How to sleep a family of 4?

Tarptent Hogback? MLD Circus Tent? GoLite Shangri-La 6?

Depending on the kids a tarp could work I loved sleeping under the stars as a kid some people don't like it but a large tarp and maybe a custom or myog four person bug netting for under it would probaly be the lightest option fwiw

I'm in basically the same situation as you Tjaard, in planning some 3-season trips with my young kids, 6 & 4 – aiming for 3 nights. They've done plenty of car camping and are very comfortable being out, so I'm pretty certain they'll be fine in whatever shelter we decide on.

For shelter, at this point, we're fairly settled on using two tarptents, a DR for my wife and me, and a Contrail for the kids. They're small and fit and sleep well in it – I trimmed up some cheap CCF pads to fit them perfectly.

These can be set up somewhat complimentary, with the vestibule area of the Contrail pointing into one vestibule/door of the DR. We'll set up a piece of polycro between the doors of the two shelters to basically have an area we can stand without shoes.

@ 4lb, this combo offers better flexibility and long-term value than a Hogback, for instance.

For packing, obviously the grown-ups will be shouldering 99% of the load, so no major considerations there other than using largeish packs (Circuit and REI Flash 65). With your kids being a bit older, perhaps they will do a little bit more of the carrying.

For cooking, the Snow Peak Ti multi-compact cookset is very nice – 4 pieces @ < 11oz. We might leave the smaller pot + lid at home saving 5 oz or so and simply take turns eating. Most likely we'll use a canister stove for simplicity's sake.

Anyway, these are some of my thoughts on this. Granted it's not the direct personal experience you requested, just hoping to validate some of my thinking and hopefully make a useful suggestion or two based on my planning.

We bought a Tarptent Rainshadow for our trips last year, and our 2 kids are the same ages. It fit us all fine and I think we;ll get another 2 summers out of it before we outgrow it at which point the kids can carry their own tent!

Hi Tjaard,

we are faced with a similar situation for our JMT trip this summer. Our two oldest daughters (9 & 13) will be hiking with us. Last year we hiked the JMT with our twin sons (15). Last year we took two 2 person tents. This year we are taking one 4 person tent.

We carry our tent(s) for safety, but don’t sleep in them most of the time. Last year we used our tents only 2 nights on the three week hike along the JMT. Our kids love to sleep under the stars and be aware of everything around them.

So normally when we use the tents there is heavy rain and quite often a thunderstorm going on with interesting/frightening lightning. The older boys are old enough to be alone in their 2 person tent in such a situation — and they don’t really want to be in a tent with their parents anyways. The younger girls on the other hand still like to cuddle up and be together in a tent – especially in those situations where we really use a tent.

Although they are heavier, we decided to go with free-standing double walled tents. That way we can set them up, move them a little bit if necessary, don’t need to worry about condensation (it’s crowded and someone is always touching the walls), etc.

Last summer we took the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 2 It weighs 42 oz and my wife and I fit into it with both our 20 inch wide mats. The tent is cozy and has one front entrance. My wife and I like it a lot, while our sons prefer their old heavy REI Quarterdome with more space, more headroom and two separate entries and vestibules. They are willing to carry the extra 30 oz for that added comfort.

This summer we are taking the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 4 It weighs 73 oz and fits all 4 of us, but it certainly helps that we have 2 children with us who like to cuddle. Putting four 20 inch mats next to each other is a stretch and I wonder how BA is measuring the floor dimensions. With the added groundsheet I’m carrying exactly 5 lbs in my pack that most of times is not used. Nevertheless it is totally worth it to me, because it makes my wife and my daughters feel safe.

Manfred

I've packed a lot with kids. I've used the various combinations of the oware 9×9 pyramid; two tarps; MYOG 3 man tarp; and TT rainshadow. I've also packed in heavier REI tents before switching to lighter weight gear. The only advantage I see between taking one or two shelters is the weight of the two shelters can be divided between backpacks. One shelter probably weighs less than 2, but when family packing it's not like you're hiking 15 miles a day. The farthest I typically would go when my kids were younger is 4-5 miles/day. My youngest hiker is now 9, so our trips can be longer.

I bet a TT rainshadow would fit your family. It's a big shelter–easily a three-adult shelter. Maybe a bit crowded, but hey, it's fun to sleep together as a family. It would be a nice tranistion from car camping. Not too heavy either.

The pyramid shelters are lighter and perfectly adequate. Decent bug protection (pitched to the ground), easy to set up, and very light for the coverage. You'll feel a bit more "out of doors" with one of these. With a polycro ground cloth, you don't need bivies, etc. I would recommend this, unless you are nervous about transitioning to ultralight gear. Then the rainshadow may be the best option.

I used to worry about the kids feeling too exposed in the pyramid. One time in Utah I had three kids in a pyramids (12, 9 and 6), and my wife and me under a tarp. We woke to an explosion of thunder and pounding rain. I thought: the kids will be scared! and dashed the 20 ft through the rain with my down bag into their pyramid. They were so sound asleep I actually had to pick one kid up and move him to make space for me. The rain lasted through the night and we were snug and dry. When we woke up, the 6-yr-old finally noticed me and said: "Daddy, did you come into our tent b/c you were scared you would get wet under your tarp?"

My kids are older now, and pack their own shelters.

