Friday 11 February 2022

Cabanon tents right here in the UK!



Here at IBEX Camping we are delighted to be stockists for Cabanon having a special place in our hearts , Cabanon are the brand we started our family Camping Adventures with. As we approach Valentines Day we thought we'd share a few great facts about Cabanon tents and why we love the brand. Great Quality  tents designed to give many , many years of camping trips and just a little ecofriendly too having a much lower carbon footprint than other brands. 

So a little about the history of Cabanon Tents , established in 1959 Cabanon offer a range of Breathable and Waterproof Cotton Canvas frame tents , pyramid tents and Bell Tents too! 


The Cabanon Espace Tent is probably one of the most recognisable tents in the Cabanon range , very reminiscent of tents from years gone by , still going strong with a few up to date  enhancements such as the zipped in Groundsheet .... no draughts! 

We particularly love the design of the Cabanon Barbados tent , a 4 person Pyramid Style Tent with a small covered porch area ... the colours are great too! 

Just a little more Eco Friendly thanks to Cabanons low carbon footprint compared to other brands ... all of the components for each Cabanon tents are made in France with some fabrics being sourced from around Europe , Holland , Belgium and Germany. ... 80% of the Fabrics used in Cabanon Tents are made in France!  

So what about the frames .... all the Frames for each of the Cabanon tents are made in house by Cabanon. 

Each tent is handmade by skilled machinists in the Cabanon factory in Dunkerque , where they have a 10,000m² manufacturing site , once restrictions change we are very much looking forward to visiting Cabanon :) 


Being very much a 'handmade' company Cabanon have manufacturing schedules to ensure that the stock is available throughout the season , we are delighted to stock a core range from Cabanon Tentsright here at our premises in Little Paxton.  Some of the larger family tents especially the Cabanon Espace are ordered in just for you , with varying lead times throughout the season ...
 
A tip from the Team @ IBEX Camping ... when choosing a larger Cabanon tent it may be worth thinking a little earlier to ensure we can pop your tent in the manufacturing schedule for you. 




Thinking of choosing a Cotton Canvas Cabanon tent there are a few useful points to bear in mind... Camping under cotton canvas is very different to Polyester , they have a much more  snug feel being a little more temperature regulating (warmer in cooder weather ...Cooler in warmer weather) they are a little more comforatble too!  It's always worth remembering that being cotton canvas they are heavier and larger in pack size than polyester equivalent tents ... also more importantly Cotton Canvas tents need to be pitched to dry  ... a larger enough garden or a friendly local campsite are needed if you have to pack down in the rain! 

Our friendly Family Team of Experienced Campers are always happy to answer any questions you may have to ensure you choose the correct tent for your next Camping Adventure. 


Thank you for reading this post , our family team of experienced campers are always happy to offer a little advice! Shop @ IBEX Camping

Thursday 20 January 2022

How do I get my tent back in it's bag? - Tips from The Team @ IBEX Camping


Here at IBEX Camping we are well practiced at popping our tents back in their bags , particularly  with our tent hire service , we very often pitch and de pitch again too! 

So here are our tips for getting your tent packed safely back in it's bag ready for your next camping adventure! 

First things first - before you start your pack down make sure your tent is completly dry , the flysheet should feel dry as well as the guylines and guyline points , check your mud flaps too water can sometimes get trapped during your camping trip. If there's any sign of water leave to dry a little longer. Don't forget to unroll any window or door coverings 

While the outside of your tent is drying take a little time to check the inside too , check the edges of the groundsheet for any signs of trapped condensation. If you have internal poles - check underneath these too. Many tents are now pitch a one meaning that once you have popped your bedrooms in place you can leave them in for next time you use your tent. Don't forget to check underneath your bedrooms  condensation can sometimes get trapped under the bedrooms. Also check behind / inside any window or door coverings  that have been rolled up.

Once you're happy that your tent is completely dry inside and out , (if you need to leave the site don't worry just unpack and re pitch as soon as you can.) You can start your de pitch , check the inside of the tent thoroughly for forgotten gear ... we very often find torches in the bedroom pockets , another favourite hiding place is under the bedrooms. 


Start by unpegging  your guylines  , check the weather in very windy conditions we may leave some stabilising guylines in place ... we once nearly lost a Canvas Frame Tent over the cliff tops in Yorkshire!

Poled tents either Fibreglass or Steel , remove your poles working from the front or the back depending on any wind direction , try not to create a fabric kite :) we usually have someone picking up the poles as they are removed so we don't leave any behind! 

Inflatable poles deflate with the valves , when your flysheet is flat you can gently work along the poles to manually expel any remaining air from the poles , some stirrup pump also have a deflate mode to help remove any residual air. 

Sewn in Groundsheets are great but they do trap air when it comes to De pitch we always leave a door open or more than one in larger tents , this gives the air an escape route when folding.  So let's begin folding .... 

Start to unpeg your tent , again keep an eye on the weather if it's a little breezy simply leave a few holding pegs in place until you're ready to remove them.  Depending on the size of your tent , we would usually for larger tents start folding with the longest size , for vis a vis tunnel tents we usually start folding from the shorter edge 

For either method we start by folding a section of the Flysheet to the same width of the tent bag  and towards an open door - we then fold in sections from both sides of the tent to meet and foldover in the middle - we find that folding in 3 or 4 works best depending on the size of your tent. 

With each fold we carefully expel any excess air from the tent working towards the open door (s) once you have finished you should then be left with a folded tent the same width of the bag, One last gentle expel of air by pushing across the folded flysheet towards the open doorway and we're ready to start rolling. 

Roll your tent again towards the open doorway , once the tent has been rolled check that it's small enough to fit the bag by sliding over your rolled tent ... if it's too large you'll probably just need to roll again! once the tent bag fits over your rolled tent simply roll over the right way up zip or clip your bag closed. 

Don't forget to have a quick sweep of your pitch for poles ... we usually walk the outline of our pitching space too to check for pegs that we may have dropped or missed! 

Thank you for reading our blog post , these are just our little tips ... if you have any suggestions or have any questions please don't hesitate to get in touch our family team of experienced campers are always happy to offer a little advice :) 

Thank you for reading this post , our family team of experienced campers are always happy to offer a little advice! Shop @ IBEX Camping

Friday 14 January 2022

BioLite CampStove 2+ - Make Electricity from Fire

BioLite CampStove 2+



We're delighted to have added the BioLite CampStove 2+ to the range for 2022. This ingenious little cooking device uses Thermoelectics to convert your Fire into Electricity.







Burns Biomass (Twigs, Sticks or Pellets ) Smokeless flames -  allowing you to cook your meals and Charge your gear! 


Other features we love ... comes complete with a 100 Lumen Flex Light , Firestarter and Stuffsack. 

With an on board Battery and Smart LED Dashboard the BioLite CampStove 2+ Features a USB Output! 










Boil 1lt of water in 4.5 minutes compact and lightweight the BioLite CampStove 2+ weighs just 935g and measures 12.7 x 21.0 cm when packed down. 





Thank you for reading this post , our family team of experienced campers are always happy to offer a little advice! Shop @ IBEX Camping