Adela
I am planing my first camping trip. I want to know how to choose a suitable camping tent. I will go camping with my family. There are four of us altogether.
Answer
I go camping a lot, often with a group, and see most people using tents that are far too large and difficult to setup for their needs. They get a huge cabin tent for eight or more people, tall enough to stand upright and walk around, and then only put 4 people inside.
When they get to camp it takes 2 people almost an hour to get the tent set-up and all their gear arranged inside. Once this is done they spend all their awake time on outdoors activities or sitting around the campfire, and just go inside to sleep. All that space, time and effort is wasted, because you're never inside a tent unless you're ready to sleep. Even if its raining or snowing, I'd rather be outside with my family or friends under a tarp or ez-up gazebo so I can see the outdoors than stare at the blank walls inside a tent.
I prefer to take the smallest size tent I can comfortably use. There's enough room for the appropriate number of sleeping bags with a little space leftover to stack our bags. Headspace isn't a concern, I don't need to pace circles inside my tent. As long as I can sit-up on the ground without hitting my head on the ceiling I'm good.
So priorities for me are a) Weather resistance, including wind and rain; b) ventilation, to avoid a build-up of humidity that leads to condensation and for cooling on hot nights; c) adequate floor space for sleeping bags and minimal gear, with the rest stowed in the vehicle; d) easy setup and pack-up. I prefer a tent with a full rain fly for weather protection and a vestibule to stow muddy boots outside but under shelter.
Determining adequate floor space can be a challenge. Most manufacturers allow 24x78" of floor space per person, which I feel is inadequate. I prefer to use 30"x80" per person, plus allow for one additional person's worth of space for minimal gear storage. By this measure a 10'x9' tent (120"x108") allows four people to sleep side-by-side with enough space at the head of each sleeping space for a bag containing clean clothing and toiletries. According to most manufacturer's specifications, this would indicate a 6-person tent would be the best selection.
On the lower-price end of the scale, the Coleman Sundome 6 fits the bill, though I'm not much impressed with the rain fly and lack of vestibules. But its hard to find fault with its $99 price tag, as long as you're not expecting bad weather.
The Coleman Instant-Tent 6 is a popular model because of it's quick and easy setup. This cabin tent also provides stand-up interior height. Unfortunately it has no rain fly whatsoever, so one would need to bring an extra tarp for rain protection if bad weather was forecast. And, of course, with no rain fly it also has no vestibule. The Instant-Tent 6 can also be a packing nightmare with its 48" long packed size, so make sure it will fit into your vehicle.
The Kelty Buttress 6 looks to me to be the perfect tent, with adequate floor space, a good fly and vestibule setup and reasonable price. If I was going to buy a tent today to sleep a family of 4, this would likely be my top choice.
If money is no object and you want the ultimate family tent that is still weather proof, easy to setup and reasonably compact to pack, look at the REI Kingdom 6 with the optional Connect Tech Vestibule or Garage. But be prepared to spend over $500 on the complete setup.
I go camping a lot, often with a group, and see most people using tents that are far too large and difficult to setup for their needs. They get a huge cabin tent for eight or more people, tall enough to stand upright and walk around, and then only put 4 people inside.
When they get to camp it takes 2 people almost an hour to get the tent set-up and all their gear arranged inside. Once this is done they spend all their awake time on outdoors activities or sitting around the campfire, and just go inside to sleep. All that space, time and effort is wasted, because you're never inside a tent unless you're ready to sleep. Even if its raining or snowing, I'd rather be outside with my family or friends under a tarp or ez-up gazebo so I can see the outdoors than stare at the blank walls inside a tent.
I prefer to take the smallest size tent I can comfortably use. There's enough room for the appropriate number of sleeping bags with a little space leftover to stack our bags. Headspace isn't a concern, I don't need to pace circles inside my tent. As long as I can sit-up on the ground without hitting my head on the ceiling I'm good.
