Tent advice

[offthepath]

Hoping to get some advice from the experienced folks here.

We are looking at getting a quality ground tent for a family of 4 (5 and 7yo+2 adults). The 2 main uses of the tent would be during hunting season and while boating at Lake Powell and Flaming Gorge. So, the conditions the tent would see are: heat/cold, wind, snow and rain, lol. In addition, the tent needs to be over 6feet tall inside. Another consideration is that often at Lake Powell you are on some kind of rock and staking down a tent in a traditional sense is not always possible. Setup time is not a big concern, I don't want anything complicated, but we are not moving camp daily.

So far I am considering the following:

-Bushtec Nomad Bow tent:

Nomad Bow Tent » Bushtec Adventure

Durable bow tent with Military Grade, fire retardant and UV protected canvas. Easy-up assembly and wind tunnel tested for safety.

bushtecadventureusa.com

Overall for the price, I am leaning towards it, but would like a good review and not finding much.

-Springbar/Kodiak tent.

I'm sure these would be the best option, but from what I have seen they need to be fully staked down. I have never seen one in person, but this may be problematic at lake powell.........???


-Oztent RV.

Oztent RV-5 Tent

Multi award winning, Australian designed OZTENT RV-5 is set up by one person in less than 30-seconds, 100% waterproof material, High quality construction

www.oztent.com

The setup looks easy on these, but they are pricey and I wonder if you get much more for your money in the end.


Any other suggestions would be appreciated also.

Thanks

 

[Roaddude]

Hoping to get some advice from the experienced folks here.

We are looking at getting a quality ground tent for a family of 4 (5 and 7yo+2 adults). The 2 main uses of the tent would be during hunting season and while boating at Lake Powell and Flaming Gorge. So, the conditions the tent would see are: heat/cold, wind, snow and rain, lol. In addition, the tent needs to be over 6feet tall inside. Another consideration is that often at Lake Powell you are on some kind of rock and staking down a tent in a traditional sense is not always possible. Setup time is not a big concern, I don't want anything complicated, but we are not moving camp daily.

So far I am considering the following:

-Bushtec Nomad Bow tent:

Nomad Bow Tent » Bushtec Adventure

Durable bow tent with Military Grade, fire retardant and UV protected canvas. Easy-up assembly and wind tunnel tested for safety.

bushtecadventureusa.com

Overall for the price, I am leaning towards it, but would like a good review and not finding much.

-Springbar/Kodiak tent.

I'm sure these would be the best option, but from what I have seen they need to be fully staked down. I have never seen one in person, but this may be problematic at lake powell.........???


-Oztent RV.

Oztent RV-5 Tent

Multi award winning, Australian designed OZTENT RV-5 is set up by one person in less than 30-seconds, 100% waterproof material, High quality construction

www.oztent.com

The setup looks easy on these, but they are pricey and I wonder if you get much more for your money in the end.


Any other suggestions would be appreciated also.

Thanks

.
Haven't used Springbar/Kodiak and Bushtec, though I've owned and used an RV-5, and have used tents for family camping since I was a kid in Europe many decades ago.

The RV-5 is a lot of package when you add the deluxe front and side walls, which creates another room, but man oh man, is it a sweet, rugged, spacious, and very comfortable set up:


..

The big advantage it would have, in my experience, over the others you're contemplating, is that it would afford you two spaces. Effectively two rooms that can be separated by a zipped wall if/when needed. Always made the difference in our family outings if one section could be sealed off for naps, play, privacy, etc.

No idea how the others are as far as not being fully staked, though the Oztent actually does quite well with minimal or no stakes. Though I'd sure want to at least stake the perimeter of the main room floor if big weather is coming, and fully stake it if high winds are expected.

You can't beat it for feeling dry and safe and warm in big weather, though. I set mine up for a family of three adults and one child once; in fact when the above image was made. A ferocious thunderstorm with high winds kicked up suddenly, and they hunkered down in the RV-5 without problem for the night. I was fine in my hardshell rooftop tent. Ground tents all around us were crumpled the next morning, with most folks ending up in their cars for the night or leaving altogether.

Rugged, easy, and dependable. Though as I said, it's quite a package to haul around.

** You can see a slew more images from that same camp, with a variety of ways it can be used, along with measurements and weights, etc in my sale post here: Oztent RV-5. It's spoken for, though.

If I can answer any questions on the RV-5, don't hesitate to ask.

Hope you find what works for you best!
.

