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WhiteDuck Avalon Bell Tent Review – Worth the investment?

WhiteDuck Avalon Bell tent is a top quality canvas tent sold in four different sizes and can comfortably accommodate up to 12 campers easily inside it.

It is broadly used for glamping and luxury camping and is amongst our preferred models in this niche. However, compared to polyester tents, such as Coleman Evanston 8, it is priced significantly higher (almost five times more expensive), and many campers inquire – is it worth investing in this tent?

Our answer is yes, it is – but you need to make sure that you consider many factors before making your final decision.

Let’s go through a detailed review of the product below.

WhiteDuck Avalon Bell Tent - Review Summary

In a hurry? Don’t worry – we created a review summary for you. 

WhiteDuck Avalon is an outstanding canvas tent for camping (and glamping) in summer and winter, with remarkable durability and resistance. It comes in different sizes and capacities, as detailed below, but all models have a stove jack (which allows to use a wood stove inside your tent and hot tenting)

White Ducks Avalon (Size/Model) Camping
Capacity
Glamping Capacity Stove Jack
13′(4m) 6 3 Yes
16.5′ (5m) 8 4 Yes
20′(6m) 10 5 Yes
23′(7m) 12 6 Yes
WHITEDUCK Avalon Canvas Bell Tent
  • Luxury design and ample internal room 
  • Excellent breathability
  • Top-notch insulation
  • Canvas made

This is a go-to tent if you want an unforgettable camping trip with comfort for your family (or glamping with your partner). It offers plenty of interior room and a sturdy structure that ensures stability – ideal for long term campers (or if you want to leave it pitched permanently). 

It comes already with a storage bag and a tailored tool kit that speeds up the setup process. 

As for the downsides, we would highlight its heavyweight, which impacts mobility and ease of transportation, low waterproofness level (you might face some problems during heavy rain), and price (you can get models with similar capacity by investing in a polyester or nylon tent, such as, such as Ozark Trail 12 Person 3 Room tent

Pros
  • Good for both winter and summer camping
  • Canvas tents with great durability and resistance
  • Ample interior room and ability to install an AC (great for glamping)
  • Pleasant design
  • Stove jack already incorporated
  • Multiple openings (better air circulation)
  • Room dividers and spacious awning (accessories)
Cons
  • Pricey when compared to polyester tents
  • Water resistant (hydrostatic head is low - 450mm)
  • Heavy - not ideal for transporting and quick trips
  • Not free-standing

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WhiteDuck Avalon Bell Tent - Detailed Review

WhiteDuck Avalon Bell tent is a canvas bell tent with ultimate technology with optimal insulation features and outstanding stability. 

What does that means? Let’s see below.

Shape, dimensions, interior room, and weight

Bell tents are visually pleasant and offer great stability and internal room, accommodating many campers. One of its most significant advantages is the relative ease of set-up, the ability to roll lateral walls to increase ventilation when needed, and high ceilings (ideal for tall people)

As for dimensions, the WhiteDuck Avalon comes in different sizes according to the tent’s diameter and centre high. The picture below summarises the size, capacity, number of openings, and other special features of each model.

whiteduck avalon bell tent - sizes

All sizes provide plenty of interior room and can easily accommodate you, your friends, and your family (check table below), with the Avalon optimus model providing an internal more than 38 square meters (almost a one-bedroom apartment). ‘

The doors are ample and provide plenty of ventilation if you are camping during summer or are considering cooking inside your tent (this tent comes with a stove jack, and you can use a portable woodstove inside it – more on this below). 

White Ducks – Avalon Bell Tent
Model
Diameter(ft) Diameter(m) Area (m2) Centre Height (m)
13′(4m) 13 3.96 12.33 4
16.5′ (5m) 16.5 5.03 19.86 5
20′(6m) 20 6.10 29.19 6
23′(7m) 23 7.01 38.60 7

All these upsides come with a drawback – the tent weighs approximately 43kgs, and you will need help to transport and move it around (not ideal for weekend travellers unless you are considering a glamping trip).

whiteduck avalon bell tent - interior

Fabric, Waterproofness, Tent Structure and Openings

The tent is made of canvas, with various benefits, such as high durability and strength. However, what we like the most about canvas tents’ excellent breathability and insulation features – you can easily use this tent both for summer camping and winter camping.

If you consider glamping and comfy camping, you won’t have any problems attaching a window air conditioner to one of its openings. Overall, considering the size of the tents, we recommend the following sizes (note that the Avalon Optimus size is enormous and you might consider the room divider accessory – more on in the special features section).

