[mysonshine]

Any camping mamas that may be able to give reviews on tents? DH and I have one we bought a couple weeks ago but are now debating on a different one before we go to my brother's in a couple weeks.<br>
We want a large tent w/ lots of room and headroom. Saw one yesterday at Dicks that is a "vacation home" - has a screen room on it. Thinking that would be wonderful for DS (2) to play and still be safe.<br>
Any help?? Having trouble finding websites w/ good reviews or even sites for the companies. The one we actually have now - the company doesn't have a website - kinda frustrating.<br><br>
Thanks!!

 

[Kerlowyn]

I highly recommend tents by LL Bean. They guarantee them. We have camped in all 4 seasons, in sun, snow and pouring rain and have been safe, warm and dry each time. They are reasonably priced too.

 

[beansricerevolt]

<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/img/vbsmilies/smilies/notes.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="notes">:

 

[Celtain]

I just bought one from Target for $115. I didn't want to spen a lot of money. We live in Florida so needing warmth not really an issue. The main portion of the tent can be divided in half and it has a screen porch.

 

[mysonshine]

Celtain- can you tell me more about it? What brand? Have you used it yet? Do you like it?<br>
We have a Target very near us and have looked. But it's so hard to judge a tent by a 12" tall model. KWIM?

 

[Wabi Sabi]

We have a tent that we bought at a deep discount from Sierra Trading Post a couple of years ago. It is a really large, one-room tent that is tall enough for even a 6ft+ person to comfortably stand up in. It has has a really cool buillt-in awning/canopy too.<br><br>
The tent was still on the pricy side (I think we paid around $250 but it usually retails for around $500) but it is really a top-of-the-line quality piece of equipment and it has already more than paid for itself several times over when you consider what we would have otherwise spent on hotels! This tent even withstood an entire week of thunderstorms while we were staying at a New Hampshire campground without leaking a single drop of water.<br><br><a href="http://www.altrec.com/shop/detail/11718/" target="_blank">Paha Que Pamo Valley Family Tent</a>

 

[Marsupialmom]

I am still trying to figure out what tent to buy but I know from the scouts that how you set up your tent is important and care.<br><br>
Many tents don't hold up because of these two things.<br><br>
Zippers fail often because people don't unzip them all the way. Then on their way in and out they hit the tent sides causing pressure and extra wear on the zipper. So make sure you unzip your tent all the way to get in and out of.<br><br>
I wish I had more links info for you. I encourage you to do research on proper care and tent set up. HOw to prevent leaks.

 

[Wabi Sabi]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Celtain</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I just bought one from Target for $115. I didn't want to spen a lot of money. We live in Florida so needing warmth not really an issue. The main portion of the tent can be divided in half and it has a screen porch.</div>
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That sounds like the exact same tent we bought from Target. We set it up in the backyard and then decided to return it because it just wasn't the quality that we were really needing. It would have been perfectly fine for just a day here or there in the backyard or at the local state park, but we needed something a bit sturdier since we take an extended camping trip/family vacation every summer.<br><br>
I don't know that I would have wanted to be in the Target tent during some of our New Hampshire/coastal Maine storms!

 

[Celtain]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Wabi Sabi</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">That sounds like the exact same tent we bought from Target. We set it up in the backyard and then decided to return it because it just wasn't the quality that we were really needing. It would have been perfectly fine for just a day here or there in the backyard or at the local state park, but we needed something a bit sturdier since we take an extended camping trip/family vacation every summer.<br><br>
I don't know that I would have wanted to be in the Target tent during some of our New Hampshire/coastal Maine storms!</div>
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It is perfect for weekends in the state park. It would in NO WAY be able to take rugged extended camping. But it serves our needs nicely! I'll check later and let you know exactly what the name of the tent is.

 

[cj'smommy]

We're looking for one too.<br><br>
We have a mountaineering tent from REI that is awesome, but it's way too small for our family. What we really like about it is that it's all rip stop nylon and it has a rain fly that covers the entire tent. Anything we've found that is bigger just doesn't have the quality. We have one from Kelty that we thought was good until our dog blew through the nylon one morning. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/irked.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="irked">:<br>
Now it's held together with duct tape, and not entirely waterproof.

 

[Kelleybug]

I definately recommend LLBean tents. The dome tent is very easy to set up (it's even color coded) and it has a full fly, so you won't get wet while inside (unless your 3yo DD pees the bed in the middle of a cold, dark night...<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/winky.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Wink"> )<br><br>
We have an 8 person with a vestibule and it is perfect for us- nice and roomy and we can stand up in it no problem. They also warranty everything and are great if something needs to be returned or repaired.

