What tent do you use?

[tplife]

Re: What tent do you use?

I've gone through many tents over the years, and as a result won't buy anything from Coleman, Ozark, etc. as I've discovered that quality trumps price every time! Being a thrifty Scott however I buy my tents new for 60% off retail through Ebay. As a result, I have lifetime-guaranteed tents with all the bells and whistles for just a few dollars more than others pay for a Coleman (once you add sales tax and such). We currently have a Seirra Designs Bedouin 6, a Sierra Designs Base Camp 4, and a Sierra Designs Electron 2. For guests we offer a Eureka! Tetragon 7, 3-man...

[jackiejay]

Re: What tent do you use?

we used our tent we got from walmart Tues.I camped with my daughter and 6 yr old grandson in our backyard on out property.I was impressed with the size and how easy it was to set up.

[Johnny Test]

Re: What tent do you use?

I have had a greatland, which is the target brand. Generally low quality, but it will suffice.
I recently bought and use a Eureka Titian, and have to say it is amazing. What a huge jump up in quality and features.

I think the saying is true with tents: you get what you pay for.

-J

[imskipinout]

Re: What tent do you use?

I have many many tents and are all different for all kinds of camping. If have used kelty tents in the past for backpacking and two come to mind in your price range but are more than what you want to pay. The Kelty Salida 4 ( $ 150.00 ish ) was voted as packpackers best buy. 2nd would be the Kelty Gunnison 4.1 ($188.00 ish ) The Salida is a one door one vestibule tent and the Gunnison is a two door two vestibule tent. I use a older version Kelty tent called Vortex 4 and have had for 12+ years and has held up very well. Both tents mentioned above have full coverage tent flys. I recently bought a Coleman Helios X3 tent for 4 season camping and this is a very nice tent but it weighs quite a bit and probably not for backpacking but I like comfort camping and my oldest daughter had borrowed this tent to go to Colorado and will not relinquish it so I had to buy another one -- This tent has been in very bad driving rain storms and held up better that the Kelty's as it has 10 guy out points on the rain fly with guy lines already attached ( I bought it on eBay at gocampingcheap for $219.00 and change ) they have it listed as a buy it now item. On the Coleman web site it lists for $549.00 + shipping.
For car camping I use Eureka tents and have 4 of them I really like the Sunrise 11 for summer camping and the Equinox 6 for spring and fall camping you can get the Sunrise for little over $225,00+ while the Equinox is pricy for $400.00 but I have seen the Equinox go for $299.00 on eBay at times.
I have three kids who are now all over 21 and I had bought them all there own 6 person Eureka tents for there car camping setups.
There are many choices in the tent quest but I find that when I went camping many many years ago I noticed what others were using ate the camp grounds that I visited and the ones that held up in bad weather were the higher end tents and not the cheaper ones that would only last a season or two. I find eBay as the best place to buy a tent for the price anywhere period. But I understand that everyone has a opinoin on tents but I go camping all the time and these are what works for me.

[nancywvnrs]

Re: What tent do you use?

Does anyone have the Guidegear Wiwam tent? I really want one, I think. It would be used for camping a few times a year at a campground and some backyard also for a single mom and a few kids.

[shawnbebout]

Re: What tent do you use?

Set up your tent, and then turn on the sprinklers. Or have someone spray it with a hose and find out how it does in the "rain". I have been cold, wet and miserable enough. So I went out and bought a canvas tent with a heater. Now I don't care if rain clouds are moving in.
I went with a Kodiak Canvas Tent 10x14. I can set it up in under 15 minutes. The canvas holds heat well enough with a Mr Buddy heater. So well that my tent became the place to be. Had a portable dvd player for the little girl to watch a movie after dark (fire ban in effect). The other family just came on in and made themselves comfortable. Their coleman set there empty.
Moral: if you are gonna be camping for a while and want something that lasts, just pay the price.

[bachse]

Re: What tent do you use?

I currently use a Tepui RTT, which I love. However, understanding that RTTs aren't for everyone (they are a pretty hefty investment), Coleman is a great company, which tent you pick is kind of dependent on where you want to go in it.

[johnnybivouac]

Re: What tent do you use?

i just use a tarp that someone else left in the woods it work great

[Josh Holbrook]

Re: What tent do you use?

