Is there a single tent that suits both of these uses?
Hey all,
I'm looking for a new tent that ideally would work well for both of these anticipated uses:
- car / backcountry-lite camping (i.e. hike or paddle a short distance to a marked campsite) for 1 adult and 2 small kids
- canoe camping for 2-3 adults (so weight/size isn't as important as for backpacking, but still don't want it to be enormous)
Everything would be in the summer/shoulder season in Ontario. So doesn't need to be warm, but good in the rain / for condensation. A good sized vestibule is a must--the kids make a giant mess taking off rain gear, and like to use their potty, and it's nice to have space for gear on canoe trips. Budget is I'd like it to be under 1k CAD.
I'm having trouble finding anything that looks good for both.
I've seen some (e.g. the MSR Habitude or NEMO Wagontop) that look great for family camping, but are too big for canoe trips. And the more backpacking-y tents (e.g. MSR Hubba) seem like they might be a bit cramped with the kids. So I'm looking at ones that are described as car camping + light backpacking (e.g. MSR Elixir and NEMO Aurora).
One thing that looks kinda interesting is the NEMO Dagger Porch. It's basically one of their backpacking tents with a giant fly. If I could also buy the regular fly, I could use that on canoe trips, and the giant one with the kids. But reviews are mixed, esp on condensation, which is important. Do you guys know of anything similar? I.e. a tent that has different configurations, so you can make it more or less family-friendly?
Or do you think I should give up on trying to find this jack of all trades tent? I could just buy a good family camping tent, and rent for canoe trips.
Posted Dec 14, 2021, 3:48 PM UTC
Yes. A few 4p tents can do this.I would not do a 3p tent with 3 people.
The Marmot Tungsten UL 4p - 5lbs
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 4p - 5lbs
Sierra Designs Meteor 4p -6lbs
Tarptent Hogback 4p - 4lbs
Tarptent Rainshadow 3p or Cloudburst 3p -about 3lbs
Zpacks Triplex - 2lbs
The Zpacks and Tarptent tents are single walled tents, while the Zpacks is also a trekking pole A frame shelter and is very expensive. Zpacks is about $800 and the Tarptent stuff is $400ish.
The Marmot and Big Agnes Tents are pricey as well at about $500 and use thinner 20d polyester (Marmot) or nylon (Big Agnes) fabrics.
The Sierra Designs tent is going to be the most affordable at about $300 on sale. Its the heaviest of the bunch, but won't be too bad of you can get the kids to carry the tent poles and/or rainfly while backpacking.
I own the Meteor 4p. It is my preferred summer car camping tent.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CampingGear/comments/mzf5gw/sierra_designs_meteor_4p_l_scored_for_260_new_at/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
You also need to carefully measure the sleeping pads you use. It might not be possible to use 3x 25" wide pads in many 4p tents and Definitely not in a 3p tent.
I'd second the Tarptent hogback for space and weight. It's good and waterproof, but you can also take the top off and have it be just a mesh tent if you want to watch the stars. There would be plenty of room for 3 people plus gear inside the tent.
The tarptent cloudburst is good too, but smaller. It has two vestibules where you would probably put gear so the tent isn't too crowded inside. I would get it if you want to save weight of ver the Hogback and its cheaper too I think, but both of them are nowhere near $1,000.
Thanks, this (and u/Coronal_Data's reply) are super helpful!
I'm checking out the Tarptent hogback and cloudburst now. The hogback is a cool design--those corner poles are genius--and looks like it would be super easy to set up solo, which is a major factor for me, given than my assistants often make things harder, lol. Cloudburst vestibules look more functional to me (I want that gross potty out of the tent, lol), which is tempting.
Also checking out the Sierra designs one. All of these are so light that weight's not a big differentiator. (I mean my crazy-light new innegra-basalt canoe is still almost 40 pounds, so a 2-3 pound difference is nothing in comparison). It's more like the tents I grew up with--freestanding, i.e. put up the interior, then add the fly over. Which sucks if you're pitching in the rain. But doesn't need to be as well staked down. We're in Canadian shield territory, so I have an immediate distrust of tents that really need stakes for support. But maybe that's irrational. I see lots of pics of euro-style tents in the mountains, where they must have problems with that.
The Tarptent stuff is really high quality stuff. The Hogback in particular has the ability to get both the mesh and partial solid inner tents. If you can afford both options I would get both inner tents. Solid inner and partial inners dramatically increase comfort on cold weather and do a great job at blocking snow, sleet etc and also have a small improvement in increasing tent internal temperatures.
I own the Marmot Fortress 3p and the solid inner is much much nicer in the winter.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CampingGear/comments/n8ssyf/marmot_fortress_3p_setup_in_the_backyard_to_test/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Now for the elephant in the room. Import duty. It sounds like you are from Canada. Canadians get screwed really bad on duty and taxes from the Candian government. Of course it depends on where you live; Alberta is much better than Prince Edward Island or British Columbia for taxes etc. Tarptent advertises that their tents are "sewn in Seattle". If this makes the tent made in the USA then you can qualify for NAFTA and you can eliminate duty. Make sure to have Tarptent fill out the NAFTA export paperwork and the Commercial Invoice to specifically state that the item is made in the US.
For Sierra Designs there are a few retailers that sell in Canada. I believe Altitude and SAIL both sell Sierra Designs. MEC does not sell Sierra Designs. You can also buy and ship to a My US Address location and pickup in the States but the whole Covid situation can make that tricky to do now.
Pretty much everything they said.