Awnings ! Air or Poles ?

Jennyc, what is an inaccurate opinion? Reading your post it seems it’s one that differs from your opinion.

We considered three different models from two brands, spoke to owners looked around inside,saw them being erected etc and after consideration chose to stick with Isabella. 

Since then one has the problems mentioned, and now uses a full awning, one has sold and one is not using due to issues with the weight.

We spent time looking at air awnings as we felt they were a good idea but in the end preferred Isabella which we are very happy with as I am sure you are with yours.

Not sure I would think that air poles would be worth £700 of my money. 

Like for like on "canvas" quality and awning size, threading an air awning through the rail where it has in addition the air bladders, simply must be coping with a heavier item than threading one without. You simply can't add something and not add weight.

That is the "Achilles heel" of air awnings that can only be countered by lightening the quality of the fabric or doing it in smaller sections. 

Whether that introduces a significant enough issue depends on ones age, fitness, number of individuals involved and size of the awning in question.

I even older than friends, can thread my Magnum's roof section through my rail, single handed, somewhat quicker than he with the help of his wife can thread their Kamp Pro through their rail. 

He getting out and putting away his air pump, seems a longer task than me tipping out my poles and picking up the right ones as needed.

I don't dislike their awning, I feel it has to have its inner roof to offset the condensation issues I don't suffer from, but I certainly would not change awnings with them.

We have both - we like the convenience of an Air awning and will use it if just going on a short break. If staying put for a week or more we will take our Magnum as its just better in virtually every respect when compared to our Air awning (Bradcot and previous Kampa).  One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that we have found air awnings hopeless on sloping pitches as there is no height adjustment of the legs

I’m sorry to have ruffled your feathers Alan, but I have an extensive engineering/ scientific background, which, when applied, can conflict with commonly expressed views. 

The OED defines ‘opinion’ as follows;

A view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

There are lots of people with ‘opinions’ about air awnings, which differ from those who’s knowledge is based on actual experience. If you think about it, an air awning can’t collapse unless it has a puncture. But it can bend, then spring back. That’s a, not always popular, ‘fact’ about what happens in real life.

I’m pleased that you like your Isabella, lots of people speak highly of them.

We have been to a camping store today (next to a nottcuts garden centre) and noticed a stand with replacement air awning/tent "tubes?" and according to the staff they are now one of their most popular? selling products

Do they also sell tent/awning poles replacements?

Yes,i think most do

Hi bought  a vango air awning  last year and have to say its a cracking  bit of kit and easy to put up but it does thread in my wind out canopy which i think does make it easier  to put up . Did have pole awnings in the past with my caravans but prefer the air awning so does wife no more deaf and doom suppers 

I don't have an air awning so cannot express an opinion other than to say that whilst we were away recently we saw two lots of people packing up air porch awnings. What surprised me was their inability to fold them up into a reasonably small bundle. Whether this is normal after they have been erected and it's difficult to remove all the air I don't know.  It may just have been down to the users. I'm sure my full Isabella awning takes up less space in the car than the size of the bundles that were being squashed onto the back seats of the cars.

From a time point of view, we can take our full awning down and packed away in about the same length of time it took the two parties in question.

If this is 'the norm' I don't think I would bother looking at air awnings if ever I was in the market again.