Large Tent

I was running a RTT last year and sold it before moving to Brazil. Now I'm back and need another tent. Most of the time I'm going to have 2 people. But I'm taking my boat the lake george next month and need something large that can fit 4 smallish ppl (myself and 3 women). I'm thinking of a 6-person tent and fit 2 queen mattresses inside. I like REI stuff, but there's tents nearly 1/2 the price on Amazon. I'm not sure if its worth the cost difference. What's your thoughts??

 

A 6 person tent is about right for 2 people. Three at most. Unless you need to survive extreme weather buy 2 tents from Amazon for the same money. They should do fine in mild weather. Not what I'd want to use in high wind or heavy rain. You may need to seal the seams, but even good tents need that.

 

Don't buy an Amazon tent unless you are familiar with the brand

I've gotten away with several years worth of camping out of a cheap Academy tent, but you have to know how to take care of them. Cheap tents need a good bottle of seam sealer right out of the gate, then annual reapplication thereafter.


I've also found (2) four-person tents go up much easier than (1) eight-person tent. They are less cumbersome, it's easier to find and clear level ground for pitching, tear-down is way easier, and they are way more comfortable at night. Unless your main intention is to share close quarters with that many people, then go on and let your freak flag fly.

 

As said, four person is a two person, 6=4, etc.
If your weather is mild, a less expensive will do. But, would wager a bet, the poles are cheap and may easily break. I'm running 4 person Kelty and 6 person Eureka. Had for +10 years, Seal them every couple of years. And yes, we use a queen mattress and sleep quite well.

 

Heh I have a 20 year old kelty streamside 2 that still gets decent amounts of use by the kids. For a 'big' adult tent we switched to a coleman 6 person dome, though(only still good for 2 adults, tbh, if you're in a big queen air mattress). If you want a single 'big tent' some of the two room colemans (center entryway / mud room, two rooms to either side) are pretty good.

 

REI did rent gear. Not sure what the policy is now.

 

A neighbor had the Colman fast pitch last week. It was literally setup in 60 Seconds

Coleman Cabin Tent with Instant Setup in 60 Seconds

$180 Coleman Camping Tent | 6 Person Cabin Tent with Instant Setup , Brown/Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004E4ERHA

 

From my experience with tents, you usually get what you pay for. Have had a lot of Kelty tents, were all pretty solid. Have a Rei half dome 4 person now and it’s really easy to set up, quality materials, and worth the price. Have also camped with lots of friends who had cheapo $50 tents that were pretty much garbage after a weekend…

As others have said it depends on what kind of conditions and amount of use you are planning for it. A 3-4 Season tent with a full size rain fly & ground cloth are a must if you ever see inclement weather or high winds, especially here in the NW. If not and you just need it for shade/privacy/keeping bugs out, then yeah a cheaper tent may work for you.

Also size wise it depends on if your gona be hanging out in it or just need enough room to sleep in. My 4 person 1/2 Dome fits my family of 3 & large dog w room to spare. Also, anything bigger than a 4 person & the quality of the poles /materials will come into play, with all the extra size & weight you’ll want a solid construction.

Maybe get a nice, quality 2-4 person tent for yourself that will last a long time & another cheapo tent for when you have more people?

 

Just go to Walmart and buy a Coleman. They’re relatively cheap but surprisingly durable and waterproof. Agreed on getting two smaller tents. Aside from what has already been mentioned who wants four different peoples gross ass breath and farts co mingling in one tent?

 

He’s going with 3 women, women don’t fart.

 

It's a life changing event the first time sweetums lets you have it with a full JATO blast. You know the kind. Hairs are singed, your ears are ringing, the bedsheets are untucked and askew.

 

Another reason not to smoke in bed.

 

I was thinking about a quality 4-person tent that we can stand inside. And then buying a smaller 2-person tent that I can use for backpacking in the future. Idk if we could make 4 people work with that set up. I'm not an experienced camper.

 

It depends: How many vehicles are you taking. How many days. Assuming you in walking distance of the truck(s). All the stuff does not have to live with you in the tent. Also how much junk are the women bringing? Are you doing all the cooking there or eating out. Bringing any dogs. How is the weather, do you have a canopy. Provisions for wet cold people(s) etc.

