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After having 2 Outwell Nebraska XL tents and unfortunately having bad luck with both of them, I decided it was time to look for a different tent that suited our family needs. The problem was that I liked the design of the Outwell Nebraska XL and it was almost perfect in it’s layout for our purposes. Along came the Royal Pescara 8, an 8 berth tunnel tent of which I could find very little information out about it. It was not even listed in the current Royal brochure. After thinking and looking at pictures for a while I decided to take the plunge and buy it. I had never purchased a tent completely blind before but after using it for a few months now I am really glad I took the risk. Since it is so much like the Outwell Nebraska XL I have decided to base this review not only on the Royal Pescara 8 itself, but also compare it to the Outwell Nebraska XL where possible. Pitching The tent proved remarkably easy to pitch. In-fact, I managed the complete process on my own with no help from the rest of the family. Once the centre poles were up, the rest was extremely easy. It was easier to pitch than the Nebraska and this was due to the fact that all the pegging points are adjustable making the ring and pin system really easy to use. On the Nebraska, they are only adjustable on one side and each end. The adjustable points also make it easier to get the fabric evenly across the poles if you have to pitch on ground that is not completely flat. I started by laying the tent out and pushing the red poles through their sleeves. These are the centre poles that cross over the main living area part of the tent. I then clipped the upright poles onto the ends of these. These are again colour coded red. I then went inside the tent and lifted up the structure from the centre where the poles crossed. Remarkably, upon doing this the tent stood up on it’s own, even before the pins were put into the poles. I then inserted the pins into the end of each pole and pulled the poles out so they were even and square. I then proceeded to put the blue poles in their sleeves and clipped on the upright poles to them building up the sides of the tent. This was also extremely easy and I did not require any help. I then went onto the green colour coded poles doing the same thing ( also building up the side of the tent ). Even with no Guy ropes pegged out the tent was completely free standing and it was easy just to go round the side and back and straighten it all up. I then put the 2 blue poles into the porch. This was a little bit harder and the porch would not stay forward without holding it so I had to peg down one Guy rope just to hold it out. This would certainly have been easier if there were 2 people doing it. The tent now looked like the first picture in this review from the front. So far this is identical to the Nebraska XL in number of poles and the method used to do it, but life was made a lot easier by the fact that the tent stood up on its own when I lifted the centre of the structure above my head and the use of all the adjustable pegging points. The next task was to put up the annexe at the back. This is where it differs from the Nebraska because the Nebraska does not have a back annexe. I got a little confused here trying to work out where the poles go of which I had 1 small arched pole and 2 straight poles that had discs on the end. These actually go inside the annexe and clip into some Velcro clips ( see picture ). All that remains now is to peg out the tent. This is where some time is taken. The whole process took me about 40 minutes from getting it out the bag to completely pegging out the Guy ropes. I could probably have shaved 5 or 10 minutes off that time if a second person helped. Living In The Tent The tent was a pleasure to use. Having just returned from a 2 week break where the weather went from both extremes, it got a good test. The first week rained constantly with strong winds. It was so bad that the campsite was closed during the week due to flooding. Luckily we were pitched just outside of the waterlogged area. The winds were extremely strong and the tent stood firm and didn’t leak. The 2nd week we were basking in nearly 80 degrees of heat. Although the inside of the tent was hot, it was still bareable (just!). In dull weather, the tent was still very bright inside even though there are no windows in the main living area. This is where the Nebraska wins, as it has 2 skylights that can be opened up to let some light in. But having said that, even with the lack of windows, it was still extremely bright. The living area is of identical size to that of the Nebraska and even the carpet for the Nebraska fits with no modifications. The tent was pitched on a Nebraska XL footprint groundsheet as well which did not need any modifications to be used. The tent has a very large porch at the front and a fair sized annexe at the back which has proper standing height when a portable toilet is put in there. The huge front porch has plenty of windows and a flat groundsheet ( the Nebraska has a bathtub groundsheet for the porch and no back annexe ). The flat groundsheet I found ideal as there were mud flaps to tuck underneath and there was nothing to trip over. It was also a perfect fit. The back annexe does, however, have a bathtub groundsheet. The main living area has a full zipped in groundsheet which you could leave off if you wanted to, but this would leave a 2 inch gap at the bottom of the tent if it was left off. The Nebraska has a fully sewn in groundsheet that cannot be removed. Although the front porch on both the tents are supposed to be of identical size, I found that all our cooking equipment and fridge fitted perfectly in the Pescara whereas in the Nebraska it was a tight squeeze and touched the sides of the tent. The reason for this seems to be that the Pescara front is not as sloped as the Nebraska so creates more useable space. This was also an advantage for my wife as she could zip up the front flap without standing on tip-toes like