[tonkota]

Dang, I thought I knew what I wanted in a tent, but I have been looking and looking and now I don't know.

What about some of these brands?
Ozark Trail (we have an air mattress and stove by them and like the quality)
Eureka
Coleman (WTF happened to these guys?)
Wenzel
Swiss Gear
Texsport
Wenger
Cabela's
And there are some that I have no idea....

What we want in a tent is:
1. Tall enough to stand in
2. Two rooms, privacy is nice
3. Big enough for two air mattresses
4. Last more than a couple years
5. Rain proof

We try not to go camping during rainy weather, but its happened before and we were glad to be dry in our little tent. We currently have a 6x10 dome and a budget of ~$200.

EDIT: Added links to some tents

[crushr]

Of the brands you listed, Eureka and Cabelas are the only two I would consider.

[Brentbba]

I've been very impressed with the quality and longevity of my Eureka. It see's action almost every month with my scouts. It's six years old and in great shape. Mine is not a condo as it's only 10x10 and you're looking for something larger.

[VETTE60]

North Face "Trailhead 8" best tent I've owned. lifetime warranty, aluminum poles, huge, 6-3" and I stand up straight in it.

[tonkota]

The North Face does make some nice stuff, too bad that it is twice what I want to spend right now.

The Eureka tents are nice, I think with the 10x10 we may be happy enough. Who the hell just sits in the tent anyway?

The other tent that I am seriously considering is this Columbia Cougar Flats II

At $250 it's a little over the budget though.

Thanks for the input guys.

[Corbet]

No offense but saying we try not to go camping in the rain is like I try not to get a flat while driving. It happens.

I'm of the opinion as to not skimp on your tent unless you want to end up back in your cruiser or the nearest hotel when the weather gets bad. A quality tent lasts a long time if properly cared for.

But of the vendors listed Cabela's and Eureka are probably the "best".

You did not indicate how many people your trying to get in it. But I'm assuming a family sized. I seriously consider something from TNF, Sierra Designs, Mountain Hardware, etc...

Generally a good place to shop: Family Camping Tents from Backcountry.com

[archie]

you could afford a more premium brand of tent if you bought used. The best thing about buying used is that you could still sell it for the near same amount you bought it if you didn't like it at the end of the season. If it was a good enough price for you to buy used then it will be also to somebody else. It gonna end up dirty anyway. try craigslist classifieds: jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, events, forums . There was a thread about family tents before so a search might provide more info.

[tonkota]

Originally Posted by Corbet

No offense but saying we try not to go camping in the rain is like I try not to get a flat while driving. It happens.

I'm of the opinion as to not skimp on your tent unless you want to end up back in your cruiser or the nearest hotel when the weather gets bad. A quality tent lasts a long time if properly cared for.

But of the vendors listed Cabela's and Eureka are probably the "best".

You did not indicate how many people your trying to get in it. But I'm assuming a family sized. I seriously consider something from TNF, Sierra Designs, Mountain Hardware, etc...

Generally a good place to shop: Family Camping Tents from Backcountry.com

No offense taken. I meant that if its raining, I'm not going to pack up and go camping on purpose in the rain. If it does rain, we usually stick it out.

I've been watching for used tents also. Haven't found one yet. I'm planning on selling our old one. It's been good, but I hate crouching over and the wife gets a little claustrophobic. I'm going to stop by Cabela's tonight after I meet up with Woody and some others for dinner.

EDIT: I guess I should say that our old tent has been excellent in the 5 years we have owned it. It's some no-name brand like North Crest or something. We got it at Shopko (like Wal Mart) for $50. We stayed dry when it rained, I just hate hunching over.

[EdsCruisin]

I believe Eureka is an excellent tent too. I got a family one at Dick's pretty cheap (under $100) that has attachable internal walls to make 3 rooms, and sleeps about 8 packed in. It is over 6' clear in the center area and has three doors, one with a built in door mat. My only gripe is that the two end doors do not have storm flaps over the zippers, which allowed rain to seep in through the zippers. Otherwise the tent is great.

[crushr]

I too, prefer the high end brands like Sierra Designs (I used to shop at their factory store in berkeley - now gone), North Face (I still shop at their factory store in berkeley) and Mountain Hardwear (used to work next door to their corp office in Richmond.) My current favorite tents are from Marmot/Mountain hardwear. That said, all of those brands are generally overkill for fair weather family camping.

Unlike most mid-range brands, (like coleman), Eureka has managed to keeps its quality high while maintaining reasonable prices. And, FWIW - Eureka makes tents for the US military:

Eureka! Military Tents

They have a few factory second family tents at their website:

COPPER CANYON 1312 Product

COPPER CANYON 1512 Product

N!ERGY 1310 Product

COPPER CANYON 10 Product

N!ERGY 1210 Product

[tonkota]

Originally Posted by crushr

I too, prefer the high end brands like Sierra Designs (I used to shop at their factory store in berkeley - now gone), North Face (I still shop at their factory store in berkeley) and Mountain Hardwear (used to work next door to their corp office in Richmond.) My current favorite tents are from Marmot/Mountain hardwear. That said, all of those brands are generally overkill for fair weather family camping.

Unlike most mid-range brands, (like coleman), Eureka has managed to keeps its quality high while maintaining reasonable prices. And, FWIW - Eureka makes tents for the US military:

Eureka! Military Tents

They have a few factory second family tents at their website:

COPPER CANYON 1312 Product

COPPER CANYON 1512 Product

N!ERGY 1310 Product

COPPER CANYON 10 Product

N!ERGY 1210 Product

Wow, thanks for the links.