 

Visa-versa your budget. If you are serious about getting into backpacking, then buy a quality backpacker's tent and a cheap family dome tent. Backpacking is a hobby where everyone tries to tell you buy-once-cry-once, and yet I don't know any backpacker who hasn't bought every piece of their gear 5 times over. And also, unless you have a full time backpacking partner who is at the same enthusiasm level that you are, backpacker's tents should be little more than a one person bivvy and a minimal pad - not exactly the height of convenience for other styles of camping.

And as many people above have mentioned, beware of occupancy numbers. Tents go by the same rating system as life boats, (for those that have ever had the mispleasure of water training): yes, a 10 person raft really will hold 10 adults, but you have to stack bodies to do so. Same goes for a 4 person tent. If you want to sleep without being the sweaty middle spoon in a human sandwich, double the capacity over your intended occupancy.


Stand-up room is overrated. Having enough room to sit up straight and put on a shirt is plenty. I say this because stand up tents are notoriously flimsy to anything above a gentle breeze. The taller the tent, the more it wants to sail. There's nothing like a surprise summer storm that leans you over enough to get water under the fly, or snaps poles, or generally makes you want to never camp again. Meanwhile a good waist-to-chest high dome shaped tent can withstand a decent amount of weather.

If you decide to get those cabin shaped stand up tents anyway, then you'll need to take the time to guy-line the ever loving snot out of it. One at each corner at a minimum (I usually did two guylines per corner, two different lengths), and don't forget to tie florescent ribbon over each line so you don't trip over it.

But this is the most common mistake I see from first (and second) time campers, over and over again. They get a stand-up tent, which is awkward for a novice to level and pitch. They wrestle with the fly until they think they have it secured. They forget to stake and guy-line. They don't realize the importance of sweeping the tent clean before rolling it back up. Then a little bit of weather drenches them and generally makes their night miserable. And by first light, those one-and-done campers are long gone, the only evidence of them existing is a park dumpster that's overflowing with their discarded tents:





Or, heed the advice of someone who's been tent camping for 25 years now, who's learnt the harsh lessons of having tents blow over, flood, rip, and break: start with a couple of budget 4 person dome tents, sleep two people per tent. See where it goes from there.

 

@Rock Lobster Do you have any experience with Eureka tents? Saw a few on sale while stocking up on ammo at the gun/outdoor store and was actually thinking if I should get one. Mostly just for myself solo, so shouldn't need a huge one, it's more of a question about quality since I don't want to waste money on cheap junk right now(ammo prices been draining my wallet for a while now)
Going to link outdoor store https://gritroutdoors.com/ incase you would like to check models, but looks like it's mostly El Capitan and Tetragon available(I feel like they had more at offline store compared to what they have online).

 

I had one in college. I rank them as a good mid-range tent, most of their models are on par with REI brand. It was quality for the money. I lost that one when mice moved into my camping box over the winter. I was furious.

... But I wouldn't hesitate on buying another one if the opportunity presented itself. I enjoyed my experience with the one I had

 

I recently bought this and tried it out on a trip, I was thoroughly impressed. The way the poles are designed makes for an easy setup, even alone, including putting on the rainfly and securing the guylines. It has built in internal lighting that's powered vis usb and even has a wall you can put up to make it two rooms, each with their own door.

edit: It was raining literally the entire day too and no water intrustion. I didn't do any extra seam sealing.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-8-Person-Cabin-Tent-with-LED-Lighted-Poles/782368290

 

Big thanks, probably going to grab el Capitan 4. But first, going to browse through REI catalogue i guess, those look cool.

 

Regarding Eureka tents, they used to be based in Binghamton NY, made in USA, good designs and durable. I have two Tetragon 4s for family car camping and grew up with Timberlines (2 & 4). The timberline was everywhere…scout troops, back country outfitters, outing clubs, I think even the military used them for a while. The last one I purchased was 10 years ago, I doubt they’re US made anymore but still solid designs!