Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

[sunnymw]

Title says it all.

We have 2 adults and one kid in a pack & play (soon to be a sleeping bag on a small mat, she is 2.5yo). The 2 boys (age 5 and 7) are in another tent but in case of major rain I need us to all pile somewhere. We camp in GA and FL state parks, several times per year, usually 3 nights at a time. This year we will start cub scout camps as well.

We are 5'6 and 5'7.

Which one would YOU get and why?

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

I think you will be happy either way. I just chose Marmot over REI branded tents, due to the REI warranty change. The REI warranty used to be lifetime, any reason, no questions asked. Now it is one year. That is why I chose Marmot over REI. REI tents are nice, I bought my step son one, and it is an awesome tent. I just picked up a Marmot tent and was impressed with it. It seems like both are going to be priced the same, once you add the stuff to the Kingdom, and add the Footprint to the Halo.
Since price is the same, I would go on reviews for both, warranty period and amount of external storage. Halo's vestibule vs the kingdom garage.

[sunnymw]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

Okay... I'm confused about the warranty thing.

REI:

Limited Warranty
If your item has a manufacturing defect in its materials or workmanship, you can return it at any time. Many of our items also have a separate warranty from the manufacturer, and you can also return any of those items that don’t meet the manufacturer's warranty.

This limited warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may have other rights which vary from state to state.

Marmot:

Warranty Policy

We warrant every product we make to be free of manufacturer defects. Should you have a warranty issue, return the item to us. We will repair it if possible or replace all valid warranty items.

California law states that products accepted for review must be clean. Please clean your Marmot product before returning it to us or cleaning charges must be assessed before a review can be made. It's not just the law — we don't like stinky product. Normal wear and tear, modifications, alterations, negligence, damage and use for a purpose other than for which it was designed, are not covered by the Marmot Warranty.

REI's regular return policy is where they have the 1 year thing listed. Other than that, I'm not seeing any difference??

[hwc1954]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

I like both of those tents. Either one would be great.

Advantages to the Marmot: It's bigger. It's easier to set up, especially with one person. It doesn't have the room divider, which I think would just get in the way. It will be more stable in the wind. Two full doors and vestibules on both ends will make it very convenient for multiple people or setting up a cross breeze. Very high quality tent. I've got the Marmot Halo 4 and am totally impressed with the design and quality.

Advantages to the REI: The Garage Vestibule is very nice, a plus on a rainy day -- although that combo is going to be large enough to be hard to fit on some small sites. I love how easy it is to roll up the rainfly on either or both sides.

If you keep looking this fall, it should be possible to find the Marmot for under $400.

-----------

I think warranty and customer service would be good on either one. I was missing one small paracord toggle on my Marmot Thor tent. I called them and a FedEx envelope arrived a couple of days later with the missing piece. REI would be similar, plus the ability to return it for up to a year.

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

I am sorry, if it is the return policy that they changed. It used to be lifetime and they changed it to a 1 year return limit. I guess people were taking advantage of it. Still, when I became a member, the return policy justified paying the extra money for REI stuff. Now not so much.

[sunnymw]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

No need to apologize, I just couldn't figure out what the actual difference was.
The wording seems the same, but if you guys have found it to be different in PRACTICE, that would be good to know

[hwc1954]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

BTW, one feature that may not seem immediately beneficial on the Halo 6 is that the big ground level mesh vents can be zipped closed. With these openings on both sides zipped closed, the only mesh is the top half of the doors and the ceiling -- nothing below waist height. When I slept in the Halo 4 temps in the 40s, this made a big difference. I think it extends the cool weather comfort of the tent signficantly, while still giving good ventilation in hot weather.

I also love that the doors can just be stuffed behind the mesh side pockets when they are opened. Easy to get them quickly out of the way without having to fiddle with rolling them up and toggling them off or just leaving them flapping around under foot.

