REDONE
[s]hard[/s]MEDIUM Core!
This is the year that we'll be stepping up our tent game! If you don't want to read my word soup you don't have to, I'm mainly just begging for pics of springbars set up in the field!
For starters, a RTT doesn't work for us. We've got big dogs and a small child, and since camping without beer is just sitting in the woods, I don't want to deal with a rickitty ladder when I wake up to nature's call. Also, the family truckster is a KL Trailhawk and I need my roof real estate to carry more than just shelter. In fact, I need it to carry pretty much everything (food, fuel, shelter, gear; just like it does now with our cheap dome tent).
I've looked at the Oztent and I see why it's the default for hardcore overlanders that also rule out an RTT. We are not hardcore and can't justify the cost considering we are just car campers with a 4x4, not global bushwhackers cutting a path to the arctic.
I've looked at 4 Kodiak Flex-bow tents (1 demo, 3 used) and 3 of 4 had holes in the roof right on the seams. Kodiak has lots of satisfied customers, but this direct observation leaves me without sufficient confidence to spend my own money on one. I do like their 9x12 cabin tent, and want to take a look at one in real life, as well as see how small it can pack up before I pull the trigger.
Onto the Topic of Springbars, I can't find one to look at in real life! It seems that nobody that buys one ever sells it, so I need some direct input from people that own and use a Springbar tent. There's no shortage of Springbar fanatics espousing their merits but I've learned to block those out. Everything ever made has fanatics. The Pontiac Firefly has fanatics, the Hipoint 9 has fanatics, Taylor Swift has fanatics; so I try to filter out the fanatics to get the pragmatic perspective. Here's my views on the models I'm interested in that I'm hoping to either challenge or support:
Vagabond 4: Is 8x10 big enough for 2 adults, 1 toddler and 2 80lb dogs? Would prefer 10x10, but 8x10 might work. Really like the big rear window. Does it have loops around the ceiling to hang stuff? Awning costs extra.
Deluxe 5: Right size, don't like the rear windows. Don't like the price difference for 2 feet and a window over the Vagabond 4, especially since the awning STILL costs extra.
Highline 6: If it wasn't made in China I'd have probably already bought it! Perfect size, perfect windows, awning included for a perfect price. BUT, is the quality the same as Kodiak's? Will the ceiling be surrounded by holes after a year? I'd really like to hear more about the Highline, if anyone has something to share!
For starters, a RTT doesn't work for us. We've got big dogs and a small child, and since camping without beer is just sitting in the woods, I don't want to deal with a rickitty ladder when I wake up to nature's call. Also, the family truckster is a KL Trailhawk and I need my roof real estate to carry more than just shelter. In fact, I need it to carry pretty much everything (food, fuel, shelter, gear; just like it does now with our cheap dome tent).
I've looked at the Oztent and I see why it's the default for hardcore overlanders that also rule out an RTT. We are not hardcore and can't justify the cost considering we are just car campers with a 4x4, not global bushwhackers cutting a path to the arctic.
I've looked at 4 Kodiak Flex-bow tents (1 demo, 3 used) and 3 of 4 had holes in the roof right on the seams. Kodiak has lots of satisfied customers, but this direct observation leaves me without sufficient confidence to spend my own money on one. I do like their 9x12 cabin tent, and want to take a look at one in real life, as well as see how small it can pack up before I pull the trigger.
Onto the Topic of Springbars, I can't find one to look at in real life! It seems that nobody that buys one ever sells it, so I need some direct input from people that own and use a Springbar tent. There's no shortage of Springbar fanatics espousing their merits but I've learned to block those out. Everything ever made has fanatics. The Pontiac Firefly has fanatics, the Hipoint 9 has fanatics, Taylor Swift has fanatics; so I try to filter out the fanatics to get the pragmatic perspective. Here's my views on the models I'm interested in that I'm hoping to either challenge or support:
Vagabond 4: Is 8x10 big enough for 2 adults, 1 toddler and 2 80lb dogs? Would prefer 10x10, but 8x10 might work. Really like the big rear window. Does it have loops around the ceiling to hang stuff? Awning costs extra.
Deluxe 5: Right size, don't like the rear windows. Don't like the price difference for 2 feet and a window over the Vagabond 4, especially since the awning STILL costs extra.
Highline 6: If it wasn't made in China I'd have probably already bought it! Perfect size, perfect windows, awning included for a perfect price. BUT, is the quality the same as Kodiak's? Will the ceiling be surrounded by holes after a year? I'd really like to hear more about the Highline, if anyone has something to share!
