1. Originality
2. Quality
3. Customer Service
4. Years of Development
5. Responsibly Made

Originality

Bell Tent UK has been selling beautiful canvas Bell Tents and funky accessories since 2006. There are now copies out there, but they are not the same tent, not the same quality, and not manufactured by the same people.

These copies are sometimes marketed in an identical way to try and confuse:              

Please take the time to look at the total weight of the tent including poles and you'll see the differences.
 

Quality

Our tents are a modern take on a classic design utilising modern techniques and materials to create a lightweight, cotton canvas tent without all the drawbacks normally associated with sleeping under canvas. The stitching quality is the best we’ve seen and modern weaving techniques means that you no longer require the thickness and weight of canvas of years gone by – no more humping ridiculously heavy pieces of canvas around a field!

Another one of the great advances in Bell Tents is the development of much better proofing. Our water-based, 3-part proofer protects against water, has mould resistance, and even helps to protect the canvas from breaking down in UV rays. Gone are the days when touching the inside of your tent in a storm created a wet patch through the canvas!
 

Customer Service

Although we are a small company that spends much of its time at festivals or in a field (hence the mobile number), we really care about everyone who buys from us and becomes part of our little Bell Tent world (check out our Facebook page). We always try and answer the phone during working hours and will always get back to you as soon as we can. We take our manufacturers warranty really seriously, and if there is a defect to your tent within the warranty period, we will do our utmost to sort it out for you. (Obviously, our warranty is not a blanket insurance policy against acts of nature like storms and really high winds but have a look at our recommendations page and online forums to see how good our customer service is).
 

Years of Development

Ever since we launched Bell Tent UK we are constantly updating our tents to be better and more practical. We started out selling a Standard Bell Tent, and then added the Deluxe with a heavy-duty groundsheet. Then, listening to your feedback, you wanted the security of a heavy-duty groundsheet but with the versatility of still being able to roll the walls up, hence the Ultimate was born, with the Deluxe groundsheet with an added, hidden zip. This year’s upgrades include a thicker, stronger pole in our 5m Bell Tents – which makes it much more heavy-duty than anything else available on the market.

This upgrade, the rise in VAT, and tripling of the cost of raw cotton has meant we have had to slightly rise our prices for the 2011 season but we have decided to keep improving the high quality rather than cut corners to keep the price the same.
 

Responsibly Made

To keep our prices so competitive, our tents are made to order by a reputable manufacturer in China. We have been using the same people for the last 6 years because their quality remains the best we can find. They are a proper factory, with paid holidays for staff, and no sweat shops or child labour is involved at any stage of the manufacturing process of our tents.

We hope this answers most of your questions, but feel free get in touch if you need any more info.

See you in a field soon…

Putting up a tent

Putting up a Bell Tent is easy. We've made a slide show to show you just how easy it is:
The Bell Tent UK guide to putting up your tent

Alternatively you can download our instruction manual's as PDF files:

Standard Bell Tent Instructions

Deluxe Bell Tent Instructions

Ultimate Bell Tent Instructions

Tipi Tent Instructions

Malu Awning Instructions

How to fit a Bell Tent Stove

How to fit a Tipi Stove

You can collect tents and accessories from us between 10am – 4.30pm Monday to Friday, but this is by appointment only.

Please let us know when you are coming along, this is particularly important during the summer months when we are very busy bunnies! You can pay in advance or when you arrive - please note, no items are secured until full payment is recevied. See Where Can I See A Tent? to find out where we are or call us on 07830 355 993 or email info@belltent.co.uk.We look forward to meeting you!

European tested to BS5852:

Unlike many of the copies out there, our tents are European tested to BS5852 standards. This is the 'cigarette test' which shows that the tent will not ignite when burnt by the likes of a cigarette. If burnt with the likes of a gas burner it takes an average of five seconds to ignite and will continue to burn but will not drip 'napalm'  like polyester tents. If you require a more fire-resistant tent consider going for our Bell Tent Pro option.

Timelapse - putting up our bell tent. from Simon Bugler on Vimeo.

Leave No Trace is a set of principles for participation in outdoor recreation that seeks to minimize the impact on the natural environment. Proponents of Leave No Trace believe that individual impacts caused by recreation can accumulate to degrade the land. Therefore, the Leave No Trace message encourages people who spend time in the out-of-doors to behave in such a way that they can minimize unavoidable impacts and prevent avoidable impacts. It is often summarized: "Take only photos, leave only foot prints."

Origins

The roots of Leave No Trace can be traced to the 1970s and 1980s.[1] In those decades, the United States Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service started to teach their non-motorized visitors how to have a minimal impact on the land. Also in the 70s, groups such as the Sierra Club were advocating minimum impact camping techniques. A pilot program in the 80s between the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and the High Uintas Wilderness tried to reach a wide audience. Finally, a national education program was developed in 1990 by the United States Forest Service in conjunction with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).

James M. Turner has examined the political history of "Leave No Trace". Turner attributes the creation of the LNT ethic to wilderness advocates, who needed popular support for wilderness, but wanted to minimize human impact on wilderness. Severely limiting wilderness access would lose support for the Wilderness Act. Turner claims that wilderness advocates turned wilderness ethics 180 degrees, from 'woodcraft' (where wilderness travelers exploit wilderness resource in order to rebel against modern technology), to 'Leave No Trace' (where travelers use the latest technology to minimize impact).

