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Well, as I mentioned in my OT post, it's getting time to retire and replace my old "backup" tent, a small Coleman dome. We basically only use this if it is pouring rain on arrival night, in the backyard for the girls, or if a friend needs a loaner tent. We have our huge Taj Mahal tent now, so the dome is just "plan B" if all else fails. Here's my "need" list:
- Must be small enough to fit inside VT and NH State Park lean tos. VT lean tos are about 13'x9', and NH's are a little bigger at 10'x14'. So I'd like a 9'x9' or an 8'x10', or a size that will fit comfortably in the lean to without being too close to the edge.
- Must be around 5' tall. The lean tos are 7.5' at the front, but only about 4.5' at the very back, so not too tall as to touch the roof.
- Must have good ventilation. My current dome only has one window and the door, no mesh ceiling. My hubby and the two girls are little FURNACES, so I've noticed a marked increase in condensation inside the tent since we've crammed so many people in it and can get a little damp.
- Must fit at least one queen, single height air mattress, two would be even better, but one will do. And a little bit of space left over for a couple backpacks and a duffel bag.
- Must be free standing. No place to drive stakes or tie off guylines in a lean to without driving nails (which they frown upon), so I have been mainly looking at domes, but would entertain any free-standing options.
- Must be easy to put up. Most times we use the Plan B tent, I am putting it up myself, with a 6 year old and 2 year old pulling at my pantleg, so a 753 step tent pup just will not do.
- Must have a smaller packed size. No "instant tents", ect. I usually throw our Plan B tent in the rear window of the car, behind the headrests, so packed size is a consideration.
Now my "want" list:
- Would like a gear loft and/or nice, usable storage pockets. The current tent only has one pocket, directly under the back window, so whomever is sleeping in the middle of the bed gets whacked in the face with the pocket all night.
- A full coverage rain fly would be nice, but since we mainly use this tent under cover or only during nice weather, this is not a top priority. I'd take a lesser rain fly to gain better ventilation.
- I would prefer a square tent, no funky corners or hexagon/octagon shapes.
- Budget of under $200. I'd like to see it come in well under that (I think I paid $60 for our current Plan B tent back in the 80's) since it is not our main tent, but now that I have started looking at options, I'm seeing a price range of $90-150 for this size tent.
Whadda ya think? I have been scouring the internet for a few days now and every time I think I've found "The One", something just doesn't jive. Too tall, not enough ventilation, bad reviews, yadda, yadda. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
- Must be small enough to fit inside VT and NH State Park lean tos. VT lean tos are about 13'x9', and NH's are a little bigger at 10'x14'. So I'd like a 9'x9' or an 8'x10', or a size that will fit comfortably in the lean to without being too close to the edge.
- Must be around 5' tall. The lean tos are 7.5' at the front, but only about 4.5' at the very back, so not too tall as to touch the roof.
- Must have good ventilation. My current dome only has one window and the door, no mesh ceiling. My hubby and the two girls are little FURNACES, so I've noticed a marked increase in condensation inside the tent since we've crammed so many people in it and can get a little damp.
- Must fit at least one queen, single height air mattress, two would be even better, but one will do. And a little bit of space left over for a couple backpacks and a duffel bag.
- Must be free standing. No place to drive stakes or tie off guylines in a lean to without driving nails (which they frown upon), so I have been mainly looking at domes, but would entertain any free-standing options.
- Must be easy to put up. Most times we use the Plan B tent, I am putting it up myself, with a 6 year old and 2 year old pulling at my pantleg, so a 753 step tent pup just will not do.
- Must have a smaller packed size. No "instant tents", ect. I usually throw our Plan B tent in the rear window of the car, behind the headrests, so packed size is a consideration.
Now my "want" list:
- Would like a gear loft and/or nice, usable storage pockets. The current tent only has one pocket, directly under the back window, so whomever is sleeping in the middle of the bed gets whacked in the face with the pocket all night.
- A full coverage rain fly would be nice, but since we mainly use this tent under cover or only during nice weather, this is not a top priority. I'd take a lesser rain fly to gain better ventilation.
- I would prefer a square tent, no funky corners or hexagon/octagon shapes.
- Budget of under $200. I'd like to see it come in well under that (I think I paid $60 for our current Plan B tent back in the 80's) since it is not our main tent, but now that I have started looking at options, I'm seeing a price range of $90-150 for this size tent.
Whadda ya think? I have been scouring the internet for a few days now and every time I think I've found "The One", something just doesn't jive. Too tall, not enough ventilation, bad reviews, yadda, yadda. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
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