Tent recommendation(s) for flying in and camping

[YawningDodo]

Howdy! I've been noodling a Fort Wilderness trip for a while now and finally pulled the trigger and booked a solo trip for early next May (I'm expecting to upgrade to an AP during a big friends trip in February regardless, so it makes sense to squeeze an extra trip out of it). I'll be flying in since it'd be two long days of driving each way otherwise and I'm just not here for that. Since I won't have a car I'm looking at a pretty minimal setup: tent with a backpacking cot, maybe a small drinks cooler if I can squeeze one in (or find one small enough to take as a carry-on), and then the various small items like a lantern, a power strip on a long cord, and a little fan for airflow. Figure since I won't have a way to truly secure my things while I'm away I'll want to pack light and leave behind a lot of the bulky stuff I normally bring to WDW like extra park bags, laptop, my droid, and all that kind of thing, which will help with fitting the camping gear in my checked bag (a large rolling duffel).

Anyway, I'm tent-shopping. Camping trips in recent years have been with friends who have shared their tents, but my friends all have huge 6- or 8-person tents, way bigger than what I need for just me and way bigger than anything I want to try to pack in a duffel. So borrowing a tent is out of the question (plus I think it'd be nice to own my own for future outings). Now, I could just go to Walmart and grab whatever Ozark Trail tent comes in a small enough package to suit my packing needs, but I'm willing to pay a bit more for something that'll last longer (not sure how sturdy the Ozark Trail stuff is). And, of course, I want to be prepared for the Florida rain. Ideally I'd like something with a substantial vestibule to keep the entryway dry if I have to enter or exit while it's raining, but I'm having trouble finding tents online that hit all the requirements.

Anyone have experience with a tent they'd recommend for the job? Or at least thoughts on where to start re: brands for shopping?

 

[YawningDodo]

Addendum: right this moment I'm eyeballing the Blacktail 2 Hotel Bikepack (or the Blacktail 3 for a little more room) from Big Agnes. Is that a good brand? Does anyone here have experience with their tents, whether or not it's that model in particular?

 

[Sjm9911]

No clue but here is a vid of it from the net

I have no experience, flying in and ccamping. I would say pack light, and maybe pu stuff when you get down there. And not sure how hot it gets around that time. Good luck.

 

[PaHunter]

You could always ship the tent and other bulky items to the Fort ahead of your trip.

 

[YawningDodo]

No clue but here is a vid of it from the net

I have no experience, flying in and ccamping. I would say pack light, and maybe pu stuff when you get down there. And not sure how hot it gets around that time. Good luck.

Thanks for finding that! Gotta say I'm liking the look of that tent, but I'm going to have to do some measuring and see whether the 2 is big enough or if I'll be more comfortable in the 3. Not a ton of difference in packing space and weight, but every little bit is going to help. I looked at the regular Blacktail 3 (backpacking version instead of bikepacking) and it looks to be the same weight and probably not much bigger packed, just a long package instead of a thick one. Need to get the duffel out, gather measurements of the items I'm considering, and see what's actually possible. Also very interested in that little Helinox chair he has in the video; I'll add that to the list of bonus items to consider getting and bringing depending on what kind of volume I'm looking at with the rest of the equipment.

Planning on treating it more or less like a resort hotel vacation in terms of food - that is, eating at the restaurants and quick service counters since I don't think I will be able to manage bringing food and keeping it secure from critters without a car. Considered renting a car to be able to go out shopping and to secure things in the trunk, but the cost of doing so is way too high; I can only afford to sneak this trip in if I keep it relatively frugal.

Little nervous about heat and rain, yeah, but early May is the earliest I can get down there next year, and I've got too much else going on in fall 2022. Might spend more time at the pool than usual if it's particularly warm.

You could always ship the tent and other bulky items to the Fort ahead of your trip.

I've never shipped anything to a resort ahead of my visit before, and I'll confess it makes me a little nervous--but that's probably worth looking into! Does the Fort have facilities for packing and shipping stuff back at the end of the trip? I'm not planning to rent a car and won't be able to go offsite to get to a post office or anything.

 

[garneska]

Generally speaking Big Agnes is a very reputable brand. There can always be a lemon but in the hiking/camping stuff Big Agnes is good.

 

[skyp4WDW]

Ft Wilderness has rental tents and rental cots.

 

[morrik5]

Ft Wilderness has rental tents and rental cots.