The Leave No Trace program is managed by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, formerly Leave No Trace, Inc., which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and inspiring responsible outdoor recreation through education, research and partnerships. Leave No Trace tries to build awareness, appreciation and respect for our wildlands.

Principles

Leave No Trace provides a framework for outdoor recreation decision making, which is summarized in the following 7 principles:

Plan Ahead and Prepare: Poorly prepared people, when presented with unexpected situations, often resort to high-impact solutions that degrade the outdoors or put themselves at risk. Poor planning can result in improperly located campsites because groups failed to plan enough time to reach their intended destination, or improper campfires or excessive trash because of failure to plan meals or bring proper equipment.

Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces: Damage to land occurs when surface vegetation or communities of organisms are trampled beyond repair. The resulting barren area leads to unusable trails, campsites and soil erosion.

In high-use areas, Leave No Trace suggests that people concentrate activity, which makes further damage unlikely.

In areas of very little or no use, Leave No Trace encourages people to spread out. Taking different paths when hiking off-trail will avoid creating new trails that cause erosion. Dispersing tents and equipment, and moving camp daily will avoid creating permanent-looking camp sites.

Dispose of Waste Properly: Though most trash and litter in the backcountry is not significant in terms of the long term ecological health of an area, it does rank high as a problem in the minds of many backcountry visitors. Trash and litter are primarily social impacts which can greatly detract from the naturalness of an area.[5] Thus, Leave No Trace recommends that trash and litter should be packed out. Further, backcountry users create body waste and waste water which requires proper disposal according to Leave No Trace.

Waste water: Avoiding soap and dispersing dishwater far away from natural water sources will prevent contamination.

Human waste: Proper human waste disposal prevents spread of disease, exposure to others, and speeds decomposition. Catholes, 6 to 8 inches deep and 200 feet from water, are often the easiest and most practical way to dispose of feces.

Leave What You Find: Leaving rocks, plants, archaeological artifacts and other objects as found will allow others a sense of discovery. Similarly, Leave No Trace directs people to minimize site alterations, such as digging tent trenches, hammering nails into trees, permanently clearing an area of rocks or twigs.

Minimize Use and Impact of Fire: Leave No Trace encourages people to use lightweight camp stoves, instead of fires, because the naturalness of many areas has been degraded by overuse of fires and the increasing demand for firewood. If a campfire is constructed, Leave No Trace suggests using an existing fire ring in a well-placed campsite or to use a fire pan or mound fire. True Leave No Trace fires show no evidence of having ever been constructed.

Respect Wildlife: If enough people approach or interfere with wildlife, it can be disruptive to animal populations.

Be Considerate of Other Visitors: Following hiking etiquette and maintaining quiet allows visitors to go through the wilderness with minimal impact on other users.

We supply a couple of spare normal pegs, springs and an odd shaped peg which is a tool for fitting a replacement pole spring should one come loose or break.

(If it's just popped out then use the tool to refit it rather than use a new one)

If your spring breaks you need to either remove the broken spring or push it down into the pole so you have the space to fit the replacement.

If pushing it further in use the fitting tool but if pulling out be careful as you need to really pull hard on what is basically a cheese wire!!

Protect your hand by using a thick glove, a towel wrapped around your hand or a tool like a pair of pliers.

See pictures below to see how to use the tool
 

If you’re buying a new electrical item, we will recycle your old one for free
 

Why recycle?

Unwanted electrical equipment is the UKs fastest growing type of waste.

Many electrical items can be repaired or recycled, saving natural resources and the environment.  If you do not recycle, electrical equipment will end up in landfill where hazardous substances will leak out and cause soil and water contamination – harming wildlife and also human health.


We can help. 
We are pleased to offer our customers the chance to recycle their old electrical items. Just contact us by email on info@belltent.co.uk to organise a collection

To remind you that old electrical equipment can be recycled, it is now marked with a crossed-out wheeled bin symbol. Please do not throw any electrical equipment (including those marked with the crossed out wheeled bin symbol) in your bin.

 

What is WEEE?

The Waste Electrical or Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive requires countries to maximise separate collection and environmentally friendly processing of these items.  In the UK, distributors (including retailers) must provide a system which allows all customers buying new electrical equipment the opportunity to recycle their old items free of charge. Those establishing their own take-back scheme must as a minimum offer all customers buying new electrical equipment free take back of their old electricals on a like-for-like basis.
    
Find more information on WEEE recycling, and locate your local recycling centre, at http://www.recyclenow.com. 
 

We now offer a new service putting you in touch with someone who can fix your tent. Go to:

www.fixyourtent.com for more info..or www.cleanyourtent.com if you want it cleaned (and cleaned and fixed)

Occasionally we get asked why we operate on mobile phone numbers.
There are several reasons for this:
 

1. We're a small company and we spend a lot of time in fields and at festivals.

2. Having an 0845 type number cost the caller several pence a minute (much more from a mobile)

3. Most people get mobile minutes included in their contract but not 0845

We have offices (see contacts page) but have decided to avoid the nightmares of landline networks.
If this isn't ideal for you we are happy to call you back.

Please either email us at sales@belltent.co.uk with a number we can call you on or just call us and ask us to call you back.