During the gloomy winter months, my mind often turns to making plans in the summer and seeing as how I’m floating between post-wedding and pre-mortgage money is understandably a little tight, so a budget camping trip is looking like the only chance of a holiday this year. Luckily, I LOVE camping! If you are camping with a family, have friends too lazy to set up their own tent, or just like lots of space, the Saturn 6 from ‘Skandika’ could be exactly what you need.

This 6-berth family tent is plenty roomy, with its highest point reaching 200cm and with two sleeping compartments with room for three people. Now we know these numbers often represent the maximum capacity it will sleep, so if you like a bit more room and don’t fancy being nose-to-nose with your camp mates, it will be more comfortable with four people. Alternatively, you can kick everyone out, roll up the room divider and have one massive bedroom all to yourself. A tent of this size can be a bit daunting to set up, however the Saturn 6 will become quick and easy to erect after a few practises, but it’s best to have two people just to speed up the process. The shatter-proof fibreglass poles pop together and slide through the integrated sleeves; the outer layer pops up first with a sewn-groundsheet, then the inner compartments are then attached inside and the porch groundsheet can be pegged down. For protection against the elements this tent has waterproof sealed seams, and the outer shell offers a 5,000mm water column protection - the highest available quality for family tents. There are guy ropes provided but annoyingly they don’t come pre-attached, so you will have to put your knotting skills to the test (they are also red which isn’t very visible in low lighting).

The tent seems well made, with reinforced eyelets and tabs, and the excess of doors and windows makes for excellent ventilation. The inner lining is breathable and the mesh on the sleeping pod and main entrances keep out the bugs. The side entrance can be used as an extra porch for storage or use as a sunshade. Extra features include the fire-retardant product material, a hook in the roof to hang a camping lantern, a skylight window in the roof, organiser pockets and a repair kit.

The Saturn 6 it isn’t something for travelling with at 27kg and a pack size of 110 x 42 x 20cm, but it is a great choice for longer camping trips with lots of people. The tent is spacious with lots of light and tough enough to keep out of the worst of the British weather. £599.00

4 out of 5

Buy now

Pros

Spacious

Lots of light and ventilation

Sleeps up to 6 people

Simple to put up

Integrated groundsheet

Over 6.5 ft headroom

Organiser pockets

5,000 mm water column

Waterproof sealed seams

Mosquito mesh on entrances

Cons

Guy ropes not attached and difficult to see in low light

Heavy and large pack size