Tent recommendations

[sizemic1]

Next month I'll be 4wheeling down in Mexico for a week.
Every place we plan on camping will be for one night.
So I'm looking for a decent tent that is Quick AND Easy to setup for ONE person. This doesn't have to be a one man tent..in fact I think i would prefer something a little bigger.

[Markel]

I've heard about some tents that you can take out and throw in the air and they will "set themselves up" automatically. That sounds pretty easy.

[blueindian]

I've heard about some tents that you can take out and throw in the air and they will "set themselves up" automatically. That sounds pretty easy.

those things are crap. they look good on paper, but that's the end of it.


sizmic, what's your budget? i'll find you a good tent.

[sizemic1]

Thanks BI. Maybe a couple hundred dollars. I'm not looking to camp out on top of everest or anything.

[Burzhui]

Marmot Mountain, Ltd.-Eclipse
Diamond Brand-Litehouse
Exped LLC (USA)-Solestar
Cabela's, Inc.-XPG Solo


there you go

[=112=]

how bout renting? i know most of the major sporting good stores rent tents. thats another option i guess.

[Freelance Superhero]

I've heard about some tents that you can take out and throw in the air and they will "set themselves up" automatically. That sounds pretty easy.i don't have any recommendations off hand because i haven't gone camping in a looooong time, but i will second what BI said about these tents: don't get 'em, they're terrible.

[blueindian]

Generally speaking, unless you are going to be doing some solo backpacking, you'll be better off with a two person tent. It'll give you a TON more interior sq. footage and headroom and you always have the option of putting another person in it, either for companionship or emergency. burz has some good brand recomendations, but i wouldn't choose a one man tent except for the one noted purpose.

For roughly the same price as the one man elipse, you can get the Marmot Twilight. It only weights 1 lb 6 oz more but is a two person tent. This one has what I now consider a "must have" feature....two doors. I telll you, two doors is something that is kind of like a microwave to me; I don't know how I lived without it. Having to crawl over someone to get up and pee or, worse, getting crawled over, sucks. This tent was the "Best Buy" in backpacker magazine this year. It'll run you around $200, plust about ~20 for the footprint.

In the same price range is the Northface RoadRunner. I'm not a huge north face fan, but i love this tent. In fact, this is the tent I use most. It's two person, pleanty of head room, double doors, double vestibules, and tough as nails. True story: the first time I set this tent up was at a party in Tennessee right after I got it. My buddy bill ran up on it with a truck, probably about half way. it bent it way over but didn't bust a seam or break a pole, nor did it cause any leaks. Another cool feature of this tent is that if you're in "bug free" country, you can set it up with just the fly and footprint so that you have a rain shelter but loos about 2 lbs of weight. This tent was the "Gear of the Year" in Outdoor magazine two years ago. It'll run you around $200, plust about ~20 for the footprint.

For more of a "bargain brand" tent, I'd go with Eureka. They have the SpitFire 2 which only weighs about 4.5 lbs, has a lot of room and, unlike many less expensive tents, still has two doors. you can get the tent and the footprint for roughly $150

The other bargain tent you might consider is the Cabella XPG Ultralight 2 for about the same price as the Eureka. It's a pretty well built tent but, honestly, Eureka has the lower-end tent market sewn up tight.


All in all, I give the strongest endorsement to The North Face Roadrunner as I've used it for several years now and I love it, as do all the folks who have slept in it with me. The marmot is definitly a good tent, and if you go <$200 for a two person tent, get Eureka.

BTW, all these tents should be easy to set up as they are two-pole freestanders. The one thing you want to look for is that, if the tent has sleeves for the poles (as opposed to clips) when you slide pole into the sleeve from one side that it goes into a pocket at the other end of the sleeve. In other words, the pole sleeve looks like a big long sock as opposed to having a gromet to clip at the other end. This is key in being able to set it up your self. The NorthFace tent has this feature, I'm not sure about the Eureka. Both the Marmot and Cabella use clips for the poles. I don't like clips, but a lot of folks prefer them.




www.campmor.com is a good place to buy tents, fyi.

[sizemic1]

GREAT info BI!

[Nija]

I vote for staying home and making things more exotic in the bedroom.

[Wizard]

In the same price range is the Northface RoadRunner. I'm not a huge north face fan, but i love this tent. In fact, this is the tent I use most. It's two person, pleanty of head room, double doors, double vestibules, and tough as nails. True story: the first time I set this tent up was at a party in Tennessee right after I got it. My buddy bill ran up on it with a truck, probably about half way. it bent it way over but didn't bust a seam or break a pole, nor did it cause any leaks. Another cool feature of this tent is that if you're in "bug free" country, you can set it up with just the fly and footprint so that you have a rain shelter but loos about 2 lbs of weight. This tent was the "Gear of the Year" in Outdoor magazine two years ago. It'll run you around $200, plust about ~20 for the footprint.

