another camping question

[what..the?]

I have just bought a Blacks Tucana constellation II Tent for what looked to be the bargin price of £100 (in the blacks store) it said the org price tag figure was £275 and with other discounts the £100 became £95 plus I got £14 camping stove for free I needed to buy anyway and the tent has lights built in which normally cost £15 - 20. It was supposed to be ex-display and had been built in a field but there was not sign of this when I looked through the tent at home, not one blade of grass? Maybe they made a mistake that it was ex-display?

Anyway, wanted to ask if people knew about this tent. But mainly my question is about sewn in ground sheets as apposed to open sides which allow the tent to breath more and less condensation. My previous tent had separate ground sheet but I never camped in massively wet conditions. This one has a separate ground sheet the whole length with then the bedroom pods have fully sewn in groundsheets which have a few inches depth before they become net, also the tent fly sheet is supposed to have a skirt around the bottom to stop the rain bouncing/leaking under the fly sheet and into the tent.

being a bit of a clean freak having the whole tent in one piece ie sewn in ground sheet all the way round to keep all dirt and water out sounds great but I think long term we will camp alot in the summer heat and we get so hot in the tent usually that an open bottom to the tent make keep us cool.

What are peoples views on 'open' unsewn in ground sheets. Does all the rain just flood in?

[woofgang]

yup

[what..the?]

lol

[craft1948]

You should take great care.....I got pregnant in a tent that didn't have a sewn-in groundsheet.....

[what..the?]

pmsl

[jomifl]

A sewn in groundsheet keeps out a lot of small creatures, some that bite, and stays where it is supposed to be. You don't need a gap around the bottom for ventilation as the air passes through the cloth. I have never experienced condensation in a tent, just rain, rain ,rain.