I need a tent. Help me find one.

[ntburns22]

Well Father's Day is just around the corner and I have no clue what to get DH. He is always looking at tents when we go to Target and says how fun it would be to camp. I personally find camping to be at the Holiday Inn.LOL. I know this would mean alot to him. I was thinking a 5-7 person tent (family of 4+1 dog).v I would like to stay under $175 if possible. I have been reading reviews online but they are all over the place. I would love to see what tents others have and how they hold up.

 

[FroggyinArk]

we use tents from either wal mart or target, have h ad several different varieties over the years, most have had some sort of problem at some point,, our solution,, toss it donate it get a new one and tart over. the one we have now is ozark trail from wal mart, 10X12, divided room, not our favorite, but its ok, we like the divided room ones, and honestly, i think if i was going tent camping, i would probably leave rover at home. dogs and tents are not the best combo, also get a good air mattress, the cheep ones are ok, but do not hold up as well.

 

[clh2]

One thing to remember about tents, is that if the tent says it sleeps 5 (or whatever number it sleeps) is that is all the room it holds. So it it sleeps 4, you basically have room to sleep 4, and very little "moving around" space.

Gosh - I hope that makes sense.

I also echo the air mattress comment. Get good ones, I personally like Coleman's. Make sure you get ones with the air pump.

I'm not a camper either, but got DH a Coleman tent a couple of years ago. Him and DD "backyard camp" a couple of times a year.

The air mattresses are wonderful when we have guests over, so those have gotten a lot of use.

 

[Castlebound]

Our family camps several times a year. We finally outgrew our 4 man tent two years ago. Get a tent bigger than you think you need unless you guys like everyone sleeping REALLY close. We have a three room divided tent and it works great for us. The kids each have their own "room" and DH and I sleep in the main "room". We got our's from Target for around $120. We actually like the foam camping mats better than the air mattresses. We always had problems with air mattresses losing air during the night or the air in them getting too cool for comfort. We camp in the Spring and Fall so a cold air mattress is uncomfortable. In the summer it could be refreshing, but I won't camp when it is too hot.

 

[challada]

With scouts in my family, we have a new appreciation for camping now, LOL. We have a couple of tents for a couple of situations and here's what I can tell you:

1. Look for something that tells you how many seasons it's rated for. We have a 4 season for winter camping, a 3 season for spring/fall camping and summer tent.

2. Think about what kind of camping you are thinking of doing. If you are car camping, then, yes, go much bigger than the number of people it is rated for, ie an 8 person tent is just about right for your family size w/the dog and gear. If you are wanting to go hike camping, get the smallest possible tent(s) that you can...weight is everything in hiking and you want two small ultr alight tents for that instead of one big one.

3. Air mattresses are bulky and not that great. We have self-inflate mattress pads that you open a valve for them to inflate a couple inches and then close it to keep it inflated. Then open valve to deflate and roll up.

4. Think about your cooler. You need bigger than you think and make sure it locks well (yes, theres animals out there who will want your food).

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

We have a Kelty 5-man tent. I think we paid something like $320 when we originally bought the thing 9 years ago. At the same time, our friends bought Wal-Mart brand tents and had more space and less money in them. I probably wouldn't go with an expensive tent if I had to buy one again.

BTW, never never NEVER leave food in your tent. I brought brownies with us to camp on our first occasion out with the new tent. They were still hot, so I stuck the sealed pan in the center of the sleeping bag, which was also inside another bag. I set the bag in our new tent and left for about 15 minutes to get more stuff off the boat.

When I returned, I found a raccoon had slit through the tent window, gotten into the tent, and ate about half my brownies.

I was SICK to my stomach about that expensive tent...and I learned my lesson about food in the tent!

 

[hdecker]

We have a tent from Columbia - bought it at Bass Pro. It is big enough that DH doesn't have to bend at all (he's 6'1), has enough room for 4 queen size air mattresses, has pop out windows, side vents, cup holders, several storage areas and remote control battery operated lights. We paid about 300 for it but with the extra space it was definately worth it. We also have just put 2 queens in one side and a card table and chairs in the other in case of rain we can play games. Took it out last weekend and everyone was commenting on the "condo" tent.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I'm getting a tent with a screen room. Target has two - Greatland & Eddie Bauer. If you want to go with a less expensive tent, you might consider one of these two. I've decided to go with the Coleman 2-room tent with screen room. Coleman is a trusted brand, and almost everytime we camp for any period of time in the Sierras it usually rains on us on one day during the trip. I want to make sure I get a tent with good seams and that isn't going to leak in the middle of the night.

 

[Mom2Angels]

I was just at Sam's club and they had a three room tent with a breezeway that sleeps up to eight people for $149.00, I don't remember the brand. It looked nice though.

Debbie

 

[diznygirl]

DH did some research for a tent last year - he saw some bad reviews about the Eddie Bauer tents - which was a shame cuz I liked the way they looked! Stuff about the poles breaking very easily and customer service being poor... we ended up with a larger Coleman for less money at a Target clearance sale.

