Show me your tent

[arivecchi]

I am so hooked on camping gear now, it's not even funny.

What kind of tent do you have?

We bought an Eureka 6 person, but now I'm kind of wanting one with a vestibule or screen room. Love how roomy and tall the Eureka one is though!

http://www.amazon.com/Eureka-Copper-Canyon--Person-Tent/dp/B003NX9VTM/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373040283&sr=8-1&keywords=eureka+copper+canyon+6

[kara97210]

I went through the same thing a couple of years ago, we started camping and I spent a ton of time researching gear. We ended up with this tent (http://www.rei.com/product/827807/rei-kingdom-6-tent-2012) and love it! We set up one room with our gear, take off shoes, etc and the other room is just for sleeping.

Highly recommend buying gear during on of REIs big sales. We bought the tent, a double sleeping bag and some other items during their Labor Day sale, and saved a bunch.

[Momit]

I have serious tent envy. We camp with the one my parents bought at an Army surplus store before I was born! And I'm OLD! Love the tent you linked, OP.

[mikeys_mom]

We love our tent. It is nice and roomy and tall so even DH who is over 6ft tall doesn't have to duck all the time. Plenty of room for all 6 of us to spread out. It's also a breeze to setup.

We use the front room for all our duffle bags. I have bins stacked in there with toiletries as well as socks and underwear so they are easier to find. At night we keep the shoes in there as well so they stay dry.

It is big and heavy so would not work for backpacking or portaging with a canoe but we are not yet ready for that with the kids yet.

I don't think you can get this in the US as Broadstone is the Canadian Tire brand, but we love their stuff.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/5/SportsRec/Camping/Tents/PRD~0765065P/Broadstone+Beaumont+Cabin+Tent%2C+13-Person.jsp?locale=en

We also have this for eating;
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/5/SportsRec/Camping/DiningShelters/PRDOVR~0765036P/Broadstone+Easy-Up+Shelter%2C+15+x+13-ft.jsp?locale=en

Also, got both tents on sale for 50% off.

[Simon]

Our rule of thumb about tent size is the # of people sleeping in there + 2-4. As a family of 4, you'd want a 6-8 person tent. If you're adding on the dog, maybe even 8-10. One thing to keep in mind is where you will be camping. There are many places such as national and state parks or state forests which have rules about the size of the tend allowed. ETA: private campgrounds, too. I believe the limit is often 10x14. In some places, there is even a raised tent platform yours must fit on. A final thought is whether or not you buy a tent that requires stakes to be structurally sound. Many dome tents benefit from staking but don't require it, which can be very helpful in rocky or hard soil. REI quality is excellent. Eureka is good, but a little more hit and miss. I have heard wonderful things about the Copper Canyon tent; its very popular.

We prefer to have a separate nice screen tent because then you can cook, eat and relax there without getting the food smells on yourself/sleeping area, which is a must for bear country. It also allows a semi-public space for socializing, since our kids often make "friends" at the campground and this way they aren't invited into our actual sleeping/living space. We did have a small vestibule on our smallest REI tent which was extra nice for storing wet/muddy boots or shoes outside the sleeping area.

[pomegranate]

I have the Marmot limelight, purchased on sale last year from REI:
http://www.rei.com/product/828150/marmot-limelight-3p-tent

We only have one DC and DH doesn't like camping, so this 3P tent is really just for DS and me. We've used it once and like it. I think we could even fit DH. But it's pretty cozy and not very high. Super easy to assemble, comes with a footprint too. Two doors too.

[Tondi G]

we just bought one from Costco. We have only setup/used it once ... the kids had a camp out in grandmas backyard. So far so good. there was a good bit of dew collected on the rain fly and nothing got inside. Set up was quick and easy. It can either be a 2 room or you can lower all the window flaps on one side and have a screened room/porch. They claim it as sleeping 10 but I think 6 to 8 would be more accurate. 10ft x 16ft and my 6 ft tall hubby can stand inside comfortably. The hinged door is a nice addition.

I believe it is the Coleman Weathermaster II. We paid around $160 for it at Costco.
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Weathermaster-Screened-Autoroll-Windows/dp/B00BQ43A60

If you camp a lot then this may not be the tent for you, but for us ... we will probably only use it in warmer weather.... quick summer camping for a night or 2 etc. We are happy so far.

