Looking for a TENT!

Anyone have a good recommendation for a great 2-person camping TENT that will fit in my -8?

We have a great store up here in Canada called Mountain Equipment Co-op. Extremely high quality outdoors stuff.


Here is a link to one of their two person tents. 6 lbs, and the packed size is 6"x18".

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302702837&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442592389&bmUID=1146761905425

Enjoy

Almost any dome tent will fit in a -8. The question should be on how many people in the tent. If the answer is '1', then a 2-man, if the answer is '2', then a 3-4man. The biggest 3-4man I saw (packed) was 7"x30" so figure 8"x32" on a repack.

Greg Piney
RV-8 2547
Starting Empennage

Oh, one of the best places on the net to shop for camping gear is

www.campmor.com

They carry just about everyting you could possibly need and many many brands. Even if you don't by from them it is a good place to learn about things.

Don't know if you have REI out there, but I just got their mailer saying that they'll be having their biggest sale of the year May 5 through May 14. I've got no particular recommendations on a tent, but they have a ton of really cool stuff.

www.rei.com

I agree, any two man dome tent will fit. We've got a Diamond Brand that's worked fine for about 10 years now. On their website they say the standard 2-man is 6"x22", special duty 2-man is 7"x22", and special duty 4-man is 8"x22". Below are some links to pictures from OSH last year.

Here's where we set up camp.

The tent is in the front baggage compartment under the sleeping bag, air matress, towels and tool bag.

The rear baggage compartment held all of the clothes, food, blankets, camera bag and other sleeping bag.

Good thing Diana weighs next to nothing.

gpiney said:

Oh, one of the best places on the net to shop for camping gear is

www.campmor.com

They carry just about everyting you could possibly need and many many brands. Even if you don't by from them it is a good place to learn about things.

Click to expand...

I'd second campmor. They have great deals on their website (look under the "Hot Deals" section) on closeouts of the major brands that REI also carries, but for much less. They are also very prompt and have good customer service. Almost any good backpacking/camping store is going to give you packed sizes and weight as well as the "footprint" size of the tent. Remember, that "2-man" or "3-man" is a relative term. If you're taking it to fly-ins, probably a larger footprint would be more comfortable without increasing the packed size or weight that much... it's not like you'll be carrying it on your back! Good luck.

I second the 'buy a 3-4 man for 2 people'. From the rei-outlet.com site:

Big Agnes Sunnyside 3 Tent - Special Buy
Price: $169.93 Item 735113
* Compare At: $279.00 You Save: 39%

6 lbs. 9 oz.
90" x 80" Floor size
Packs to 8"x23"

There are others, but this looks like a good tent. I lean toward backpacking tents, but if you're willing to go goofy and get a 'family' style tent, there are pretty nice 4 person tents on that site that are cheaper, bigger and heavier.

Eureka!

I'll post a "third" for Campmor as far as having a broad range of gear in the catalog. If you are tenting, don't forget the thermarest sleeping pad!

I have owned a "twin hoop" type of tent (like Mark posted earlier in the thread) for 25 years. Mine was a self sewn kit (Frostline) and was bulletproof until the poles were damaged by a trip over one of the many guy lines at OSH last year. Even without the accident, I think the abundance of guy lines is the only downside to that style of tent.

Consider the Eureka brand. My scout troop (and many others) use the Eureka Timberline with a vestibule as the standard gear. The quality is excellent and the company stands by their products in a big way. The Timberline is a conventional "A" frame but is self standing like a dome. Eureka makes domes too. Manufacturing is in Binghampton NY. I used to make the annual 4 hr wee morning trek to the Mfg store in Feb to get some serious deals on factory seconds. There was always a line at the door on that frigid morning.

I see their site shows dealerships in Tulsa by the name Oshman's if that means anything to you.

Good luck in your search!

I have one of the Eurekas:

http://www.eurekatent.com/pinnaclepass2xta3xta.asp

It is tight for two people, but I've camped in it with a buddy and we didn't wake up spooning or anything. Also, it has doors on both sides and vestibules on both sides. The vestibules are very handy for storing things out of the weather, but also not inside the sleeping area. I usually tuck my cooler, clothes bags, shoes, etc. in the vestibules. This tent held up very well at Oshkosh last year when a big T-storm blew through on Monday evening. Most of our neighbors were pouring out their tents on Tuesday morning and laying out their stuff to dry. Not us. The eureka stayed dry as a bone.

