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We have a high-quality Alaskan Guide tent from Cabellas -- roomy, lots of features, will stand up to gale force winds. But it's a 30-minute job for two people to set it up.
So last year we bought a cheap 6-person Ozark Instant Tent from Walmart for quick one-night stays -- under $100, thinking about $80 on sale. I wasn't expecting much, just a tent to set up next to the car when traveling. Man, that thing is a breeze to set up! Five minutes and it's up and staked down. All in all, it's a pretty decent tent, but the ease of setting it up is the greatest thing since sliced bread!
So we ended up leaving the big Cabellas tent home when we went to Oregon for two weeks last summer. It didn't rain and it didn't blow, so it was a good tent. I don't know how it'll do in the rain, to be honest. It's never been wet.
I love the Alaskan Guide tent once it's set up. You know that unless a tree falls on you, you can weather about anything. But it takes time to set it up. And it's expensive (~$500).
I've camped in all kinds of weather that was too harsh for the tent I was using at the time. My wife has done a lot of camping, always using cheaper tents, but hasn't witnessed the kind of weather that I have. Once she does, we'll likely either switch back to the Cabellas tent or quit tenting altogether. (We're temporarily back to tenting after decades of RVing.)
We have really enjoyed this tent. It is a cheap tent for its size but holds up well even in storms but only if you put out all the stakes and lines. It is fine in light wind/rain with only a few stakes and lines, but to hold up in a substantial storm it must be fully staked and tied down. Also you need to throw away the stakes it comes with and use decent stakes. You also need to waterproof the entire thing when you first get it, but that is true of any tent.
In good weather, with 2-3 people, you can put it up in as little as a minute. Canbe done by 1 persons, btu takes a while longer. You have to be careful when folding it for storage as it can break if you twist things the wrong way.
This one has slightly different coloring than the one we have, it must be a newer version. Ours is 4-5 years old. Maybe they made some improvements. It is not perfect, but it has been a great buy for the price.
Oh and step one is throw away the room dividers, they just get in the way.
Not really. We bought a Coleman because it was on sale--a really good sale. It's a good tent. It's been rained on a couple of times and didn't leak. It was 4 or 5 years old when that happened.
We have really enjoyed this tent. It is a cheap tent for its size but holds up well even in storms but only if you put out all the stakes and lines. It is fine in light wind/rain with only a few stakes and lines, but to hold up in a substantial storm it must be fully staked and tied down. Also you need to throw away the stakes it comes with and use decent stakes. You also need to waterproof the entire thing when you first get it, but that is true of any tent.
In good weather, with 2-3 people, you can put it up in as little as a minute. Canbe done by 1 persons, btu takes a while longer. You have to be careful when folding it for storage as it can break if you twist things the wrong way.
This one has slightly different coloring than the one we have, it must be a newer version. Ours is 4-5 years old. Maybe they made some improvements. It is not perfect, but it has been a great buy for the price.
Oh and step one is throw away the room dividers, they just get in the way.
We used it this weekend in Michigan's upper peninsula. We had a very big storm. Basically the tent was parked under a waterfall for a couple of hours. It did leak a little. We are not sure where or why. But it was not enough to wake anyone up.
Always car camping or do you have to carry this thing sometimes? What's important to you, price, room (standing, sitting, packed in like sardines), quality/longevity, durability to withstand the elements, interior storage pockets? Rank them.
Tents run a Huge range in cost, quality, and what you get. My opinion is that if you cry once (buy the best you can afford), you don't cry again (suffer from poor quality/features) ~ I've Long since forgotten the pain of buying my primary tent, mostly because I bought it in 1996. I vaguely remember that it seemed horrendously expensive at the time, but I've certainly gotten my use out of it.
Always car camping or do you have to carry this thing sometimes? What's important to you, price, room (standing, sitting, packed in like sardines), quality/longevity, durability to withstand the elements, interior storage pockets? Rank them.
Tents run a Huge range in cost, quality, and what you get. My opinion is that if you cry once (buy the best you can afford), you don't cry again (suffer from poor quality/features) ~ I've Long since forgotten the pain of buying my primary tent, mostly because I bought it in 1996. I vaguely remember that it seemed horrendously expensive at the time, but I've certainly gotten my use out of it.
Not for us. I find we do not take very good care of tents. We sometimes take them down wet and in the rain or snow, and then just stuff them in the back of the truck. We take them down and put them up in the dark at times, or with only one person doing everything. Sometimes we put it up in the yard to dry out with no stakes and lines out and forget about it for a week and the wind flattens it. Lots of little things that add up to considerable abuse. So, for us, no tent lasts much longer than 5-7 years regardless of what it costs or how well made it is Thus, for us, a tent more heavily made and highly prices is not going to last any longer.
Many of the fancy brands you are just paying for the name. they are not made any better if you compare the fabrication. Others are clearly better made. Triple or more stitching, reinforcing at the weak points, sturdier zippers, thicker poles, etc. However more durable always means heavier if that matters. The super lightweight backpaker tents are not made to last that long. They can if you take really good care of them, but if you abuse them, maybe two years.
In most tents the failure the ends the life of the tent is the zippers. Look for quality zippers. If they fail your tent is trash and they are typically cheap and the first thing that fails. Little holes can be patched, poles can be replaced. Stains you can live with, but a failed zipper = dead tent.
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