[arivecchi]

I have serious tent envy. We camp with the one my parents bought at an Army surplus store before I was born! And I'm OLD! Love the tent you linked, OP.
You should get it! It's seriously roomy! I bought one from llbean so that I could get the lifetime guarantee - hence why I am still considering maybe getting another tent. You can return it for any reason. :)

I was loving this one until I realized I would not be able to fit two queen mattresses in the sleeping portion - which I can do in the Eureka canyon.

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/68612?feat=73417-ppxs&dds=y

[bluestar2]

I have this one but in the 4 person version. I bought it several years ago and have been pretty happy with it. It's been in driving rain and wind many times and has held up well. It has even withstood an unexpected snow storm though I wouldn't use it for 4 seasons camping (have another tent for that :) yes it can be addicting). It is relatively easy to set up, even in the dark. I like that it has a higher profile that handles wind okay, good ventilation for hot days, and a front and back door for easy access.

http://www.rei.com/product/777755/rei-base-camp-6-tent

I initially bought the 6 person version but it was huge! I wanted one with a smaller footprint because we often camp in primitive areas and wanted more versatility. My musts were a free standing tent (one which could stand on its own without stakes), a vestibule to store gear and shoes, a footprint to protect the floor and a rainfly that went all the way down to the ground for better rain protection. I got it on sale and it's been well worth the money spent. Now I am looking for a backpacking tent for us but they are expensive!

[queenmama]

Now I am looking for a backpacking tent for us but they are expensive!

Yes, they are! We have three lightweight tents for backpacking (plus a tent for "car camping" ), and I swear, our gear is getting lighter all the time, DD will be able to pack some of it next summer! ;)

[trales]

We have a lot of tents.

Backpacking - Moss Tent, made in Maine http://www.billmosstents.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/outlandblogpost.jpg3229

Kid Tent/ Toy Tent/ - https://www.sierradesigns.com/images/Product/medium/297.jpg3228

Family/ Car camping - http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/ColumbiaSportswear/S11_OU9490_321_f?$MHW_grid_med$3230

Screen Tent - http://www.backcountry.com/images/items/large/ERK/ERK0089/ONCO.jpg3227

[Mikey0709]

3231Our tent is huge! Last time we camped we had a queen aerobed and a travel crib on one side, twin aerobed for 2 kids in middle section, and another queen aerobed for my parents on the other end with plenty of room left to walk around and store gear! Ours also has built in gear shelves made out of tent material which are so handy! Picture is just with screen sides open and no rain fly up.

It's Swiss gear bough a few years ago at sams club and have to say it has held up awesome through quite a few trips even in pouring rain! We actually just set it up today checking it for a trip upcoming, since its been 2 years since we last used it. I know we paid $149. And way got our money's worth!!!

As above poster said though, footprint is an issue at some parks since its large, but so far we have been lucky!

[oneplustwo]

I went through the same thing a couple of years ago, we started camping and I spent a ton of time researching gear. We ended up with this tent (http://www.rei.com/product/827807/rei-kingdom-6-tent-2012) and love it! We set up one room with our gear, take off shoes, etc and the other room is just for sleeping.

Highly recommend buying gear during on of REIs big sales. We bought the tent, a double sleeping bag and some other items during their Labor Day sale, and saved a bunch.

We have the same tent; we got one deeply discounted in December 2011 as the model we bought was being discontinued and replaced with a newer version of Kingdom 6. We also got the garage at the time http://www.rei.com/product/810167/rei-connect-tech-garage which is like a really big vestibule, also on sale. I picked up the regular vestibule this winter to attach to the other end of our tent at one of REI's garage sales, so now we have lots of extra space on either end, a must since we are a family of 5 plus now a (small) dog. I got the Kingdom 6 because we were just starting out camping and the price was terrific, but I would love to have the Kingdom 8 for the extra room, although I do wonder if it would fit okay in some campgrounds or if it would be too big. We can still manage fine with the Kingdom 6 and I figure when we need more space, the kids will be old enough to sleep in a second, smaller tent alongside us.

DH and I sleep on one side of the tent, the kids sleep on the other, our bags of clothes etc are in the tent with us and the rest of our gear stay in the attached garage. Puppy will now sleep in the garage and we'll spread the gear to both the vestibule and the garage. Highly recommend this tent too ~ easy to set up, great space (LOVE all the interior mesh pockets for storage) and keeps us dry in the rain no problem.

[Simon]

Dh says that this REI 6-person tent (http://www.rei.com/product/777755/rei-base-camp-6-tent) is the one we returned a few years ago (we bought a pop-up trailer instead). We bought the Pop up to sleep more people in comfort. Truth is that I miss tenting and we'll be returning to tents very soon. I found it way more hassle to deal with the camper, although it made for great sleeping at night. We decided the 6 person would not be enough room for us + 2 Dc + our gear.

