HELP PLEASE! Tents and Sleeping pads!

[john101477]

Sorry Opie, not a fan of the hammock, and he is looking for himself and his GF. i would assume they want to sleep in the same spot.
Poorboyota. note taken hahaha. Your little trailer looks pretty cool. I have an 86 4runner so loading the kitchen sink in it is a PITA but I'll be danged if the wife don't want that to lol. We have found some decent compromises though.

Barlowrs - the one thing I can tell you about buying a tent is to some degree you get what you pay for. some tent makers are VERY proud of there tents and the price reflects that. good reviews and ratings are a must. full coverage fly is a must have. unfortunatley a lot of companies claim full coverage but leave areas like the windows fully open or the door etc etc. full coverage comes to with in a few inches of the ground. the big agnes big house 4, REI base camp 4 and hobitat 4 are great tents. steer clear of the new colemans. the old ones may have been good but i am not a fan of the new designs.

 

[barlowrs]

barlowrs, have you given thought to a hammock? A properly equipped hammock can keep you warm, dry and very comfortable.

Check this site out when you get some free time.

hammockforums.net

I use a hammock and tarp when I dont have the kids with me. Coupled with a down underquilt and a sleeping bag in the hammock and I can stay plenty warm down to 35 or so. Some folks are even getting down to below 0 with the addition of pads or more down in their underquilt.

Edit, heres a 10 part series on getting set-up with a hammock. You may or may not recognize the man..

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=15516

We have looked into hammocks, but one problem with them is I am not always sure I can find a place to tie them up. We have discussed this, and once I get my roof rack built, we may get some. The rack can be used as one anchor point, so all I have to do is find a tree for the other. They are small enough i can bring them just incase, but still have my normal sleeping setup. Thanks for the link!

 

[rynosurf]

So for all those using bigger tents and air matresses, when you go out on trips with others, do you find you end up holding them up when braking down camp, or do air matresses break down pretty quickly? (or does everyone have them so no-one cares?)

I have an Aero bed from REI that I use when I go camping with my wife. It wasn't cheap but I was tired of the Coleman and cheapo air mattresses leaking. I have had my Aero for a few years now and it hasn't failed me. It comes with a rechargeable pump that hooks right up to it and tear down is a breeze because it has a 3" door that opens up so you can purge it quickly. http://www.rei.com/product/750959
I have a tri fold foam mattress that I use if I'm going solo that is real comfortable and is better for cold weather, it doesn't pack as well though. http://www.everythingfurniture.com/...ntent=Primary&promocode=k232270#axzz0ku4H6gXt

 

[barlowrs]

Sorry Opie, not a fan of the hammock, and he is looking for himself and his GF. i would assume they want to sleep in the same spot.
Poorboyota. note taken hahaha. Your little trailer looks pretty cool. I have an 86 4runner so loading the kitchen sink in it is a PITA but I'll be danged if the wife don't want that to lol. We have found some decent compromises though.

Barlowrs - the one thing I can tell you about buying a tent is to some degree you get what you pay for. some tent makers are VERY proud of there tents and the price reflects that. good reviews and ratings are a must. full coverage fly is a must have. unfortunatley a lot of companies claim full coverage but leave areas like the windows fully open or the door etc etc. full coverage comes to with in a few inches of the ground. the big agnes big house 4, REI base camp 4 and hobitat 4 are great tents. steer clear of the new colemans. the old ones may have been good but i am not a fan of the new designs.

I agree on that note. I had tried out several "lesser" brands before settling on my sierra design (2 person). It was NOT cheap by any means, but it is SUPER light, and has worked great for me in whiteouts on several very high peaks during my mountaineering days (indicated -30 in tent, without windchill!, and a LOT of wind, but the tent held its ground).

For tents you DO get what you pay for. I am already sure it will either be a sierra designs, north face, mountain hardwear, or maybe REI (as REI stuff is lookign better and better every year).

The big angus doesn have a full fly which is a requirement for me. I have my eye on the following:

North Face Meadowlands 4
Mountain Hardwear Habitat 5 (rated low, but by one person, not sure if I shoudl trust it.
Sierra Designs Lightning XT4
Sierra Designs Zeta 4
Sierra Designs Meteor Light 4
The REI base camp is looking good now too!

