Hi Gear Kalahari Porch Reviews

after first time putting up the porch ie 1.30 mins lol the second time 20 mins get the straps right over tent its brill... would reckomend to anyone get one safe to cook in.. and have a fag in the dry and withstood the winds as we are on holiday now wil invest in ground sheet !

we were in two minds whether to purchase this item as other people had said it was tricky to put up and didnt fit well.
all we can say is this item DOES fit well and is PERFECT for the kalahari 8.
once the tent was up, my hubby attached 2 tent pegs to it, and checking no-one was behind our tent, threw the anchorage ropes with the tent pegs attached (for weight) over the tent. this meant within seconds the ropes went over the other side of our tent and were then swiftly put in the ground over the other side. really really easy to erect even for us! snug enough to keep out the elements and airy enough to cook in safely.
we bought cheap camping mats as groundsheets and hey presto, glam-ping!!!!

Going away for a 2 week holiday in the tent this year (Kalahari 10) we decided to buy the porch as soon as we saw one as we couldn't get hold of one last year (continually sold out!).
Pitching it on holiday was a bit awkward but as hubby and I are both quite tall we managed to stretch and get the straps over the tent but this would prove increadibly difficult for anyone shorter that around 5ft6". It was also a bit difficult to get the centre right so that there was not too much pressure on the top of the tent. We worked out when we pitched it at home to air out that of you put the straps over before putting in the poles then you can centre is much easier and get a closer fit to the the tent.
We used the porch for cooking and food storage and iIt served its purpose really well. We also invested in a breathable waterproof groundsheet/carpet which was well worth having.
I have only given 4*'s as we were very disappointed at the huge gap at the bottom and because of the fiddlyness of taking the straps over the top of the tent.

Fantastic!
We didn't think it would make so much difference but it DOES!
If buying a tent get the porch to go with it.

I got this as part of a bundle (Kalahari 8, porch, footprint and carpet) and was really impressed with the amount of space it created. I'm not too fussed about the gap at the bottom as I used it as a kitchen and shoe dumping area. This allowed my kids to stay in the tent safe away from the cooker.

Some people have commented about difficulty getting the straps over the tent; I overcame this by tying the straps to my mallet and lobbing that over the tent (making sure no-one was on the other side first!)

i wouldn't have bought this if it wasn't in a bundle but am very pleased that I have it.

We bought this to go with the Kalahari 8. It gave us so much more room for storage etc. My husband managed to put it up relatively quickly and it fitted back into its original bag quite easily.

brilliant addition to our already spacious tent. used as kitchen area to allow room in tent specifically for living in.
only downside was it had already been patched when we unpacked it from new at campsite!

A little trickie to put up, needs 2 people, but great for leaving cooking/eating/washing stuff in and of course muddie boots.

I got the porch as part of the kalahari 8 bundle. it was a great addition i thought it went up really quickly and was a very snug fit to the tent. i had no problems with it at all would highly recommoned. it does have a gap around the bottom but it dosent really matter as it is a porch and you arent sleeping in it.

great addition to the kalahari 8 tent i recently bought. took nearly as long as the tent to put up but was well worth the effort as it frees up extra living space by moving cooking and walking equipment into it. great value too.

used this on a Kalahari 8 and it was brilliant, had no trouble putting up, but it does have a gap round the bottom, we now have a Kalahari 10 so will see how it goes on that when we next go camping

there were a couple of drawbacks. We found it took nearly as long to put this up as it did putting the Kalahari 10 up! It was difficult to throw the straps over the top of the tent so we ended up with one of us holding the straps whilst the other threw the whole porch in a bundle over the top of the tent to the other side. As others have already commented, there are gaps around the bottom and we couldn't get it to fit snug up against the tent. The straps round the other side of the tent were not long enough to quite reach the ground on a Kalahari 10 and pulled the top of the tent down but we managed to fiddle with the straps to make it work. On the positive side, the additional space worked really well for us and meant that muddy footwear could be kept outside the main tent. We put our table and cooker in the porch and made all our meals under it creating extra space in the main tent. The front of the porch has a main door or you can unzip the whole of the front of the porch, which we found really useful. We would still recommend it and are better prepared now for putting it up next time.

tried today, took some putting up first time but most tents are first time, brilliant addition to an allready huge tent. and at half price i just couldnt miss it. rapid delivery too. cant fault this company one bit wont be shopping anywhere else for camping gear. A*********

The first time I put it up I thought this wasn't going to fit snuggly but after a bit of fiddling it was pretty tight, and found it great for putting wet or muddy clothes/trainers etc in keeping your tent lovely and dry.

One tip I would give is instead of trying to throw the straps over the top of the tent just you and one other with one strap each walk around the side and then flick the straps over!!! much easier I found

Take this for what it is an add on to the side that gives shelter when getting in and out and a great space for coats and cooking. Yes there is a gap, and yes it takes as long as teh tent to put up first time. All in all a worthwhile addition

This is a great addition to the tent and has a lot of space for storing extra equipment such as wet coats and boots. The only disapointment is the fact that there is a gap at the bottom of the rain flap leaving a 4-6 inch space between the flap and the ground. We had a feeling that this was because we hadn't attached it properly and so we called into GoOutdoors for advice. Apparently this is how the porch has been designed to 'allow air to circulate' which seems a little daft to me as there are air vents in the top. It was also a little difficult throwing the straps over the top of the tent to secure them on the other side(this is how the porch is fastened to the main teny) but we did manage this in the end! All in all I would say this was worth buying as the porch does stop rain coming into the main door of the tent which obviously is a bonus as we had a soaked carpet last year. There is not a sewn in ground sheet in the porch either which was a dissapointment but again I'm still glad we bought it for the reasons given.

This porch is a great extra space. It fits well to the Kalahari 8 if all guy ropes are pulled tight on the tent. The big drawback is that the sides don't reach the floor so there is a draught. Even in the product picture you can see there is a gap at the bottom. I wouldn't pay full price for this, but if on special discount it is worth it forthe extra space you get.

We had the Porch last year and although it adds extra space it has its pitfalls. Ive heard some people state it doesnt fit snugly. My problem is that in order for it to fit snuggly it pulls down on top of the tent. Last year whilst camping in Belgium we had an horrendous thunderstorm and because of the the fact it pulls on top a Bery large puddle formed in no time at all. We spent an entire night pushing the water off the tent.

Found this took longer than the tent to put up and it did not sit snuggly to the tent as I would of expected. I found expensive for what it is really.
A great cooking accessory though.

We have added porch for our Kalahari 8 this year for some out of the rain to make a cup of tea and somewhere to take of our coat and shoes before going in the tent. Stands up well and a great addition to the tent and adds even more space.