Coleman Fastpitch 3 x 3 Event Shelter!

Sun’s out, lockdown is beginning to ease and camping is becoming one of the very real prospects for things we ARE allowed to do this summer!

And have I got a camping product to tell you about that you do NOT want to be tripping without! Yesterday I pitched, for the first time, my new 3 x 3 Coleman Fastpitch event shelter. This is a style of product I have looked longingly at for the last few years when we’ve been camping knowing that it would make life easier. There are always those items you don’t have in your kit yet that you have on your list (rotatry clothes line is STILL on mine, need to just buy it) but this is one that wants to bypass ALL lists and go straight into the shopping trolley. It looked like it would be fab, now I’ve pitched it I KNOW it will be invaluable. Great British weather and all that means we DO need shelter from the rain (and occasionally the sun) and this event shelter, which went up with just me pitching for the first time, took 15 minutes from start to finish. It is sturdy, it is robust and it absolutely isn’t going anywhere once up – I LOVE it!

What is an event shelter for? Well, for us we want it to go between two tents. We tend to camp with pals and we will make this our communal area. It’s the place the table will go so that we can eat under cover, we will also keep surf boards and bikes under it. You can buy add on walls for it if you need but I think for now this is going to be perfect!

Why the Coleman Fastpitch? This was the least complicated thing I have ever pitched. I needed no help and the mechanisms for extending the legs were smooth – I have pitched similar where you need someone at each side as it goes up or it collapses and the difficulties in actually doing it need a heavyweight champion strength to achieve it My 10 year old could have done this with no issues and it felt strong and safe – at no point was I fearful of nipping my fingers! Once up the shade is excellent with the cover being securely fastened by clips and Velcro, you’d have no issues about this blowing away! The hooks it comes with to place in the ground are heavy duty, there’s be no shifting them without desire!

What are the cons? It is heavy (15.7kg). No beating around the bush here as it couldn’t be considered light and though I could carry it on my own I wouldn’t be able to for long. It does however fit neatly into its own bag and we have a trolley so it would happily be pulled along on that. Camping where your car is next to the tent and no issues, camping at a festival and you’d have to be inventive as to how to get it from car park to field but it would be doable and very handy so worth the effort! The footprint of the bag is not large and it won’t take up much room in the car, it’s just you couldn’t expect something to be this robust and be light as a feather! The steel poles are hard wearing and strong!

Other benefits? The material has a UV 50+ certified protection, offers protection from the rain and also is fire resistant. The living area is 9m2 and in the centre there is a hook to hang your light so that you can sit out well after dark enjoying the event shelter’s benefits!

This is one product I wish we hadn’t waited for as it is now on my essentials list. Whether you’re a seasoned pro, keen bean (like us) or a complete newbie my reckoning is a heck of a lot of us will be pitching tents this season and I think a fair few usual no goers might very well be converts after being faced with it as an only option for a little holiday this year. Camping might just be the holiday you never really knew you wanted but, I envisage, will be one you will be booking again and again long after this period is over! Investing in some decent items like this one is a must! Worth noting that this particular event shelter is currently on offer with 25% off at WOW Caping!

While it’s not essential to spend “LOADSAMONEY”, camping in essence isn’t about that, it is wise to invest in products that will not only enhance your experience greatly but last you a lifetime of camping holidays. The outlay with camping need only be once, IF you buy right!

Other “must haves” for family camping (let’s face it, a back pack and a bike sound great but three kiddos and I don’t think so…) in my eyes are:

1. A decent tent – might sound silly but we have bought cheap in the beginning and it was a waste of money. Since our first tent which was useless we have always had Coleman ones (I only say ones as we have been fortunate to try out a few for the blog, you really only need one as the quality will not let you down) and I would always say choosing a Coleman tent won’t leave you disappointed. We LOVE the blackout technology they apply to lots of their models as it keeps kids (and us) sleeping longer and have never had any problems with the tents we have used. Easy to pitch (and pack away) with lots of nifty features showing they really do understand families. This year we are looking forward to trying out the Valdes Air tent (I CANNOT WAIT TO SHOW YOU THAT ONE – I’M GOING TO PUT IT UP SOLO TO SHOW A FAMILY 6-8 MAN TENT CAN BE PITCHED ALONE)!
2. Investing in a really good stove with family camping is imperative as trying to cook against the wind on something flimsy just doesn’t cut it. We absolutely adore our Campingaz party grill (read my review here)!
3. Light and torches – Make sure you have GOOD ones with plenty of battery life – Coleman do brilliant lanterns!
4. It probably sounds like I’m teaching you to suck eggs but remember when you buy cheap you buy bad quality when it comes to camping,. Sleeping bags and beds are very important to a decent night! We have Disc-O-Beds which turn into bunks, singles OR a sofa. The children’s version is called Kid-o-Bunk!
5. A cool box of decent merit – we need to invest ourselves in this as the rubbish we have from a supermarket special buy is next to useless. I mean it’s a box sure, but cool? Nope! I will be trying an electric one next I think and taking my own advice when it comes to making an investment rather than a rash purchase!