Tents

[Bruno]

So I found myself in charge of buying my nephew a tent. My sister pays the bill and I just buy. Don't know much about them anymore as I have been using the same old Kelty tent for the past 20 years.

I would like to get him a 2/3 man tent of some good quality. I am leaning towards the kelty tents but wanted to throw it out there and see what you all like.

 

[bikerfish]

kelty or eureka, both decent priced and decent quality.
check out campmor.com.
I use a eureka apex 2xt, super easy to put up, never leaked, two doors, 2 vestibules. perfect size for one person, ok with two people. I'm sure they make a bigger one for 3.
might be able to find one at dicks or dunhams.

 

[jdaddy]

Check out Sierra Trading Post. Lots of Kelty on their. Make sure you google for discount codes prior to buying as you can always get another 20-40% off the sale price.

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/search/SearchResults.aspx?allwords=Tent&searchdescriptions=True

 

[tocar]

Another vote for Kelty. Bought mine in the early '90's and it's still in great shape.

peace-tony c.

 

[pcray1231]

Not suggesting this for your nephew, I'd go nylon all the way there.

But I've had several nylon tents in the last 5-10 years, including a Cabelas brand, Eureka, and I think a Coleman. I've been having problems with the waterproofness of them. They're good for about 3 or 4 multi-day trips (meaning 1-2 years total for me) before they start leaking, and I don't mean that there's a tear or something, I mean the nylon stops being waterproof. Don't know if its UV damage or what. Anyone else have this problem?

Now entering the tent market and determining whether to go nylon again, or something else. Nylon is cheap, light, easy to put up, etc., and I could just consider it a consumable. But I was thinkin about goin with a good canvas tent which I suspect would last a lot longer. I do mostly car camping anyway, and I could hold onto my current nylon one for hikes, assuming no rain. Any thoughts?

 

[tocar]

A good rain fly is essential. I slept in my Kelty every Jam I attended and not once did I get wet (at least while sleeping ;-)).
Something else to consider is whether or not hiking is invovled. While my tent is consider a "hiker", I wouldn't want to carry the load for a long hike.

peace-tony c.

 

[Acristickid]

As with many posts- more information is needed to provide better answers.

Will this be used for backpacking trips?

Lighter is better which probably means more expensive.

Two vestibules is nice- one for gear/pack storage and the other to get in and out of the tent.

However; if your nephew takes hikes with 1 or 2 other folks- they could spilt up the tent in order to carry a heavier tent. More room and luxury.

1 guy takes the poles another takes the fly and yet another carrys the tent. If you can divide the tent up the possibilities of choices are great- I would prefer a freestanding tent that was tall enough to stand up in. Easy to change clothes that way and avoids claustrophobia- especially when it rains for several days which is a reality hiking in PA.

If not a backpacking tent and more of a car camping tent- they tend to not be as expensive and again a vast amount of choices. If they are not camping on an exposed face with lots of wind just about any style tent will work.

Another question would be- Are they looking for a 4 season tent, 3 season or just a summer tent. If winter was included I would not get and all mesh tent as they tend to be cold.

Agree with Campmor and SierraTP- have bought many items at both outlets.

I use a Kelty Yellowstone 6 tent for fishing trips. Used it for a 2 and half month fishing trip to Montana, in addition to hundreds of other camp outs. It is car camping tent really.

I like a big tent- this Kelty tent has enough room and I can stand up in it to change. It fits my 7 foot long cot. Have never been wet in this tent. However; when I camped at Cottonwood Camp on the Bighorn where is it very flat and the wind can howl- my tent because of it's large profile caught alot of wind but that situation was kind of an anomaly.

Good luck- hope this helped.

 

[pratt]

check out campmor 'hot deals' section - they usually have some really good deals going on last years models..

be sure to get a footprint that matches the tent

I currently use an REI tent for car camping & a northface tent for backpacking (got that for hefty discount from campmor), and both are great.....

agree with the previous comments re: vestibules - I would make sure whatever you buy has one (or two). When it's wet/muddy/rainy (snowy?), you won't regret having them for storing boots, etc.

 

[brianb]

I have had the Eureka K-2 XT tent for over 12 years. I have taken on many backpacking trips through absolute monsoons, cooked dinner in the vestibule and basically lived in it until the rain would subside. Expensive? Hell yes but if your not payin who cares haha. I think a tent that lasts that long is well worth the extra coinage especially if it will be used hard.

not sure how to post the links so copy and paste
http://store.eurekatent.com/products/364769/K-2_XT_Tent