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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | My wife and I have been using a tent that we got as a wedding gift two years ago, and are looking to upgrade. The one we have is an Eddie Bauer brand, very nicely sized(4 person dome), and easy to put up, but leaks like a seive. The zippers are not covered and the rain fly does not come down very far.
We are looking for a better tent for our camping trips to northern WI, and one that will shed rain a bit better than the one we have. My buddy has a Kelty brands and likes it, and i have looked at some others online. We would like a 4-5 person tent with potential to add an annex fly or vestibule. If anyone has one or can recomend a very good one, please let us know, as it will make our trips much more enjoyable.
Thanks!! |
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Posts: 336
Location: Lino Lakes, MN | Ive used my brothers Walrus tent for quite a few trips over the past few years and its the best tent that I have ever used. It has a nice gore-tex cover that comes out about 6ft in front of the tent itself so if its raining you can keep your wet shoes and clothes out where they will still be covered and you wont have to bring the wet stuff into the tent. Went to see a Phish show in Vermont a few years ago and it had rained so much that the tent literally sunk about 2ft down into the mud and I didnt get a drop of water in the tent. My roomate has a North Face tent that he likes quite a bit so you might want to check those out too.
this site has a pretty good overview of the Walrus tents->
http://www.honedesign.com/sites/walrusgear/main.html
I would also check out www.Campmor.com. I have bought quite a bit of outdoors gear from them in the past....good prices on last years models and colors. Some really good deals to be found. Hope that helps.
Eric |
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Posts: 2112
Location: The Sportsman, home, or out on the water | I got a 5 y/o Coleman that sleeps probably 6. Lori and I put a queen sized air mattress in there, and a dog bed for Cleo, and we still have room to spare. One thing you gotta do with any new tent is put it up in the yard to get familiar with it before heading north. Also, seal all the seams up real good, get a nice sheet of polyethelene to put under it, and use spray waterproofing on the rain fly. |
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Posts: 91
| Jay, check out Sierra Trading Post and Campmor for price and selection. |
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Posts: 2361
| Coleman has worked well for us.
Usually use the little pop up from walmart though myself. Cheap but efficient. I think leakage is much more a problem of the bigger tents than the small tents due to the increased design for ventilation, in all types.
You will double your comfort in all types of tents though if you go to the trouble of stringing up a big sloping shade tarp over it.
Keeps it drier when the dew falls, cooler during the day, still allows a breeze to circulate underneath and will shed most of the water in a heavy downpour. Won't stop sideway rain. Easy to drop one side on a cool sunny day to let the sun in if you want.
Serious campers know so much more than the rest of us. It is a pain to do a good job camping and fish seriously imo. |
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| We have a Coleman also. It's like a 8-man, the thing is huge, 17x12. We will be using it this weekend on the Mississippi River. It's never leaked yet, but we've only had it for about 2 years. I am no tent expert, but finding one with a good rain fly makes sense. Since leakage is common to many tents, we prepare by sleeping off the ground on cots. We also have an extra cot for our clothes, etc. |
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Posts: 2112
Location: The Sportsman, home, or out on the water | Duh, I forgot about the tarp deal. LOL.
I almost always run a big tarp over as much as I can, even the screen house and/or picnic table, if I can. |
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| I have a little Coleman that does not leak at all used last year on my Mani Chain Green Bay adventure. Always have a tarp underneath your tent to help keep it as dry as possible. |
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Posts: 62
Location: Mokena, IL | Check out Cabela's Alaskan Guide tents. Great tent. Easy to set up, roomy inside, and dry!
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Posts: 267
Location: Right behind you (tap, tap) BOOO | In my opinion, if you are going to do it do it right and go with a Eureka, they cost more but last for years on end and in my experience leaking is NOT an issue. As always make sure you are laying a tarp of some sort under the flooring, and best practice is to roll the exposed edges of the tarp under to try and keep any moisture from pooling. One thing I started to do different was putting the tarp in the tent, this seems to make a huge difference, stuff on the floor is always dry. It also helps to seal the seams of the tent with sealant you can pick up at any outdoors store.