White Ducks – Avalon Bell Tent
Model
Area (m2)Centre Height (m)Volume (m3 – Approx.)Minimum (BTU)Suggested AC capacity (BTU)
13′(4m)12.33449.326,9677,000 BTU
16.5′ (5m)19.86599.3214,02915,000 BTU
20′(6m)29.196175.1224,73420,000 BTU
23′(7m)38.607270.1938,162Consider room dividers (see next section)

The WhiteDuck Avalon is water-resistant and comes with waterproof zippers) and can handle a low volume of rain. According to the manufacturer, the hydrostatic head is approximately 450mm, which is considered low and will not support heavy rain (if you want to know more about tent waterproofness, check this article – are tents waterproof?). 

It also works well during winter, given the great insulation provided by canvas and the presence of heat resistant silicone stove jack. Provided that you allow for enough ventilation, you can use a propane heater inside it with no concerns about tent condensation – if you want to check which tent heater size is the most appropriate for your tent, read this post

Even though it is not a free-standing tent, this bell tent is robust, and its structure its poles are made of galvanized steel. It already comes with guy hopes and galvanized pegs to facilitate secure installation. 

It has plenty of lateral openings, which are retractable, and roof vents that facilitate air circulation – risks of carbon monoxide are very low (if you leave the windows open, obviously).

Special Features

Apart from the ample space and luxurious views, this tent comes with some exciting features that we would like to highlight:

  • Detachable floor with zippers, allowing you to use them or not according to your preference
  • It has a stove jack, and you can do hot tenting – ideal for winter camping.
  • Protective skirting – avoiding water 
  • Special ports to pass through electrical cables.
  • Exclusive tool kit tailored made for this tent.
  • Internal storage

WhiteDuck Avalon also has some special accessories (at an extra cost), which might help your experience when camping, such as

  • Tent footprint – In our opinion, there is no need to buy this one – you can use any other footprint (check measures, though)
  • Special Awning – Absolutely worth it – gives un extra space and plenty of external covered area to cook or use as a social room.
  • Wind Breaks – Depends on your campsite/camping location.
  • Inner tents (room dividers) – Consider if you want to create internal rooms to increase privacy. 
WHITEDUCK Avalon Canvas Bell Tent
  • Luxury design and ample internal room 
  • Excellent breathability
  • Top-notch insulation
  • Canvas made

Alternatives to WhiteDuck Avalon

Considering the downsides of WhiteDuck Avalon, we chose some alternatives for you below.  

Cheaper, with better waterprofness, and lightweight

Ozark Trail 12 Person 3 Room L-Shaped is our alternative to WhiteDuck Avalon, considering its downsides. Why?

It comes at a much lower investment (one third), given it is made of polyester, provides similar capacity, is free-standing, and also has special features, such as ac ports, ports for electrical connection, and a carry bag.

However, you won’t have the charm of a canvas bell tent and optimal insulation (in fact, you might suffer from tent condensation in humid days) – WhiteDuck Avalon will perform better during winter days, especially because of its ability to become a hot tent.

If you consider short trips for family camping, Ozark Trail 12 Person 3 Room L-Shaped is a good option. For long term or glamping, stick with WhiteDuck Avalon.

Glamping Canvas tent - similar investment

We prepared an article comparing some canvas tents for luxury camping in this article – read it here. Other alternatives to White Duck Avalon are JTYX Pyramid Tent Yurt Tent (up to 8 campers) and WhiteDuck Alpha Wall Tent (Up to 18 people)

WhiteDuck Avalon vs Alternatives

ModelShapeMaterialSize (base dimensions)How many campers?InvestmentAvailability
WhiteDuck Avalon BellCanvas4m
5m
6m
6
8
10 
$$Click here and Check on amazon
JTYX Pyramid Tent Yurt TentBellCanvas3m
4m
5m
4
6
8
$$Click here and Check on amazon
WhiteDuck Alpha Wall TentWallCanvasMultiple dimensions
Smallest – 2.43m x 3.05m
Largest – 4.85m x 7.30m
From 4 to 18 campers$$$Click here and Check on amazon
Ozark Trail 12 PersonCabin (L-Shaped)Polyester4.88m x 4.88m (L shape)12$Click here and Check on amazon

Verdict

WhiteDuck Avalon is an excellent tent better suited for glampers and long term campers. 

The canvas-made tent has a glamorous design that draws attention and offers plenty of interior room – it is undoubtedly one of the best luxury tents on the market. 

Already including ac ports and stove jacks, this tent can be easily used for winter and summer camping and will provide you with extreme comfort. 

Even though it comes at a higher investment when compared to polyester and nylon tents with similar capacity, we strongly believe that it is worth it, especially considering its durability. 

However, if you need a tent for family or big group camping for a short trip (a couple of days), Ozark Trail 12 Person 3 Room L-Shaped will help you with a much lower investment

 

WHITEDUCK Avalon Canvas Bell Tent
  • Luxury design and ample internal room 
  • Excellent breathability
  • Top-notch insulation
  • Canvas made

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