Tent Base seconds 4.2

I bought this tent as an upgrade to my Gelert Twister 3, after safely testing my toddler on a few camping trips and finding she loved it as much as I did! This is a great family-size tent and is genuinely easy to put up and take down. Although the famous video on the Decathlon site shows 2 people putting it up and down, I have done it by myself with no problem on a couple of occasions now. It can be slightly trickier doing it in the wind, but it was still manageable.

On our week-long trip, we had AWFUL weather - very strong winds and torrential downpours with thunder and lightning... and the Base Seconds 4.2 stood up to all of it without a single hitch and stayed bone dry inside. The bucket-shaped groundsheet meant no water at all can run into the tent, even when pitched on an incline. It really, really was put through its paces and I'm delighted with it - cannot fault it. Also, an added bonus for us was that it was just myself and my daughter in this tent, so I used the second bedroom as our storage/junk room to put all our clothes etc., and we slept in the other bedroom. The bedrooms are, I should say, only big enough to put in a double inflatable mattress - there's not really any 'extra' room left over (maybe a few inches at the head or foot end, but not at the sides of the mattress), so you'd definitely need to consider where you'd store clothing etc. if you're using both the bedrooms to sleep in. The living area is a very decent size - the centre part is the genuine 'stand up in it' bit, and you could easily fit four 'normal' camping chairs in there, or one of those folding picnic table jobbies, to give you an idea of size. There are two semicircular bug-netted windows in the main door and also the side opposite, so you can still see the skies outside and let some fresh air in, without letting the bugs in too.

You can also buy other Quechua pop-up tents to fit onto this to add an extra bedroom or a kitchen tent if you wanted - the Base Seconds Full is, I believe, the best one to choose for this, so very versatile indeed if you wanted to add space. For our uses though and as it's just the two of us, this is a perfect, easy to pitch, durable, very very weatherproof, very spacious family tent and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for similar! Also, from the inner dimensions of the living area in this, the Coleman green chequered tent carpet 230 x 230 size, currently discounted to half price on Amazon, would fit if you wanted to add that too! I've just ordered one!

Whoever watched the Road Runner as a kid probably had the same idea as me in that the Tent base seconds 4.2 was a new Acme type invention that at the press of a button would produce you a wonderful tent in a very short space of time, with minimum exertion from the "erector". Well, as long as you have for the initial build an internet connection to "view the video" then you're alright. Up to the point that is of "the magic pull" which is the strategic move to get the tent into a primary recognizable shape. I suppose it was a bit of an illusion to think it would pop up completely on its own and when you've done it once (I hope) then it's like riding a bike and you can master the "magic pull". Then you need to watch the video of it being taken down. I'm sure the Quechua movie clip is as worn as the 1966 repeats of the World Cup final as you need to watch it many times (after remembering the reverse of the infamous magic pull) to actually see how the guy in the video gets the main tent part to suddenly become something like a 3 part Venn diagram from your school days which then magically twists into a circle allowing the tent to be squeezed back into its circular holder. I still marvel at that final grip.

Having said that, the tent is very good and it is really the trick of getting it up and then back down which once mastered will leave you the envy of the campsite, assuming you manage the manipulative twist at the end, otherwise you'll end up looking like a wrestler in the ring trying to fight the crocodile. But would I give it back? No, hence the 4/5 stars

Seen this tent in the flesh in Decathalon store in Reading. Wow, what a buy. Great way to start camping enough space for small family with inner space to prepare a meal and relax out of the rain. A great concept in modern camping, if i did not have a folding camper this would be on my shopping list. Quality appears a match to the big boys namely Outwell and Khyam, also the packed size is a must for those who have limited car space.