Tent Shopping - Questions

[illini40]

Hey INGO

I am looking to purchase a tent. The primary driver is to do some backyard camping with my two little sons. Ideally, in a couple of years, we could actually do some light camping.

Ive been looking at some of the Coleman 6 person tents at major retailers.

Any advice or experience you have to share? Are the "Fast Pitch" versions that easy?

Recap of situation:
- just recreational use
- backyard and car camping use
- setting up by myself is huge plus
- been looking at Colemans that are in local major retailers

 

[thunderchicken]

Hard to beat Coleman, but I am also a fan of Eurika (think that's how it's spelled). Personally I have never been a fan of dome tents. I like something I can stand up to get dressed in. I prefer a tent with metal poles as compared to the fiberglass poles. Easy way to make set up easy. Go get a few different colors of electrical tape and set up the tent and mark mating poles with like color tape. Red to red, green to green etc. Makes set up in the dark simple. Also you will want something with plenty of windows for venting

 

[Ebux]

i have a Coleman 14x9 instant up tent my wife found on clearance one day. I can honestly say that i can put it up and take it down alone in a couple of minutes. The only issue i have is that mine was the 1st generation and came with a "waterproof" top and no rain-fly. That only worked for a couple years no if it rains it leaks, i use a tarp to solve the problem but it would be nice if they made one for it. The new larger version has one available on amazon. I think the new one is 15x10. Just my 2 cents, I've used it for about 6 years

 

[SmileDocHill]

For the amount of use you are looking at, if you are not in a hurry, garage sales are great for this. You can size up pretty quickly whether the tent is in good shape and a lot of people buy them only to use it a couple times.

 

[gregr]

I had a Cabela`s 4-man dome. It was easy to set up, and I did it by myself at Owen-Putman at the horsemans campground during Turkey season. It was a sturdy tent, and very comfortable, plenty of room. Whatever you get, be sure to go to the trouble of sealing the seams!

 

[fordmanchris]

We bought an Amazon essentials 8 person tent and it was huge for just under $100. We end up returning it for the same tent in 4 person and I think that was $55. They seem very well put together. We will be using it in a couple weeks and I will update!

 

[natdscott]

Dunno, but Gander Mountain in Avon is closing, and has some decent equipment for that kind of use. Probably the Castleton location as well.

-Nate

 

[illini40]

Thanks for all of the responses.

Two questions:
- does anyone have experience with the Coleman Fast Pitch series? Curious if they are that much easier to put up, especially by myself.
- are some tents typically easier to put up? Again, looking to likely put up and down by myself.

 

[phatgemi]

Dunno, but Gander Mountain in Avon is closing, and has some decent equipment for that kind of use. Probably the Castleton location as well.

-Nate

Gander may be closing, but with their prices I'll bet you still pay more than most stores.

 

[CindyE]

Thanks for all of the responses.

Two questions:
- does anyone have experience with the Coleman Fast Pitch series? Curious if they are that much easier to put up, especially by myself.
- are some tents typically easier to put up? Again, looking to likely put up and down by myself.

Haven't tent-camped for several years, but my absolute favorite was a Coleman dome tent, that we had years ago. I want to say it was the Stargazer. It could comfortably sleep 3 people, but it wasn't very tall, so my husband didn't like it much. It was super-easy to set up, I often did it myself. Just a simple dome tent with 2 flexible poles that form a cross on top, and it had a removable top, so you could stare at the sky through the mesh, which we did on very warm nights.
Some are definitely easier to put up than others, especially by yourself. The worst one we had was some kind of hexagon shape. I hated that tent with a passion. We took it to the Myrtle Beach motorcycle rally and i had great fun trying to put it up in the heat and humidity while husband made a beer-run. I'd think in your case, the simpler the better. It seems the more poles/corners, the more difficult it is. I'm thinking a Coleman dome tent would be fine for what you want.

 

[mulsas]

I'll back up what CindyE said. We have two Coleman Sundome tents, I think a 4 and a 6 person. You always have to divide their numbers in half. The 4 person is pretty small, but I can almost stand up in the 6. It just takes two elastic corded fiberglass poles in an X, and a 3rd that goes in the rainfly to prop it up. I've put it together enough that I can do it by myself in just a few minutes. We aren't heavy campers, but they have actually held up really well for just basic tents. As long as you are backyard or car camping, the packed size or weight isn't a big deal, so you can go big (within reason) if you want. Then as the kids get bigger, just get a second tent, rather than trying to get everyone in one of those monsters.