New Tent For My Birthday
I received some money for my birthday and decided to spend some of it on a new Tent. My current tent, nicknamed the Taj Mahal because if it’s size, is a monster. At 10 feet wide by 15 feet long and standing over 7 feet tall it is difficult to set up by yourself. It is also heavy weighing in at over 50lbs! My current tent is the Cougar Flats Tent made by Columbia. I posted the manufacturer’s picture for you.
A frustrating downside to this tent design is the partial fly. Notice how the windows and doors are not covered by the fly? Rain never falls straight down, it always comes in from the side. Many times when you are camping the only dry place you have is your tent. If you have inadequate rain protection in your tent you end up with no dry place to stay. I like to do a lot of camping during the fall and spring so rain protection is of the utmost importance for me.
Determining my needs was pretty easy, finding a decent tent that fit those needs for a decent price wasn’t. I want a tent that:
- I can stand up in
- Is big enough for my sizable cot
- Has a rain fly that comes down to the ground on all sides
- Is easy for one person to set up
- Is light enough that I can carry it for some distance without effort
The Taj Mahal Cougar Flats Tent is so heavy the case for it has wheels like you find on large rolling luggage! After much searching I found a couple of options from Cabela’s and REI, most over $500.oo. I ended up choosing the REI Basecamp 6 tent because REI offers a good tent and it was on sale this month to members at 20% off. I just placed the order in fact. Here is a random picture of an REI Basecamp 6 (not ours) I picked up off the web.
Notice how the fly comes down all the way to the ground! It also has a nice vestibule area where you can leave your dirty shoes out of the tent but still keep them dry. I actualy set up this tent at a local store. It was easy to set up by myself due to the free standing dome design. I also checked out the carry bag which has nice wide straps for carrying. With the fly this tent weighs in around 25lbs, half the weight of the Taj Mahal. I can’t wait to try it out! 
Note: This is my heavy camping gear for when Jenn comes along. When I go by my self I use only the Hennessy Hammock for shelter. If you haven’t checked out the Hennessy Hammock Website you should. it is the best piece of camping equipment I have ever purchased! 
So, who out there likes to camp? What kind of tent do you use?
- Sean
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[...] New Tent For My Birthday [...]
I have a northface tent. it is a 2 person tent, which means it is great for one. it is small, but likewise has a covered area for shoes etc to keep inside clean from tracked in dirt. Only problem… it is short and can’t stand up. also being small means hot. I like it, most days and very rain proof.
Our other tent is just a standard 6 person (means 4) which is not a great tent, but ok for good weather camping. small fly doesn’t cover windows. but it is tall enough to stand and has 4 sides, 4 windows for cross ventilation.
with little ones, we don’t camp much, but plan on starting again in a couple years. not sure if we will remain tent campers or not. i probably will never switch back to loving campers. my family started in the back of a truck our first year under the topper thing. then we got a pop up trailer. then a Moss tent for 6, big behemoth canvas tent, weighed 75+ lbs. then 2 small tents. opposite evolution of most camping families.
t
Tom, what did you do with that heavy-ass Moss tent?
Nice tent! Looks like a four season? Don’t forget the seam sealer! After having kids I had to buy a family tent to accomidate bady items and all the other stuff, but worth it to get out with the family. I still have my two small tents but these days I just take the Silnylon rainfly and use my trekking poles to set-up.
Dan
What do you use to keep the bugs away?
- Sean
If not cold enough to keep bugs at bay, I’ve used a screen like the ones you hang over a cot. They weigh next to nothing and installs rather easily with the fly as it has some loops for attaching to the body of the tent itself. If lots rain is coming I can always bring the body and poles, depending who’s with me? This does pose some breathablilty issues that most mountaineers find with using a single wall tent. If weather is fair, I just pitch it wide to allow the air to move on through…Dan