she had to in the Nebraska. There were also plenty of Windows in the Pescara porch, more than I can remember in the Nebraska. Ventilation is also very good. There are vents in the same place as the Nebraska on each corner but the Pescara has a massive mesh vent on the roof of the tent that is protected by the porch. There is also ventilation by way of guyed flaps in the bedrooms, front porch and rear annexe. This has an advantage over the Nebraska and it can effectively be turned on and off by opening or closing the porch. The corner vents are exactly the same as the Nebraska and can be propped open by a Velcro bar. The doors on the Pescara are completely sealed with no need for a Velcro fastener on the bottom, but can still be opened up completely or left with just a mesh door. The bedroom pods are identical both sides. They can either be left as 4 individual pods or open up to make a 4 berth pod. When opened up, there is no lip on the floor like 1 side of the Nebraska, so you can make full use of the space. There are also hanging organizers on the outside of the pods. I didn’t see anything in the advertising saying that one side of the pod can be folded down like the Nebraska universal inners, but I see no reason why this cannot be done although I have never had a reason to try it. Finally, the Pescara has a multitude of cable entry points. There are 2 in the floor ( one each end outside the bedroom pods ) and one by the porch entry. The ones on the floor can be closed via a pull-string and the porch entry point is zipped. There are also cable entry points into each bedroom pod that are zipped. The pods can also be removed on each side if you wanted extra living space and less sleeping space. The separation between the pods is via a roll-up partition that is also zipped when closed. Build Quality The tent arrived in 2 boxes, one which contained the fabric with the tent pegs wrapped up in the middle, and the other containing the steel poles. Both packages were fairly heavy. I couldn’t find an exact weight specified anywhere but it was at least as heavy as the Outwell Nebraska XL ( so around 50kg combined ). The fabric bag was slightly bigger than the Nebraska bag but was a wheeled trolley bag type. The extra size of the bag proved extremely useful when putting the tent away. The tent was very well packed and upon examination was of excellent quality. The first time it is used each piece is individually wrapped so be prepared for the first time to take a little longer than normal when erecting the tent. The zipped-in groundsheet and the bedroom pods have to be put in. You can leave all these in if you want to when you pack away. Surprisingly, I could find no instructions anywhere on how to erect the tent. I did have one little problem when I first used the tent. One of the pole ends was slightly dented and would not fit together. This could have been done either during transportation or during the delivery process. It took me 1 minute with some pliers to fix it and I have had no other problems since. The only other comment I have is that the colour coding on the poles is done via a coloured tape around the pole. After the third time of using it, this did start to come off. I remedied this by buying some coloured electrical tape and putting that round the poles. Putting It Away Again This was fairly easy to pack up and put away. The fact that the bag was just a little bit bigger than the Nebraska bag left room for error. After un-pegging everything and removing the poles we straightened out the tent on the floor. We then folded the front porch and the back annexe into the tent so it made a rectangular shape. Using the bag width as a guide we then folded the tent in at each end and kept folding until it was about the same width as the bag. It was just a matter then of squeezing all the air out ( which we did by rolling on the tent ), and then rolling it up. This was packed away complete with the groundsheet and pods left in. The poles pulled apart very easily by hand and did not require the use of any tools as we nearly always had to use with the Nebraska poles. The poles did not twist or bend and just gently pulled apart to be put back into the pole bag. Accessories All the Outwell accessories that fit the Nebraska XL can be used on the Pescara. The Outwell carpet and footprint groundsheet fit without modification. Even the Outwell Montana 4 front canopy fits the front porch is you want to extend it. Conclusion We have been extremely happy with the tent and after using it for a few months have not had any problems other than the dented pole when we first erected the tent and the colour coding tape peeling off after some use. I have not noticed any brown oxide appearing on the poles as I used to with the Nebraska poles, and the poles certainly didn’t lock or twist like the poles on my Nebraska. The tent is extremely easy to put up and can be done with relative ease by one person ( far easier with 2 though ). It is extremely spacious and at no time have we had any condensation problems in both hot and cold weather. Although a good change for a future version of the tent would be to add some windows in the main living area ( in the way of skylights maybe ), this is not strictly necessary as it is still extremely bright inside the tent even in dull weather. It is certainly brighter than a lot of tents I have been in, it just looks nicer to have proper sunlight. I never remembered the Nebraska being much brighter ( if at all ) even with the skylights open. The tent stood up to all the elements extremely well and there seems to be ample ventilation in just about every part of the tent, all of which can be opened or closed in one way or another. I would certainly add that this has probably been the best tent we have had yet in all the years we have been camping and would certainly buy another one if I was choosing a new tent. I am sure we will hear a lot more about the Pescara in future seasons given the popularity of the Nebraska and when the Royal Pescara becomes more well known."