Esox23 |
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Posts: 723
| dude I hear ya! you havent been camping till youre stuck on an island with a river running through your tent! almost died a few times, the most waterproof ones I have seen are those arctic\polar ? they arent tall at all, it sucks to get dressed in, but man they protect from the elements.
But you having a 3rd addition to the familly, you'll want something with the room and the protection, for sure stick with a dome though, anything with corners leaks no matter what you do to it. I would put my money into coleman, on top of that too, you get what you pay for, so dont buy a $75 tent when a $250 is what youre looking for.
Like mentioned above too, set it up in the yard, buy some repel or seam sealer, and coat that bad boy 2-3 times,
for safety!
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Thanks for the tips guys!! Wife and I will be headed to Gander today after dropping off and picking up more Alliance boat raffle tickets for the club. We'll check out Coleman, and all of the rest while there.
Just checked some Northface tents online. Anyone have experience with them? Look a bit pricey, but the features!!!
Edited by Reef Hawg 6/29/2006 10:02 AM
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Posts: 427
Location: Wausau | I'll second the Cabela's Alaskan Guide tents - a little more expensive, but great for rough weather... |
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Posts: 37
Location: se wi | I'll also give a vote for the Alaskan Guide tents from Cabela's. I had mine in Alaska and we had rain for a week straight and the tent stayed dry on the inside. You can also get vestibules for them, floor liners and floor savers, etc, plus Cabela's has good customer service and you can get spare parts if needed. After 5 years I finally tore my rainfly, ordered a new one and it fits just like the original. The ones with the fiberglass poles are cheaper but if you think you might use it to do some seriuos camping in the backwoods go for the aluminum poles as they can be straightened if they bend and are a bit lighter. |
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Posts: 189
Location: Barrington, Il | North Face are by far the best tents out there. They are designed for mountaineering and are the strongest most waterproof out there. I've used one in Alaska and all through the west. In rain and snow storms and always stayed dry. Yes, they are more expensive but they do the job and will last forever.
Jeff |
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Posts: 723
| thats what I was thinking bout was NORTHFACE! but they are small! |
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Posts: 336
Location: Lino Lakes, MN | Reef Hawg,
Go to Campmor.com. Click on the Hot Deals tab on the top toolbar. On the next screen you will see a list of items on the left. Click on the "tent hot deals" link. Towards the bottom right as you scroll down you will see some good deals on many of the tent brands listed in this thread. Ill keep searching around and let you know if I find anything. |
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Posts: 189
Location: Barrington, Il | The North Face tents come in all sizes. You can get Expedition size that will sleep 6-8.
Jeff |
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| I have a Eureka Titan. huge tent for my family. It rocks. I can actually put it up by myself although it is MUCH quicker with a second person. A bit pricier than others but well worth it in my opinion. over 7' inside. like a 9'6" by 12' footprint. |
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Posts: 350
Location: WESTERN WI | What an appropriate post for what I just had been a 6 hour packing mission. Have not camped since last year and my wife and I are headed to Lac Vieux Desert for 4 days to camp/fish. The tent we use during the summer months is a cozy four man coleman, (dome). It works well since we can sit in the screen tent if raining/hot/etc. I angle a large tarp over it and keep a "footprint" tarp underneath (very important). We did receive a nice 3 room tent, sleeps 8 w/ rainfly from our recent wedding but are waiting until babies start popping until we use it. Any way my tip for tents is spend what you are comfortable with and something you can grow into. I have found that using large "tuffboxes" to store food, gear, and waht ever else needs storing works great. Completely waterproof and easy to move. They make great benches for when the campfire crowd grows large. I have one for food, one for supplies and 2 with firewood that is always dry and does not leave a mess in the truck.
Also if any one had a need for MRE's (Military Meals Read to Eat) I have a few extra cases I would be willing to part with that I have had since my unit got back from Katrina Cleanup. They are great for camping and even better when the weather grows cold (Fall Sucker Fishing) with the MRE meal heaters. Let me know. |
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Posts: 656
Location: Forest Lake, Mn. | I have a 6 person Eureka tent. Have stayed in it during heavy storms and all day rains and have never had a leak. Fairly easy to put up too. |
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