I Need A Decent Tent. Any Ideas?

[maxwell]

I was looking to get a two man tent, sized for just myself. Found a couple in the Backcountry.com store, not sale items, and the code in the other post didn't work for me.

So, I'm taking that as a hint to ask around for some oppinions on tents.
I'd like to be able to stuff it in a large hydration pack, it could be light, but I like durrable better.
Two man should fit me just fine, and have room for my son if he's interested in getting out into the woods for a night or two.

Anyone have one of these?

Kelty Yellowstone 2 Tent 2-Person 3-Season



or these?

Kelty Gunnison 2 Tent 2-Person 3-Season


Or thoughts on any other tent for under $150?

[queenwilhelmina]

Check Craigslist first!! A lot of people buy tents with intentions of camping and they either: a) don't ever go; b) go one time and never again. So they wind up selling their stuff for dirt cheap.

I scored pretty good on our camping stuff by buying on Craigslist. Got $700 worth of brand new backpacking/camping gear (lightweight and very compact) for about $200.

[Pain Freak]

Darin, I learned a lot about tents lately. Get the footprint and buy the better ones. The REI ones work about the best but very few would ever fit in a hydro pack or even a backpack for that matter. Ventilation is key. And depending when and where you're going to use it water repellency is very important. Most 2 people tents are going to be in the 5 pound range. And always remember they are sized for midgets. So a two person tent is good for 1 person of your size with maybe a little room left over for gear.

[jeffj]

What Mike said and I go by the rule that for us bigguns, a 2 man tent is really a one man tent and a 3 man tent is really a 2 man tent.

Kelty has always made quality products. If it has the features you want, I would feel good buying their stuff.

Mike's comment about water repellency made me recall that the first ten backpacking trips I ever went on, it rained every single time. Usually, there was no rain forecast, but weather in the mountains can bring just about anything when you least expect it and soggy sleeping bags are no fun. Of course, preparing your site is half of that battle along with proper gear selection.

The ventilation comment hits home too. I always try to leave a corner of at least two openings peeled just a tad to keep condensation to a minimum inside the tent. It helps.

I don't mind carrying a bit of extra weight if it means an extra measure of sleeping comfort, but that's your call if you have to carry it. I always seemed to carry about 25% more weight than many others, but i was usually comfortable.

[denmother]

Check REI for backpacking tents.

[CalEpic]

I'll be the contrarian in the bunch and say go the budget route. Pick up a cheapie at Big 5 and you won't be upset when your kids snap a pole during their belly flop contests, kick the zippers out in their mad dash to use the bathroom, etc. A small one will fit in a pack (with the poles sticking out most likely).

Mine have survived rain, sand, wind, etc as well as the more expensive ones I've owned in the past. Aside from zippers I don't think there's much difference in quality.

You can buy 4-5 cheapies for the price of the "good" ones.

C

[maxwell]

I'm looking into it for my October Oregon trip, so yeah, water resistant is key, and I won't be carrying it, it'll be loaded in Cog Wild's van.

Willie, I hadn't even thought about Craigs List. Thanks.

Mike, what tent did you use, and were you happy with it?

I'm planning on going with the two-three man size for the room.

Time for bed. I'll check back this afternoon for more input. It's all appreciated!

[Cyanide41]

I agree. Don't take the "person ratings" literary. I have a 3 man tent from Sierra Designs purchased from REI. It will fit myself, my GF and our packs. We might be able to take out the packs and squeeze in a 3rd, but damn it would be tight.

[Rockinthecasbah]

i use a 2 man backpacking tent got from sports authorty for 30 bucks for overnghters and an old boy scout tent from the 70s for longer stuff

[EBasil]

I'll play it down the middle: if you're going to be car-camping, then go big and go affordable. You don't need lightweight, the extra space is useful in a 3-man tent and you can save a bundle on something that may be abused a little.

If you're going to backpack the tent a little, and want to have something nice that will hold up to use, to weather and to ravenous bears hunting for victims, then check out Campmor.com and look particularly at the Eureka Timberline tents. They're a-frame free standing tents proven over time and an excellent deal.

If you're going to backpack some real distance, hoo-rah for you and just buy a Bibler tent & be done with it. Google and get the Ahwanee.

[Jman]

The problem with the cheapie tents is that they have a tendency to break when you need it most, but if you're not planning on camping a lot then they may be the way to go. REI makes some great tents and I've used Sierra Design tents quite a few times. Check out Sierra Trading Outpost for some good deals on older model stuff and check out REI's outlet (its listed on their main web page) for some pretty decent deals. I'll second getting the footprint as well, it'll save your tent...or at least get a tarp to put the tent on.

It really comes down to what you're going to do with it though. I only backpack once or twice a year but I want a balance between high quality/space/weight so I've stuck with my Sierra Design 2 person tent. If you're car camping and are only doing it once or twice a year go with the cheapie, we just used a wal-mart special on family trip with my bro-in-law and it seemed to be okay although one zipper was shot after one trip and the rain fly ripped on the second trip. It only cost him like 40 bux so he wasn't all that upset.

Good luck with your purchase and enjoy the trip.

[autoduel]

I got a North Face Talus 2-man 3-season, I'll sell for $100. It's been used 2-3 times, but since we have a kid, we haven't used it in over a year. I'll try to find a pic.

Here's a pdf of the instructions.
http://www2.thenorthface.com/downloa...tions-AAT1.pdf

[DISCO]

I like high quality but you can get one at Wal-Mart for like $30 that is trim enough for bike packing but is a 4 man 9'X8' size. Safety pink only but at that price who cares. The blue one is two room for $50 13'X10'.

[allison]

I think this is the one (or similar) to what we have...

http://www.rei.com/product/717790

Mountain Hardware 3 person tent. It's wider at the front of the tent for upper bodies, and tapers down. But, Justin and I use it the other way around.

Also, it fits a queen sized air mattress just perfectly

No room for gear bags, and minimal room for anything else with the air mattress in there, though.

It has worked great in the rain. We've had it rained on most of the time we've used it (except up in Idyllwild). The fly itself gets damp, but nothing inside does. Clothes stay dry in the hanging pocket, etc.

It's light weight. We got that in case we ever do bike packing, which it sounds like we may do a bit of next year. So, we can pack it on the bike or in a big pack and not be carrying around 10lbs+.

Justin is resealing it this weekend for our upcoming trip to the high mountains.

[denmother]

Costco also has some good deals. They have them on-line and in the stores too.

Coleman® Kvika
8' x 8', 3-person Tent

Covered Porch w/ Privacy Wings,
Exclusive WeatherTec™ System,
Quick & Easy Setup

$59.99





I'm partial to this one!!!

Pacific Play Tents®
"Club House"
Play Tent

$59.99

Item # 311880

Shipping & Handling included

[CPATCRASH]

I have a 4 man tent you can use as long as you don't eat chili the night you use it.

[traumadiver]

I have a back packing tent I picked up at Sports Authority for 25 bucks that works great... Big enough for one but small enough to pack in a small pack

[Kid A]

crash - we got this one we used the past few season that you are more than welcome to borrow. . jsut let me know.

not sure i would try to put 4 peeps in it like it is marketed but has two entry points and is sort of T shaped so you can keep you get in it with plenty of room.

not a high end tent but never had issues with it for us

[Lone ranger]

Big 5 hsa tent sales all the time . Nice stuff good prices

[26'er Zen Master]

if you have a pick up get a truck tent they are easy to set up and work killer plus mine has enough room for 2 cots and was super nice at downieville