View Full Version : 4 person Tents?
Brrrb Oregon
07-19-2007, 10:35
We're taking our kids camping with us. Upon having the "family heirloom" tent returned to us, though--it had seen many trips when we married, over 17 years ago--it would seem that the amount of damage done by improper storage is enough to convince DH that we should shell out for a model that doesn't have aluminum pipe to hold up the frame.
Recommendations for a 4-person tent? (In case the fact that we even considered lugging the old one causes confusion, this is for backpacking, not car-camping. I had put up with it this long because previous trips only involved loading it into a canoe.)
wilconow
07-19-2007, 11:04
http://tinyurl.com/232lzc
Jim Adams
07-19-2007, 11:55
check out the Kelty Gunnison 4. I have used the Vortex 2 and my son the Vortex 4 which evolved into the Gunnison. We both used the tents for years and were very happy with them. 2 doors, 2 vestibules, free standing.
geek
berninbush
07-19-2007, 12:06
Walmart sells the Ozark Trail Hiker Dome Tent for about $30. I've car-camped in this tent on the beach and in the desert. I also used it on the BMT on top of a Tennessee mountain in a rainstorm with my three siblings, and we did fine. (My brother and I split the weight for carrying it.)
May not be what you want.... but after looking at the $500 suggestions above, I thought I'd add this option.
Jim Adams
07-19-2007, 12:32
Either of the Kelty tents can be bought new for under $200.
geek
berninbush
07-19-2007, 13:46
Yeah, sorry Jim, I didn't mean your post. I was looking at the link above, where the first two options were quite pricey!
I'm sure there must be big advantages to the more expensive tents... at least I'd certainly hope so. I just like to stir the pot by bringing up the cheapskate options. :-D
Jim Adams
07-19-2007, 14:02
Yeah, sorry Jim, I didn't mean your post. I was looking at the link above, where the first two options were quite pricey!
I'm sure there must be big advantages to the more expensive tents... at least I'd certainly hope so. I just like to stir the pot by bringing up the cheapskate options. :-D
Yeah, I hear ya! The expensive tents usually work great under extreme conditions but are usually less ventilated, more difficult and timely to erect and heavier. I usually just use a tarp for backpacking and save the tents for canoe camping.:sun
geek
berninbush
07-19-2007, 14:27
I remember a true story we were told in marketing class...
... A business in Arizona was selling inexpensive fake turquoise, and it wasn't selling well. The owner wrote a hurried email to his clerk telling him to cut the price in half. The clerk misunderstood and DOUBLED the price. And the jewelry started selling like hotcakes, because people looked at the price tag and assumed it must be the real thing!
I sometimes wonder if that doesn't happen with camping gear. On my very first backpacking trip, I spent the night in a "kids'" $20 Walmart tent on the top of Frozen Head, TN in a severe thunderstorm (high wind and rain). I shared the 5'x6' floor space with my sister and my dog. To the best of my memory, we stayed perfectly dry. The tent did not blow away, collapse, or leak, and I don't remember excessive problems with condensation either. (Though we'd have been a lot more comfortable if we'd had two sleeping bags... but that's a whole other story!!)
Would that tent hold up to a thru-hike? I don't know. Are there lighter options available? I'm sure. I just rebel against the assumption that more expensive is always better. :-)
That said, I don't know whether or not the tent I mentioned above would meet Brrrb Oregon's needs. I just suggested it.
Jim Adams
07-19-2007, 14:48
I remember a true story we were told in marketing class...
... A business in Arizona was selling inexpensive fake turquoise, and it wasn't selling well. The owner wrote a hurried email to his clerk telling him to cut the price in half. The clerk misunderstood and DOUBLED the price. And the jewelry started selling like hotcakes, because people looked at the price tag and assumed it must be the real thing!
I sometimes wonder if that doesn't happen with camping gear. On my very first backpacking trip, I spent the night in a "kids'" $20 Walmart tent on the top of Frozen Head, TN in a severe thunderstorm (high wind and rain). I shared the 5'x6' floor space with my sister and my dog. To the best of my memory, we stayed perfectly dry. The tent did not blow away, collapse, or leak, and I don't remember excessive problems with condensation either. (Though we'd have been a lot more comfortable if we'd had two sleeping bags... but that's a whole other story!!)
Would that tent hold up to a thru-hike? I don't know. Are there lighter options available? I'm sure. I just rebel against the assumption that more expensive is always better. :-)
That said, I don't know whether or not the tent I mentioned above would meet Brrrb Oregon's needs. I just suggested it.
YES!!!
You know how your mind wanders while hiking, well I once thought about the expense of the newest, lightest probucts. The expenxe seems to totally be for lightness ( which is very good IMO ---lightness that is!).
Some cheap things last forever and some expensive things fall apart.
Well, what I wondered was outfitting one person with a $200 outfit that weighed 50 lbs. and another with a $2,000 outfit that weighed 20 lbs. just to see how functional and useful each outfit was. If someone else carried the packs (because of the weight differences) which hiker would have the more comfortable trip? I thought through this for about 100 miles.
