Help me choose a tent...

[bandjbaine]

Looking to buy a new tent and came to this group as there seems to be so much knowledge here! My husband and I are looking to buy a family tent. We have us and 2 boys ( age 2 and 7). We will be doing leisurely camping- so would like a nice size cabin type tent. I have always enjoyed camping but don't go often. My husband is not really an outdoorsman but is the one expressing interest in buying a tent ( so I'm excited!) We've looked at the Coleman Instant Tent for 8 and the Eureka Copper Canyon for 8. Would want to put 2 air mattresses(at least one queen) in and have some extra room too. Don't want anything too complicated to put up. We are open for suggestions. Husband would spend more- he is of the camp that you get what you pay for. I am middle of the road myself. Looking for comments on the above tents or suggestions elsewhere. Since he's expressing interest- want this to be "easy" and not have a bunch of issues ( ie water flooding into tent if it rains, tent breaking, etc) where possible.

 

[lodge]

We like Big Agnes and REI. BA tent are like an exoskeleton- it literally takes less than 5 minutes to set up completely. The poles are like most others, with a bungee inside, but the tent then simply hooks ONTO the poles with comma shaped hooks. They are color coded too so that the rain fly just snaps into place. I also like they are free standing, no need to stake most times, and that with a footprint, you can put the rainfly up without the tent.... good for beach shade or extra room when there's no chance of rain for the tent. They ventilate well too, with no condensation problems. Big Agnes has videos on Youtube of how fast their tents set up. Also, the entranes (usually two of them, which is handy also) have an at least 6" raised threshhold, so rain getting in is never an issue.
Your husband is right on with you get what you pay for.... we paid a bit for ours, but we leave it in Florida, as it packs down ridiculously small.

 

[arielmomma]

We have a Coleman Elite Montana 8-person tent with a Lake & Trail 10 x 10 ft screen tent that we place over the awning to create an attached front porch. I love our set up. DH and I have been tent camping for 17 years together (9 years with kids) and many years before that when we were young, and this is the best setup we've had. While none of it is instant, I am a 5'4" woman and can put the whole thing up by myself if I need to and have several times. With another person, it doesn't take long at all. It's also never leaked and has held up in some pretty turbulent storms.

Coleman, in general, is a good brand. We trust it. I agree with your DH and the PP, you do get what you pay for. I know people who have instant tents. The only thing I don't care for about the ones I've seen is that they are square rather than rectangular, which is a consideration when you are talking about floor space and bed set ups. Nowadays, very few tents are very difficult to set up (unless you get one of those 3-room sort of deallies - I did one of those by myself once and that was rough!)

 

[kylovebug]

Can you post a picture of your set up Ariel?

 

[bama_ed]

bandjbaine,

If you use the "Search This Forum/Advanced Search" option on the top right side of the main forum board and use the key words "eureka", "copper", "canyon" you find a good opinion of both tents (you can also search on the Coleman keywords) but I detected a definite lean toward the Eureka.

I own about six different tents (including a Coleman and a Eureka) and love them (both of these two in particular) for what the are.

Bama Ed

 

[nabi]

bandjbaine,

If you use the "Search This Forum/Advanced Search" option on the top right side of the main forum board and use the key words "eureka", "copper", "canyon" you find a good opinion of both tents (you can also search on the Coleman keywords) but I detected a definite lean toward the Eureka.

I own about six different tents (including a Coleman and a Eureka) and love them (both of these two in particular) for what the are.

Bama Ed

I put in copper for a search and found a video for copper spur set up..... very cool. Thanks for that suggestion! We wanted one to bring for the rest of the crew.

 

[bama_ed]

Thats why I put in all three words as indicated nabi.

Dont worry, you'll get there. Keep trying.

Bama Ed

 

[nabi]

Thats why I put in all three words as indicated nabi.

Dont worry, you'll get there. Keep trying.

Bama Ed

I'm lost on that last paragraph.... what getting there and trying for what?

 

[Readerbug]

Eureka. No issues, ever, as long as we've had them...15 yrs.
Have and love the copper canyon. Also the bitterroot model, hard to find now, but less cost, huge and lovely.

We also have had good results from the "kids" tents,TA 2 person, a 3-4 person, and a 4-5 person wentzel. Models that are an inexpensive copy of the eureka pop up style, but have worked just as well.

If I were I buying a family tent today, based on our experience with the kids tents... Sometimes we take them for quick trips instead of the big ones, due to limited packing space....I'd get the largest wentzel pop up type I could, because our experience with them has been great. And we definately tent camp in rough weather.

 

[Sur]

Thats why I put in all three words as indicated nabi.

Dont worry, you'll get there. Keep trying.

Bama Ed

I'm lost on that last paragraph.... what getting there and trying for what?

Sounds condescending- don't know why when you were thanking him.

 

[sweet maxine]

No idea if this is helpful to you at all, but we found our tents and screen tents at a nearby Goodwill store. There were no problems at all with our tents, and everything was in working order and in the original boxes/bags. For less than $100, we were able to buy a huge family sized tent, a smaller 6 person tent, and a screen tent---all in excellent shape.

Just a thought if you're looking at saving a bit of cash for now.

 

[Running_Bell]

We have 2 Coleman Hampton 10x14 tents, cabin style. We love these. We've had them for about 5 years and used them in sleet, wind, storms, rain, etc... very roomy tents, no leaks and sturdy. I think we paid about 250.00 each ? We mainly use just one, but often we have other family members come with, so it's nice that we can offer a separate tent for them. We also use the interlocking foam flooring inside the tent... you get nice padding that is easy to sweep and a nice barrier from the cold ground... we camp year round.... and of course the tent footprint under the tent. There are many options out there.... have fun shopping.

 

[PattyBee]

Look for one where the fly completely covers the tent to the ground. You are almost guaranteed it won't leak.

I have Kelty Gunnison Tents, 2- four person tents and also a 2 person tent (for solo trips). They have served my family well and have never leaked. I can put them up all by myself. I Highly recommend Kelty.

PattyBee in Florida