[bigndn]

Consider going canvas:

I have a Kodiak, which I believe is a knockoff of Springbar and I love it!

Here's the one I have. Talk about easy and fast to set up/takedown!!!


6055 Kodiak Canvas Tent - 6 Person 10 x 10 foot with Hydra-Shield?

[sundaypunch]

Originally Posted by tonkota

The other tent that I am seriously considering is this Columbia Cougar Flats II

We have the regular Cougar Flats model and it is a great tent. We have only used it a couple of times and haven't had it out in the rain or high wind yet. It seems to be a well made tent for the price.

It looks like the II model has been updated a bit. You can probably find the non-II model cheap on ebay if you keep your eyes open. I got ours last year for $125 and it was in perfect condition.

[cajun65]

I camped in a Cabela's tent this weekend. Two rooms, sleeps about 6 and the best part was that I could stand up in it (I'm about 6'3"). I can't remember the model number/name though. I'll check.

[tonkota]

Thanks guys. I bought this tent:

Eureka 1312

Now I need to go camping and mountain biking pretty soon.

[wct49]

your gonna love the 1312 we have the 1512 and really like it.

[roamingaz]

You already got a tent but I am suprised no one mentioned Kelty, they are a awesome brand. I have the trail dome 6 I bought off Ebay new in the box for only $97 shipped!! , only one room but plenty of space and I am 6'2" and can stand up with plenty of room. I also bought a Kelty carport awning check out their website , these things are a great invention.

[tonkota]

Our tent showed up. I took the box off of it but unfortunately I am too sick to lift it and it is snowing so even if I wasn't sick I can't set it up to try it out.

[Corey]

Hey, we got snow this side of the state today too, but it did not stick around my place.

I setup a new tent today too out of boredom, but it is not a sleeping tent
The Pett system came a week ago.

The tent sets up in about a minute.

[Ducks]

REI Hobitat

REI Hobitat 6 Tent from REI.com

[roamingaz]

Originally Posted by Corey

Hey, we got snow this side of the state today too, but it did not stick around my place.

I setup a new tent today too out of boredom, but it is not a sleeping tent
The Pett system came a week ago.

The tent sets up in about a minute.

I just bought a Pett also,they are pretty cool, definetly a hit with girls in my family.

[pint]

Originally Posted by wct49

your gonna love the 1312 we have the 1512 and really like it.

I'm getting ready to buy the 1512 myself for my family of 5, plus a dog and lots of stuff. Can't wait!

[sseaman]

You can buy some of the lesser brands, they are usually fine, probably a little heavier, but if you arent backpacking this isnt a huge concern. I have a Eureka tent for backpacking and it has done great for the last 15 years

[sundaypunch]

Originally Posted by Corey

Hey, we got snow this side of the state today too, but it did not stick around my place.

I setup a new tent today too out of boredom, but it is not a sleeping tent
The Pett system came a week ago.

The tent sets up in about a minute.

Aren't those made for outside use?

[mkaustin]

Originally Posted by pint

I'm getting ready to buy the 1512 myself for my family of 5, plus a dog and lots of stuff. Can't wait!

We have 5 in our family also (and a 75# dog).
We bought the Columbia Bugaboo from Cabela's at the beginning of '07 to replace our worn out no-name tent.
Amazon.com: Columbia Bugaboo Four to Five-Person Family Dome Tent: Sports & Outdoors
The Cub Scouts wanted to go out camping to get their Polar Bear patch (over night below 32F) so I decided it would be a good time to try out the new tent. Storm came in and dropped over an 1" of rain in 5 hrs and started sleeting. The Bugaboo was great! The large rain fly kept a lot of the wind out and no water got in. The Cub parents decided it was too cold to stay the next day so everyone else left before 10AM. We hung around to play in the ice and then went home after it all melted (Central TX, it doesn't last long).
It's not going to hold 5 people AND a lot of gear, but for a sleeping hut it works out great. footprint is 12x9 oval.

[Atoyot1031]

I'm pretty sure I'm going to pull the trigger on the Columbia Cougar Flats II tent. I found it at Campmor for $256.94 shipped. I really want a two room tent with a "real" wall dividing the two rooms (in order to just heat the kids portion). It seemed to be a good tent from all the reviews I've found.

What I'm wondering is if anyone has any experience with it? And if you do, my old Cabelas tent (which I love), came with all the necessary and auxillary tent posts and guy lines (sp?). My much more expensive North Face meanwhile only came with the minimum stakes and guy lines. So although there are many other options for securing the tent and rain fly, it didn't come with the tent. Go figure. Anywho, any additional information would be most helpful.

[pint]

Now I'm looking at a smaller tent when it's just a couple of us, and the big ass Bass Pro Shops XPS 4 room dome tent for the family! I need room for 5 people, a dog, a bunch of stuff, and occasionally a few extra people. My thoughts are, the bigger the better!?

[PHBeerman]

I bought this tent last year and I absolutely love it.

Eureka Pine Lodge - 1 Room 8 Person Cabin Style Tent from Campmor

The door is really cool as it allows my 3 year old to get into and out of the tent without screwing anything up. I broke one of the ridge poles the first day (Got caugt in a car door) and Eureka's support was awesome.

[LandCruisers4Life]

For 200 or less I would definitely have a look at the Eureka tents. They have some pretty decent models to choose from. I recently looked at a Eureka K2 for backpacking and climbing (I don't buy cheap gear, so if I would buy Eureka, you can bet it's decent!).

[landcrusher909]

COPPER CANYON 10 Product we are looking at this one Looks like a good deal ! 150 shipped to Calif. and it should work out fine for me and the wife. This thread helped out alot Thanks