 

[Driftwood77]

If it’s any help I have a Howling Moon
tent which is very similar to your Nomad Bow tent. Except mine has a ‘hat ‘ awning that covers the door which is helpful when it’s raining.
It is absolutely bomb proof, quick to set up and has lots of ventilation options.

 

[krick3tt]

Because the RV5 is bigger and basically has the extras (sold separately, of course) it compares to my RV3, course there are only two of us but the 3 has more than adequate room for us. The additional space created by the extra walls is a great thing.
The price is a relative thing, I did not feel that the RV was exceptionally expensive. After camping in it for a few days it turned out to be a great value. Easy to set up the stock tent, the add on items take longer than the 25 seconds it takes me to set it up. I don't often take them along for only a few days.
It is very sturdy and although the bag it comes in takes a bit of extra effort (my opinion) to fit the thing back in first time, it does get better, (translated to easier) after a few times.
Not sure how to set up the extras without staking them but the stock tent can be used without staking. 40 MPH wind is no problem, more than that I would definitely want stakes. I got Snow Peak stakes as they are much more sturdy than what comes with the RV but even so the RV stakes are quite sturdy, more so than your average imported ones.
I have also used bags filled with sand/dirt (made them myself) as an alternative when the base is rock.

 

[Texoma]

I have the Alpha Kilo from Bushtec. Unfortunately the only the thing I can compare it to is Coleman tents. The Alpha is heavy duty, think it weights around 100 pounds. Setup is very easy just like any other bow tent.

 

[NorthwestDriver]

We have a Springbar and neither it nor the Kodiak copy are going to do well without stakes. The ceiling is held up by two poles which would be unstable in winds without staking. Our 10x10 uses 16 stakes for the floor and two more for the awning. Now, once the tent is staked the tent is phenomenal.

I’d look at free standing options and plan to use some extra line to tie out to rocks. Even with a free standing tent you will want to have a few points tied off.

 

[pkripper]

Oztent hands down. Call Kim at familytentcamping.com and she can walk you through everything and they carry many quality large tents. The Oztents are absolutely bomber.

 

[pkripper]

.
Haven't used Springbar/Kodiak and Bushtec, though I've owned and used an RV-5, and have used tents for family camping since I was a kid in Europe many decades ago.

The RV-5 is a lot of package when you add the deluxe front and side walls, which creates another room, but man oh man, is it a sweet, rugged, spacious, and very comfortable set up:

View attachment 657184
..

The big advantage it would have, in my experience, over the others you're contemplating, is that it would afford you two spaces. Effectively two rooms that can be separated by a zipped wall if/when needed. Always made the difference in our family outings if one section could be sealed off for naps, play, privacy, etc.

No idea how the others are as far as not being fully staked, though the Oztent actually does quite well with minimal or no stakes. Though I'd sure want to at least stake the perimeter of the main room floor if big weather is coming, and fully stake it if high winds are expected.

You can't beat it for feeling dry and safe and warm in big weather, though. I set mine up for a family of three adults and one child once; in fact when the above image was made. A ferocious thunderstorm with high winds kicked up suddenly, and they hunkered down in the RV-5 without problem for the night. I was fine in my hardshell rooftop tent. Ground tents all around us were crumpled the next morning, with most folks ending up in their cars for the night or leaving altogether.

Rugged, easy, and dependable. Though as I said, it's quite a package to haul around.

** You can see a slew more images from that same camp, with a variety of ways it can be used, along with measurements and weights, etc in my sale post here: Oztent RV-5. It's spoken for, though.

If I can answer any questions on the RV-5, don't hesitate to ask.

Hope you find what works for you best!
.

What is the item covering the rear section?

 

[jbaucom]

We have 2 kids, ages 11 & 6, and have been very happy with our LLBean Adventure Dome 6. It has a 10'x10' floor and 81" peak height, weighs less than 20 lbs, uses aluminum poles, and the fly fully covers the sides and has prominent peaks over the door and rear window. I always fully stake it out and tie off the guy lines. It's been through severe thunderstorms and days of torrential rain, including once when it rained about 5" in two days up at the Mt. Pisgah campground in NC. It's withstood strong winds and heavy rain without damage or leaking. I supplement the tent with a 14'x14' EZ up canopy for extra dry/shaded living space.

I really believe one of the biggest factors in determining whether at tent survives strong winds/storms or fails is proper staking and guying out. I always do this, because you never know when the weather will turn, and I'd rather always be prepared than to have my camp destroyed by the weather because I slacked off during setup and settled for "good enough."

