Basic Tent Questions

[a65hoosier]

Re: Basic Tent Questions

A65Hoosier, that is great advice, including guyouts how big of an area do you think your Marmot Limestone 6 covers? For instance camping at Indy 500 you get a 20x20 space and my car will take up roughly 6x15 basically leaving me about a 14x20 area for the tent would a Marmot 6 fit there well?

You should be able to, but it will be tight. The Limestone 6P is 10' x8'4" with the doors on the 10' side. Adding the vestibules to the doors (4 ft per), you'll get a footprint size of 10' x 16'4". You'd have about 2 foot of space on the sides of the tent and about 2-3 ft of space in front of each vestibule door. From the fly tie/off, you'd be able to stake a guy out about 5-6ft out and 2ft over from the tent. That's not a lot...but depending on the weather, you may not need a lot. It might be enough even with decently strong winds. idk....that would be your call. With creativity, you might be able to extend them further depending on where your car ends up.

Sorry if I have like three posts in a row, mine re taking awhile to get approved. Looking at The Kelty line they seem to use 68d polyester on the floor, fly and canopy. Is that heavy enough especially on the floors? Another tent I'm looking at The Marmot Limestone has 150d nylon on the floor, does that mean The Marmot is way more durable on the floor?

Yes. All things equal, the thicker denier material will hold up longer than a lower denier of the same material assuming the same wear stresses. The trade off is weight. Thicker denier = heavier physical weight. For car (or canoe) camping applications, I go with a thicker denier floor knowing I am adding weight for durability. Tents for backpacking applications have different considerations with weight reduction being a huge factor.

[a65hoosier]

Re: Basic Tent Questions

A65Hoosier, that is great advice, including guyouts how big of an area do you think your Marmot Limestone 6 covers? For instance camping at Indy 500 you get a 20x20 space and my car will take up roughly 6x15 basically leaving me about a 14x20 area for the tent would a Marmot 6 fit there well?

I knew I had a pic of the Limestone 6P set up. Here it is in my back yard (the color shadings are the screening in the window I shot pic thru). Shows the vestibule area. The guy lines are more oriented and staked toward the door side rather than the tent wall side. The lines on the tent are replacements. They are at the shortest length I use (adjuster almost to the tie out).

[JonnieHeelers]

Re: Basic Tent Questions

Thanks everyone for the help, I have decided on my 4 person tent, I found a Marmot Limelight 4 at Rock Creek Outfitters, can't wait to get it in the mail! Now I have to figure out the 6 person Lol

[a65hoosier]

Re: Basic Tent Questions

Thanks everyone for the help, I have decided on my 4 person tent, I found a Marmot Limelight 4 at Rock Creek Outfitters, can't wait to get it in the mail! Now I have to figure out the 6 person Lol

Congrats! I think you will be happy with the quality of the Marmot Limestone 4 (it's a great tent if you can manage having only 1 door). We just went through a horrendous thunderstorm last week with 1+ inch of rain in less than an hour, 40-50+ winds. After we got back from the storm shelter at 3 am (we had a tornado warning with the storm), it was nice to see both Marmot tents standing upright on the campsite and completely dry inside as if nothing had happened (I had every guy out tied on and staked). But still....what a nice feeling to know your shelter is sturdy. Makes for a comforting sleep.

Question: What did you mean...have to figure out the 6 person?

[JonnieHeelers]

Re: Basic Tent Questions

Thanks, I bought a 4 person for some race camping because some of the places I was looking to go are 20 x 20 sites. I was planning on buying the 6 person tent first but I really wanted to get The Limelight 4 and very few places had any left because its a discontinued model so I jumped on that. No I am down to figuring out my 6 person tent I need to buy when I will need room for more people or pets. I am down to Marmot Limestone 6, Mountain Hardwear Optic 6 (the straight walls worry me for wind resistance on this one) and Mountainsmith Conifer 5+ (not sure about quality of this brand, but I do like it says it will fit the Standard USFS campground pads) Is fitting a campground pad something that should really be considered in selecting a big tent?

[a65hoosier]

Re: Basic Tent Questions

Thanks, I bought a 4 person for some race camping because some of the places I was looking to go are 20 x 20 sites. I was planning on buying the 6 person tent first but I really wanted to get The Limelight 4 and very few places had any left because its a discontinued model so I jumped on that.

Got it.

No I am down to figuring out my 6 person tent I need to buy when I will need room for more people or pets. I am down to Marmot Limestone 6, Mountain Hardwear Optic 6 (the straight walls worry me for wind resistance on this one) and Mountainsmith Conifer 5+ (not sure about quality of this brand, but I do like it says it will fit the Standard USFS campground pads)?

On the 6P, the Conifer 5P is the value choice. Good, decent quality, but imo, not quite on par with the Big Agnes, Marmot, REI, MH, TNF, etc. and their related warranties. I think Denni2 here on the forum has this tent and as far as I know...is quite pleased with it.

I wouldn't worry too much about the MH Optic having more vertical walls and the wind. As long as the tent is properly guyed out and staked, it should be ok. That pretty much goes with any tent, especially more important as you move up in size.

When researching 6P tents, don't forget to check out the 6P versions of the 4P tents you initially listed.

I'd also add to your list The North Face Tensleep 6 (the newer version in "Raisin Moon" color...they made some improvements from the prior year's green/yellow version as to adding spindrift flaps to the vestibule and the ability to roll up the fly on the sides for additional ventilation).

Also....the Marmot Halo series in the 6P is a 10x10 tent with huge interior space/height, excellent venting options, and 2 doors with 2 huge vestibules. There are quite a few great tents in the 6P size out there for you to evaluate.

Is fitting a campground pad something that should really be considered in selecting a big tent?

It depends on where you will be camping as I think the size (and materials used within the pad) of tent pads may vary depending on location. I think as long as you stay around 10x10, you should be ok in the vast majority of campgrounds/pads.

There was another forum thread (older) that spoke to the issue of tent sizes vs tent pads. Link here: http://www.campingforums.com/forum/s...or-large-tents

I didn't search the forums much for this topic, but I am sure that this question has appeared more than once on the forum. A search may lead to additional information (or another forum member might chime in with more detailed info).

Happy Camping! Be sure to keep us updated when you receive your new tent and give it it's maiden voyage (pics are great!!!).

[CecilliaB]

Re: Basic Tent Questions

I think your smart to go with the 4 person. When we got a new tent in 2013 I went for a 10 man because my husband is 6'4, we like the standing room and space and queen air mattress. It's worked perfectly fine for the type of camping we've done so far. While planning a trip recently I discovered there's no way 1 tent that large would fit on the pads we'd be camping in. I ended up adding a 3 man and 4 man for flexibility and figure I'l change it out for the big one when we can. Post some photos, would love to see your tent set up!