tents

[Powerstroke]

REI makes the Taj. I've only added seam sealer to my older tents. I've never added any waterproofing to my REI tents, or the MSR tents or the Big Agnes tents that my friends have.

[amateurfishing]

i researched this topic for 3 months last year (for family of 5)

went to every sporting good retailer, checked what brands they sold, how they were made, features, etc. then would go online to check all reviews. for a family of 5 (with a picky wife and no camping knowledge or experience) and all of my personal research, everything eventually came down to getting something at REI. Even though spendy, reviews came down to off the chart great. From there it was make/model for our growing family of 5. We considered 3 season to summer only, overall size, storage capacity, durability, storageability, compactness, etc. We ended up eyeing the Ransom 6 as our target with vestubule & optional garage. Then just ended up waiting till we had $$ and it ended up going on clearance last fall (ended up saving over $250 with entire package of tent, pad, & garage). Put it up for fun to test last year & kids absolutely loved it. We were looking for plenty of storage to "grow into" and also extra room if ever caught in inclement weather so large vestibule & extra storage garage were a must for us. I know u r not looking for anything this big but thought u may like my research "process". Online customer reviews always came up as lighter, better made, & worth the $$ which really impressed us as novices.

[john skarie]

I've owned tents from REI, Eureka, and Sierra Desings over the years.

They were all very good in some respects. The REI and Sierra Designs were lighter, stronger and more durable. They also cost more.

Right now I'm shopping for a new tent that will fit my family of 4 and our dog. Looks like either an REI or Kelty will fit the bill for me.

JS

[Redlantern]

If you want to buy an REI tent that is rated as four season tent, you might want to reconsider. I had an issue with them a few years back. The tent worked great as a three season tent. But it was rated as a four season tent. Shock cords were not meant for four seasons. Tent had NO stretch in it. Could barely get the tent up in ten below weather. I was not happy with it. Hopefully things have changed for REI in the last ten years, If not, hang on to your receipt.

[schweady]

Check out the Eureka Sunrise series. There are 3 sizes and they are great tents. I have the 9x9 and 11x11 models. They also make a 8x8. A trip to Cabelas is also a good bet. REI was some nice tents, but spendy. You could also check Campmor.

I am narrowing down the models to consider for our group's BWCA trips, mainly basecamp affairs, and the Eureka Sunrise 9 is still on the short list. Its design with windows to look out on all 4 sides is appealing. It is the exact dimensions of the bargain model we are replacing (Mountain Tek/Cascade/NorthPole design), but the 16 lbs 14 oz. is more than 3 lbs heavier than what we have now. It stays on the list because it has the the heavier 210D polyester oxford flooring material that we currently have, otherwise we might settle for the Eureka Tetragon 9 or an ALPS Meramac 5 (8x10), both of which have the coated taffeta flooring like the walls.

Any other 9x9 models with a 6ft center height that have the heavier floor material?

[Powerstroke]

Hopefully things have changed for REI in the last ten years, If not, hang on to your receipt.

I think everything has changed in the last 10yrs. I know personally, I've used two of my three REI tents for winter camping with no problems. My older one does use shock corded poles, but that has nothing to do with the stretch of the tent. The poles go through sleeves in the tent. Both of my newer tents, and most of the new designs, use a hub style pole setup that you set up the poles then clip the tent to the pole.

I find pros with both designs. I like the sleeves because it makes one person setup very easy. I like the hub/clip design because the poles are a single piece. I've had no problems with either design.

AS far as saving your receipt, they have a lifetime warranty on everything they sell.

[Redlantern]

The shock cords in the poles were not meant for winter use. Imagine having the shock cords so loose that you can't put the poles together. There was so much slack in them in the winter that it made using them nearly impossible. The tent fabric and tabs with grommets were too stiff and inflexible to allow for setting the tent up in the cold. Hard to describe. This was a dome tent with sleeves for the poles. They did treat me right when it came to returning the tent. I ended up with a Mountain Hardware tent. Plenty happy with that for winter camping.

[Powerstroke]

Well, most elastic cords lose their stretchyness in cold weather. I didn't think of what you described. I can see that being a real pain.

[john skarie]

The shock cord gets ruined because you need to store your poles extended, not folded up. That stretches them out so they don't contract like they do when new.

You should always store you tent and rainfly in a large box or something other than the sruff sack as well. Don't leave them in the stuff sacks.

Another thing many people do is fold or roll up tents when putting them in the stuff sack. This puts stress on the same areas over an over. You should literally stuff the tent and fly in the stuff sack.

Doing these things will make you tent and poles last much longer.

If your poles do lose elastisity, you can send them in and get new shock-cord put in for free if you buy from a quality manufacturer.

JS

[sunniewally]

you can buy heaver shock cords at the hardware store and replace them your self. very easy to do. had a eureka space 11 for a couple decades and replaced them almost right away and never had an issue with them, and i used the tent alot. were still good after the tent was finally getting pretty weak. tore pretty easy.

[Redlantern]

Thing is this was a new tent in the summer, and the poles were kept unfolded while in storage. Buying heavier shockcord didn't appeal to me since the tent was marketed as a four season tent. Haven't had any trouble with my Mountain Hardware tent.