THE BLACKS OF GREENOCK SOLACE 1 and 2 BELL TENTS
The Solace 1 and 2 are Blacks of Greenock bell tents, built to identical specifications, one is 4 metre in diameter, the other 5. This review is specific to the Solace 1, the 4 metre tent.
These tents are made in a slightly higher weight canvas than is common in many others, at 320 g/m, as opposed to 285g/m.
The canvas is a tight quality weave and is utterly waterproof. All the pressure points are reinforced and seams double stitched as a minimum. The tents are well cut and set very nicely without saggy panels.
The designs have a higher than is usual entrance and the 4 metre tent entrance is nearly 6 feet, to mix up the units of measurement, or 1.8 metres. Many others are 1.5m or less. This is quite significant because then the ridge that follows from tent apex to door apex will be that much higher with commensurate increase in space. It makes a surprising difference.
I am 6 4 and there is loads of standing room in this tent for me.
The front doors (with a 3 way zip) have full size mesh doors with their own 3 way zips, which again, many other bell tents do not have. This is part of a very comprehensive ventilation and insect ingress prevention system for the tent which includes 3 very large half-moon windows in the walls. These have zip in canvas closures and again full mesh inserts. Ideally, these too, like the doors, could be zipped, but they are not, they are fixed. On the outside, uniquely, the windows have clear plastic roll up covers for extra rain protection if required.
In the apex, are three further, mesh and cowled vents. With all this, ventilation is excellent and insect exclusion is as good as it can be.
The walls have large sods made from woven polyethylene on the bottom which go under the groundsheet. These in their turn are covered by canvas cowls which pin down with the walls. Whilst perfectly adequate I would have preferred the sods to have been the same plasticised material as the HD groundsheet in a tent of this quality.
Inside the front doors on the walls are 2 rows, 1 row each side of the doors, of useful odds and sods storage pockets for keys, cards, phones, maps or whatever.
The groundsheet design on the tents is again unique to Blacks: they clip in. This gives the versatility of zip in groundsheets without the risk of damaging a zip and the inherent cost, the simplicity of peg in groundsheets, without the inconvenience of all those pegs. I would have preferred the clips to be a couple of inches higher and the groundsheet to be slightly trayed.
The standard groundsheet is a lightweight woven polyethylene affair, but a fabulous ripstop woven and plasticised heavy duty sheet is available, sometimes offered f.o.c. This is highly recommended.
All poles (with hanging points) are robust and sprung connected for ease of assembly and the pegs, at least for the 4 metre variant, perfectly good and strong. Blacks supply with the tent a couple of spare guys, but it would be nice to include a few spare pegs, bearing in mind that this tent is sold at the more premium end of the market. They do include a mallet as standard.
The tent also includes as standard, again unlike many others, an inner tent which clips in and has its own mesh doors, This, and the groundsheet, are pale grey, but the anti-insect mesh is dark grey, and it is this which makes the tent interiors look dark in the photos. It is far from the case in reality, and the tents have a lovely light ambience.
The tents are supplied in a nylon zip up bag with webbing carry straps, which is plenty big enough, though I would have preferred a canvas one.
On the options list is a large canopy or awning, made of the same high quality canvas, which is supplied with its own pegs and pole, and in its own bag. This gives a large covered area for storage, cooking, dining, socialising or whatever.
When one looks at the whole package, the specification and the quality thereof, the tent suddenly begins to look like very good value for money, compared to many of its competitors. Despite some very heavy and prolonged hosing in order to weather it (for I have yet to use it in heavy rain), as Blacks advise, it did not leak at all. Not at all.
I am one very happy customer. The service, attention, and the willingness to answer all my queries before finally purchasing were much appreciated, and played a significant part in finalising my decision to buy.
This seems a good, strong, robust, quality tent. Yes I may want a couple of tweaks as it were: who wouldnt?
How long to pitch? Fifteen minutes on my own, on first attempt. Couldnt really be easier.