 

[Roaddude]

What is the item covering the rear section?

.
It's the Oztent Fly. Comes in sizes for all RV Oztents. They don't call it just a rain fly because it is great as shade, too. Has an aluminized resin coating on the central section that covers the Oztent's roof, with panels that stick out either side and the rear. You can see it better in the other images at the link I provided, though I'll add a couple here:


Come with two shorter poles and the necessary guy lines.


Staked out right it allows you to keep both side windows and the big rear window open even in heavy rain or hot sun; which is half of why Oztents are so comfortable.



It zips all the way across the top rear of the Oztent, and when you stake it like above, with the Fly raised off the tent, the reflective central section keeps the tent roof from heating up. Very effective, especially along with the two top vents over the tent's main room entry door, which helps create a through current from the big back window.

I've been amazed how comfortable the tent is even on hot summer days; it almost creates its own breeze, the way it's designed. Perfect napping place.

.

 

[Softwaremom]

We often camp with 5 people and a dog. I love our North Face Wawona 6 - it is a little small for us though.(We could only fit in 3 cots) We also have a Nemo Wagontop 8. It fits a family well and I think you might be able to fit in 4 cots.( 3 for sure and probably 4 but it would be a little tight) They both have done fine in the rain and wind. These are good tents even though they are light weight. We have the footprints. Both of these tents have little annex type areas that make dealing with bad weather easy. A real plus.

Another thing to consider is a roof top tent. Throw the kids up top and you can sleep in the annex. The Tepui Autana 4(and similar size rooftops) can easily fit 2 cots down below and the kids have their own room upstairs. I think if you are going for a heavy tent this is one of the easier tents to set up. But rooftop tents are expensive.. are they worth the cost? IMHO probably not but the kids have a lot of fun up there. I am just mentioning them because the tent material is one of the heavier kinds and the setup is a lot easier than a wall tent.(Mentioned below)

For the above tents I got a tent carpet from Amazon and I put that down under the cots. It must makes it a lot easier to walk in socks/bare feet in the tent. It also makes it warmer if the ground is cold. I think it might protect the bottom of the tent.

We use stakes and guy lines on everything.. even the rooftop tent. NM tends to be windy and it can happen without you realizing it. We tried a heater for a tent once and it did nothing. So I bought everyone really good sleeping bags. It is a better option and nobody complains about being cold at night. I think the rooftop tent is the warmest of the 3 options and probably it is the thicker walls. But with my sleeping bag I am always warm at night.

We had a wall tent. It was really heavy and setup was a pain. We sold it. I think any of the above options are easier.

I hope this helps. Happy Camping!

 

[offthepath]

Thanks for the suggestions. I went with the Bushtec kilo alpha. Hopefully it does the job.

 

[billiebob]

We always went with 2 tents. Mom and daughter shared, Dad and son shared till the kids were like yours, old enough to sleep without an adult. Then the kids got the small tent and we got a bigger tent, big enough for us all till bed time. We went with the basic 6 pole dome tents, easy fast setup and stable secure without any stakes.

Today I'd still do the 2 tent thing but I'd go with the new 20 second setup tents.

 

[pkripper]

.
It's the Oztent Fly. Comes in sizes for all RV Oztents. They don't call it just a rain fly because it is great as shade, too. Has an aluminized resin coating on the central section that covers the Oztent's roof, with panels that stick out either side and the rear. You can see it better in the other images at the link I provided, though I'll add a couple here:

View attachment 660122
Come with two shorter poles and the necessary guy lines.

View attachment 660123
Staked out right it allows you to keep both side windows and the big rear window open even in heavy rain or hot sun; which is half of why Oztents are so comfortable.


View attachment 660124
It zips all the way across the top rear of the Oztent, and when you stake it like above, with the Fly raised off the tent, the reflective central section keeps the tent roof from heating up. Very effective, especially along with the two top vents over the tent's main room entry door, which helps create a through current from the big back window.

I've been amazed how comfortable the tent is even on hot summer days; it almost creates its own breeze, the way it's designed. Perfect napping place.

.

Thanks, I assumed that was what it was but the awning room through me off. Ill be ordering that next. I went with the ground mat first. Great set up you have!

 

[altaboy]

I'm seeing an awful lot of stakes.

Agree with OP, moab demands no stakes, or at least demands big rocks.