Banana bags are so named because they are shaped like a large banana. They enable you to store the canvas wall part of your tent with all the wall poles still in the canvas, which shaves your pitching time down to around 20-25 minutes, and packing down time down to around 10 minutes.

A banana bag is a great addition to your Lotus Belle if:

1. You have a long car or vehicle to put it in (the bags are 6 1/2 ft long (78 inches), and around 12 inches wide in each direction, but squashy) - they WILL fit in MOST cars, but do check first.

2. You are planning on putting your tent up and down regularly at different locations over the summer.

A banana bag is not such a useful thing if:

1. You have a VERY small car.

2. You are putting your tents up on a semi-permanent campsite and leaving them there for the whole summer.

Note: Your tent will come with a perfectly adequate canvas holdall so a banana bag is not an essential accessory, but many people do find them useful. They also help to split up the weight of your tent.