Would you buy this tent?

Holly, I am not sure this belongs on BPL, as the weight of that tent is somewhere around 14lbs. That's even heavy for a car camping tent for four people.

I would definitely not get that tent for car camping. I would not get anything with Bear Grylls name on it.

If you want a long lasting car camping tent and weight is no object, I'd get something Coleman. Tried and true, made with heavy duty materials, and fairly affordable.

I bought this for car camping before I ever got into backpacking for around $90 at the time. Still a great tent.

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Montana-TM-8-Person-Tent/dp/B001TSCF96/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1427951744&sr=1-1&keywords=coleman+montana

OR

One of these Coleman instant tents that set up in literally about a minute. They go for cheaper than the current price on amazon, just look around.

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-2000010387-4-Person-Instant-Tent/dp/B004E4AVY8/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1427952066&sr=1-1&keywords=coleman+instant+4

It weighs 14 pounds..

Are you going to be using it for car camping ?

Thats a heavy tent!

As to construction, its made of very heavy fabrics. The Fiberglass poles are very "1970",though.

I would look and see what REI and others have in the Kelty lineup for 4 people.

Their tents will run about $150 to $200 on sale and are tough and well made. They also have a great warranty. They will alsoweigjt about half what the BearGrylls tent does and they will have DAC aluminum poles.

Thanks. I looked up REI for Kelty and the smallest I could find is this one:

http://www.rei.com/product/883256/kelty-bug-blocker-shelter-medium-2014-closeout

However, it weighs 14 lb! Please let me know if you know of any other tents!

H

What are your weight limits for a 4 person tent?

Will you be backpacking with it?

Does it have to be purchased from REI?

The OP said it's for car camping, so while it may not really be a BPL discussion I would think that weight doesn't really matter in this case.

What attracts you to this particular tent? Just the price, or certain features?

About 5 years ago, I found a ten person tent from Columbia on Sportsman's Guide for about $99. Taped seams, easy to set up once you get the hang of it. I've taken it on a car camping trip every year with a ton of kids. I thought I'd get a couple of year out of it, but the damn thing is nearly indestructible, and has survived some serious downpours without a letting a drop of water in, allowing 8 elementary school girls to just play cards and giggle during a mega wind/water storm.

The tent isn't really to keep you warm. Well, I suppose it blocks the breeze, and technically keeping you dry helps keep you warm. But the bulk of the warming is supposed to be from your clothes and your sleeping gear, not the tent. Just thought I would mention that, as a lot of people (and I mean lots, I have been on hundreds of Meetup things where you're camping with many different people each time) assume they can rely on the shelter they have for warmth, then close it all up so no breeze gets in, and wonder why they have a rainstorm in the tent the next morning when all the condensation they caused (by breathing and so forth) comes down on them when someone bumps the wall.

As for the tent you linked to, I don't trust those easy up hub things to last forever.

If it were me seeking a car camping tent, I'd get one of the Hobitat tents they have on sale. A little more expense, but the REI brand is at least consistent quality. I'd also get the 6 person instead of the 4, since the 6 person I have been using luxuriously for 2 is a bit tight with four people plus gear, and the dog, and when you're car camping what is it about if it's not being luxurious?

Okay, I'll confess to being biased and not wanting to contribute any royalties to Bear Grylls… but it's still true that I mistrust things that are more complicated than they need to be, like the easy up hub, and I do prefer plenty of space, having a larger than average boyfriend and a claustrophobic tendency.

Thanks all. This tent is going to be for car camping. My criteria:

– Weight is not an issue
– very sturdy and waterproof to survive heavy rains
– easy set up and take down. I'm taking my kids camping and I'd like them to be in charge of set-up and take-down to prep them for future backpacking.
– low price point
– does NOT have to be from REI. I was trying to take advantage of REI 20% promo.

It seems Columbia and Coleman are my best bets?

H

Coleman will be the best value with extremely durable materials.

Any tent sold anywhere I would think is waterproof, otherwise it really doesn't serve a purpose.

Like Lori P said, the tent won't keep you warm; it will keep you dry. Your choice of sleeping pads and bags will keep you warm.

I'm guessing every tent you look at will be free standing. If it ever gets super windy then bring some stakes anyway and nail it down. Easy peasy.

One of the beauties of car camping is it's really a no brainer when you can bring everything but the kitchen sink (although I've seen a few campers bring it's equal.)

