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Thread: Best large tent?

  1. #21
    Vaughn's Avatar
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    Re: Best large tent?

    I would have chimed in earlier, but I was thinking changing bag sort of tents. This is what we got for car-camping with our triplets. Well made, very roomy. We bought ours about 15 years ago, so the tent names have changed, more sizes, but looks about the same. My ex has it now. We did break a pole when we set it up at Zion without guide ropes. I left for the day to photograph and a thunderstorm came through with high winds. Tent came with a repair kit, so it was fine for the rest of the trip.

    An old packer I met just used canvas -- he'd re-coat every once in a while with Thompson Water Seal.

    http://www.pahaque.com/pq/product.as...ret_id=1455119
    "Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China

  2. #22
    M.A. Wikstrom
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    Re: Best large tent?

    I've had a Kodiak canvas tent for 3 or 4 years. Mine has been through high winds, torrential downpours, and heavy snow-loads. Never a problem. I'm 6' and there's plenty of headroom standing anywhere inside the tent. With two cots there's still enough room for a small table and chairs. It weighs about 70 pounds, but goes up in less than 15 minutes if I'm by myself and about ten with a helper.

  3. #23
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: Best large tent?

    I've used a 2-person Big Agnes for 10 or more years now. Great tent: quick set-up and tear-down, roomy for two, dries quickly, lightweight and packs compact. It does have a "thin" floor as Drew mentions but as with all tents you should use a ground cloth to prevent small holes from developing. Once, while bicycling up the Spanish Mediterranean with an Australian cyclists, he complained about ants getting into his tent. The bottom of his tent - much thicker than the Agnes - was full of small holes where they could crawl through and was a result of not using a ground cloth.

    The most utilitarian ground cloth I've found was a military tropical weight poncho. Not only does it serve as a ground cover for the tent but as a rain poncho to cover you and your gear - down to the mid part of lower part shins so expect from there to the ground to get wet. It also works as a lean-to (which is how I used it while on active duty) and two snaps together to make a regular tent with common floor. Very lightweight and packs compactly - I usually wrap it around the air mattress when backpacking.

    Thomas

  4. #24

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    Re: Best large tent?

    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck S. View Post
    Google "traditional wall tent". Had a 4 or 6-man to myself when I spent a summer in BC decades ago, where I only moved camp every week or so. Plenty of standing room, and ability to put folding table & chair, cot, etc. close to vertical sides. Front canopy made for a porch. Would have max. room for sharing. Might take a bit longer to erect & take down, but not tent origami by any means. Did it by myself.
    +1 for the traditional wall tent. You can build a metal frame from electrical conduit, or use timber lashings for extra strength since you won't be back packing. Montana Canvas has a factory surplus store that sells returned tents you can get at a substantial discount. Relite fabric is a lightweight alternative to canvas.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  5. #25
    chassis's Avatar
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    Re: Best large tent?

    For almost 20 years we have had an 8 person Eureka tent, similar to the Copper Canyon model. An 8 person tent similar to the Eureka design and square footage would fit your requirements in the original post. Agree that the Eureka colors seem odd these days.

    Cabela's wall tents are good options, heavy though.

  6. #26

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    Re: Best large tent?

    The canvas tents are great but exceedingly heavy. Some of them you can't lift by yourself! Plus they rarely have sewn in floors which I think is a must, especially where there are snakes or other hazards. Someone else mentioned Eureka. They are great and hold up well. Big Agnes are good as well. Even REI has some good tents.
    Alexis

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  7. #27

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    Re: Best large tent?

    Darin,

    Regarding rain, here is what I learned from the kayakers in the Humbolt area: set your tent up under a large tarp. One guy took it a bit farther - he pulled his small pickup with camper shell under a tarp!

    Gregg W

  8. #28

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    Re: Best large tent?

    Quote Originally Posted by fralexis View Post
    The canvas tents are great but exceedingly heavy. Some of them you can't lift by yourself! Plus they rarely have sewn in floors which I think is a must, especially where there are snakes or other hazards. Someone else mentioned Eureka. They are great and hold up well. Big Agnes are good as well. Even REI has some good tents.
    I agree that modern tents are sure convenient, but for long term camping in one place, wall tents and miner's tents rock. They can also be made of Re-lite fabric which is considerably lighter than canvas. With a sod cloth and separate floor, I haven't had problems with serpentine trespassers and the separate floor keeps tents much cleaner than bathtub floors. Also if a bear decides to join you, it's easier to quickly get out of a wall tent, LOL!
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  9. #29

    Re: Best large tent?

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  10. #30
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Best large tent?

    Depends what you're doing, whether car camping, horse packing, backpacking, the terrain and weather, how often you need to pack up and relocate etc. I used to get quite annoyed when one could still stumble onto those huge Sierra Club horse convoys or invasions in some back country meadow, where they had canvas dining tents, outhouse tents, portable canvas picnic tables, even a little prop-up canvas snack store replete with canvas shelves. But all of that canvas gear was certainly tough and dependable year after year. I was too poor back then to have anything more than an oversized nylon poncho, unsnapped and draped over a suspended line.

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