Big Agnes Big House 4 Tent: 4-Person 3-Season

Big Agnes Big House 4 Tent: 4-Person 3-Season

 

I've used this tent for 2 seasons and it has been fantastic. I set up the tent on my own without any problems. The sturdy 3 pole design does a great job of keeping the tent from collapsing in strong wind gusts as long as it's staked down properly. We easily get 4 people in the tent with room for gear. I primarily use this tent for car camping with the family. If you're looking for a backpacking tent, look elsewhere because this would take up most of the room in your pack. If you divide the tent amongst many backpackers you should have no problems. The poles are aluminum and light. The fly can stay on with the sides rolled up for ventilation. The doors are large but can be difficult to zip open and close, this really didn't bother me though. My only complaint is that the bottom of the door to the ground is about 8 inches and can be somewhat of a tripping hazard. I bought this tent because it had a squarish mostly usable floor and a relatively high dome because I'm tall and appreciate a little extra head room. Buy one and you won't be disappointed. The 4 person REI tent is junk by the way if you're considering it. The big agnes has a full fly while the REI fly was not unless they changed their design on it. A full fly will keep the wind gusts from creating a tornado in your tent and keep you dry when it rains.

Coleman Hooligan 4 Tent

Coleman Hooligan 4 Tent

 

Overall this is a good tent, but I found out the hard way that the tent isn't waterproof. There is a basic problem in the maufacturing of the tent fly. The fly itself is well constructed and the seams are sealed, but after the seams are sealed they stitch on the velcro tabs which hold the fly to the tent poles. When they stitch the velcro on, they don't reseal the stitching, so it leaks. Their "guaranteed waterproof" doesn't help much miles from the car in a downpour at midnight. I've sealed the seams myself now, so we'll see if it helps.
Beyond that, the overall set up is easy and logical. There are two main poles that cross to support the tent, and another pole across the front to support the vestibule. It's important to note that the tent without the fly is all mesh, so you can't use the tent by itself unless you don't need ANY privacy. I was orginally skeptical of the vestibule design, but after a few trips I've come to like it. It lets me keep the dirty and wet gear outside, which keeps things cleaner inside. I'm a big guy, so it's a little bit of a pain to duck under the vestibule to go in the tent. The floor seems solid, and the overall material seems more durable than some other coleman tents, such as the Sundome. There is a vent at the top rear of the tent, but it seems like a place to let water and bugs in. The interior space of the tent is good, but you can tell that from the 9x7 footprint. Another feature I would have liked is to have staps to hang a lantern in the top of the tent.
Assuming my sealer keeps the tent dry, I'll continue to use it, becuase of the good interior space, but there is real room for improvement in this tent.

Kelty Trail Ridge 4 Person Tent

Kelty Trail Ridge 4 Person Tent

 

Purchased this tent from Amazon for an excellent price. Just put it on my wishlist, and watched the price drop as I waited my camping plans to firm up. This is my first camping experience since Boy Scout camping, and going out west with my parents when I was a child. Man, how things have changed. This tent is extremely easy to set up and extremely light. I set it up in my family room first time in about 8 minutes. We took it to southern Missouri, and stayed in it for 5 nights. It was just my wife and I, so we used 2 camp cots. Lots of room, with extra space for moving around, dressing, etc......The tent is extremely dry, and withstood a level 5 TRW (thunderstorm), with no trouble at all. Not one leak, or even any dampness inside of tent, good ventilation even with rain fly on.
We used a carpet remnant as a floor protector, and it made it nice and cozy. Construction of this tent is superb. I will have this tent for a long time.

Kelty Gunnison 2.1

Kelty Gunnison 2.1

 

Bought a Kelty Gunnison 2.1 because it was on sale and I've had good luck with Kelty gear in the past. On our second outing with the tent we encountered a severe summer storm. For about 24 hours we were pounded by incredible strong gusts of wind, sheets of rain, and dime size hail. We were camped on a rock bluff at 8,300 feet, totally exposed to the storm. After 8 hours of the storm the couple we backpacked with had to move to our tent as the wind started to tear theirs apart. Their were four of us in the "cabin" part of the tent and nearly all of our gear in the side storage area. At some parts of the night the wind got so strong that the walls of our tent were bent over on top of us. I couldn't believe that the poles could handle that kind of pressure. In the morning our tent was still standing and the other tent was ripped and broken beyond repair. We never did find some parts of their tent. Ours was still standing like new, both us and our gear were still dry. The only thing that was damaged by the storm were the tent stakes that bent by the force of the wind. Amazing tent. If your considering purchasing this tent, I suggest you do so. I will never buy another tent that isn't a Kelty.

TETON Sports Outfitter XXL Quick Tent

TETON Sports Outfitter XXL Quick Tent

 

This is an extremely lightweight, easy setup one person tent that has the added versatility of fitting on the OutFitter XXL Canopy from Teton or by itself. I would not recomend it for winter camping but for spring, summer, and even fall, or as an emergency shelter in a survival pack it is an excellent option since it comes with a compact travel bag that will easily fit on any pack or over the shoulder. It comes with straps and stakes, which I would replace for larger stakes, but that is not necessary and does not necessarily deter from the package. Glad I got it and at a great price!

Wenzel Pine Ridge 10-by-8 Foot Four-to-Five-Person 2-Room Dome Tent

Wenzel Pine Ridge 10-by-8 Foot Four-to-Five-Person 2-Room Dome Tent

 

The tent itself is very nice. It is easy to setup with a minimum of 2 people. It is very roomy inside. I had three male adults in the tent and it was very comfortable. 3 average size male adults is very comfortable for this tent. 4 average size male adults would be just right. Overall, it is a very nice tent. Enjoyed my two weekends (4 nights) camping in this tent. It also held up well in light to medium rain. Haven't been able to test it for heavier rain yet.

The only downside is that there does seem to be a zipper problem. If you open the tent too fast or even normal speed it seems to get caught on the orange part which protects the zippers and keeps out moisture I presume. It didn't get stuck to the point where I couldn't take it out, but nevertheless, it does seem to be annoying. However, if you go slower opening the tent and mindful of that the orange part can get stuck, then this problem can be overlooked in my opinion.

Coleman Fiberglass Tent Pole Replacement Kit

Coleman Fiberglass Tent Pole Replacement Kit

 

I measured my poles and this kit appeared to provide an exact replacement for one of my poles. unfortunately their pole measurements do not include the metal tips and mine did. So measure to the little bump in your metal tip to get the correct length.
I didn't have glue to hold the new metal tip on, so I squeezed it down slightly with pliers to make a tight fit - don't oversquish it! And I used another reviewers tip to cut the fiberglass pole by putting it in a drill and rotating it against the hacksaw - worked GREAT!
It is nice to have a new shockcord, I found the tool to thread it through very sturdy and helpful, I will take advantage of it by getting new shockcord for the other poles, since mine have extra length on them which makes it tough to thread the poles together. I thought their instructions for cutting the shockcord to length made it too short and tight, which probably help is putting the poles together but will make the shockcord fail faster. I made mine quite a bit longer - still stretched but not so much.