Hi all......contemplating buying one of these and keen to hear if anyone has any experience or opinions. never bought Isabella before but obviously aware of their reputation....TIA
Isabella cirrus north 400 air awning
- Thread starter 00buzz
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Mel
Moderator
I’m a dyed in the wool Isabella aficionado and there no doubt the Cirrus stands head and shoulders above most of the bouncy castles out there but...having been bitten badly twice by air awnings and their limitations/problems much as I’d like one they (to me) still have a major drawback in that you cannot adjust the height of the ‘legs ‘ to cope with an uneven or sloping pitch. Consequently like the Kampa and Bradcot we had anything other than a perfectly level pitch results in the thing looking like a bag of crisps hanging off the awning rail. A poled awning can be tailored to fit a sloping or undulating pitch to keep it tight and square.
We have the Isabella Magnum and that is the only brand we would consider. The air awning is about 4kgs heavier than the standard traditional awning as you cannot remove the poles plus of course the extra cost.
As the poles and the awning are in their separate bags, it makes handling the awning easier for old duffers like me. Also easier to store. LOL!
As the poles and the awning are in their separate bags, it makes handling the awning easier for old duffers like me. Also easier to store. LOL!
I agree with Buckman.. Our Magnum is excellent and really well made.
I had started to consider a large air awning to replace it because, despite its obvious quality, the Magnum does take a bit of effort and time to erect (cue responses "it only takes us five minutes"!
). It's particularly wearing abroad when it's 30c+ and the ground is like concrete!
BUT, looking at similar sized, quality, air awnings, the ease of erection is countered by the extra weight and, although we are both relatively fit, we are knocking on a bit and weight is an issue.
So...we swill stick with the Magnum for long stays.
I had started to consider a large air awning to replace it because, despite its obvious quality, the Magnum does take a bit of effort and time to erect (cue responses "it only takes us five minutes"!
). It's particularly wearing abroad when it's 30c+ and the ground is like concrete!BUT, looking at similar sized, quality, air awnings, the ease of erection is countered by the extra weight and, although we are both relatively fit, we are knocking on a bit and weight is an issue.
So...we swill stick with the Magnum for long stays.
The only saving we found with air was it saved a couple of minutes with inflating over assembling the poles. But the debate of air over poles is an old one. Whatever suits you best. We’ve tried both and come back to our poled Isabellas. All three of them!
Mel
Moderator
well, as the saying goes......"you cant take it with you".....been and bought one today. first thoughts, its a hefty beast and the accessories bag is as big as the awning bag
see how it goes up a week on friday and will report back
see how it goes up a week on friday and will report back
As much as we would like one, weight is one issue and price is the other. Think we will stick with our Magnum for now, but interested in your feedback and looking forward to it.well, as the saying goes......"you cant take it with you".....been and bought one today. first thoughts, its a hefty beast and the accessories bag is as big as the awning bag
see how it goes up a week on friday and will report back
Just to add that we carry our awning and poles in a roof box on the car so for the two of us to lift into the roof box is probably impossible, but what we normally carry inside the car perhaps we can put that in the roof box instead as they will be lighter i.e. clothes etc?
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i would say that about our Vango Vakala II 280 air porch awning it one hefty bag it will take two of us to carry .looking forward to putting that up .
The weight of our Kampa was surprising too. Being used to pulling our full Isabella through the rail with all the panels zipped in I was expecting the wonder air awning to be even easier. In fact it was a real pain, tying itself in knots and the horrible great beams getting caught on the lights. Am I right in thinking the roof beams on the Cirrus slot in?
they look to slot into receivers on the front section (whereas our old kampa ace air 400 had velcro pads)....looking forward to see how easy it goes onto the rail as it only has 3 main beams unlike the kampa, which had 4 and loads of cross beams in the roof.
We had the Kampa Air Ace and it was a real pain to pull through the awning rail. It seems that with the Cirrus you have a rope either end to help pull it through the awning rail. Once past that I would think that one should not have any real issues. We also looked at the smaller and cheaper version the Trinus, but with that model you still have the hassle of the poles.
The Cirrus does not seem to involve any poles. We already have an electric pump so that is one up. The awning goes up flush against the side of the caravan due to inflatable poles there. Cirrus seems to be a better proposition than the Trinus (PS OH likes it after watching a video)
A concern is with the Kampa water used to pool on the roof and we certainly would not like that on a 2k awning!
Plus it leaked like a sieve even after being soaked as we were told it needs to get wet for the stitches to swell?our used to pool on the roof too....despite all the beams in the roof structure
Our Kampa Fiesta Air Pro was just a disaster from start to finish. We bought it because we thought it would be easier to put up than the full Isabella we had. In reality it was marginally quicker but the end result was appalling. Hideous great beams, poor quality manufacture. The wind blew round the sides ( pre-limpets😂) leaked like a sieve, ran with condensation so you got drenched whatever the weather, looked like a crisp packet hanging off the rail and was generally an unpleasant place to be. Ditched it after it collapsed in strong winds, knocking over tables and chairs, causing damage to the side of the van. Also got fed up tripping over the guys and the dogs getting tangled up in them.
Hopefully the Cirrus is a much better bet. I don’t like the big beams which is why we weren’t tempted at the NEC last year.
Hopefully the Cirrus is a much better bet. I don’t like the big beams which is why we weren’t tempted at the NEC last year.
We looked at lots before buying an Outdoor Revolution Oxygen. Isabella quality is second to none-if you like the styling, which we think a bit old fashioned and not for us, and you can afford it, buy it-you can't go wrong and apparently customer service is superb too as is spares availability. You do pay for the quality but if you like it I wouldn't hesitate.
Following a bit of Youtube research for tips on erecting our new Isabella, I found nothing but crazy Dutch people overinflating and ending up with main beams looking like they have had too much Viagra.....this got me thinking....next week i might just set up a camera and film the whole unboxing and set up (weather and neighbouring campers permitting(who is that idiot filming himself fighting with an awning???))....the results could be informative, even helpful, but will probably end up as comedy gold....
Absolutely=first time out with our very first awning nearly resulted in divorce and we never argue (she's always right btw!!!). I am convinced the rest of the caravanners nearby were curtain twitching and enjoying every minute. Seriously though when I broke my foot another caravanner helped my wife put our awning up when he saw me struggling.
We were sort of keen on the idea but taking into consideration the weight on the awning that has to be dragged through the rail we have decided to stick with the traditional Magnum
hoping it will be a bit the same if not a bit lighter than the kampa due to the fewer air beams....i used to drag the kampa onto the rail on my own so we shall see....
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