Looking for a good tent. Wife wants to start camping again this summer. What brands do I need to look at and stay away from.

Get y'all both a quality hammock and a tarp. Thank me later.

Get a Kelty Hula House tent. I got one, and it has never leaked once. We purchased this tent because it has a full rain fly. We were road-tripping in Michigan, and a huge storm came up one night when we were camping. The tent did awesome.

This is the way to go. You can get a 2 person but it will cost you. Check out warbonnet or Hennessy hammocks if you go this route. You'll also need an under quilt, whoopie slings and tarp.
If you're set on a tent nemo losi is a good one. nemo losi 3p

What kind of camping? Like car camping where yo drive up to your spot at a state park kinda thing? Or backpacking where you have to carry your stuff in to your spot?

How many people?

Summer season, or more 4 season use?

Will you be using cots or sleeping on pads on the ground?

Will you want to hang out in tent or use it only as a sleeping space?

Do you want one set up with amenities, like prewired with outlets for fans, electric blanket use, charging stations, etc...?

What is you budget?

All these questions are important when selecting the right tent as your choice on weight and packable size, wall material, floor material, ceiling height, and comfortable size will impact things.

My suggestion is to always allow extra room in a tent. 2 people in a two person tent is snug when you add in your gear that will be inside the tent with you.

If you are backpacking, a hammock system is a great option.

If you go the hammock route, lay a quilt/blanket in it, then you get in it then use another blanket/quilt to cover up with. If you don't put the bottom layer down you'll freeze your balls off if someone blows on the side of of your hammocks

I know someone that has an outfitters tent, that goes up extremely fast, it is durable, and has only been used one time. I was the one that used it and I believe they are wanting to sell it. The paid somewhere around 600-700 dollars for it. They bought it out of Cabela's we literally put it together in like 10 minutes and I am slightly above an idiot when it comes to that stuff. had a nice floor in it, when we camped it was like 17 degrees, was comfortable with a small heater and just a touch of carbon monoxide poisoning (did not think to open vents).

All brands from box stores like cabelas, bass pro, Walmart, field and stream, dicks ect.



If it is just you two then a good 3 man tent is the best bet......trust me.


I would look for main brands associated with camping, backpacking, climbing, ect. Some good brands are mountain hardwear, Kelty, eureka, north face (I hate their clothes but they make good tents and sleeping bags), Sierra designs, marmot, and others that I can't think of off hand . There are better brands that are not heard of much but they are expensive.

Try Sierratrading post.com and campmor.com for good prices.

If you are car camping in good temperature and weather then you can get away with it being Just an ok tent. But if y'all plan to backpack in the winter or the west then a good tent will be the difference in being comfortable or miserable, and possibly alive versus fighting for life.

Straycat posted a bunch of good questions. Answer those and it can be narrowed down easier.

We have a Sierra trading post store in town and I love it. We really need more information to give you the best advice.

so many variables. need more data to make a suggestion ...

2 abuts 2 kids. Sleep and storage. Any where we go for the next couple of years will be pull up and unload. All the places to camp on my property is accessible by truck of 4 wheeler. We will be camping from early spring til late fall.

I've always wanted to take one of those Harbor Freight trailers and build a little teardrop trailer on it like this:







It would be so much better than a tent and if you were handy probably wouldn't cost too much more than one of those high end pricey models...

Ok, for car camping in southern region 3 season: Besides a high quality, rugged tent I'd look at these priorities:

#1 A Priority is Rain Protection: So you need a good coverage rain fly and a bathtub style floor. Buy the matching ground cloth!!!

#1 B Priority is Ventilation: You want air flow to decrease condensation on cool nights and not suffocate with heat during summer nights.

#2 Priority is Free standing design: You set it up and can drag and move it as you wish, then stake it down. If set up in bad spot, just unstake and then slide it over to better area and restake.

#3 Priority is size and space: Headroom is nice so you can actually stand up inside the tent. 2 adults and 2 kids: Minimum 6 person tent, but 8 person would be more enjoyable. I think they measure small Asian people who enjoy close contact when allocating their # of sleepers. We have a car camping 8 person tent for 2 adults and 2 kids. That way there is room for 4 nice cots or air mattresses, duffel bags, suitcases, backpacks, gear, box fan, etc...

#4 Priority is a Vestibule: When it rains it pours sometimes, so you want a nice big vestibule to take off shoes and put some items under cover or even cook on a small stove in the vestibule.


I've had extremely good experiences with Cabela's brand tents. We have two backpacking tents and have spent around 60 nights in them over 5 years on the trail. Still in great shape. I have friends with North Face and Marmot tents and they are equal in every way...but that is on backpacking style tents. Not sure about larger tents. Anything with a 4.5 rating on their website should be a really good choice for you.

Other considerations: 2 large doors is great! More screen the better in summer but more drafts in cool weather. Less screen is a little hotter in summer but more comfortable in cooler weather. More screen though equals less condensation if camping when cold. Water dripping on you when you sleep sucks. 4 people in a tent really give off a lot of water vapor. Kids are rough on tents, especially zippers and doorways...better quality tents just have better zippers and details at doors and windows. Cheaper tents, not so much.


Priority # 5: Never let Skinny sleep in your tent armed with a knife.

I'd check out these Cabela's models:

Cabela's West Wind Dome: 6 or 8 person
Cabela's Guardian Dome: 6 or 8

yeah, minimum six-person tent. get a big tarp, or maybe one of those open tents with the mosquito screen to put over your picnic table area for shade, and a place to play cards and such in the rain ...

Another vote for Nemo tents. I've had my Losi for several years and it's survived massive rains on the coast and several nights with a good thick frost on the ground.

Get two tarps with your tent. One for the ground and one for the rain fly. Your tent will last longer and you will actually stay dry.

I have a Coleman 2 man tent and I use it year round. I have several set ups as far as sleeping bags, but I only use the tent to sleep in and keep the rain and frost off of me at night.
If you WANT your wife to spend a lot of time with you camping, you should buy something that she will look forward to spending the weekend in. If you do NOT want her to camp with you, get a summer tent and toss it out there in the winter and let it freeze.

I got one of the Coleman Instant Tent 10 person/2 room year before last. 1 person can set it up in under a minute. I havent been through any bad weather in it yet but it has survived several trips with a couple of really rough kids. very roomy, very good ventilation and the easiest tent to setup and take down I have ever seen.