As pointed out earlier in the thread, REI has some nice offerings.

If you have the weight/space, two people will be very comfortable in a 3 or 4 man tent.

If you have a choice, go with a tent that has aluminum poles. Fiberglass poles are heavier, tend to split, and bend far more in windstorms.

A nice add to any camping set-up is a self-inflating mattress. I have a couple of the larger/heavier offerings (although they weigh under 4 lbs apiece) and think the comfort more than makes up for the extra couple of pounds versus some lightweight foam mattress or a thin self-inflating mattress.

Also try Cabela's. Some of the stuff I have bought there has been first rate.

See: http://www.cabelas.com/home.jsp;jsessionid=KCBX0V5BIXZPZTQSNOECCO4OCJVYWIWE?_requestid=74923

If you want the best? http://www.warmlite.com/tents.htm

Expensive.

Larry

how about this

I'm not much of a camper, but I was looking at (one or two) of these:

http://www.tentcot.com/standard1.htm

Not sure of the weight or if it will fit when folded up, into an RV.

Armlite Tents Web Site

If you want the best? http://www.warmlite.com/tents.htm. SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO GO TO THIS WEB SITE BE FOREWARNED. WHEN YOU CLICK ON THE INDEX AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE IT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE MAIN WEB SITE. THE MODELS USED ON THE WEB OR NUDE.

Thanks for the input

I was one of those 'neighbors' that spent Tue pouring water out of my tent. After the show, I folded it up and deposited it into a nearby dumpster.

I just ordered a Eureka Pinnacle Pass 3 XTA tent from Campmor.

Definitely get one with lots of ventilation and a rain fly on it. Put a groundcloth (or tarp) under the tent and make sure its edges don't extend beyond the floor of the tent (otherwise it will catch rain and transport it under the floor). Fold the edges up and back under the tent.

And one last thing - don't let objects in the tent (shoes, packs, sleeping bags, etc..) touch the side of the tent while it's raining. That messes with the surface tension and can cause water to wick into the tent. That's another good reason to have a 3-4 man tent for two people. Stake it to the ground and get everything as taut as possible.

Cabella's has a tent "Cabella's XPG Ultralite #2" that weighs 3 lbs. This is what I use.

But then I carry a full size air mattress that weighs about 15 lbs as a foundation. Any suggestions on how to do this differently?

As someone who does a LOT of backpacking I would like to add my $.02 regarding tent selection.

There are a good number of lightweight backpacker tents (stoves, mattress pads, etc.) out there.

The lightest weight tents tend to be single walled tents. I have one and it works just OK. The problem with single wall tents is they don't breathe as well as double walled tents. Double walled tents are usually those with rain flies and lots of vents at the top to let moisture out.

Single walled tents tend to collect moisture on the inside wall which will drip on you even during a dry night. In the winter you will notice this as ice forming on the inside of the tent.

As for the types of supports, get a free standing tent, one which requires only a limited number of stakes to stay erect. Most tents come with simple aluminum stakes that are not much better than nails. These will not work in sand and will bend if you push them into a rock. Free standing tents are just easier to erect in the varied conditions you might encounter. Don't worry about a vestibule, although nice when backpacking, you can store stuff in your plane at night.

Go to your local camping store and ask the staff to show you how to set it up. That will make life much easier!

Plastic sheet cut to the size of the tent works as a very good moisture barrier but for backpacking I like to use Tyvek, the white stuff they rap houses with. It is both waterproof and very light.

Mattress pads are a personal choice. The self inflating types are very nice and comfortable but I prefer a Z-Lite as they can't pop as my self inflating mattress did in the middle of the desert.

Bill aka guide for Extreme Outdoors Adventures when I?m not working on my -9.

I'm lazy, so I like the easy up hinged pole design on this one:

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39204511&memberId=12500226

Doug, from personal exp at OSH, Eureka tents are crap. Really. Have a cloumbia boogaboo. Great tent, very portable and super well made. It will stand up to most storms well. I usually bail out friends when their eureka rigs are blown away and torn. No, I am not kidding. Lots of ventilation and very compact to transport. Has more poles cross wise than the usual X poles which are not very stable in a storm and get blown over. Very waterpoof when used over a floor liner. Comes with a battery powered light inside that you can turn on with a small keychain sized remote.
I know, you have just ordered a Eureka, but maybe you can exchange. The Columbia ones are worth it.