I can’t remember how long I have wanted one of these, but a few weeks ago we took the plunge and haven’t looked back! Keep reading for our Boutique Camping 5m Bell Tent Review. No skin in the game here, no affiliate marketing or gifted items, just our honest thoughts.
Boutique Camping, established in 2010, specializes in luxury canvas tents and a range of glamping accessories. The company offers a variety of high-quality tents, including classic bell tents, star bell tents, and innovative designs like the Nova Air Dome and Luna Emperor tents. These tents come in various sizes to accommodate different group sizes, from small 2-person tents to large 14-person tents.
In addition to tents, Boutique Camping provides a wide array of camping accessories to enhance the glamping experience. This includes wood-burning stoves, pizza ovens, bedding, soft furnishings, and other essentials designed to combine comfort and style in the outdoors.
The company is known for its durable, stylish products and commitment to providing a premium camping experience, whether for personal use, events, or rentals. Such glowing reviews told us that this was the company for us.
The first decision we had to make was which style? No brainer, whilst the Star Bell, Nova Air and the Emporer tents are beautiful, it was the classic bell tent that really sang to us!
Next up - size. We are a family of four with a lot of stuff. Whilst 4m would do, we like some additional space in our tent so opted for the 5m to avoid being on top of each other. Plenty of room to fit the 6 beds that are advertised as fitting in a 5m, but it would be a little cosy!
Finally, fabric. In my heart, as a lifelong camper since my brownie and girl guide days back in the early 90s, it is canvas all the way. However, practically we don’t have a big enough garden to dry out and treat a canvas tent to ensure it remains mould free. The compromise for us was the thicker synthetic Oxford 230 gms. So pleased we made that decision as in the classic sandstone colour, it really looks the part whilst still ticking the maintenance boxes we need it to.
So how much space to you need? With a diameter of just under 5m, a central pole height of 3m and door width and height of 220cm and 200cm respectively, there is ample space to stand (with your arms straight out) and do a twirl without coming remotely close to the sides!!
It arrived quickly (about 3 days from order placement) and comes in a beautiful bag with pegs, mallet and spares.
Right, next up was pitching! Our inaugural pitch was at Bedgebury Campsite (updated review to follow, but read one from last year here!). From bag to up and completely pegged out was about 20-25 minutes for Mr Camping Scamping and our youngest (myself and our daughter were delayed arriving due to a D of E expedition). Went up like a dream, with the minimum of swearing (apparently!). Just peg out the base (we also opted for their groundsheet protector), put in the central pole and door A frame and then peg out the guy ropes. A breath of fresh air from our previous tent and its million and one poles and four man pitching requirement!
Dismantling was just as easy and it was back in its bag in 30mins. I’m sure that as we get used to pitching and bringing down we’ll shave a lot off these times!
The quality of the fabric has really surprised us. Thicker than normal tent material with a great finish. The synthetic compromise means that there is some condensation in the morning but it only took about 30 mins in full sun to evaporate and there are lots of vents at the top - note to self to make sure we have these better opened next time! As well as unzippable mesh vents around the side. This choice of fabric also means that we can’t use a stove in this one. We rarely camp when it is super cold so I don’t think this is going to be an issue for us, but something to consider if you are a four season camper. We didn’t explore this functionality this time, but you can also completely unzip the side to have a free floating canopy.
So there you have it - our thoughts on the Boutique Camping 5m Bell Tent. We love it! It is currently priced at £469 - which is an investment, but well worth it. It definitely gets the Camping Scamping seal of approval and we can’t wait until our next outing in a couple of weeks!