So priorities for me are a) Weather resistance, including wind and rain; b) ventilation, to avoid a build-up of humidity that leads to condensation and for cooling on hot nights; c) adequate floor space for sleeping bags and minimal gear, with the rest stowed in the vehicle; d) easy setup and pack-up. I prefer a tent with a full rain fly for weather protection and a vestibule to stow muddy boots outside but under shelter.
Determining adequate floor space can be a challenge. Most manufacturers allow 24x78" of floor space per person, which I feel is inadequate. I prefer to use 30"x80" per person, plus allow for one additional person's worth of space for minimal gear storage. By this measure a 10'x9' tent (120"x108") allows four people to sleep side-by-side with enough space at the head of each sleeping space for a bag containing clean clothing and toiletries. According to most manufacturer's specifications, this would indicate a 6-person tent would be the best selection.
On the lower-price end of the scale, the Coleman Sundome 6 fits the bill, though I'm not much impressed with the rain fly and lack of vestibules. But its hard to find fault with its $99 price tag, as long as you're not expecting bad weather.
The Coleman Instant-Tent 6 is a popular model because of it's quick and easy setup. This cabin tent also provides stand-up interior height. Unfortunately it has no rain fly whatsoever, so one would need to bring an extra tarp for rain protection if bad weather was forecast. And, of course, with no rain fly it also has no vestibule. The Instant-Tent 6 can also be a packing nightmare with its 48" long packed size, so make sure it will fit into your vehicle.
The Kelty Buttress 6 looks to me to be the perfect tent, with adequate floor space, a good fly and vestibule setup and reasonable price. If I was going to buy a tent today to sleep a family of 4, this would likely be my top choice.
If money is no object and you want the ultimate family tent that is still weather proof, easy to setup and reasonably compact to pack, look at the REI Kingdom 6 with the optional Connect Tech Vestibule or Garage. But be prepared to spend over $500 on the complete setup.
Please recommend an 8 or 10 person family tent for us?
Jack
Can anyone recommend a tent that would be big enough for me, my wife , and 3 children? My youngest will be sleeping in a pack and play.
Would like a bathtub floor, good ventilation. A canopy over the front door would be a great bonus. I like the idea of divided rooms.
We are not camping anywhere very cold.. but would need something that will stand up to rain.
We are considering a family camping tent a friend is using.
Answer
Your best bet is a 6-man and a 4-man, with the two oldest in the 4. Consider one quality tent (REI? Sierra Designs? Big Agnes?) and one cheapie (Eureka Tetragon 8?) and upgrade later. Anything over 6 is difficult to set up, is bigger than most ideal spaces (10X10) at the campsite, usually is under-engineered with poles too thin for the amount of "canvas" they're holding up, have too thin a denier of fabric, large to transport and possibly compromised with steel poles, lack full-coverage rainflys, have screen porches you will almost never use, etc. Those huge tents are great for long-term or seasonal setups but are a real PIA for typical 3-day weekend camping. The advice above regarding Costco Coleman tents is good advice, while they are the bottom-rung in quality, the low Big Box price makes parting less difficult and at least you're out there gaining experience.
Your best bet is a 6-man and a 4-man, with the two oldest in the 4. Consider one quality tent (REI? Sierra Designs? Big Agnes?) and one cheapie (Eureka Tetragon 8?) and upgrade later. Anything over 6 is difficult to set up, is bigger than most ideal spaces (10X10) at the campsite, usually is under-engineered with poles too thin for the amount of "canvas" they're holding up, have too thin a denier of fabric, large to transport and possibly compromised with steel poles, lack full-coverage rainflys, have screen porches you will almost never use, etc. Those huge tents are great for long-term or seasonal setups but are a real PIA for typical 3-day weekend camping. The advice above regarding Costco Coleman tents is good advice, while they are the bottom-rung in quality, the low Big Box price makes parting less difficult and at least you're out there gaining experience.
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