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In late June we went camping at Lamoine State Park for our 9th anniversary. Lamoine is near Acadia National Park, but is very affordable for camping. Maine resident rates are $15 a night. If you've never been to the Acadia area, you totally need to go. Camping close to the national park at private campgrounds is $35+, and the 2 campgrounds in the national park have no amenities like showers or flush toilets, and are around $25 a night, last I checked.
We had never camped in our Bugaboo II till this trip, though I had set it up by myself a few times before. I can do it alone in about half an hour, but with my husband's help, we had it all pitched in under 15 minutes. He had never set it up before so he had no idea where the poles, etc. went, so next time I hope it will be a bit quicker.
The tent is 9x14, but it has some funky corners so the floor space isn't really quite that much. There are a couple corners good for tossing your gear or shoes, but you can't stand up there. The center of the tent is about 6' high, but the back wall slopes quickly so you really can only stand up straight right in the middle and near the front. We had room for a raised airbed, though it was very close to the back wall, and at the end of the airbed we had about a 3'x6' section or so for our gear and room to stand and change, etc.
The back wall is entirely screen, and there is a large window at each end, plus you can open the window in the door. The tent also has 2 small "cyclone" vents, one at each end that allow air in near the floor but water doesn't get in if it rains. The rainfly is full cover. The rainfly can be tied back on the ends and on the back to provide tons of air, but I'm afraid I'd forget they were open and leave the site and everything would get rained on! (that's the kind of luck I have.) The zipper on the door is annoying and sometimes gets stuck. You need 2 hands for the door.
It rained our last night and we were completely dry. When we had to pack up the next morning, we brushed the water off with a towel and packed everything up. (we of course opened it up at home and hung the tent up to dry just to be safe.)
We like the gear pockets in the corners. Gives us a place for watches and wallets and phones and glasses in the night. There's a hook in the ceiling to hang a lantern (or the gear loft which we didn't use). We hung one of our headlamps from it since we didn't have a lantern for the tent. (we do now, though!)
In all, we like our tent very much. I wish it were a bit wider and the ceiling were less sloped so we could stand up inside better. If I could find a double airbed instead of a queen, that would give us a few more inches, but they don't seem to make a double-sized raised airbed, at least not that I've found! These few inconveniences aren't enough to make me dislike the tent. It was $50 at Cabela's in the Bargain Cave so I think it was money well spent! If/when our family grows, we'll probably need something a bit bigger, or in a cabin shape instead of a dome, but for now it suits us fine. And when we do need a different tent, I bet I can sell this one for around $50ish on Craigslist!
We had never camped in our Bugaboo II till this trip, though I had set it up by myself a few times before. I can do it alone in about half an hour, but with my husband's help, we had it all pitched in under 15 minutes. He had never set it up before so he had no idea where the poles, etc. went, so next time I hope it will be a bit quicker.
The tent is 9x14, but it has some funky corners so the floor space isn't really quite that much. There are a couple corners good for tossing your gear or shoes, but you can't stand up there. The center of the tent is about 6' high, but the back wall slopes quickly so you really can only stand up straight right in the middle and near the front. We had room for a raised airbed, though it was very close to the back wall, and at the end of the airbed we had about a 3'x6' section or so for our gear and room to stand and change, etc.
The back wall is entirely screen, and there is a large window at each end, plus you can open the window in the door. The tent also has 2 small "cyclone" vents, one at each end that allow air in near the floor but water doesn't get in if it rains. The rainfly is full cover. The rainfly can be tied back on the ends and on the back to provide tons of air, but I'm afraid I'd forget they were open and leave the site and everything would get rained on! (that's the kind of luck I have.) The zipper on the door is annoying and sometimes gets stuck. You need 2 hands for the door.
It rained our last night and we were completely dry. When we had to pack up the next morning, we brushed the water off with a towel and packed everything up. (we of course opened it up at home and hung the tent up to dry just to be safe.)
We like the gear pockets in the corners. Gives us a place for watches and wallets and phones and glasses in the night. There's a hook in the ceiling to hang a lantern (or the gear loft which we didn't use). We hung one of our headlamps from it since we didn't have a lantern for the tent. (we do now, though!)
In all, we like our tent very much. I wish it were a bit wider and the ceiling were less sloped so we could stand up inside better. If I could find a double airbed instead of a queen, that would give us a few more inches, but they don't seem to make a double-sized raised airbed, at least not that I've found! These few inconveniences aren't enough to make me dislike the tent. It was $50 at Cabela's in the Bargain Cave so I think it was money well spent! If/when our family grows, we'll probably need something a bit bigger, or in a cabin shape instead of a dome, but for now it suits us fine. And when we do need a different tent, I bet I can sell this one for around $50ish on Craigslist!
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