anybody here like to camp? need recomendations on a new tent (Update!)

[NTB]

I think it's finally time for me to break down and buy a new tent. I have an old Remington tent that has served me well for quite a while, and it's still in good shape. Only real problems with it are that it is a) a little small and b) kind of heavy. The weight doesn't bother me as much as the size does. It's supposed to be a 3-man tent, but I swear they measure these things with midgets . I'm about 5'11", and my feet & head almost hit the walls when I lay down in it. And now I have a girlfriend who wants to go camping with me, to boot. So I deffinitely need a bigger tent . Any suggestions on what to get & where to get it will be appreciated. The cheaper the better, but I don't want junk. Something in the $100 or so range would be great. Here is one that I am looking at:

Eureka Tetragon-8 (4-man tent)

EDIT 8/13/02 -

Decided to put off buying a tent until I did a little more research, and used my parent's old tent for the weekend. After doing some digging around, I found a couple of Kelty tents at Campmor that might fit the bill. What do you guys think? Here they are:

V-2 $119.96
V-3 $169.96
Trail Dome 2 $99.99
Trial Dome 4 $149.99


Personally, I'm leaning toward one of the bigger tents - either the V-3 or the Trail Dome 4. We'll be doing a lot more close-to-home car camping than hiking, so weight isn't that big of a deal. Heck, ALL of these are still lighter than some of the cheapo tents I've seen for sale.

The V-series tents are, I believe, the ones we used for a school-sponsored trip to Colorado a few years ago, and they worked beautifully. I'm curious, though: what are the differences between these tents - of which I can find no mention on Kelty's own website - and the Kelty Vortex line of tents?

EDIT 2:

I suppose I could swing one of these, too:

Sierra Designs Gamma AST (2-man) $119.96
Sierra Designs Orion AST $159.96
Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight 3 $189.96

And, last but not least, there's always the old reliable Eureka Timberline. $109.99 for the 4-man version. Is there any point to spending the extra money at campmor for the XT version of this tent?

Nate

 

[Cyberian]

What else do you take camping except 2 people and sleeping bags?
How long do you go for?

 

[Eli]

I just buy cheap-ass tents. We only have to sleep 2 people, so size isn't as big of a concern..

The cheap-ass tents (40$ or so at Wal-Mart) seem to last about 2 seasons(1-3 camping trips/season) before something rips out. I don't mind 40$/2 years for a tent.

I'll probably buy an expensive good one some time, but I haven't researched so I don't know which ones are best.

 

[ElFenix]

i have a eureka timberline... everyone i knew had a timberline...we could assemble the things blindfolded. great tent. 4 man that slept 3, of course. usually only put 2 in it tho. someone had a 2 man version of it and the thing was tiny.

 

[NTB]

usually it is just two people and sleeping bags, but I like some extra room so that I can keep my backpack in the tent if need be; it alwaysrains at least once or twice whenever I go camping.

As for length, most of my trips are just over a weekend, but I do like to take a few longer trips during the year - maybe up to a week. I would like this to be something that my gf and I could split up and take with us on a hiking trip; we've talked about doing this before and just haven't gotten around to it. The tent only needs to be a normal, 3-season tent; I don't plan on doing any cold-weather camping.

Nate

 

[ScoobMaster]

<------

Previous owner of a Tetragon-8 (we upgrded to a Starcraft pop-up camper 3 years ago)

Awesome tent! Eureka is among the best (I live 15 minutes away from one of their factories here in Binghamton NY - we can buy "factory seconds" for MUCH LESS than retail!!!!!)

 

[NTB]

Originally posted by: Eli
I just buy cheap-ass tents. We only have to sleep 2 people, so size isn't as big of a concern..

The cheap-ass tents (40$ or so at Wal-Mart) seem to last about 2 seasons(1-3 camping trips/season) before something rips out. I don't mind 40$/2 years for a tent.

I'll probably buy an expensive good one some time, but I haven't researched so I don't know which ones are best.

I did this once, and the d@mn thing blew apart on me during a storm :| I look back on it now and laugh, but back then it certainly wasn't any fun.

Nate

 

[Cyberian]

Originally posted by: NTB
usually it is just two people and sleeping bags, but I like some extra room so that I can keep my backpack in the tent if need be; it alwaysrains at least once or twice whenever I go camping.

As for length, most of my trips are just over a weekend, but I do like to take a few longer trips during the year - maybe up to a week. I would like this to be something that my gf and I could split up and take with us on a hiking trip; we've talked about doing this before and just haven't gotten around to it. The tent only needs to be a normal, 3-season tent; I don't plan on doing any cold-weather camping.

Nate

Then that one you linked to looks like the right size.
When we used to go camping we drove quite a ways and then found a campsite, so we usually had coolers, stoves, chairs and stuff to fit into the tent.

 

[NTB]

When we used to go camping we drove quite a ways and then found a campsite, so we usually had coolers, stoves, chairs and stuff to fit into the tent.

That's what I do a lot of times, too. One of my favorite campsites is about 2 hours from my house. The other is about 45 minutes away. We usually leave the coolers out to fend for themselves; for anything else - like the chairs - we usually bring a big tarp to jerry-rig as a rain shelter if we need it. String a piece of rope between a couple trees, then put the tarp over it and tie it down. works like a charm.

EDIT: I should add that the worst we have to worry about around here is racoons; if it were bears the food would either be in a vehicle or up in a tree, like we did on the hike I went on in Colorado.

 

[ThePresence]

I used to go camping every summer. Untill one time I woke up at 4 AM with a bigass bear staring at me through my tent mesh. I will never go camping again, that's one experience I do not want to relive.