SL-6 w/SL-4 Nest

SL-4

SL-5

Any of the ottage tent makers can get you set up with something as well.
Regards,
John

What are peoples experiences with singlewall shelters and kids? Do they constantly brush the walls and get wet?

I'm in the same predicament as well. My wife and 2 girls (ages 6 and 8) insist on sleeping in a tent. We ended up going with the REI Half Dome 4. I replaced the stakes with Ti and did what I could to lighten it up. Split between my wife and I it won't be too bad. I never thought about bringing 2 tents and putting them door to door.

The larger Tarptents (like the Rainshadow) have enough ventilation that condensation is not an issue. There have been several times during fog and drizzle on Washington's Olympic Peninsula coast when Granny's solo tent was dripping wet inside but the Rainshadow (with Dad and two kids inside) didn't have a drop of condensation.

For four of you, my first thought was the Tarptent Hogback. It has the added advantage of being a double-wall tent, and getting the optional crossing pole will make it more secure in high winds. However, several years down the road, the kids may want their own tent. Two 2-person tents with their smaller footprints make it easier to find space to pitch than does one 4-person tent. However, getting two smaller tents means that you'll have to sleep with one child and your wife with the other until the kids are old enough to be happy in their own tent. The best option might be to start with the Hogback and sell it when the kids arrive at that stage. With the Hogback, you can split the weight several ways–one person carrying the outer, another the inner and the kids the stakes and poles.

As for durability, I've had grandkids and my 80-lb. dog run at full speed through the guylines on two different Tarptents (Squall 2 and Rainshadow 2) with no ill effects. (Except to shins; the grandkids and the dog have all learned that the results of this activity can be painful.) Silnylon is a lot tougher than it looks!

I used the TT Hogback last year with my wife and 4 yr old girls (twins). It's got a lot of useable floor space for it's footprint. Being double walled and having 2 doors is nice with kids. Total packed weight including stakes, ground cloth, and stuff sack is about 65oz. I thought about two 2 person tents but wanted a shelter big enough for us all to ride out rainstorms together. I also didn't think my girls would do ok in a tent by themselves at this age (they were 3 when I bought it). That may change sooner rather than later though ;)

Chris

As another option (I have not used this shelter), you could consider the Nemo Pentalite. It is spec'd at 77 sq feet of space. There is also a bug inner available.

http://www.nemoequipment.com/nemo2011-pentalite2011-tent

David, with regard to the Nemo offering, If you want to compare the fully bug protected and floored configurations, the Nemo model is much heavier, much more expensive, has a much bigger footprint, has only one door, has an awkward pole inside the insert, and has less usable volume than the Hogback. It does have a bigger vestibule.

-H

I went with the Golite SL-5. Haven't used it yet, but looking forward to it this summer. The headroom is awesome, and the fabric is a bit more stout than the Hogback. Seemed robust against toddler abuse in my back yard tests.

I'd love a setup like John's. Golite doesn't make the SL-6 anymore, but Bear Paw Wilderness Designs will make one for you. You'd have to check with Bear Paw for a current quote, but the quote I saw a few months ago was less than the MSRP of SL-5 or SL-6.

Hi Henry – I wasn't actually comparing the two as I haven't used nor seen the Nemo. Just throwing out options.

I've done a fair amount of backpacking with the kids, using our tipi's as single wall, double wall and using tarps as well. We meaning seekoutside.com combine as much into the tipi shell as possible, so bug protection / ventilation is included. Our 2 person tipi can actually sleep 4 if some are small, I could take our family of four in it as it's almost 85 sq feet. Our 4 person does this easily and weighs less than a pound more.

Here are my thoughts regarding backpacking with kids. The single wall part is not that big of an issue for them, unless condensation is real bad. My kids spent 43 nights in a row camped in our yard in a big single wall tipi. However, if the weather is bad for an extended period a 2nd wall certainly makes sense. The tarp, they like sleeping in as well. They are really pretty flexible concerning the arrangements. The bigger issue I have found, is having them stay on a ground sheet. Not a big issue where the ground isn't dirty, but it is a big issue in sand or dirt bases, which are almost everywhere developed sites exist. A very basic bivy is the best resolution for that. If it is cold / wet for an extended period they love the wood stove idea / heated shelter, although they are cool hanging by a fire as well.

They really are pretty flexible. This past weekend me and the boy used just a tarp, however I suspect in the high mountains they would prefer the tipi. You can search our site and old blog posts for photos on some of it. We had a blog post on the 43 days camped outside a few months ago, as well as a few blog posts on trips.

My 3 sons and I have done about 5 multi-night trips over the past year. They are ages 6, 9 and 10 now. We squeezed into my old TNF Big Frog each time…4 persons on 3 foam sleep pads (the 3 pads covered the floor nicely) under a large quilt. The Big Frog is a 3-man, modified dome tent….old school lightweight.

We just received our Rainshadow 2, and plan to use it in the next several weeks. I just wanted to chime in that this tarp-tent is huge and well thought out. It will easily house me and the 3 boys.

I'd also echo the caution about difficulty keeping the kids on a ground cloth…a bath tub floor is important to us. Four folks squirming around could get messy in the rain if there was nothing to "contain" you all. Also, bugs are always a potential issue in the Southeast.

If you want a budget, lightweight option, consider the great value in a Kelty Salida 2. It would only sleep 2, but what a deal at this price and weight.

Best wishes deciding.

Scott