Family Tents

We are looking for a new tent for us and the baby, with room to grow as needed. Last fall I finally threw away my old A-frame Eureka tent I got back in 1984 for $49. I lived in it daily for a number of summers and probably averaged at least 30 days+ for the last few decades. Everything was shot, but hey sometimes it always seems like you can squeak out a bit more longevity- hence the throw it away strategy to force a new purchase.

Here are the options we are now looking at. We will be doing some car camping trips, but also expect to get out for weekend backpacking trips down in the Bob Marshalls.

Big Agnes


REI Half Dome - we like being able to pick this up in Portland when we fly in. I don't like that the vestibule doesn't double as a shade. Canadians easily get swamped by US summers.


Sierra Designs Zeta 4 - I really like this one.


Marmot Hideaway 4 - This seems like a top quality tent. I'm a bit unsure if the footprint will have the space we are after. I like one dimension to be a fair bit longer than your sleeping bag length. It is just nice to be able to store kit past your head than down the center of the tent. (Yes I know what vestibules are for...)


Kelty Gunnison 4.1 - Other Kelty's (the recreational kind) had nice footprints, but were in the 15lb range. This one has a nice shape, but again the old style vestibule is a weak point. I suspect I just liked the old school shape of the tent. I hate square dome looking tents. However, I don't think this compares to some of the other ones we are looking at.


Alps Mountaineering Lynx AL 4 - I think this one is very similar to the Kelty Gunnison. Like everything on our short list, it has two doors instead of one.


The other tent that looked quite nice, but we couldn't justify for price, utility and other assundries was black diamond's guide lite single wall tent.

Any recommendations on the short list? The sierra designs is coming out quite high on my list, while Anne likes the REI.