Tent recommendations

[Matt]

- always buy plenty of seam sealer and seal all the seams immediately. dont wait to see if it leaks on your first outing ( ME ) .
- make sure it has a nice , large rainfly system. dont wait till 2am and its raining to install the rainfly because you didnt think it was going to rain ( SAL ) LOL

This made me crack up!

lol thanks for the advice guys. Any recommendations on makes/models that you have had good luck with?

Also a little FYI, this isn't really going to be a "family" adventure tent. I'm thinking more along the lines of going to Rausch Creek more and not staying at the hotel.

[Carn75]

Some of the brands I've used and really liked were Big Agnes,Eureka,Mountain Hardwear,and REI's store brand. My Big Agnes is the smallest,lightest, and cost the most. It's a 1 person and I think ran me about $300ish. But I was going for really light weight & small size.
For what it sounds like you'll be doing I would check out the REI brand. They offer good quaility at a pretty reasonable price. If you really want to save money,check out the Coleman's.

[hoaxci5]

I have an REI Kingdom 6, it's two rooms and each side will hold a queen size air mattress with room to spare at the feet for bags.

It's pricey, but like all items from REI it has a lifetime warranty so if anything ever happens I'll get full purchase price refunded for replacement.

[Holaday07 4.7]

Jeep actully makes a really nice 8 person, 2 room tent, with a screened in porch.

If I am backpacking, size and weight matter, but if I am driving in to set up camp then I am sleeping good. Fullsize air matress, room for the kid and dogs, porch for bugs.

My $.02 but it is a cool tent

[superacerc]

I've got 2 tents, One for my minimalist self and my daughter (aka: When my wife doesn't go). It takes about 5 or 6 minutes to set up and it's an Ozarks(walmart brand i think) Dome tent (yeah it's not pricey or fancy). Only sleeps about 3 but sure feels nice when you put your tent up in time to watch others still trying to figure out which side of their Hotel is the front. Then you can grab a chair and realax with a drink while you either laugh at or help your friends. I've always been a hiker/camper and love to have the simplist possible. Also if you plan on moving sites each night smaller is always nice for setup/takedown time. At big bend where we stayed in 5 different campgrounds seperated by 90 miles of terrain or so it was nice to have the small tent.

My other tent........ is the one my wife picked out from Academy which I think is a magellan or something. Got it on sale for about 130 or so and It sleeps 6 on the inside room and up to a max of 4 in the bug netted and floored front porch. (it also has a "closet" at the rear lol.) If I'm wheeling at the same place and not moving anywhere this isn't a bad tent.

Good luck....

[Matt]

Thanks guys. Great input so far.... lol ill probably save the hotel tent for a 5-7 years down the road when the kids are joining. But do want something with breathing room and a porch area for keeping dirty/wet clothes out.

[Sal-XK]

I've been find with medium priced tents. since this group most likely seems seals the tents anyway LOL If your taking it on the beach it will never be the same the sea spray and sand just beat the snot out of it and I gave up years ago trying to get all the sand out every trip I just leave it now right AJ! LOL Buy one easy for less then $100 use and abuse it and in a few years go get a new one thats what I do. IF I bought a 5-6 hundred dollar tent I would try to fix and repair that thing and keep it for ever. My way just as it starts to get worn maybe zippers are getting stuck now or a smell coming on I can go the newest thing out and start all over.

[The_War_Wagon]

I just got a Coleman Red Canyon 8-man tent at Christmas for me and the boys. Having been a Scout since 1976, I'm old enough to KNOW, that BIGGER is BETTER, when it comes to a tent. I don't even mind having the WHOLE thing to myself!