Tent Questions
- This topic has 16 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated Jun 23, 2008 at 11:26 am by
.
-
Posts
-
Dont look past Big Agnes.
Zach,
I got a Kelty Gunnison 4.1 off Sportsman’s Guide for $105. It has double doors (bonus) and double vestibules and you can put it up in less than five minutes. It’s amazing. I was looking to get the two-person Gunnison but I found the four-person model for the same price so I got it instead. It’s fairly lightweight at about 8 lbs. It worked great over the weekend on a canoe/camp trip on the Allegheny River and slept two of us comfortably with gear… And, it’s going to be my home for four nights at the Rothbury Festival in Michigan. I highly recommend it. I’m not sure if Sportsman’s Guide still has them on special or not.
http://www.kelty.com/kelty/products.php?type=8&cat=61&id=461
I’m not sure what the history is behind Big Agnes.
I carried a Bibler pueblo for years. Single wall but pricey. The best tent I have ever owned (4 person and 8 and a half pounds) I am pretty sure Black Diamond has bought out Bibler but they are still making the tents. Bibler worked with GORE on the single wall technology.
Putting a single wall up take some getting use to because this one had the poles on the inside. Another thing to get use to is the way they breath. There tends to be a little more condensation on the inside of the tent.
REI bought a tent manufacturer a couple of years ago and the name left me (this was a high end company and their tents were top notch and red and tan in color – it was the company that came up with the wing shelters). After looking at ALL the REI Tents recently, they are all quality made. Bucket bottom construction with all the seams tape sealed. Great quality with a good price tag. REI has everything that I would look for in a double wall in all sorts of configurations. The half domes look great with a easy to put up – 2 pole construction. The half dome 4 is right at 8lbs
You might want also to think about a tarptent from Henry Shires:
http://www.tarptent.com/projects/tarpdesign.htmlLight, mosquito-proof and well-made.
I’d second the Henry Shires’ Tarptent. If you are looking for a palace check out the three person Rainshadow2. Ron Moak also makes a nice and roomy two person tent call the Lunar Duo. Both are super light shelters. These guy’s have awesome customer service and reputations.
Links:
http://www.tarptent.com/products.html
http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/shop/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=11&cat=SheltersREI half dome is great, I own it but mine has a hole ripped in the side and is covered with claw marks from a pack of wild racoons…
I used to backpack and climb some in the Tetons, but I live in Texas (and it can get pretty warm even in spring and fall).
I know they are not as well thought of in serious camping circles but my wife and I have had really good luck with our Coleman tents. We have 2. An older (10+ yrs) 7 x 7 dome tent and a bigger 12 x 10 dome tent. They were both pretty cheap($30 and $70) and have lasted well for us. I sealed the seams initially on both and neither leak at all. The entire roof is mesh on the bigger tent so there is a lot of ventilation. On the smaller tent there is not as much mesh so it does get hotter in the summer. The newer models have more mesh though.
About 8 years ago I took that smaller tent on a cross state bicycle ride – the ragbrai cross Iowa ride 500+ miles. On several nights there were absolutely horrific storms. All around me other bikers/campers tents were blowing down or their tents were leaking terribly. My cheap little $30 tent held up fine and literally didn’t leak a drop.
If you go on Consumer reports website they have some good reviews of tents rating construction quality, weatherproofing, etc. They rate the Coleman sundome series as a “best buy”. They also like several of the Eureka tents and an LL Bean tent stating they are somewhat better constructed than the Coleman but higher priced.
Greg
Zach,
I’ve got a couple of Mountain Hardware tents (one of which is a single wall), a Kelty, and an older REI Geodome. I’ve had a Sierra Design and a Moss (Moss is the company that Kevin was referring to–the one bought by REI). For the money the Geodome is a great, great tent. Mine has held up to 40 mph winds, a wild animal snout rooting up the vestibule, and a tornado in Tellico several years ago. Has a bucket floor, two doors, two vestibules (the front large enough to store two packs, four pole design, numerous guy points, comfortably sleeps three and four in a pinch. It holds a snow load well. I’ve packed it on some fairly long trips despite its weighing almost eleven pounds. It is an exceptioanl car camping tent.
Buy a 4-person tent; they are actually more like a 3.
Bryan
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.