I just got a MSR Hubba Hubba - from what I hear it's the ebst thing since sliced bread. It's way above what you want to pay: but if you browse ebay and other deals sites you can get the price down pretty low.

[ecichlid]

Re: What tent do you use?

Eureka Apex 2XT and a Coleman River Gorge 6 Person Dome Tent.

[AdamGOGC]

Re: What tent do you use?

We love our SwissGear Two Room Family Dome Tent (model: 36289). It gives us plenty of room to move around in and it has lasted through many campouts. The pic below is the tent without the rainfly.

[G-FOURce]

Re: What tent do you use?

hello all! i currently have a Kelty Trail Ridge 4. we havent used it yet and this weekend will be our first go 'round with it. we pitched it in the back yard and if it performs as well as it appears to be designed then we shoud be quite pleased. i'll follow-up when we return and edit this post with a review.

EDIT (9/18/2011): well, we had a great trip this weekend to Smokemont at GSMNP. the tent performed well, though there is on one design flaw that might be a turn-off to some. the rainfly has two vents - one on each side of the tent - and they're propped open by a small arm that feels like a narrow shim of FDPE wrapped in nylon. when you use this arm to prop open the vents it causes the rain fly to press against the mesh of the tent wall which obviously could be problematic if you experience measurable condensation as the moisture would almost certainly drip into the tent in this situation. we remedied this by using tarp clips, using those to hold the vents open (you can see them in the pictures) and keep the fly away from the tent walls. aside from this solvable issue, the tent seems otherwise well-designed and well-crafted. however, i am a bit too particular about details so i will be exchanging the tent for one that doesnt have this issue.

EDIT (9/28/2011): i called kelty and explained the defect and the rep i was speaking with said my call was the first of its kind. they offered to inspect it and replace it but that would take several weeks b/c i would have to ship it to them and wait for them to inspect it and ship out a replacement. we need a tent, so i headed back to REI and returned it (they're great about returns). they had no other Trail Ridge 4 tents but they did have a Trail Ridge 6 so i pitched it to see if it had the same design flaw. guess what? the contents contained the proper 6-man tent but it was packaged, from the factory, with the fly for the 4-man tent. well, that was enough for me so i am staying away from Kelty. its a shame, too, b/c i thought they had a winner with this tent. anyway, i purchased a Sierra Designs Yahi 4 b/c i trust SD (have been using their tents/products for years). i got the tent AND a footprint for $7 LESS than the Kelty and the Yahi is actually a little bigger, too!

here are some pics of the Kelty Trail Ridge 4 tent...

(the tent)


(the fly - you can see the black tarp clip and white guy line at the fly vent that we used to overcome the design flaw)


the interior of the tent - that's a queen-sized inflatible matress inside)

[muddydogs]

Re: What tent do you use?

Set up your tent, and then turn on the sprinklers. Or have someone spray it with a hose and find out how it does in the "rain". I have been cold, wet and miserable enough. So I went out and bought a canvas tent with a heater. Now I don't care if rain clouds are moving in.
I went with a Kodiak Canvas Tent 10x14. I can set it up in under 15 minutes. The canvas holds heat well enough with a Mr Buddy heater. So well that my tent became the place to be. Had a portable dvd player for the little girl to watch a movie after dark (fire ban in effect). The other family just came on in and made themselves comfortable. Their coleman set there empty.
Moral: if you are gonna be camping for a while and want something that lasts, just pay the price.

Very well said. I run the Kodiak 10 x 10, great tent.

[sugarloaf10]

Re: What tent do you use?

We use an REI Half Dome 4. Have had it for a yr now and love it- it really stands up to the elements well. Bought it for our growing family so we can continue to backpack as well as car camp.

Prior to that, we had an Eureka Apex for backpacking. Loved that tent too- used it to death really, lol.

[Zydeco Joe]

Re: What tent do you use?

Hi all, This is our first year of camping at the age of 60, yes I know a bit late but well thats how its worked out.We have had 9 weeks camping in the tent we purchased in April a Outwell Virginia 5 and so far its worked fine even in the snow in Seefield, Austria.We have camped in France, Germany, Austria and England in this tent plus late last year over in the US for 3 weeks in Utah and Wyoming (Yellowstone) this was our first tent we got from Walmart a Ozark Trail that only cost us $54 and as we could not bring it back to the UK we gave it to a charity shop in Ogden Utah and hope its in use now.:cool: