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Cabanon Guadeloupe
The Tent
The Guadeloupe (pronouced "gwadaloop" or so I'm
informed, but don't quote me ) is a pyramide-style
tent and is made of top quality 100% cotton, is very
simple to erect has a strong PVC Sewn-In-Groundsheet
(SIG) and an integral 1m sun canopy. This style of tent
is quite popular in the rest of Europe and is a breath
of fresh air on a UK campsite. Reminiscent of my camping
days in the old Ridge tents the Cabanon Guadeloupe oozes
nostalgia with a mix of modern comfort.
Cabanon are renowned for the
quality of their tents and the purchaser of these gems
of the camping world are quite confident that the tent
is of the highest quality BUT why oh why do Cabanon
insist on packaging their tents up in inferior looking
tent bags? The Guadeloupe is no exception to this as the
‘tent bag’ is akin to a white plastic potato sack with a
sticky label saying “Guadeloupe” on it and an inferior
piece of ribbon to tie up the top opening. Once past the
disappointing packaging then all doubts are cast aside
as the look and feel of the quality Canvas and
Groundsheet leaps out at you. This really is a high
quality tent.
Pitch Footprint, Size And Weight
At just 380cm X 305cm that's a
medium size tent by most campsite standards, with a
height of
230 cm at the centre. The living
area is 305cm X 150cm, with one door access. Weight
is just
24kg and the unit comes packed
all in 1 bag
Erection / Pitching
I’ve erected some easy pitch tents in my time but the
Guadeloupe is by far one of the simplest and quickest to
erect in it’s size group. Poles and pegs are packed in
there own bags and rolled up with the tent. The quality
of these bags are more of what I would have expected
from the tent bag itself.
Instructions are by way of an A4 piece of paper
(English and French versions) but you really don’t need
more as they are short, clear and concise. The tent only
has 3 main poles (+ 2 to keep the canopy propped up) and
is designed for a quick erection as follows:- .Peg 4
corners of the tent to make it square.
Open door and insert main pole (the one with the rubber
end) into the roof of the tent (special re-inforced
patch in roof), raising the tent as you do so.
Insert 2 poles in door way section.
Peg out the rest of tent and guys, insert 2 poles into canopy and guy out.
Job Done.
Total time 15 minutes.
Ah, but what they neglected to say is that on the first
erection you have to tie ALL the guy lines onto the tent
first and as there's quite a few then it took a
lot longer than 15 minutes, but hey, at least you only
have to it once unless you like to take your guy lines off to dry them separately.
The 1 metre integral Sun Canopy is a useful little
feature but it’s only 1 metre at the roof and actually
tapers to 48cm at the ground , not quite what I
expected.
The optional Side Panel compensates for this somewhat.
Very simple to attach, fix top of side panel to canopy
pole, velcro at side of Sun Canopy, tie the ribbon near
base to the Sun Canopy and guy out (2 minutes max).
What’s clever about the optional Side Panel is that it
can be used on either side on the Sun Canopy (or buy two
and use them on each side).
The interior of the tent echos quality but lacks storage
pockets and hanging points for lighting. It doesn't
have an inner tent as canvas is warmer and more
breathable than synthetic and as such produces less
condensation. I believe it's bigger sister (the
Barbados) now includes an inner tent but not sure if
this is just to try and tempt the campers who are
accustomed to having an inner tent.
A large curtain divider (zipped in the centre) separates
the 5ft x 10ft living space from the sleeping area. The
sloping walls don't seem to make it feel claustrophobic
as the tent centre is 7ft 6" high.
The tent does feel a little darker than some synthetic
tents as it only has 2 front windows but all of one side
of the front wall can be rolled away to the side to open
the tent up on those hot summer days.
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Pros and Cons
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Pros:
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Cons:
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The Verdict
If you're used to a large
dome/tunnel synthetic type tent then this tent will take
some getting used to as it is smaller and has less of
that light airy feeling BUT the wow factor of the shape,
simplicity & speed of pitch plus the quality of
manufacture and materials is definitely a strong pulling
point and at 24 kg it’s easy enough to lug around.
Definitely a good weekender tent (or even longer)
The Cost
Around the £325 mark, which makes
the Guadeloupe within a lot of people’s budgets and
definitely worth considering.
Information and Links
For further information on Cabanon
and their products visit
Cabanon
Reviewed by Camper Pete
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