2017
The Solace 1 and 2 are Blacks of Greenock bell tents, built to identical specifications, one is 4 metre in diameter, the other 5. This review is specific to the Solace 1, the 4 metre tent.
These tents are made in a slightly higher weight canvas than is common in many others, at 320 g/m, as opposed to 285g/m.
The canvas is a tight quality weave and is utterly waterproof. All the pressure points are reinforced and seams double stitched as a minimum. The tents are well cut and set very nicely without saggy panels.
The designs have a higher than is usual entrance and the 4 metre tent entrance is nearly 6 feet, to mix up the units of measurement, or 1.8 metres. Many others are 1.5m or less. This is quite significant because then the ridge that follows from tent apex to door apex will be that much higher with commensurate increase in space. It makes a surprising difference.
I am 6 4 and there is loads of standing room in this tent for me.
The front doors (with a 3 way zip) have full size mesh doors with their own 3 way zips, which again, many other bell tents do not have. This is part of a very comprehensive ventilation and insect ingress prevention system for the tent which includes 3 very large half-moon windows in the walls. These have zip in canvas closures and again full mesh inserts. Ideally, these too, like the doors, could be zipped, but they are not, they are fixed. On the outside, uniquely, the windows have clear plastic roll up covers for extra rain protection if required.
In the apex, are three further, mesh and cowled vents. With all this, ventilation is excellent and insect exclusion is as good as it can be.
The walls have large sods made from woven polyethylene on the bottom which go under the groundsheet. These in their turn are covered by canvas cowls which pin down with the walls. Whilst perfectly adequate I would have preferred the sods to have been the same plasticised material as the HD groundsheet in a tent of this quality.
Inside the front doors on the walls are 2 rows, 1 row each side of the doors, of useful odds and sods storage pockets for keys, cards, phones, maps or whatever.
The groundsheet design on the tents is again unique to Blacks: they clip in. This gives the versatility of zip in groundsheets without the risk of damaging a zip and the inherent cost, the simplicity of peg in groundsheets, without the inconvenience of all those pegs. I would have preferred the clips to be a couple of inches higher and the groundsheet to be slightly trayed.
The standard groundsheet is a lightweight woven polyethylene affair, but a fabulous ripstop woven and plasticised heavy duty sheet is available, sometimes offered f.o.c. This is highly recommended.
All poles (with hanging points) are robust and sprung connected for ease of assembly and the pegs, at least for the 4 metre variant, perfectly good and strong. Blacks supply with the tent a couple of spare guys, but it would be nice to include a few spare pegs, bearing in mind that this tent is sold at the more premium end of the market. They do include a mallet as standard.
The tent also includes as standard, again unlike many others, an inner tent which clips in and has its own mesh doors, This, and the groundsheet, are pale grey, but the anti-insect mesh is dark grey, and it is this which makes the tent interiors look dark in the photos. It is far from the case in reality, and the tents have a lovely light ambience.
The tents are supplied in a nylon zip up bag with webbing carry straps, which is plenty big enough, though I would have preferred a canvas one.
On the options list is a large canopy or awning, made of the same high quality canvas, which is supplied with its own pegs and pole, and in its own bag. This gives a large covered area for storage, cooking, dining, socialising or whatever.
When one looks at the whole package, the specification and the quality thereof, the tent suddenly begins to look like very good value for money, compared to many of its competitors. Despite some very heavy and prolonged hosing in order to weather it (for I have yet to use it in heavy rain), as Blacks advise, it did not leak at all. Not at all.
I am one very happy customer. The service, attention, and the willingness to answer all my queries before finally purchasing were much appreciated, and played a significant part in finalising my decision to buy.
This seems a good, strong, robust, quality tent. Yes I may want a couple of tweaks as it were: who wouldnt?
How long to pitch? Fifteen minutes on my own, on first attempt. Couldnt really be easier.
2017