[tplife]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

They are both quality tents, but opening up your 6-man options to other quality companies might get you a better discount. EMS, Sierra Designs, Mountain HardWear, and Northface come to mind as companies that provide the same quality of product and warranty. Our Sierra Designs tents have the same features but were a lot less expensive due to production volumes and Ebay auctions for new w/tags tents. Your discriminating eye for quality will prove very valuable in cost/use, and more importantly, wind and rain integrity. More shopping may also narrow your decision of REI vs. Marmot for your particular needs.

[sunnymw]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

They are both quality tents, but opening up your 6-man options to other quality companies might get you a better discount. EMS, Sierra Designs, Mountain HardWear, and Northface come to mind as companies that provide the same quality of product and warranty. Our Sierra Designs tents have the same features but were a lot less expensive due to production volumes and Ebay auctions for new w/tags tents. Your discriminating eye for quality will prove very valuable in cost/use, and more importantly, wind and rain integrity. More shopping may also narrow your decision of REI vs. Marmot for your particular needs.

I'm basically looking for something that has a basic footprint of 10x10 or smaller (not including vestibules), sleeps six comfortably (well, 2 adults, 1 pack & play, and a bunch of STUFF), and has a center height over 6', preferably over an area big enough for both adults to stand up.

We camp in Florida in the summer. It's HOT. We keep a box fan inside the tent too. But it also rains on a dime where we go, so I like being able to partially remove rain flies for quick and easy access when it is needed.

[sarahspins]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

I am sorry, if it is the return policy that they changed. It used to be lifetime and they changed it to a 1 year return limit. I guess people were taking advantage of it. Still, when I became a member, the return policy justified paying the extra money for REI stuff. Now not so much.

Yes, but you can still return anything that is defective at any time - what you can't do now is buy something, then 2 years later change your mind about owning it because you want something else, and return it. That was the problem that led to the policy change. They still stand behind their products 100%.

For a vast majority of people the return policy changes don't matter much - all it means is that you have a year to decide to return something you just don't like (most people would naturally tend to return things they don't like fairly quickly anyways). If you buy something that fails, you are still covered just like you were before.

[tplife]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

Sunnymw, a modern 6-man tent from the top brands will fill the bill, and several have convertible lower mesh areas that enhance air flow (besides minimizing condensation). It all works because when fully down, full-coverage rainflies provide a 2nd wall. Our Sierra Designs model has stays that clip in to keep the bottom of the fly up but still firmly attached. We've gone with SD because due to large production numbers, there are deals on Ebay and over time we've bought three new-with-tags, each at $60% off MSRP. We only go to florida in July/August, just there a few months ago - but in mom's big Class A with 50A service and two big ACs, LOL. One camper's approach to a Seminole Summer, as seen in Bahia Honda SP, Florida Keys:

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

Yes, but you can still return anything that is defective at any time - what you can't do now is buy something, then 2 years later change your mind about owning it because you want something else, and return it. That was the problem that led to the policy change. They still stand behind their products 100%.

For a vast majority of people the return policy changes don't matter much - all it means is that you have a year to decide to return something you just don't like (most people would naturally tend to return things they don't like fairly quickly anyways). If you buy something that fails, you are still covered just like you were before.

Not so. I bought my son a Half dome plus last year. A tent pole broke on it. I went to take it back and guess what. Tent poles aren't covered, I could get it repaired for $80. Yeah, its all fine and dandy before you shell out the money for it, but when it came down to it, REI didn't stand behind their tent. So when I wanted a smaller tent for just me and my daughter, I went with a marmot.
Your experience may differ, but this is what happened with me.

[gatordude]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

We just got back from a 4 day trip with our Kingdom 6. We encountered some moderate rain, and no leaks. We also encountered wind gusts up to 40 mph, sustained around 30 mph. It was as solid as our house. Love it.

[sarahspins]

Re: Humor me. REI Kingdom 6 + garage, or Marmot Halo 6P?

Your experience may differ, but this is what happened with me.

I wonder if it varies between stores. Not that long ago I returned a bike pump I purchased several years ago because the pressure gauge had stopped working.. they allowed the return without any problem and I bought another one to replace it.