 

[NTB]

Originally posted by: ThePresence
I used to go camping every summer. Untill one time I woke up at 4 AM with a bigass bear staring at me through my tent mesh. I will never go camping again, that's one experience I do not want to relive.

Ouch. Sorry to hear that. At least you got out in one piece. Closest I ever came to something like that is when my professor thought I was a bear while we were out in Colorado. Almost everybody had turned in early the night before, but the prof, his sons, and one or two other people stayed up until like 2 or 3 in the morning. So when I woke up around 6 and was trying to start the fire, he was still sound asleep. He said he heard me rooting around outside and was close to blowing my head off with his .45, until he realized what was going on :Q . Instead he just yelled at me to go back to sleep.

Nate

 

[NTB]

bump!

 

The best tent money can buy

 

[fumbduck]

we are birds of a feather.

I too like to go "camping" with the "family" and "kids".

This is the kind of tent i use most often.

 

[ndee]

I like to camp with the AWP h&ouml;h&ouml;

 

[aircooled]

Coleman Weathermaster is what I have. It's a great tent! You'll find it cheaper at a warehouse store than the link I provided.

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

Just don't go spawn camping, I hate that.

 

[gigapet]

anything eddie bauer

 

[NTB]

Originally posted by: Roger
The best tent money can buy

cool!

fumduck - LOL! I will deffinitely be bringing a few of those , but that wasn't quite the tent I had in mind when I wrote this thread.

Aircooled - that's a little too big. I only need something for 1 or two people and some gear.

Nate

 

[eakers]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i have a eureka timberline... everyone i knew had a timberline...we could assemble the things blindfolded. great tent. 4 man that slept 3, of course. usually only put 2 in it tho. someone had a 2 man version of it and the thing was tiny.

i have the 2 man version of that tent!

it fits me and my stuff and not much else hehe

 

[NTB]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i have a eureka timberline... everyone i knew had a timberline...we could assemble the things blindfolded. great tent. 4 man that slept 3, of course. usually only put 2 in it tho. someone had a 2 man version of it and the thing was tiny.

I might actually get one of these - I saw it on The Sports Authority's website for about $110; going to go by the store this evening after work. Do the seams on those come factory sealed - like a lot of the Eurekas do - or will I have to do it myself?

Nate

 

[fonzinator]

Originally posted by: NTB

Originally posted by: Eli
I just buy cheap-ass tents. We only have to sleep 2 people, so size isn't as big of a concern..

The cheap-ass tents (40$ or so at Wal-Mart) seem to last about 2 seasons(1-3 camping trips/season) before something rips out. I don't mind 40$/2 years for a tent.

I'll probably buy an expensive good one some time, but I haven't researched so I don't know which ones are best.

I did this once, and the d@mn thing blew apart on me during a storm :| I look back on it now and laugh, but back then it certainly wasn't any fun.

Nate

Nate...if you are planning on doing backpacking trips with this tent, not just car camping, you'll need to spend more than $100. I've been backpacking for a long, long time and I've used just about everything under the sun. Stay FAR, FAR away from cheap tents. They will ruin your trip!! Here's what cheap tents do: They are asthetically similar to high quality tents - fooling the consumer that they are equal; almost everything about their construction is poor quality: poles, seams, zippers, mesh, ect. - most materials are complete junk. Never depend on a cheapie tent in a wind/rain storm - which you'll definitely encounter if backpacking. I've seen tons of guys with crap tents have them destroyed in the middle of the night by wind/rain. If they aren't destroyed, they are leaking everywhere with the first stiff rain (even with seam-sealant). Okay...enough ragging on cheap tents.

Here's my suggestion...get on Ebay, Campmor, REI, ect. and find tents that are last year's models. That will knock the price down significantly. For $200, you could get a fine 2 man, 3-season tent that will last you a LONG time. Look for names like Mountain Hardwear, Sierra Designs, MSR, Moss (now MSR but some old Moss tents are still out there), and Marmot. You can find reviews for any tent all over the net.

If you're going to be car-camping, a $100 tent is fine. If you're going to backpack, save yourself the agony, frustration, and a ruined trip, by getting yourself into a decent tent. Just my $.02.

 

[Kelemvor]

We have a tent my wife has had for years. It's a Gander Mountain brand and works great. BIg enough for 2 sleeping bags, the suitcase or whatever, and plenty of other room for extras.

I don't know that there's much of a different as long as you aren't rough with it or use it much. If you do, definitely go to a sporting/outdoor store for probably the best quality.

 

[freegeeks]

I have a North-Face and 2 jack wolfskin tents

IMO you can't buy something decent for 100$

 

[desertdweller]

Originally posted by: NTB
I think it's finally time for me to break down and buy a new tent. I have an old Remington tent that has served me well for quite a while, and it's still in good shape. Only real problems with it are that it is a) a little small and b) kind of heavy. The weight doesn't bother me as much as the size does. It's supposed to be a 3-man tent, but I swear they measure these things with midgets . I'm about 5'11", and my feet & head almost hit the walls when I lay down in it. And now I have a girlfriend who wants to go camping with me, to boot. So I deffinitely need a bigger tent . Any suggestions on what to get & where to get it will be appreciated. The cheaper the better, but I don't want junk. Something in the $100 or so range would be great. Here is one that I am looking at:

Eureka Tetragon-8 (4-man tent)

Nate

I just bought tent for the back of my truck. We use it when we go to the lake.

Truck Tent

You'll just need to put some padding down in the bed under the tent.

DD