Abandoning the RTT for a ground tent...

[Viggen]

Thats my big concern. A large tent would be great but my concern is the setup and time to disassemble which is why I am liking a three person tent. A little larger than I need but still possibly easy to set up.

Nemo tents sound great. How do they compare to say North Face and Mountain Hardware gear?

 

[squatch]

check out snow peak tents. nice stuff! look a lot like my moss...

 

[Dirty_Jeeper]

I wanted a RTT but now, you all have me thinking I'm better off staying with my ground tents. The price tag of RTT's have kept me grounded! I'm also not a fan of raising my center of gravity more and more by adding weight to the roof. Interesting seeing all the tent options others use on the trail.

 

[Sawyer]

The Big Agnes looks good but I am a big quality guy. If you dont think that it will last, Ill have to pass on it. Im good on equipment but not that careful. Sometimes in a rush, or lack of sleep, I have a habit of just throwing things around, especially when packing, so it has got to last.

I also have the Big Agnes (Flying Diamond 8). I have had it for about a year and have used it about 6-8 times. I really like it for the size. It currently holds me, my wife, a crib, our dog, and all the gear we need with plenty of room to grow. At 6'2" I can almost stand without having to bend my head. It is incredibly easy to set up and pretty light for it's size. However...... It isnt going to hold up for as long as I would like. After one trip camping on the beach with it in fairly high winds, the rain fly already shown signs of wear and fatigue where it rides on one of the poles. This really bums me out. I think that happened on the 2nd trip. I have been watching the area and no other areas have shown any signs of tearing or wear....well one of the polls is a little bent from use. I try to take exceptional care of my gear. So, I dont abuse it. Right now I am going to return it. I just havnt found the right replacment. I really liked the tent. But the quality just isn't there yet.

Only recommendation I can make, is REI has a great return policy. So, if you get one from them and it doesnt meet your expectations, return it. They will always take it back.

 

[CSG]

I keep considering an RTT but the only person who will go with me in the Cruiser is me and, frankly, I don't need any more than the back of the rig to sleep. I've got the same issues as many - no place to store, expensive, changes COG, have a decent 4 season tent already (but I am no longer willing to sleep on the ground), have a camping van as an alternative, and expensive...

 

[Elysian Ranch]

I got a Range Tent from David Ellis Canvas Products www.cowboycamp.net and I really love it. The best part for me is the really easy set up, 4 stakes and a center pole. It takes barely a couple minutes. I got the 12' x 12' size and it accommodates all the gear that I like to take along with room to spare. Also, I just got a new shade fly from him a couple weeks ago. I'm kind of into the whole natural canvas look in the first place.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Make sure you look at the Turbo Tents:

Turbo Tent


Extremely fast pitch (second only to an Oz Tent, which doesn't break down very compactly), lots of size options. So far ours is holding up very well. There's a short review in the Fall 2009 Overland Journal.

 

[Christophe Noel]

Nemo tents sound great. How do they compare to say North Face and Mountain Hardware gear?

The size of the tent doesn't dictate the ease or difficulty of set up. It's the design of the tent that will either go up quick or make you nuts.

No offense to owners of The North Face, but those tents anymore struggle to be mid-tier. Keep in mind, The North Face of today is owned by Vanity Fair. Mountain Hardwear is considerably more sophisticated than TNF and many others, but I'd still give the advantage to Nemo. Snowpeak has excellent quality, but some of their designs are just not there.

Maybe take a peak at the MSR Mutha Hubba. Those are well designed tents, good quality with excellent customer support.

That Turbo Tent looks pretty impressive. Amazing how someone with that level of out-of-the-box thinking couldn't come up with a more creative name.

 

[Viggen]

I really wish the Oz Tent wasnt so damn huge when it was closed. 6 ft long is pretty huge and that creates a storage problem inside my apt. Not as big a problem as trying to store an RTT but still one nonetheless. I like the built in awning too. Thats pretty awesome.

Any experience with the MSR Mo Room 3? Same size as the Nemo Moki but a little less money. The designs and layouts are a little different but the total size is the same. The other main difference is the fabrics used. Whats the best fabric for extended use/ wear and tear? The MSR uses a different type. Any ideas as to the differences?

 

[IdaSHO]

I have no first hand experience with their large tents, but I know Marmot makes a DAMN good tent.

We have two of them, both 2-person backpacking tents.

One is an older 3-season. The new one is a Twilight II, a lightweight but very sturdy 3 season. It is buil 10x as well as the old one.

They are incredibly well built thought, with a very thought out designs, and neat, usable features.

We are leaving this thursday for another backpacking trip, and the Twilight II is packed and ready to go. Complete with footprint and fly it is less than 6lbs.

The really cool features I like it the dual doors AND dual vestibules. Loads of space outside the tent for gear on one side, and the dog on the other.

This is one of their large ones, a 6 person, 3 season. With 100 square feet worth of floor, and another 32 square feet for the vestibule.

 

[Fergie]

Having seen the Turbo Tent in use in MX, and setting it up myself at the Exposition, I keep coming back to it again and again.

The cost is less than an OzTent, and the set-up time difference is marginal.

 

[Viggen]

Okay, so with some research time and searching, I have narrowed (if you can say that) it down to a few options:

Hilleburg Nammatj 3 GT
Mountain Gear Bibler Bombshelter
MSR Asgard HP (over the Dragontail due to the ability to shelter 3 people)
Nemo Moki
Exped Andromeda II (I like the Venus III DLX but cant find them readily)
Mountain Hardware EV3

Prices are around $700 or so bucks but I dont mind that if they are worth the money in terms of quality and durability. I know that I can get a cheap RTT or Oz Tent for that money but the storage and transportability of those are the huge downfalls.

What do you all think?

 

[Christophe Noel]

viggen,

Most of those tents you listed are extreme condition mountaineering tents. The Bibler Bombshelter (made by Bibler - Mountain Gear is a retailer) is a tent I've used in the most dire of mountaineering situations. Not the easiest tent to pitch by any stretch. Maybe if you spent all of your time in high winds with big snow. Not the coolest in even mild temps. Same for the EV3. Using that in anything but winter conditions would be pretty un-fun. The Asguard is another extreme weather shelter. As such, I'd give that tent a good 10-15 minutes to get to full pitch.

Those Marmot Halo tents like the one in the post above are slick tents. They pitch easy, are pretty solid and the quality is true to Marmot - very good. The Halo 4 is a personal favorite. Very similar to the Big Agnes Big House 4 I love so much, but better quality.

 

[Viggen]

viggen,

Most of those tents you listed are extreme condition mountaineering tents.

I know but when I do a search for 4 season tents, these, and a few others, are what comes up. I do want a 4 seasons capable tent but it seems that 4 seasons tent means expedition high elevation/ snow storm proof tents. So, I guess Im looking for guidance here. You can see how much I have budgeted so what do you think?

 

[shredwagon]

4 Season Tent?

Hi There - Allll descent 4 season tents are made for camping above tree-line in the alpine. It's where raging winter storms are frequent and protection from wind is sometimes non-existant.

If you are not going to be camping in the alpine during winter, any of the previously mentioned 3 season tents will afford 4 season use. Assuming you're not camping in the eye of a winter ****-storm in -15.

With that said, personally my main criteria is made in North America (MSR) and weight for hiking (double-duty). Price of tents drop substantially the heavier they are..... Good luck.