I'm looking for a good tent to hold our 3 person family (and dog).  Some of the features I'd like:

- Tall enough to stand up in (I'm 6' 2") but stable enough to handle a Quilomene style wind.

- Roomy enough for three cots (most likely we'll only have one cot, but you never know).

- Easy to setup including the rainfly.

- Breathes well

- Medium sized vestibule where we can take shoes and other muddy gear on/off at.

So far the REI Hobitat 4 is on my list, although it doesn't have a vestibule.  Any suggestions or reccomendations?

Craig

We have the REI basecamp 4.

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=47612028&parent_category_rn=4500537&vcat=REI_SSHP_REI_TOC

So far we are really happy with it.  It has worked well in hot and cold weather with all 4 of us and all our gear.  The top is completely mesh on two sides so it vents well and the rain fly is very good coverage for a large family tent.  The rainfly also has pop-up sections that you can open if you need better ventilation.  The rainfly has a full vestibule at one end and a "mini" vestbule at the other end.  both can be opened in the center, left, or right hand sides so you can easily create a wind/rain break in any condition.  It has held up very nicely so far in windy conditions. 

We may have to move up to the basecamp 6 now with the new critter.

Rick

Rick,

Is that tent tall enough for you to stand up in? Would it fit 3 cots?

I just noticed that my Mountain Hardware Trango 3.1 also comes in a Trango 4.0, but it isn't tall enough to stand in or use cots in. 

Craig

Peak height in the "4" is 5 feet and in the "6" it is 6' 1". Maybe not as tall as you'd like but anything taller than that is going to be a serious liability in any kind of wind and tough to keep warm in cold weather. I've never felt cramped in the "4" but I'm used to being in a 2 man Mountain Hardwear. We have put an inflatable bed in our "4" with room enough for another sleeping pad (possibly two) beside the inflatable bed. It is a pretty good compromise tent. Tall enough but not some monstrosity that blows flat in a heavy wind, roomy enough but it still fits in a small area and tough enough with good rain coverage without paying for a bombproof expedition tent.


Go sit inside one and imagine the smell of a campfire and the puppy running around your feet.

Or you could come by some time and we can set mine up so that you can go through the putting it up and taking it down.  Heck, with the newborn, we won't be using it for a little while so you can borrow it if you want.  Let me know if you are interested.

Rick

www.tinyurl.com  ;)

The cool thing about that tent is that it is apparently fireproof too (see the pic in the link).  More seriously though, that tent looks pretty good.  I'm a bit skeptical of the "Cabelas" brand though.  Did it rain or blow hard while you guys were out in it?

Craig