YawningDodo unless you're planning on much more use down the road, this might be the way to go - no worries about the big stuff.

 

[YawningDodo]

Ft Wilderness has rental tents and rental cots.

YawningDodo unless you're planning on much more use down the road, this might be the way to go - no worries about the big stuff.

Thanks for letting me know, but I'd much rather have my own equipment. This way I get to pick out the tent and cot myself, test them ahead of time, and have them to use on other camping trips. The challenge of figuring out what to bring and how to pack it is part of the fun for me.

 

[KalamityJane]

Big Agnes is great, look into REI and Marmot tents too. We fly our stuff in (on Southwest so we get 2 free bags )

 

[YawningDodo]

Big Agnes is great, look into REI and Marmot tents too. We fly our stuff in (on Southwest so we get 2 free bags )

I will be sure to have a look through REI and Marmot before I pull the trigger!

...So your comment prompted me to see if Southwest services my area (we just moved this spring) since I've lived outside of their route system for most of a decade, and hah. Looks like I could actually fly with them again! So thank you for jogging that train of thought. The bad(ish) news is that I already bought United tickets for this trip since the pricing was decent on them and they've gotten rid of change fees (finally). Southwest probably would have been cheaper and would have gotten me the second bag free, but I do get one checked bag free with my MileagePlus Explorer card, plus I do need to rack up another few thousand miles with them to cover an upcoming trip to Tokyo. So no regrets this time, but I think in the next year I should look at whether I might want to start doing some of my flights on Southwest....

 

[Dindi]

We use Marmot Limelight. We actually have it in 4 sizes we love it so much. Not sure if the vestibule will be big enough for what you are looking for. It is easy to set up, lightweight, and most importantly well made. We have used them in all kinds of weather conditions including crazy high winds and hours and hours of down pour without any problems.

 

[Blondie58]

You can stay at Pop Century if you watch for deals for not much more than a tent space. You would have a refrigerator and could request a microwave. You would be on the gondola line. Would save as much money on food to make up the difference. Would save on bag fees too. Just a thought.

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

We like Big Agnes, but since we're backpacking we go a bit smaller and lighter with their SeedHouse. Reviews say that the zippers can be delicate since it's lighter weight, but we haven't had any issues nor has DS who lived in it at Philmont Scout Ranch for a summer as a ranger. Yes, it keeps out rain as tested IRL. Happy Camping.

 

[YawningDodo]

We use Marmot Limelight. We actually have it in 4 sizes we love it so much. Not sure if the vestibule will be big enough for what you are looking for. It is easy to set up, lightweight, and most importantly well made. We have used them in all kinds of weather conditions including crazy high winds and hours and hours of down pour without any problems.

I think I'm slightly paranoid about the dry entry issue since I won't have much fallback if I get the inside of the tent wet...though there's always towels/dirty laundry for soaking up water and laundry machines at the comfort station if I need to wash anything later as a result.

You can stay at Pop Century if you watch for deals for not much more than a tent space. You would have a refrigerator and could request a microwave. You would be on the gondola line. Would save as much money on food to make up the difference. Would save on bag fees too. Just a thought.

Thanks for the suggestion, but while the low cost definitely helps in terms of making the trip happen, Fort Wilderness itself is the main driver for this trip, and food is one area of my budget where I generally choose not to cut costs. I've stayed at a pretty good variety of WDW resorts, but I've never gone camping there, and seeking out new resort (and dining!) experiences is a big part of what I do on my solo trips lately. I'm very excited to explore the Fort and expect to spend more time there than I normally spend at my resort.

I do love the Skyliner, though. We're staying at POP on a friends trip in January, which will be the first time I've stayed there since 2009. Did AoA solo in January 2020 and loved it, but it's too expensive for our group compared to POP, and I'm interested to try out POP's new refurbished rooms.

We like Big Agnes, but since we're backpacking we go a bit smaller and lighter with their SeedHouse. Reviews say that the zippers can be delicate since it's lighter weight, but we haven't had any issues nor has DS who lived in it at Philmont Scout Ranch for a summer as a ranger. Yes, it keeps out rain as tested IRL. Happy Camping.

Thanks for the recommendation! Is it easy to keep the inside dry while entering and exiting in the rain?

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

We've stayed dry in our seedhouse, but never had rain blowing in at the "wrong" angle either. Maybe there's an online review that addresses sideways rain?