tent suggestion?

[albireo13]

Hi,
Looking for a nice tent for my wife and I with some room. Am considering 4-person tents. Any good suggestion?

Last tent we had was nice but could have used more room. Would like to use a queen inflatable mattress.

Not doing backpacking so much.
We've done the big, bad family tent already so don't want to go down that road.

Thx,
Rob

 

[MuirWannabe]

I’m more experienced with tents associated with backpacking. But I can tell you that Big Agnes makes very quality light weight tents. Plus they are a good company to deal with if any issues. Not sure specific models or how they fare in the size you are looking for.

 

[harley]

When I go comfort camping (a couple of times/year) I use a 6 man tent for myself. A Coleman Sundome that cost me a bit over $100. Double height full size air mattress with a memory foam pad. Room for a camp chair, small table, and small cooler. It's easy enough to put up by myself, and has been pretty reliable even in some bad weather, although I try to avoid that these days.

Not like the old days, with a hammock and a tarp.

 

[albireo13]

We used to backpack and used small 2-man tents,
made for backpacking. Now we are interested in car camping. We still like an easy setup with good water snd weather resistance. Last big tent we had was a Coleman. Ok for use with the kids but a heavy setup plus we always had water problems in the rain.
Have been looking into LL Bean.

 

[SpinDr]

My wife and I love our Northface Wawona. It comes in 4 and 6 person sizes. We have the 6 person size as we like the extra room for car camping. It does very well in the weather and has dealt with heavy rain and hail storms quite well. It is designed and constructed very nicely. No rain fly needed so it makes setup easier. Definitely for car camping as it’s around 20 lbs!

 

[NgineER]

We’ve had a Marmot Limestone 6 person tent for the last ten years and have done quite a few trips with it. Mainly backpacking and boundary waters canoeing.
We have been in a couple of multi inch torrents and have not had any problems with water. It is relatively light and easy to set up, it takes about five minutes.

They have a four person tent as well that is highly rated.

You have about 5’ of height at the highest point.

 

[finnski1]

We used to backpack and used small 2-man tents,
made for backpacking. Now we are interested in car camping. We still like an easy setup with good water snd weather resistance. Last big tent we had was a Coleman. Ok for use with the kids but a heavy setup plus we always had water problems in the rain.
Have been looking into LL Bean.

Funny coincidence.
I just listed an LL Bean 4 person Adventure dome for sale on our local Craigslist yesterday.
We went to Acadia National Park last September and had rented a pop up camper for the week.
The camper was a disaster and we couldn't even use it so scrambled to buy a tent. There happens to be a couple of LL Bean Outlets within an hour of the park so we found that one.
Only selling it because we bought a new camper and we already have three tents (backpacking ,car camping tents)
It fit a queen size air mattress and a had a foot or 2 left over by the door.. Good rain fly coverage and built solid.
I would recommend it for your car camping requirements though you can't stand up in it unless you are under 5 ft tall.

 

[Badger]

So many excellent tents to choose from I understand the frustration if you have not been following the various makes and models for awhile.

For most of my camping/backpacking for about 4 decades I used a Eureka 4-man Timberline tent for the 2 of us. I don't think this would be what you would be comfortable in. If you are needing room for a queen size inflatable mattress and a little room to be comfortable I think a 4 person tent would be a bit too small.

This might be a good question for REI (especially if there is one near you) so you could describe what your needs are and get a range of suggestions.
If I was looking for what you seem to want I would be looking at a nylon, cabin style, with full rain fly and at least 8X8. The size would fit your mattress with enough room to bring things in from the rain and be comfortable. You may also want a shock corded frame that holds the tent open so tent stakes are only necessary for holding it down This would be large enough but also pack down fairly small to throw in the trunk of your car.


Cheers!

 

[cathy63]

I’m more experienced with tents associated with backpacking. But I can tell you that Big Agnes makes very quality light weight tents. Plus they are a good company to deal with if any issues. Not sure specific models or how they fare in the size you are looking for.