For more of a "bargain brand" tent, I'd go with Eureka. They have the SpitFire 2 which only weighs about 4.5 lbs, has a lot of room and, unlike many less expensive tents, still has two doors. you can get the tent and the footprint for roughly $150

The other bargain tent you might consider is the Cabella XPG Ultralight 2 for about the same price as the Eureka. It's a pretty well built tent but, honestly, Eureka has the lower-end tent market sewn up tight.


All in all, I give the strongest endorsement to The North Face Roadrunner as I've used it for several years now and I love it, as do all the folks who have slept in it with me. The marmot is definitly a good tent, and if you go <$200 for a two person tent, get Eureka.

BTW, all these tents should be easy to set up as they are two-pole freestanders. The one thing you want to look for is that, if the tent has sleeves for the poles (as opposed to clips) when you slide pole into the sleeve from one side that it goes into a pocket at the other end of the sleeve. In other words, the pole sleeve looks like a big long sock as opposed to having a gromet to clip at the other end. This is key in being able to set it up your self. The NorthFace tent has this feature, I'm not sure about the Eureka. Both the Marmot and Cabella use clips for the poles. I don't like clips, but a lot of folks prefer them.




www.campmor.com is a good place to buy tents, fyi.

I knew Indians were all in tune with nature, but dang. BI has got this whole thing down packed! :D

[clutchy]

REI half dome plus 2. It's a decent sized 2 man tent. Won a backpacker best product award a couple of years ago. I've had mine for 3 years now, used it quite a few times. It's really great and doesn't weigh much at all on the order of 5 lbs.

It's also free standing... hmmm i want to go backpacking now...

[sizemic1]

I vote for staying home and making things more exotic in the bedroom.

That's a different kind of tent pitching :)

[oblongmelon]

Check www.eurekatent.com
They happen to have their home office about 3 miles from my home-they make some of the best tents in the world-at great prices..I know right now they have a big military contract..so if the US military thinks their good enough-well..reputations speak for themselves..I know that every spring when they have their clearance sale at the store-people line up for HOURS before the building opens..you'd be surprised how SMALL this company actually is.

[blueindian]

Check www.eurekatent.com
They happen to have their home office about 3 miles from my home-they make some of the best tents in the world-at great prices..I know right now they have a big military contract..so if the US military thinks their good enough-well..reputations speak for themselves..I know that every spring when they have their clearance sale at the store-people line up for HOURS before the building opens..you'd be surprised how SMALL this company actually is.

acutally, Eureka! is part of a multinational firm (Johnson Outdoors) that makes all sorts of outdoor gear from fishing to diving to paddling to camping.

http://www.johnsonoutdoors.com/

off hand, I'd say they must have at least 50 brands.

[Leon]

Not that I know anything about camping or tents, but here is a nice cheap tent from Amazon:

North Pole 7` x 6` 2 to 3-Person Dome Tent
http://www.gotapex.com/l/?0WI7T026

[Kim]

Just get a sleeping bag big enough for two and skip the tent. ;)

[Burzhui]

personally for 2 people i used a 10 x 10 dome tent, i like my space, and i also like to put a queen size air matterss in mine.. what can i say i like to camp in style

[baggio248]

I'm a big fan of Mountain Hardwear stuff, its much better quality of North Face. You can check these sites, they are fairly cheap and really nice.

REI Outlet (http://www.rei.com/online/store/Search?storeId=8001&crumb=%26quot%3Bmountain+hardwear%26quot%3B%5E%26query%3Dmountain%2Bhardwear%7ECamping+%26+Hiking%5E %26cat%3D22000001&query=mountain+hardwear&cat=22000001&vcat=OUTLET_SEARCH:N)

Campmor (http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?categoryId=30066739&catalogId=40000000226&storeId=226)

[Markel]

personally for 2 people i used a 10 x 10 dome tent, i like my space, and i also like to put a queen size air matterss in mine.. what can i say i like to camp in style
I always say, there's nothing wrong with camping, as long as you get to sleep in a bed, get a hot shower, and have air conditioning if it's too hot outside.

[blueindian]

I'm a big fan of Mountain Hardwear stuff, its much better quality of North Face.



i would agree with you in regards to apparal, but not gear.

[oblongmelon]

acutally, Eureka! is part of a multinational firm (Johnson Outdoors) that makes all sorts of outdoor gear from fishing to diving to paddling to camping.

http://www.johnsonoutdoors.com/

off hand, I'd say they must have at least 50 brands.
that part of the multinational firm started here in the Binghamton area...they are still located there..at 625 Conklin Road, Conklin..(607-779-2200). I believe the original name of the company was Eureka tent and Awning..and was bought out at one point by Johnson..we also have DICKS SPORTING GOODS..the very first store they ever had is located here on Court street and is still there..as a matter of fact the Stack family was a lovely one-very down to earth and generous..all of my nephews worked for them, as did one of my brothers who ran the gun dept...let's just say-I wouldn't buy a thing from them. It's all marked up 300 % or more in price...
We used to camp every year and have numerous tents-all from Eureka (Johnson Outdoor)..these things have held up for YEARS. We had the best set up one could imagine for camping..right down to strategically placed tarps that would draw rain completely away from the camp sight if it rained..