check out Top 10 Books for Campers, a list I prepared a while back.

So, if you are tempted to buy a tent as an investment for your future holidays, here is a quick run down of how to make the best use of this site:

Decide On A Camping Style

Whatever your camping style, there is a tent to suit you. If you are new to camping and not sure what style will suit then start off by reading my article What Sort Of Camper Are You?. This will help you understand the different types of camping style and allow you to then filter the rest of the articles accordingly.

You may want to combine more than one camping style; in fact this is quite common. Just be wary of trying to get one all-purpose tent as, though this seems like the most cost-effective solution, the compromises you make along the way may lead to a tent that is just unsuitable for any of your intended uses.

Read About The Tent Qualities Required

Before jumping to the Best Tents category, take the time to read about the qualities you should be looking for and, just as importantly, those you can ignore. A good starting point is my first article on the subject, 6 Qualities You MUST Consider When Buying A Tent.

After this general article you can look for others more specific to your needs.

Do not neglect the other items required for camping. These are summarised in the article Got a tent: What else is it we need?.

Spending Wisely

After you have done this bit of research it is worth sitting down and reviewing your notes. You will almost certainly have got a few ideas confused so it is well worth re-reading the basic articles again just to help get everything clear once again.

Set yourself a budget based on the amount of use you expect to get from the tent and the savings you are therefore likely to make. This could be much higher than you would otherwise allow.

This is the time to look through the Best Tents category and shortlist those tents that most interest you.

Check out the latest prices with the Tent Suppliers listed and others that you find by yourself. You can then make the final decision.

Tent suppliers: OneStopFestival.com

Posted BY Ian under tent-suppliers

The name says it all. This small website is totally dedicated to the serious Festival Goer. It offers everything from tickets to condoms, including a range of Festival Tents.

The tents are mostly from Gelert and Freespace, and are all in the budget range. One nice touch is that tents are matched up with sleeping bags and other camping equipment to form Festival Kits.

Tents are classified according to size, and are described sufficiently for anyone who has read my article Qualities of a Best Festival Tent to choose for their self.

There are a number of Special Offers that are worth checking out.

Shipping costs are clearly stated according to your postcode. These range from £8 to £25. They aim to ship all tents the same day but accept that in busy times 2-3 days may be more realistic. Don't wait until the day before your festival as you may find everyone chasing for the same service.

The returns policy allows damaged goods to be returned within 7 days for a full refund of the cost and postage. That's fair enough. There are conditions, but nothing unusual.

The shopping cart accepts payment through Protx. I hadn't heard of these before. They seem to be an alternative to Paypal. You may want to check out their website.