www.nwcampers.co.uk

You know that you are getting old when, even for a short one or two-night camp with just a couple of you, you want a tent in which you can stand up. Thus was my justification in buying the Outwell Nevada 3.

Pitching is fairly easy as it is essentially a short, three-pole tunnel tent. The main difficulty is due to the tent being head-height and so the poles are very long; after inserting the poles into the sleeves it helps to have one person inside the tent to lift the tent while the other inserts the pins into the ends of the poles. There is a “three-berth” bedroom pod which for two is luxuriously proportioned. Also, what is rare in a tent of this size, there is a SIG living area that would comfortably sit two in chairs as well as being tall enough to stand up in. There is one large door which, like most Outwell tents, has the option of full-door mesh for bug-free ventilation and/or window. There are also two other windows and all windows have “curtains”. There are also vents at the front and back of the tent.

The tent is not, however, perfect. I’m not a fan of tents that are set up to have people sleeping along the plane of the door; it means that those sleeping away from the door have to climb over others if they need to get out in the middle of the night. Another downside to the design is that, because the door is on an angle and there is no canopy, getting in and out of the tent when it is raining without the living area getting wet is difficult and inconvenient. For this reason I also bought the Aztec Single Pole Canopy which works well with the Nevada 3 and can be bought for £19; an alternative is the Vango Large Sun Canopy. One final quibble is the single, central guy rope over the door; this really gets in the way when getting in and out of the tent, especially when you also have a canopy; I’m sure that it would be possible to have two guys, one on either side of the door.

The Nevada 3 had a claimed RRP of £220 but in no way is this worth anywhere near that figure and this is doubtless little more than a cynical ploy to give the impression that you are getting a good deal once the price has been reduced. Even at the “sale” price of £150/160, which it was at for much of 2009, this tent is over-priced. However, once it was reduced towards the £100 mark (and under) then it became a very good buy.

But for all the complaints we found this a great “little” tent for two to spend a few days in comfort. If you bought it for the “reduced” price then this is a really good, convenient and spacious tent for two. It has many of the comfort features of a family tent in the convenient footprint of a three berth tent.

Based on the tent being bought around the £100 mark I would give it 9/10. If I had bought it at £160 then it would only get six or seven and only four or five if I had bought it at the full RRP of £220.