Family Tent

[#fishhunt#]

I am looking into tents for our family(Wife and 2 daughters). Also for hunting. Looking for at least an 8 to 10 man and something I can stand up in. Also A full rainfly would be nice. The wife does not like the look of my blue tarp over the top of the tent we have now. It is pretty hard to find an 8-10 man with a full rain fly. Any ideas? Cabelas Alaskan 8 man looks nice. Any other pros or cons on other tents?

[echotrail]

I have the Cabelas XWT 12'x12' tent and I love it, not one complaint. It sleeps 4 adults with gear and cots very comfortably. You don't have to bend over to get in and out. It has plenty of standing head room and a 100% coverage rainfly. It tends to be a litte warmer in the summer with the dark green rainfly on but cools as the sun goes down. Depending on the weather forecast we leave the fly off. We use it into the fall hunting season with heavier sleeping bags. I didn't check Cabelas HSOforum before posting so I don't know if they are making the XWT's any more.

Tents are rated for "x number of persons" as though you are going to sleep like packed sardines while leaving your gear outside. You can't use their rating numbers to judge your comfort. It sounds like your shopping for one tent to use in two different situations.

A cooler summer family tent with some mesh roofing and a 50% to 75% coverage rainfly won't work well in colder fall/winter weather. For a tent for 8 to 10 used for hunting with gear and standing room I think you will want to look at the heavier outfitters style tents. Spend all your budget can afford for a quality tent, it's well worth it.

[Lund79]

I purchased an 8 person Kodiak canvas Flex Bow tent (10' x 14') from Cabelas last year for an X-mas present. There are only 4 of us (kids are 10 and 8) and wwe were cramped in the Alskan 6 person model so wanted the extra space. I had the Alaskan model 6 person for over 10 years and got sick of getting wet and being cramped. We can't wait to start to use it. I figured since outfitters use canvas tents due to heavier duty and harder conditions than my casual camping will be just fine. It is not a backpack tent as this is heavy due to the steel poles and canvas weight. It sets up easily and quickly.

[sunniewally]

you'll like the kodiak!!been in some real down pours and stayed dry.

[Lund79]

Wife and just put the Kodiak canvas Flex Bow tent up this weekend to "water proof" it. Manual information said to set it up and light wet it all over and then to let it dry completely before storage. By getting it wet and then drying, the fabric will shrink a little and close all the seam holes and such. I can tell you when I sprayed it down, the water was beading up and just rolling off the canvas. I am so excited about using it and not getting wet anymore. Will be using it Labor Day weekend.

[Finns]

Will be using it Labor Day weekend.

Why wait so long!

Just kidding!

[Lund79]

Nice catch Finns. Just can't seem to keep the order straight.

[Lund79]

I figured I would post an update on the 8 person Kodiak canvas Flex Bow. We have camped in it a couple of different times. This is so nice to be able to stand up in it and not being bent over.

We have a queen air mattress for the wife and I and the kids each have their own cots. The cots are nice as you can put duffle bags and such underneath them. There is room at the entrance to put shoes, lights, etc. We have a path to walk between the air mattress and the 1 cot going lengthwise. The other cot is at the door entrance going crosswise to leave us space to get in and out. Sure am glad we went with the 10'x14' instead of the smaller version. We had a heavy downpour on us 1 night and there was no sign of wetness at all on the inside. The tent did not flap in the wind. I had the awning poles staked in 2 directions so it was taut and did not come loose. This tesnt is so much more enjoyable than the Alaskan. I know we will have many enjoyable years with this.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Thanks for the update