Review originally from www.ukcampsite.co.uk. View more reviews of the royal tents at www.ukcampsite.co.uk! |
www.ukcampsite.co.uk
24/05/10 at 02:33 PM |
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This is the third big tent that we have had, the Pescara being the biggest so far. We have four kids, the oldest is ten and the youngest is two, so space is important to us and the Pescara definitely gives us the space we need. We found that with two of us the tent is very easy to put up and we are completely set up within a couple of hours, including bedrooms, inflatable beds, kitchen and the rest of the paraphernalia. The porch area acts as a great kitchen and dining area, just enough room for us to prepare a meal and for all six of us to sit down around a table and eat. The main tent got very warm during the day but by opening the front and back doors we maintained a good stream of air running through that keep the tent bearable for any one wanting to sit inside. As there are no windows in the main tent so we always tend to stay within the kitchen and canopy area at the front of the tent during the day, It is much cooler and we can keep an eye on the kids. With the sewn in ground sheet we could afford to leave our inner tents open all night, which was a big bonus to us. Having the porta potti in the annex at the back meant that the kids never had to unzip them selves out or wake us up to use the toilet at night. In the mornings the kids got up and played quite games within the tent, leaving me and mum snuggled up in our beds and still keeping an eye on them. The main tent really came into it’s own during the wet weather and in the evenings, we all had plenty of room to settle down and do our own thing without getting in each others way. Again the sewn in groundsheet came into it’s own maintaining a comfortable area without any draughts. As yet we have not got a fitted carpet but we have looked at them and they do look like a good idea, perhaps we will invest in one later in the year. So in conclusion we would rate this as an excellent tent for a large and or young family, it ticked all of the boxes for us. With the Pescara we feel happy to go away camping without having any concerns about the weather; we will be comfortable what ever is thrown at us. The biggest disadvantage that we have found is that some camp sites don’t like the size of the tent and often want to charge extra for a double pitch. That’s not really a problem, if you don’t want to pay the extra then there is always another camp site up the road."
Review originally from www.ukcampsite.co.uk. View more reviews of the royal tents at www.ukcampsite.co.uk! |
www.ukcampsite.co.uk
24/05/10 at 02:33 PM |
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Just back from our first trip in the Pescara 8 ZG and what a fantastic tent it is! It was easy to pitch, the only bit we had trouble with was the canopy curtains which we initially hung back to front, there is a slight angle to them so if they are the wrong way round they will not hang right, but this was soon put right. The rear porch area is great for a toilet and storage, especially as there is access straight outside so that you do not have to carry a full toilet through the main tent! This area had a bathtub groundsheet which was easy to fit. The front porch is ample space to house your kitchen with loads of space left and the zip on front canopy is a great extension giving a covered outside seating/cooking area. This also has a bathtub groungsheet which dropped at the front if required so there was nothing to trip over. The main area is a huge space with storage pockets between each of the bedroom pods and velcro straps along the inside of the roof and side of the tent to hold a light lead in place if required. The whole tent is light and airy with plenty of ventalation flaps. The 4 bedrooms pods are large enough to house a double airbed in each and again had storage pockets inside. There is good head height throughout the tent. We used the optional footprint groundsheet which helped to keep the main tent clean. In conclusion, this is fantastic tent with great build quality and and an excellent layout giving a huge living space for a larger family."
Review originally from www.ukcampsite.co.uk. View more reviews of the royal tents at www.ukcampsite.co.uk! |
www.ukcampsite.co.uk
24/05/10 at 02:32 PM |
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Bought this tent a month as we decided to go camping for the first time in 25 years for me and the first time for my wife and our two kids 3 and 7. We did a lot of searching for what tent to buy and although this was quite pricey it seemed to fit our needs perfectly. The tent is easy to put up first time out of the box at the campsite so you don't want to look like a total newbie but its very easy with two adults, had the whole tent up in less than 1 hour. My first thoughts when it was up is 'it's huge' I love it, the internal space is awesome, perfect for rainy evenings (thankfully we did not have any) the bedrooms are a good size although a big double airbed does fill one. With my very limited experience I thought the build quality was very good. We had one night from about midnight to 4 or 5 am when it rained hard but had no leaks that I could find, although I had forgotten just how loud rain in when you are laid in a tent. The front porch of the tent does not have a SIG but a bathtub style ground sheet, although the front section by the door can be laid flat. This section is big enough to hold our kitchen unit and a 4 seater table and stools without any problem, then in front of this you have the sun canopy with removable sides, I love this and spent most evenings under here playing cards watching the kids play, It does not get any better! The rear section also has the same bathtub ground sheet but we just used this for ventilation as the tent was so big we had nothing to put in there. Although as stated in other reviews there are no windows in the main tent it is very light in there and can get very, very hot but with the front and back doors rolled up and all the vents open it remained bearable but only just! My only little bug (quite literally) is the vent at the top of the main compartment into the front porch area because of it's shape tends to trap flies and bugs in the top triangle part and they cant get out so after a few days it looked pretty nasty up there and it's also pretty high so difficult to clean. In the end I put a couple of rolled up sheets of kitchen roll up in the back to stop bugs getting stuck at the very top, then no more problem. We bought the footprint groundsheet also and this was a blessing as it was easy to clean at home rather than having to get the whole tent out. On the whole it's great. It's big. It looks good. And it's mine! You wont go wrong with this tent"
Review originally from www.ukcampsite.co.uk. View more reviews of the royal tents at www.ukcampsite.co.uk! |
www.ukcampsite.co.uk
24/05/10 at 02:31 PM |
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