I'll second this. We have a Big Agnes tent which is great. It has their mtnGLO lights built in, which at first seemed kind of silly because we've always used headlamps and flashlights, but it turns out that the LEDs are very nice to have. I also like that the rain fly covers the whole tent. We've been through some pretty heavy thunderstorms and never had a drop or splash inside, unlike our previous tent. If you do a mix of backpacking and car camping, you can do what they call a "fast fly" shelter, where you can leave the tent behind and just bring the poles, fly and footprint, so it's very light.

Their 3-person tent is big enough to put a queen size mattress inside, but there's no room for anything else. Get at least a 4-person if you like to have some space at the sides.

 

[Sunset]

We bought our 6 man tent at Walmart. Cost was about $120.

It is super easy to set up, and really nice.

I have found the tents at REI/LL Bean are geared for the serious backpacking type camper with big wallets.

 

[Red Badger]

About 40 years ago, the army issued me a half of a tent - canvas - it sucked.

A few years ago, I had a truck tent that turned the bed of my Nissan Frontier into a decent shelter for one person. I liked being off the ground.

Now days, we camp at Embassy Suites or a nice Airbnb.

 

[CaptTom]

You're right to at least double the estimated # of people. For tents and life rafts, "2-man" means "barely enough for one" and "four man" means two people who REALLY like each other MIGHT be OK, but no room for anything else.

The other point I want to make is that outdoor equipment of any kind has been hard to come by lately. Not sure about tents, but many outdoor products have been out of stock due to people doing "staycations."

 

[albireo13]

My old standby, while hiking and camping back in the day, was a green Eureka 2-man Timberline. Classic tent style, and elegant in its simplicity. Great tent.

So, today I said "screw it". and drove up to LL Bean in Freeport, Me.
I picked up a Bean Vector XL 4 tent.

Nice looking tent. I was able to see one setup and could walk around in it.
It was worth the trip just for that.
Looks like it will fit our needs well. Not too huge.


https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/85975?page=vector-xl-4-person-tent

 

[finnski1]

My old standby, while hiking and camping back in the day, was a green Eureka 2-man Timberline. Classic tent style, and elegant in its simplicity. Great tent.

So, today I said "screw it". and drove up to LL Bean in Freeport, Me.
I picked up a Bean Vector XL 4 tent.

Nice looking tent. I was able to see one setup and could walk around in it.
It was worth the trip just for that.
Looks like it will fit our needs well. Not too huge.


https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/85975?page=vector-xl-4-person-tent

looks like a solid one with full fly coverage.

 

[albireo13]

Hope so. Will let you know.
LOZl

 

[savory]

I’ve. been a Eureka tent user for years. Never have had a real complaint.

 

[walkinwood]

My old standby, while hiking and camping back in the day, was a green Eureka 2-man Timberline. Classic tent style, and elegant in its simplicity. Great tent.

So, today I said "screw it". and drove up to LL Bean in Freeport, Me.
I picked up a Bean Vector XL 4 tent.

Nice looking tent. I was able to see one setup and could walk around in it.
It was worth the trip just for that.
Looks like it will fit our needs well. Not too huge.


https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/85975?page=vector-xl-4-person-tent

I still have my Eureka 2-man Timberline that I bought in 1987! I last used it about 9 years ago and should just donate it to someone who would use it.

We haven't backpacked for years and for car-camping, we use a big tent from REI that allows us to stand upright inside. We use two camp beds side by side. A full-size air mattress with foam topper goes over them & we use down comforters. Luxury!

Hope you have many pleasant outings with your new tent.

 

[albireo13]

Hope to use the tent this summer. I am pumped.

 

[kitesurfer2]

Redverz. google that. i paid $650, used heavily for 4 years, and sold if for $450. it out lasted the 3 bikes i had, but it was just to big to fin in my trunk on my vette. i've had the cheaper tents and things get wet easily in them.