Car camping/base camp tent

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Fly Rod

Fly Rod

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Joined
May 23, 2005
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277
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Location
Ashland, OR
I just passed our tent trailer on to a new owner. It was great while it lasted but I need to tow my boat on our next road trip. I will be using the tent for two functions, car camping with a family of four and as base camp for 3 elk hunters. Car camping will require set up every couple of nights. Elk hunting it will be set up once for a week.

What quality tent are you using for car camping or as a base camp tent. I need something that will last and not fail during elk season.

I was looking at the Big Agnes Flying Diamond 8 as an example.

:cheers:
 
The Big Agnes tents are fantastic. Can't go wrong there.

I use a Springbar Traveler. Huge, canvas, tough. Made in the USA. I fully expect to pass it along to my son, just as my father did with the family Springbar Family Camper.
 
2nd the Springbar. Did finally get a chance to look at a cheaper version of Springbar made by Kodiak. Quality looked good to, but most significant difference I noticed was the quality of the stake grommets on the Kodiak just weren't up to the sturdiness of Springbar. Both have good quality canvas.
 
I have a Big Agnes Gore Pass, it is a very well designed tent. It goes up quickly and has the best tent poles I have ever used.

For your intended use I would probably lean toward the canvas outfitter type tents also. You cant beat the headroom and durability of an old school canvas tent.
 
I need to check out the springbar tents. They sound pretty traditional as far as an elk camp tent. The big question as a family tent is the set up time.

Off to do more research. Keep the input coming!
 
titanpat57 said:
The Oz tents are popular as well...30 second setup or something like that....plus expandiable
Click to expand...

I think I saw one for sale in the Expo Portal website last week. They are nice tents indeed. Just make sure you're ok with carrying a six foot long package on your vehicle.
 
If I wanted a big tent to use just for car camping, it would be a Springbar.
I have heard lots of good things about them.

That Traveler is nice.
The Springbar Store: Deluxe Tents: Springbar Traveler 5 Tent

I like the big Colossus too.
The Springbar Store: Deluxe Tents: Springbar Colossus

colossus.jpg
 
I switched to a SpringbarTraveler 5 two years ago. Wished I'd of heard of them 30 years ago.I love it. The traveler would be snug for more than 3 I believe but then if you don't use cots a young family of 4 would be fine. The Colossus would handle 3 cots for elk hunting but for a week???it would be cramped but doable.
My brother has used his (he bought one after seeing mine) for all his hunting instead of his 12x14 framed wall tent. Much easier to set up especially for one person. The downside for me was the weight of the Colossus. hth
 
That colossus is nice but for car camping it may be too much. Our elk camp is normally 2 people for 5 days and 3 for 3 days. A smaller tent would work well with our pop up canopy for cooking and lounging.

I need to look closer at the Springbar tents. One of the comments that rang true with me was how a nylon tent felt on sunny days. There have been times I needed to escape the heat and my nylon tents were the last place I wanted to be. In contrast the wall tents I have hunted out of were perfectly comfortable on hot days.:hhmm:

Something to think about....
 
My Dad bought 2-3 of the classic springbar tents from the girl scouts in our area when they got new ones. We loved them.

One night my brothers and I wanted to sleep out in the back yard and we used one of the tents. In the middle of the night, our boxer chewed through most of the bottom of the tent. My Dad was closed to tears when he came out. I'm still surprised the dog lived after that weekend.
 
The Spring Bars are a great choice. Can't go wrong there. Especially for the Elk season where a heavy canvas tent would be a little warmer. If your ever in SLC goto Kirkham's on State St. to see the full line in person.

I found a good deal last year online for a Sierra Designs Wu Hu 6 for family car camping. Plenty of room for the queen air bed, kid and Malamute. Set up is about 15minutes solo, faster with a helper. Its worked well for us. I did have a pole bend in a recent storm. Kind of my fault for not having the guy lines set. 60MPH gust folded it over then it popped back. Sierra Designs warranted the pole and I'm like new again.
 
I'm all for quick setup freestanding tents that don't need to be staked down. I want to be able to setup and take down my tent in the dark, during a rainstorm in 3 minutes or less.

I'm a fan of Marmot tents. This will be my next family camping tent. It's one of the biggest hiking backcountry 4 person tents out there. They also make a 6 person. Downside to a 6p is that sometimes you have a hard time finding a big enough flat area to place it.
Limestone 4P | Marmot Clothing and Equipment

The REI tents get great reviews as well. Good pricing too.
REI Hobitat 4 Tent - 2011 - Free Shipping at REI.com
 
Just found this thread and I'm looking for a tent as well, less than $200, i found the Coleman 4 person instant tent. Has anyone had any experience with it? Mainly looking to do spring and summer camping, it looks like it will fit my needs, all the reviews I've found are good, but real world opinions are what I'm looking for.
 
supermotocruiser said:
Just found this thread and I'm looking for a tent as well, less than $200, i found the Coleman 4 person instant tent. Has anyone had any experience with it? Mainly looking to do spring and summer camping, it looks like it will fit my needs, all the reviews I've found are good, but real world opinions are what I'm looking for.
Click to expand...


I don't have any experience with the Coleman but here is a link to a number of $200 4 person tent options. Results for "tents 4 person" up to 44% off at Sierra Trading Post Buy last years model and save some money. At least that is what I did. My 6 man was $220 off Steep and Cheap.
 
supermotocruiser said:
Just found this thread and I'm looking for a tent as well, less than $200, i found the Coleman 4 person instant tent. Has anyone had any experience with it? Mainly looking to do spring and summer camping, it looks like it will fit my needs, all the reviews I've found are good, but real world opinions are what I'm looking for.
Click to expand...

That coleman instant tent has the rain fly built in which is nice. One less thing to haul around and install.

I have an older tent that I bought from Meijer in Chicago. This tent is similar to the instant Coleman tent and setting it up is a breeze. We still have it, after 10 years of use. If it ever goes, I may have to check out the Coleman instant tent.
 
Thanks for the link

One of the main reasons I'm looking at the Coleman is because its tall enough to stand in and the foot print is the size I need for my base camp trailer project that I'm working on.
 
I was looking at the Springbar tents. I'm sure they're sturdy but these weight 50-60 lbs or even more. They probably also take up a big chunk of your cargo area. Seems that it sure wouldn't encourage setting up camp too far from the car.

Something like a Springbar seems like it would make sense if you where staying in one location for weeks on end. However, if you where traveling around, do you guys think it would make sense to get more of a backpacker style tent?
 
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