Good luck!

 

[arkansas mom]

Too small? How about...

Heehee

 

[stevenpensacola]

These guys make really good tents, with many practical features.

http://www.pahaque.com/

Tents are like most things...you really DO get what you pay for. You buy a cheap ($) tent, you get a cheap tent.

It's important to get a tent with good ventilation.

 

[bevtoy]

While dome tents are fashionable, the best "usable comfortable" tents we have are tall enough to stand up inside.......... it is so much easier to function inside them. I will probably never get a dome tent again.

 

[ntburns22]

:

Too small? How about...

Heehee

Thanks everyone you have given me alot to look into. Alot of info I would have never thought of.

 

[shortbun]

I like big tents with a center height for standing. I like 3 room tents but don't use the dividers. for 4 people and a dog, you need a tent that sleeps 8 or you will be miserable. Zippers get a real workout on a tent. Also, it's good to have more than one entrance with windows that zip independently of the rain protection. Get a tent with a good rain fly; nothing WORSE than sleeping in the rain without a good cover. Buy waterproofing and seal the seams prior to using the tent-seal them inside and out-all of them, allow the seam seal to dry. Never wear your shoes in the tent-it tracks in dirt and damages the bottom. Get a little throw rug for the door and leave shoes there. A good tent bottom has seams up the wall, not at the ground. It keeps out moisture. Never leave the tent completely open, bugs get in and you cant get them out. Good luck. We fell in love backpacking and we're using a really good, expensive big tent now. I'm almost over sleeping on the ground, we use quality air mattresses with battery operated pumps, you still have to finish them with your lungs. Take a wool blanket to put between you, the air mattress and your sleeping bag. It keeps the cool air from the mattress from making you cold. I use my Hudson Bay twins just for that. Good luck! I'd leave the dog at home the first time, then add him later. You'll be on a learning curve. Imagine wet dog in a tent all night. ewwwwww, lol!

 

[PA DISNEYLOVER]

We just got the 3 room tent at Sam's club last week. It is made by swiss gear and was $149. We absolutely love it. We have the kids on one side. DH and I on the other with a little table and chairs and cooler in the middle area.

It is a huge tent with plenty of room to stand up in.

 

[PenskeSth1]

For the last 2 years we have camped with Cub Scouts alot..Before that we only used the camper..So this was quit the experience, and of course I bring everything but the kitchen sink.
We bought a Jeep tent at Sam's a couple years ago. It is a big tent with closets and a screen room in the front. It is very roomy.. This tent is a little more than what you had quoted you wanted to spend. It was like 189.00
I use a queen size double thick air mattress,(bad back) I blow it up with a coleman rechargable air pump. With that air mattress and DD's twin air mattress we still have plenty of room for another mattress.

 

[summerrluvv]

We just bought the Greatland 2 room tent with the screened in porch for our camping trip Memorial Day weekend. It thunderstormed one night and not a drop of water was in our tent. The seams aren't touching the ground so I think that helped with the water. It's tall enough to stand up inside and has a room divider (we didn't use it) and three entrances. The only issue I had with it was the ceiling of the tent was mesh (like the windows) and then it had the rain fly thing over it, but the caterpillars would go under the rain fly and we could see them, although they never got into the tent. Next time we will put a tarp over the top before we put the rain fly on. The screened porch is nice, it really helped to keep the bugs out of the actual tent and was nice to keep our shoes dry when it rained. It also had pockets inside the tent to store stuff (I left my Diamonique earrings in one of them and now the tent is all packed away grrrr!!). I paid $99 for it on sale a couple of months ago.

I saw a Swiss brand one at Sam's today that was three rooms for $99.00.

 

[grlpwrd]

Well, we are a family of 7 plus we go on Girl Scout camps a lot. I bought 3 different sized tents: a 3 person one, a 6 person one, and an 8 person one. The space is much smaller than what it actually says, like the 3 person tent really fits 2 people plus some gear. I did this so my dh and I can have privacy and the kids can have their own space or when we go with Girl Scouts they can choose which tent to stay in.

We got our tents from Walmart and they have held up pretty well for the past 4 years or so. I always make sure to use Seam Sealer and really take care of it, like when we get back home we make sure to set it up again to dry and clean out.

I know there are some newer one's out there with separate rooms for gear and a changing room, too. The screened porch one's sound great!

Have fun!

 

[PlutoPony]

If you anticipate camping in warm weather, look for GOOD VENTILATION! Really really important! More windows are much better than less, and top ventilation is really necessary. Also make sure you have a rain fly that fits the tent! I agree that you get what you pay for, the question is how good do you need? Higher priced tents typically have better poles (check the material and how easy they are to repair) - aluminum is lighter than steel, some of the plastics are more durable than others. Also, look at how much space the tents take folded up - some of the bigger tents take up a LOT of room in the car! We have a nice Kelty that we got at a good price (previous year's model). Do your research then check Campmor for good deals on close-outs. Another option is to rent one for the weekend and see how you like it before investing the $$.... Places like REI do that and it's not expensive.
Good luck !