Anyone experience with the above listed tents? Thanks

 

[Zwoehr]

Sierra Designs Lightning

Hey Robert,
I have an older Sierra Designs Lightning tent. it is only a 2 person tent but I think it is similar to the 4 person. It is a great backpacking tent, lightweight (mine has carbon fiber poles) around 3lbs. But it has very little headroom and has only one door and vestibule on the wide side of the tent. Meaning that the person on the other side has to crawl over the person closer to the door if they want to get out. The four person tent probably doesn't have this limitation though. If you want a really light tent that you can also use for backpacking The SD tent might be a good one. For car camping you can carry a heavier more durable tent easily though. I think I would go for the REI tent. The new ones look pretty well made and they are quite a bit cheaper than other manufacturers.

You might want to check out MSR's tents they are slightly heavier duty than some other backpacking tents and have some cool features. I have a Mutha Hubba that I really like. It's pretty huge, and pretty heavy, but I think it would be backpackable if you divided the weight up between 3-4 people.

Also, and this is just my opinion, the TNF and Mountain Hardware tents seem to be designed with more blingy/useless fearures. I wouldn't say they are bad, you just pay more for the labels on them.

Oh yeah, jeez this is getting long, the Black Diamond/Bibler single wall tents made of Epic material are pretty neat too.

 

[Desert Dan]

Can you sleep in the back of your Taco?



Try a 4-person Dome tent (free standing makes it easier to set up).
Go to a place like REI where you can set up the tent and check it out

Thermo rest pads are great (they make a coupling device to keep the pads from sliding apart. (chaise loung foam pads work too)

In warm weather rectangular flannel lined sleeping bags are nice and can be zipped together.

Try bringing regular pillows too.

When car camping live it up

 

[barlowrs]

Can you sleep in the back of your Taco?



Try a 4-person Dome tent (free standing makes it easier to set up).
Go to a place like REI where you can set up the tent and check it out

Thermo rest pads are great (they make a coupling device to keep the pads from sliding apart. (chaise loung foam pads work too)

In warm weather rectangular flannel lined sleeping bags are nice and can be zipped together.

Try bringing regular pillows too.

When car camping live it up

Yes, for short trips (overnight) we can sleep in the truck. I have a rubber bed mat and a bestop soft top (it is very confortable actually). But on longer trips, the gear takes up the space so we cannot sleep there. A trailer would be nice to take the gear, but no place in my apt complex to keep one.

 

[BIGdaddy]

Yes, for short trips (overnight) we can sleep in the truck. I have a rubber bed mat and a bestop soft top (it is very confortable actually). But on longer trips, the gear takes up the space so we cannot sleep there. A trailer would be nice to take the gear, but no place in my apt complex to keep one.

hey robert...

my wife and I are going to a double mummy bag from REI, both with 3.5 rei self-inflating insulated pads inserted into the bag itself.

I'm a space heater, she's an ice cube, so we even each other out. She's also got severe, lingering back issues from having kids, so comfort is key for her enjoyment of "outsideness"

I took her to REI and this is the setup that she decided was the best for her after trying a bunch of different Idea's.

the 3.5 pad from REI gets lots of good reviews, but their 2.5 pad is also nice, is smaller, and a bit cheaper. She thought it was a bit firmer, but comfy, nonetheless.

Hope that helps! -Brian

 

[nwoods]

The REI base camp is looking good now too!

Anyone experience with the above listed tents? Thanks

I have used the Base Camp 6 for four or 5 years now, and borrow my buddy's Base Camp 4 from time to time as well. My BC6 is a first generation, the BC4 my friend has is newer, and has some nice new features that are also in the current BC6 design. The new features include a better storage bag, with separate pockets for poles, stakes, fly, etc… and shoulder straps if you are camping a short distance from the car. The tent itself has better ventilation, better zippers, and some other minor improvements that I can't recall specifically, but my overall impression was that I wanted to buy a new one!

My family of 4 fits in the BC6, three across and one perpendicular at our feet. Two people have tons of room in the BC4, but three is cozy. 2+dog is about perfect in the BC4.