My A.T. pack usually weighs 26 lbs. with 4 days of food, a liter of water and a liter of whiskey. My North Country canoeing pack with 7 days of food, no water and 2 liters of whiskey weighs 70 lbs. AH, amenities!!! That is what made me think of this comparison in the first place.:-?
geek
Alligator
07-19-2007, 15:10
Black Diamond MegaLite.
Jack Tarlin
07-19-2007, 17:33
Oregon:
I've seen quite a few people hiking very happily this year with Eureka tents; they make several 4-person models. The Timberline 4, for example, retails for less than $170.00
I've also seen people hiking with tents that cost five hunded bucks.
In my opinion, this gear "overkill" is almost always unnecessary, and frequently done by folks trying to look savvy or cool because they have top-of-the-line gear (or so they insist)!
If one buys junk, one discovers this in a hurry, usually at the worst possible time and place. But as others have pointed out, you can manage to get perfectly good stuff without breaking the bank. Shop around.
I have an old model of the T-4. You could put 4 in it, but I don't want to be one of them in a NW rainstormy weekend.
If the kids are old enough, would they not like their own space? I remember laying there quiet, while my Dad slept, and I'm wound up still.
I have had good luck with several Eureka tents.
Brrrb Oregon
07-19-2007, 19:39
Thanks for the help on the shopping, because of course we didn't get the tent back until three days before we needed to use it. Time is an issue.
One of the Keltys look like a good bet for us, since we're mainly concerned with durability at a reasonable price. We have a $25 BiMart tent, but it just isn't quite big enough.
I have an old model of the T-4. You could put 4 in it, but I don't want to be one of them in a NW rainstormy weekend.
If the kids are old enough, would they not like their own space? I remember laying there quiet, while my Dad slept, and I'm wound up still.
I have had good luck with several Eureka tents.
We can do fairly tight quarters. I'd actually prefer two tents some day, but they're still at the age that would find not having us there a bit freaky. OTOH, the idea of my twin 8-year-olds being able to get up and roam the world without my knowledge does not exactly make me drowsy :eek: , so maybe that is just as well. When they're old enough to want to sleep alone, they'll probably want to bring a friend or two, too, so we could still use it. (Did I mention: :eek: )
As far as rainstormy, they are definitely not made of sugar. Until hypothermia becomes a concern, we'll be outside most of the time. For them, this means an hour or two mud dogging in the back yard in April in a steady rain at under 50 degrees, wearing raincoats, shorts, and bare feet. The work will be convincing them that one comes out of the rain a bit sooner when a warm shower is not going to be waiting!
Still, let's hope the weather service is right: dry weather is expected in Central Oregon while we're there.
Jim Adams
07-19-2007, 19:47
BTW, the Kelty Vortex which the Gunnison was designed from was voted by BACKPACKER to be the tent to be in while in a hurricane. I NEVER got wet in mine.
geek
shelterbuilder
07-19-2007, 20:05
Oregon:
I've seen quite a few people hiking very happily this year with Eureka tents; they make several 4-person models. The Timberline 4, for example, retails for less than $170.00
Timberlines with a front and rear door can also have a vestibule added (front and rear) to increase your protected storage space.
Skidsteer
07-19-2007, 21:58
Oregon:
I've seen quite a few people hiking very happily this year with Eureka tents; they make several 4-person models. The Timberline 4, for example, retails for less than $170.00
I've also seen people hiking with tents that cost five hunded bucks.
In my opinion, this gear "overkill" is almost always unnecessary, and frequently done by folks trying to look savvy or cool because they have top-of-the-line gear (or so they insist)!
If one buys junk, one discovers this in a hurry, usually at the worst possible time and place. But as others have pointed out, you can manage to get perfectly good stuff without breaking the bank. Shop around.
Second that. The Timberline 4 has served our family well many times.
As I recall, we got it at BassPro on sale for around $120.00 quite a few years ago.
Brrrb Oregon
07-26-2007, 17:04
check out the Kelty Gunnison 4. I have used the Vortex 2 and my son the Vortex 4 which evolved into the Gunnison. We both used the tents for years and were very happy with them. 2 doors, 2 vestibules, free standing.
geek
This is what we got. A nice tent at a reasonable price, and the vestibules worked well for storing gear out of the rain...which didn't come, but it threatened. It worked really well for us, so thank you!
As for the tight quarters, we have found that our boys, if allowed to sleep in the same space without any barriers between them, will eventually awaken everyone within earshot the first time (and every subsequent time) that one of them kicks the other in his sleep. Also, neither one could make heads nor tails of how to get back into a kicked-off sleeping bag in the dark. We had to sleep between them. It wasn't the best nights' sleep I've ever had, but I feel certain that if we'd been split into two tents, we'd have gotten even less.
Second that. The Timberline 4 has served our family well many times.
As I recall, we got it at BassPro on sale for around $120.00 quite a few years ago.
FWIW, many youth and Scout groups use these tents. Seems to be a good "bread and butter" tent. Nothing fancy, not the lightest...but durable, reliable and fairly inexpensive.