Nettle Tea! I need your De Waard wisdom.

[Slubberdegullion]

Specifically Albratros vs The Vergrote Zilvermeeuw.

Do you have both?

[CampingClaire]

Butting In....I have the Albatross if I can help at all?

[Slubberdegullion]

I've just had a very long chat with a lovely Dutch gentleman called Pe in one of the stores so he may have answered all my 300 some questions about the tents. Think the decision has been made to go for the Albatros.

OMG I am slightly trembly at the thought.

What extras have you got Claire?

Do you have the carpet and the hanging storage wotnots?

To inner or not? I'm thinking not as i like to look at the canvas and we are only 2 season campers really.

[ViviPru]

Eavesdropping...

Very nearly chose the Albatross when we upgraded our tent last month. Gave it a swerve in the end due to being wooed by smart air inflatable. But it was a close-run thing so will enjoy De Waard procurement vicariously here if you don't mind....

[ViviPru]

Huminahuminah

[hillbilly]

Me too Vivi - another lovely De Waard thread. It's my dream tent.........

[CampingClaire]

All we got was the Variolifuiel (apologies if spelt wrong but it's the enormous sunshade and curtains to divide the inner.
We didn't buy the inner tent as at about £500 we reckoned we couldn't justify it and like you, weren't planning on taking it to the Arctic circle. If I get cold I just put another jumper and a thicker pair of socks on!!
Didn't buy the carpet either (mean Scots) as we have a carpet from our Outwell Maryland which 'almost fits' otherwise we would've bought it. I actually think the Outwell one is better quality for the price so maybe see what they have for sale now that would fit (the Maryland isn't made anymore). You will need a carpet though, either the DeWaard one or who-evers.
We do have the triangular hanging storage things and yes, I think they're worth the money. Used ours aplenty!!
We got ours at the Vrijbuitier ? shop in Gouda and the staff couldn't have been any more helpful. We took the ferry over so we could see everything and they even pitched one and made us help to get practice with the pitching and re-bagging afterwards.
We only camp now with one daughter in the tent but if we still took both (older one now hols on her own) I think a three bedder divider would've been my choice as we got used to everyone having their own space in the Maryland. How many kids have you got and are they happy to share a room?

[NettleTea]

Yes Slubber, I confess to having both

in fact we have 1 albatross, and 3 zilvermeuw, one of them being a junior.

we chose the zilvermeuw because of size - for those glampers we can fit a double bed and up to 3 campbeds with it still looking like enough spare space to be acceptable - we do without the curtains just because of the nature of our business. We also had coir carpets made for us.

We had the side walls and the variolouffel when we went for our new one - its absolutely stunning but we have to get it fixed as it caught a severe weather warning and one of the d rings has cut through the webbing - we will be putting a sunshade on for the short term.

Again, I think this is just the fact of how we use it - if we were in it when the weather hit, or one of those sensible Dutch people, we would have taken the huge sail like attachment down and fixed it in one of its many variants for high winds, but as it was it was standing empty and my OH had to go out and take it down. Tent was fine though, and its parked atop a hill with quite a gale hitting it sideways (again, pitched for the view, not for the wind... but who expects hurricanes in July?)

Albatross is probably that teeny bit lighter to lug about.

I love them both, but guess it also depends how many of you there are.

[Slubberdegullion]

There are 4 of us. Dds now 9 and 10, so in the next next year or so I expect be wanting their own bedroom space. Pé, the lovely and supremely helpful De Waard dude for Vrijbuiter who I spoke to this morning made the very good point that when they are teenagers they will probably want to be in their own little pup tent anyway, and so we don't want a tent so gargantuan that it takes up all the space on the pitch leaving no room for a backpacker tent, or two.

I much prefer the shape and look of the single pole Albatros too.

I feel quite beside myself with canvas purchasing excitement.

[Slubberdegullion]

at your ripped variolufiel Nettle

[Slubberdegullion]

I'm not keen on getting an inner Claire. We don't have an inner in the Cabanon and I like the more spacious look of the bare canvas panels. As were not going to be camping in mid winter I don't see the point either.

[NettleTea]

yes, Im a bit sad about the varioloufiel. The tent looks almost bare without it. we are having to compensate campers with free food and firewood so that I dont feel guilty, although I have a sun canopy which I bought for the other zilvermeuww, only to discover it was an old model with no zip. There was a reason, and I guess this is it!!. I can get the side walls on next week and the sun canopy up, and luckily we have one of the best yurt makers in the next village (he made out 2 yurts) so I expect he can fix it for me.

[NettleTea]

I do love the single pole, and they are correct about the smaller tents for the kids. Maybe teeny dewaards.....

[Slubberdegullion]

Oh god NO to teeny De waards. We've got a whole fricking smorgasbord of small tents, they can kip in one of them round the back so it doesn't spoil the look of the varioluifel

[Slubberdegullion]

Wind shields plus sun canopy still looks smart though nettle. fingers crossed for a quick fix.

Pe hasn't emailed me back. I'm going to have to nag him again tomorrow. need to get this tent asap so i can make a twat of myself in private spending 4 hours pitching it with the Dutch instructions.

[badger21]

Sure you're set on a de waard? What about the delights of an inflatable Karsten Tenten?

We're planning to go to the factory to look at them this summer while we're over there ...

[Slubberdegullion]

I have looked at the Karstens, but they just don't do it for me style-wise. And no variolufiel. I must have a variolufiel.

[CampingClaire]

You MUST have the variolufiel!! It looks undressed without it!!
Are you going over to get it? How exciting!! We had to fight really hard with our consciences NOT to buy anything else in Vrijbuitier when we went!! We even took the small car as a deterrent!!
Pitching it is relatively easy but the pegging is def DH's job (control freak)!!

[Slubberdegullion]

Oh yes. variolufiel is absolutely essential.
Got the priced up cost of tent + tent gubbins + shipping from Pé today and it's not quite as eye wateringly dreadful as I was girding my loins for, so I think tonight I will order it.
Eek

Claire did you get English pitching instructions or did yiu have to google translate the Dutch ones?

[Slubberdegullion]

We are in the NW so cost of shipping is less than cost of petrol plus ferry plus overnight accommodation.

It's probably just as well really. We went to Vrijbuiter a few years ago and that place has danger-danger written all over it for the credit card.

[lavendersun]

We have an Albatross, best tent ever!

We too didn't bother going to collect it - shipping was about £200 I think, much less hassle than collecting and cheaper too.

You can download the instructions on the De Waard web page - they are in Dutch but very well illustrated.

I think my husband has got english instructions, will ask. There are some on ukcampsite but I seem to remember the pole instruction having the wrong colour reference.

We have the windshields, vario and storage things. I sewed loops (5, I think) in some nylon webbing tape with a loop at the top. We slip this over one of the front door poles and then tie it at the bottom of the slop along the front side. We then put those hooks (with rubber at each end) that you can buy in camping shops through each loop and hang our coats on one side, towels etc., on the other, works really well.

[lavendersun]

slope, not slop

[lavendersun]

Also have the bug screen door thing which is nice. We use it a lot and on a hot day just leave that zipped in when we go out.

[CampingClaire]

Oh yeah...forgot about the bug door...got that too!! Loving the hook idea lavendersun.

[Slubberdegullion]

I've emailed Pé about the bug door.

We paid for the Albatros last night. Dh and I held hands when I pressed 'send payment'. So excited [understatement]

Hook idea very useful, thanks lavender.

[SeaShellsMyDogTrulySmells]

Big old happy for awesome canvas purchase :)