Holly, I wouldn't bother with it. It has poor ventilation, uses heavy fabrics, has single point of failure modes (Easy-Up Hub) and has to be staked down anyway (as with all free standing tents, they blow away!!!) It may or may not last for a couple seasons. At the end of a year or two, the kids will require their own tent, maybe two.

Coleman is the king of car camping tents and has several models. Personally I like the tents with two separate rooms. One for sleeping and one for gear, shoes, jackets,etc. You will appreciate that second room whenever it's raining, I promise.

Some Coleman tents can be a little pricey. Wenzel is another car camping tent maker and I've had great luck out of them. Usually cheaper than Coleman.

Ryan

RE: staking it down – I would always stake it down. Never assume a gust of wind won't happen. I watched many 5 – 10 person Coleman tents full of gear roll around a campground once, having arrived that afternoon from a morning of kayaking to find that no one else there understood that even if you have 200 lbs of gear inside, wind is powerful (even those nice afternoon breezes) and tents can roll.

Tents, even larger ones, make great box kites. Type 'flying tents' into youtube if you doubt….

golly gee folks. Car camping tents for the family with kids is just as legitimate as a topic for this forum as many of the other topics posted.

I would check out the Big Agnes car camping and base camp tents. A whole bunch of discontinued models are on sale now. One draw back of the Coleman series and even the LL Bean family camping tents is fiber glass poles which the kids and even teenagers seem to break. This can be fixed with a pole sleeve and tape but is a hassle.

LL Bean does stand behind their warranty and often has replacement parts. Big Agnes (BA) will repair or replace tents with problems.

I like my full coverage BA Madhouse 4 which is still available on the web. I wanted something with a full coverage rain fly and two doors so I could exit or enter the tent at night without stepping over other occupants

http://www.123mountain.com/mad-house-4-big-agnes?gclid=CLCn4fmI2MQCFRSDfgod3UcANQ
The top of the Madhouse is a bit flattish and tents to be tightly rigged in big rain storms so the water flows off.

There are a whole bunch of other BA tents for sale right now too at REI and elsewhere. BA Rabbit Ears 4 at Moosejaw for $199. REI usually has the BA Big House 4 and 6 on sale. REI branded tents are good too. My guess is that Eureka is the OEM manufacturer for the REI tent.

Note when they say 4 persons, that means the tent is about as wide as four 20 inch sleeping pads side by side.

Other factors to consider
How often you will use it (if once per summer, you might as well go cheap)
weight (esp if you are carrying it by your self from the car to the pitch)
fiber glass vs aluminum poles
full coverage fly
single or double door
ventilation on warm nights (how many total windows and doors)
can you actually use the stakes it comes with (many companies sell the tents with stakes that are useless)
etc
etc

RE: staking it down – I would always stake it down. Never assume a gust of wind won't happen. I watched many 5 – 10 person Coleman tents full of gear roll around a campground once, having arrived that afternoon from a morning of kayaking to find that no one else there understood that even if you have 200 lbs of gear inside, wind is powerful (even those nice afternoon breezes) and tents can roll.

I can attest to this, from an amusing experience on a blustery February afternoon in Joshua Tree NP. "Tent Yahtzee."

I have a Eureka Equinox 4-person tent that is about 12 years old, and it has been pretty bomb proof. Very tight for 4 persons but when our girls were little we got them "bunk cots" so there were effectively only 3 bed footprints.

A cautionary tale concerning cheap tents. Some friends purchased an inexpensive six-person tent, perhaps from Walmart. On the first trip it started raining and they said the fly started leaking after about 10 mins. I think the waterproof coating was defective. Everything inside got wet, took forever to dry out when they got back.

Thus I'd stick to established brands.

Alternatively, take a blue plastic tarp to throw over the tent, just in case. One fall trip to Acadia with an old tent the rain was relentless and the fly eventually started leaking as water pooled. Next morning I purchased a blue tarp and tied it on, it worked fine.

Holley. My husband and I have had very good luck with all the Eureka tents we have purchased for car camping over the years. They hold up well, never had leaks, easy to set up. We also have one for when we go to the BWCA canoing camping where my husband doesn't care about weight because I am the mule…..;-)

+ on getting a 6-person tent for 4.

I have a BA 6-p tent for car camping. I like it. Main drawback it's huge and has a huge vestibule, which is non-seperable from the rainfly, so it can be a tight fit in campgrounds with smaller sites. Also, the fabric is lighter weight than i need for car camping, and one of my kids did rip a pocket seam.

forget the model name, but it's since been discontinued.