The poles are high quality aluminum. They are color coded, and the rain fly just clips on. Both tents are admittedly hard to set up solo, but very easy with two people, even if that second person was my then 4 year old daughter. The tents are free standing, as in, does not require stakes (very useful on granite slab areas like the Sierras!). We have used our BC6 in tremendous high altitude alpine thunderstorms, hail, snow, 80mph winds (recorded speeds!), a sand storm, 115 degree nights in the desert, sub-freezing nights in various places, etc… with never a problem. This tent is rock solid in the wind (with the fly on). It offers great materials and features competitive to the numerous other brands out there. However, my favorite features that distinguish these tents from others are:
1. Two vestibules, one is very large, one is smaller. The small one is great for quick access to backpacks and so forth. The large vestibule we use for egress, shoes, cooking (when necessary), etc..
2. Dozens of sewn-in mesh pockets
3. Dozens of lanyard or carabineer clip points inside the tent for hanging additional stuff
4. Good gear loft
5. Plenty of room and strength to suspend an electric lantern from the dome top.
6. Enough overhead clearance to easily change clothes
7. Good ventilation even with the fly on, now even better with the revised design!
8. Lifetime no-questions-asked warranty via REI.
9. Very easy to restow and pack back into the slightly oversized bag. The tent itself is not picky on how it's folded either.


What could be improved? I upgraded the stakes to these from REI. Cheap and absolutely fantastic. It is not the lightest or most compact tent on the market, but it is very good in all other categories. I also tied a indicator lanyard on the large vestibule end of the rain fly so that when I unfurl the fly I get the right end every time

Some photos of them in use:
Base Camp 4 (no fly):

BC6 and BC4 (no fly)

BC6 with fly

BC6 with big'ol air mattresses and traditional flannel sleeping bag. Note how much smaller the mummy bag my daughter is sleeping on!

With normal sized sleeping gear, my daughter fits along the bottom, for a total of 4 in the BC6:

The rain fly works!

 

[john101477]

The meadowlands looks good. i actually looked at it before I bought but we wanted 2 rooms so that X'd that out. Unsure of the mountain hardware. As for both of the SD tents I am not a fan of tents made with that much mesh. Even with the fly on keeping Cold air at bay might not be easy. Using a small coleman heater or equiv in high mountain early or late season might make or break you. The base camp looks well thought out with the dual vents on top and the 4 DAC pole design will be sturdy enough to use in light snow situations (if your into camping early spring in the high up).

I did not realize the BA did not have a full fly which sucks. I kind of assumed with the way my flying diamond was made that the Big house would be made and thought out as well.

when choosing a tent never mix the thoughts of a pack tent and a car camp tent. The ideas behind both styles are very different. car camping is about comfort where as a tent for hiking is light and by the time you crawl into it you are so tired that the black bear snackin on your cheetos out side the tent will not wake you lol. <- and yes I do have experience here lol.

 

[barlowrs]

when choosing a tent never mix the thoughts of a pack tent and a car camp tent. The ideas behind both styles are very different. car camping is about comfort where as a tent for hiking is light and by the time you crawl into it you are so tired that the black bear snackin on your cheetos out side the tent will not wake you lol. <- and yes I do have experience here lol.

EXACTLY! and that is my problem, I still have this "lighter, stronger, and rated for the top of everest" mentality I need to get away from.

Ok I think I have it norrowed down to just enough that I might be able to run a poll. I can see what everyone here thinks about my final choices to help me get over my need for the lightest, fasted and strongest..haha

 

[cnynrat]

Regarding the tent, another vote for the REI Base Camp here. My wife and I use the 4 person model and find it has plenty of room to spread out. Set up and tear down is not too difficult. NWoods already provided a good list of it's positive features, so no need to belabor that.

For overlanding there is really no reason to live with the same constraints as you would for backpacking other than the cost of having different sets of gear. Sleeping comfort is important though, so it seems like an area worth the investment. We have two of the Thermarest Dreamtime mattresses. It's not for nothing that this mattress has won awards - they are very comfortable. There are only two downsides: They take up a lot of room packed - from memory I'm going to guess 10"-11" or so in diameter and either 25" or 30" wide depending on the size you choose. The other drawback is they are not cheap. There are other choices to consider. REI has a competing model that is a little thinner (3" vs. 3 1/2" IIRC), and Thermarest has a range of other models now. They have a 2" thick model called the Base Camp that should be pretty comfortable.

The other piece of advice I would offer regarding sleeping comfort is try to use the same type of pillows you use at home. It may take a bit more room, but if you (or your GF) aren't sleeping well you aren't going to have fun.

 

[barlowrs]

The other piece of advice I would offer regarding sleeping comfort is try to use the same type of pillows you use at home. It may take a bit more room, but if you (or your GF) aren't sleeping well you aren't going to have fun.

yes, that was one of my mistakes on this last trip, she asked if we should bring pillows and I said "no way, those things are huge, we have our packs and clothes, those are our pillows"....well thats how I always used to do it, but now that I can drive there, packing pillows would have made her (and my neck) a lot more happy