We have had this REI tent for more than 10 years and its still going strong.

[arivecchi]

The REI kingdom 8 looks awesome. Anyone here have it? Too bad the REI guarantee is not as good as LLBean's though.

[codex57]

http://www.target.com/p/coleman-6-person-instant-tent/-/A-13186697#prodSlot=medium_1_12

I think it's this one. Looks like it anyways. Instant tent. Freaking awesome. I coulda sworn it was an 8 person, but maybe it's 6 cuz the picture of the 8 doesn't look like my tent.

[MontrealMum]

Ours is old, and small. From what I can tell from the site, it's comparable to this one, though ours has a "porch": http://www.sierradesigns.com/p-148-convert-3.aspx It's probably not what you're looking for because it's really meant to be stuffed in a pack. We may take it with us on our upcoming vacation for "practice" simply because it's what we have. We've never camped with DS. I'll update you on how it goes :) If DS is bitten by the camping bug we'll probably look at getting something larger at Canadian Tire - that we can actually stand up in! Considering his nature it will be many years before we take him on the types of trips that tent has been used on in the past. DS is not to be trusted in the types of situations DH, or even DH and I, have been camping in the past. We will be looking to switch to car camping-type gear if we do camp with DS so I'll be watching your future threads ;)

[vtmom]

Thanks for this thread OP! We're taking our 3 DC camping for the first of hopefully many times this summer and need to get a new tent. Our old 2 person backpacking tent won't cut it for 5 and we've never car camped so love seeing all these options!

[wendibird22]

We just bought this one. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W7BHJY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hasn't arrived yet but reviews were good and price was amazing.

[Smillow]

Pre DS:
http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/pbergmann/Garden%202012/2012-06-08_19-06-33_658.jpg
Post DS:
http://www.shoptoit.ca/images/detail/66292000/66292798.jpg
A queen air mattress just fits in the first one. We have used it regularly for 13 years.
The second one is huge! We use the foam puzzle piece flooring mats to make it comfortable. We camp in the Florida keys for a couple of weeks every year - the ground there is essentially coral rock! Both are Hillary brand tents from Sears.

[arivecchi]

Thanks for this thread OP! We're taking our 3 DC camping for the first of hopefully many times this summer and need to get a new tent. Our old 2 person backpacking tent won't cut it for 5 and we've never car camped so love seeing all these options!We had a blast during our first trip. Hope you do too!

I have to decide whether to get another tent from llbean by tomorrow. They have 10% off till tomorrow!

[maestramommy]

We have 3 tents. The first two are from Dh's bachelor days. One is a Eureka dome thing that sleeps 3. No vestibule. The 2nd is a Sierra Designs 4 season tent for 2. It has a vestibule. The 3rd is an REI tent we bought after DD2 was born. It sleeps 4, and has a vestibule as well. Dh is thinking one of these days if we go camping with Shep he should be able to sleep in one of the vestibules. I think all 3 tents were from REI.

[essnce629]

We just bought this one. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W7BHJY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hasn't arrived yet but reviews were good and price was amazing.

I think this is the one we'll probably end up with as well. DBF doesn't want to spend a ton of money if we've never gone camping before. I think it will be perfect for our needs-- once or twice a year camping in mild socal weather.

[arivecchi]

Awesome camping tent reviews:

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Camping-Tent-Reviews

[arivecchi]

Update.

So I returned the Eureka 6 person tent and as a 40th birthday present, ordered the........











REI Kingdom 8 tent with the garage!!!!!! :boogie:

http://www.bz1-img.com/images_customers/08/63/25064953_180101_full.jpg

Cannot wait to go camping again! Our dog is definitely coming with us next time!

[oneplustwo]

You're going to love it! I'm sure it's as good as the Kingdom 6, just roomier. We love our Kingdom 6 garage. :)

[arivecchi]

We just went camping this past week with our REI Kingdom 8 and garage. It was great! The tent is huge but easy to set up. It comes in a backpack which makes it easy to transport and store. We were able to fit two "queen" size mattresses for 4 sleeping bags and we still had lots of room on the side and front. We used the garage as our vestibule and storage for shoes and other essential outdoor supplies. The gear was stored in the back vestibule. The kids kept playing in our tent because they loved it so much. It kept us dry in the rain too! My BIL who is a huge camping aficionado loved it. Highly recommend this roomy tent!

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