In short: I liked BA for this use, but it's pricey unless discounted and fragile. And consider, in exact measurements, how much floorspace is enough, but not more than you need.

If I were going to do it again, I'd probably get one of the REI house brand whenever it's on sale.

I have a hobitat for car camping…. very nice tent with lots of headroom.

http://www.rei.com/product/829919/rei-hobitat-4-tent-special-buy

I've seen a lots of Coleman and Wetzle tents fail in campgrounds I've been too. I can't say if it is a defective product or defective user, but I've seen enough busted fiberglass poles to stay away. Also, I hope you're not trying to stick 4 people in a 4-person tent. I have a 6-person tent for car camping with my family. Much more room. Easier to move around and get out of it.

I agree with Elliot that a low price may mean a cheaply made and poorly performing tent. I saw a couple of LL Bean car camping tents at an OR Show and was impressed. Fine company that stands behind its products and sells at fair prices. Sierra Trading Post often has bargains on brand-name tents, including car camping tents.

Nothing wrong with car camping. I live a ways away from my hiking grounds so, I often head up with the wife, stay for a couple nights, then head out on a hiking or canoeing trip. We use a 4 season tent, an old Exped Sirius at about 5#8 or so. Big enough to cram three in, at 35sqft, in a pinch. Our kids are 35 and 34 these days, though. Anyway, we continue to use the Sirius. About 12 years old, now…still functional for base camping.

We used a couple 2 man tents after our youngest got to be about 5-6. Of course, they also had their own room at home by then, so it was no big deal except one night we rode out a near miss by a tornado. (We double staked, storm lashed the tent down and rode out 70mph winds/thunderstorm for about an hour.)

My daughter has a big 6 man her family uses when they go. I had to recoat it, though…it leaked out of the box. Fine now. You can stand up in it and it only weighs about 12 pounds. I doubt it is all that storm worthy though. It is about 5 years old. She will need to do something later on, my grandson is getting to be school age this year. I will guess he will have a small two man this year or next.

My dad and I used a Eureka Timberline 4 for several seasons in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). It weathered many a downpour too. If I were looking at an easy setup car camping tent I would probably look there first. Sure it may weigh quite a bit but it’s a proven design. One thing to watch for in the Coleman, REI, and other tent recommendations is that the rain fly overlaps the tent body. This is a big flaw in some tent designs that cannot withstand a rain shower without issues. I’m sure you’re kids can put this one together on their own.

http://store.eurekatent.com/timberline-series

First of all, sorry about missing the car camping cavest in your first posts. I was a luttle bleary eyed last night when I read them…Sorry.

After looking at your price requirements and some of the very valid points made by others .I would buy this tent in your shoes..

http://m.rei.com/product/885923/coleman-monterey-6-person-tent-2012-closeout?cm_mmc=cse_PLA-_-pla-_-8859230001&mr:trackingCode=C76EEBB0-B185-E411-A521-BC305BF82162&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=m&mr:adType=plaonline&mr:ad=74537634160&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=68532232240&msid=henDs6Vx_dm|pcrid|74537634160|

The tent is the same price, weight and materials as the BG tent,BUT is 20% larger at 10x10ft floor area.

In terms of any QC issues, my suggestion would be buy it ASAP . As soon as you get the chance, set it up in your yard and soak it with a lawn sprinkler for about an hour and see if it leaks..If it passes that test,take a water hose with a pressure nozzle and really give the seams a workout. That will give you an idea of it's storm worthyness.

If it does leak a bit, then you have the option of either coming back here for some cheap and easy seamsealing tips ( a usefull skill set to have)OR just sending it back to REI and getting an exchange/ refund

For $110 it would be hard to beat that tent for its size, ease of setup and warranty..

My husband will not backpack (or canoe anymore) because he wants to be 'comfortable' and not 'sleep on the ground'. For the longest time he wouldn't even car camp with me because we'd use my UL backpacking stuff in the campground and he hated it – always tense trips.

Last year I convinced him we'd go all out – we got a Big Agnes Big House 6 man tent – you can stand up in it – and it fits a queen size air mattress with extra space to spare. It's typical Big Agnes quality, that is, it's withstood rain quite well. Once we were camped on gravel and we had some splash up under the fly, but that is it – no leaking from above.