February again and it was time for the annual outing (sounds so grand!) to the Boat and Caravan Show and with a few of us from the forum, including Andy from here, planning on meeting up around noon we weren't going to be getting much of a lie in this year! (Usually when the boys are at my parents overnight we end up taking advantage and getting to these sorts of events later in the day lol).

We took the train and arrived around 11am. As usual we struggled to get past Weatherspoons that happens to be in the NEC and ended up having a quick breakfast. I took the light option of scrambled egg on toast knowing we would be lunching later with others, only for the others, Rob and Paul, to turn up and order huge burgers! S that did not work out to well for me. Yazz, my wife, on the other hand was content tucking into her full english lol.

So what of the show? Well sitting with Rob and Paul gave us a chance to study the hall plans, that I had picked up on way in, and work out which hall the tents were in. Both Rob and I were keen to check out the new models, the new Outwell Sun Collection was top of my list, as the early photos of these popping up on the web were really catching my eye. Rob and my wife were keen to see the new Outwell Clear Lake.

The sun collection did not disappoint! I know some will not like the colour but having grown up camping in late 70's with a brown and orange frame tent (like they all were back then) I loved it and those we discussed it agreed that when the sun shines through that lovely orange polycotton canvas it's going to have a very warm glow! Unfortunately the Clear lake was not on display :( so this will have to wait a few months for the store displays.

The new Montana Lake was on display though, I'm sure you are aware of the normal Montana as it's one of Outwell's most popular tents. Well this year we see the addition of the Montana Lake, same as the old one but only in polycotton and its good looks far better for it.

But the highlight of the show for me, Rob and also Andy was not in fact an Outwell tent but the new Vango AirBeam range! I suspected the AirBeams would be on display but did not expect to be that keen. A blow up tent? Blow away more like! However this could not be further from the truth! The only thing blown away was me!!! These tents are impressive! They are nothing like I had thought an inflatable tent would be like. The air beams (that replace the poles) are not totally solid but are plenty stiff enough to support the tent. It is the speed at which they can be pitched that is really impressive. I don't think many campers would complain about a faster pitch as the sooner the tent's up, the sooner the BBQ is lit!

Check out the videos we took to see for yourself

The show itself from a tent campers point of view was far better than last year. There were far more tents on display in one of the main halls, rather than tucked away in a hidden corner as they were last year. Plenty of displays throughout the day from pitching to cooking ideas and plenty of accessories were available to buy. We picked up a Campingaz Blue Cat heater (review to follow soon) for our up and coming Shell Island meet as there is no EHU on this site, so gas is the only option.

All in all a very enjoyable day out meeting new people (inc. Andy who runs in-a-tent, odd that we have only just now met after all this time). Rob and Paul who we had met in the past and others throughout the show.

If you didn't go then look out for it next year as its well worth the visit!