 

[yoyo65]

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<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Celtain</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I just bought one from Target for $115. I didn't want to spen a lot of money. We live in Florida so needing warmth not really an issue. The main portion of the tent can be divided in half and it has a screen porch.</div>
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Sounds like the Greatland tent I bought 2 summers ago. Does it have a blue rain fly? Small screen room in front? Good height in the center, but slants to dormer type stuff on each end? On each of those is a door + the double door on the front.<br><br>
Mine is so-so. I've had leaking at the "dormers" because they slant out beyond the rainfly. Nothin' like having a couple big puddles on the floor!<br><br>
What I like: It is a good size tent for what I could afford.<br>
I can put it up by myself.<br>
what I don't like: the leaks, see above<br>
turns out I didn't need the screen porch,(which is one of<br>
the reasons I bought it in the first place) It is too small to<br>
really do anything but store stuff and rain gets in really<br>
easy anyways. I would rather have a seperate screen<br>
house over the picnic table anyways.<br><br>
I'll use this one for a while because I cannot afford another tent right now and I would like to buy a better quaity one the next time.<br>
Or I might be going in together on a pop-up rv with my mom and sister.<br><br>
p.s. Mine says it sleeps 8, I find that only four are comfortable in it.<br>
with a little room for your stuff.

 

[Wabi Sabi]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>cj'smommy</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">We're looking for one too.<br><br>
We have a mountaineering tent from REI that is awesome, but it's way too small for our family. What we really like about it is that it's all rip stop nylon and it has a rain fly that covers the entire tent. Anything we've found that is bigger just doesn't have the quality. We have one from Kelty that we thought was good until our dog blew through the nylon one morning. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/irked.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="irked">:<br>
Now it's held together with duct tape, and not entirely waterproof.</div>
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Check out that Paha Que link that I posted earlier. We looked at DOZENS of tents and it is the only large, family sized tent we could find that was good of quality as our smaller backpacking tents (Sierra Designs & Marmot).<br><br>
FWIW, have you tried contacting Kelty customer service? I've generally had good luck with them in the past and wouldn't be surprised if they'd offer to repair or replace the tent for you!

 

[momof3sweeties]

We got our tent from Cabella's. It is awesome! Plenty of room...a vestubule on outside for shoes and misc. things...It's great!!!! The tent you were talking about with a screened in porch sounds perfect especially since you have a 2yo. I'd go for that! You want camping to be fun and enjoyable to start out with and the screened porch would be such a bonus!!!

 

[mysonshine]

OK, here's another concern (besides being on a very small budget) - the cabin one we are looking at (beige one at Dicks if anyone has seen it- Northeast Outfitters vacation home) - has a full mesh top w/ the rain fly above it.<br>
The construction is different than most tents I've seen. I'll try to explain - imagine a frame of poles set up in cabin shape. Now the tent itself is attached by clips of some kind to the frame - in the corners and centers- so the poles do not actually go through the tent. And then the fly is put on on the top of the frame - almost like you could probably put up the canopy/rain fly without the tent (now that I think about it).<br><br>
I'm really in a tizzy. I haven't been camping in a tent since I was little. And DH's form of camping is a sleeping bag <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> so I'm really feeling overwhelmed w/ this.

 

[TiredX2]

We got the smallest tent Costco sells and have been using it for several years. It's held up well and has plenty of head room (DP is 6'1" so that was our minimum). They have some huge ones (all made by Kelty) (ours was the smallest and is a 6-8 person) so I would go check them out.

 

[momof3sweeties]

<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">OK, here's another concern (besides being on a very small budget) - the cabin one we are looking at (beige one at Dicks if anyone has seen it- Northeast Outfitters vacation home) - has a full mesh top w/ the rain fly above it.<br>
The construction is different than most tents I've seen. I'll try to explain - imagine a frame of poles set up in cabin shape. Now the tent itself is attached by clips of some kind to the frame - in the corners and centers- so the poles do not actually go through the tent. And then the fly is put on on the top of the frame - almost like you could probably put up the canopy/rain fly without the tent (now that I think about it).</td>
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Our tent is dome shaped but the poles clip on the outside to the canvas...I don't think you would want poles on the inside anymore.

 

[mrmansmama]

I have been trying to find reviews on the same tent at Dick's (the Northeast Outfitters one), but I can't find anything either. Has anyone ever had a tent from Northeast? I really like the set up, but I'm afraid to buy it without a review. I have also been considering the Coleman Weathermaster cabin tent. Thanks!