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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

Author
Family tent recommendation
bones
2-Jan-2017
9:58:51 AM
Hi all,

Our little 2 man tent doesn't cut it anymore now that we have two small kids. We've got one giant 2 room family tent for long trips but it's bulky to transport and takes ages to put up.
Anyone got a recommendation for a 3-4 man tent for weekend trips to Gramps, Buffalo etc?
Quick to put up and reasonable pack size... I don't plan to hike with it but I don't want it to take up the whole boot. I don't mind paying a bit for good quality but if there's good a good cheap one then even better.

Thanks for any tips and happy new year.

Tony.
patto
2-Jan-2017
5:17:42 PM
Wilderness equipment Tectite 4 pretty much nails it.
http://wildernessequipment.com.au/techsheets/WE%20WEB%20PDF%20TECTITE%204UL.pdf

A 4 man tent only a little over 2kg.

I've been using the Tectite 1 as my 1/2man tent for years.
Mr Poopypants
2-Jan-2017
5:36:25 PM
Hey Bones

How old are the little ones? We've got an 8 and a 10 yr old (late starters:-) I had to replace all our tents last year. I've always subscribed to using a cheap tent for car camping and saving the good ones for where needed. Until our kids were about 6 /7 a cheap four person from the Great Outdoors (about $100 I think) was great. The cross over pole type with a crawl in vestibule at the front of the dome, zip at the back helps.

Once the kids got bigger we got a big ass Marmot dome - 6 person. I can stand up in it and jump up and down. It packs up only a little bigger than the cheap 4 person. The extra space is great when camped for a week or so. We took it to the Bungles this year. Worked a treat. All the big manufacturers have something similar.

Look on the yank websites, the sales are on now. I use shipito. I found I couldn't buy a lightweight bigass tent here. We were looking for something to pack up small in the back of the car. Remember needs change as the grommets grow. Happy hunting. I reckon a fold up mattress and pillows are more important, but then, I'm soft.
G.
Davepalethorpe
2-Jan-2017
5:42:06 PM
We just bought this one a few days ago (haven't got it yet though!):

black wolf scorpion

Seems like a good deal, and a good balance between space and pack down size. We are planning on mainly using it to car camp with our 2 year old, but it's nice to have the option to hike with it too. Will let you know what it's like!
Martym
2-Jan-2017
6:47:14 PM
I asked the opposite question a while back about the Blackwolf Mojave, going from small to large.
There were a few nods for the Macpac wanaka, might be worth considering?
We have a Coleman 3-man that we squeeze into on hikes.
A similar 4-man version would be find for car-camping.

Pedro.c
2-Jan-2017
9:39:34 PM
Our kids were always happy in an additional two man tent.
Mr Poopypants
2-Jan-2017
11:39:27 PM
Yeah, I can't wait to kick my kids into another tent. My missus reckoned 3 was too young, though. Soon ...

Paul
5-Jan-2017
11:55:37 PM
I have one of these, its a big tent built like a light weight hiking tent,weighs about 10kg and takes up about the space of two sleeping bags. room for 6-8 people

http://www.macpac.com.au/wanaka-camping-tent.html

JamesMc
6-Jan-2017
12:48:52 PM
We went the big tent way when our two were small. Big tents just make camping hard work. I'd go for two pop up tents. String a tarp between two trees if you want more living space.
bones
10-Jan-2017
1:59:26 PM
thanks all, looks like some good options there
Daughter is 2 and Son is 3 months old so not quite ready for their own tent yet
patto
10-Jan-2017
6:02:43 PM
On 6/01/2017 JamesMc wrote:
>We went the big tent way when our two were small. Big tents just make camping
>hard work. I'd go for two pop up tents. String a tarp between two trees
>if you want more living space.

The Tectite 4 is a 'big' tent.

1 pole.
4 pegs. (+4 if you bother with guy ropes)

Surely it can't get much more simpler.
Bones
11-Jan-2017
10:58:08 AM
On 10/01/2017 patto wrote:
>On 6/01/2017 JamesMc wrote:
>The Tectite 4 is a 'big' tent.
>
>1 pole.
>4 pegs. (+4 if you bother with guy ropes)
>
>Surely it can't get much more simpler.

2.2kgs is impressive for a big tent
Cams
11-Jan-2017
4:59:41 PM
Looking at a few similar options at the moment myself as a lightweight/small car camping tent. I have had a Tarptent Scarp 2 for a number of years now and I love it, so top of my list is the Tarptent Hogback. Similar concept as the Tectite, but the pitchlock corners make a big difference for usable interior space vs footprint.

https://www.tarptent.com/hogback.html
martym
11-Jan-2017
7:10:24 PM
On 11/01/2017 Cams wrote:
>Looking at a few similar options at the moment myself as a lightweight/small
>car camping tent. I have had a Tarptent Scarp 2 for a number of years now
>and I love it, so top of my list is the Tarptent Hogback. Similar concept
>as the Tectite, but the pitchlock corners make a big difference for usable
>interior space vs footprint.
>
>https://www.tarptent.com/hogback.html
Impressive specs - really weird to have a tent not seam-sealed at purchase..

JamesMc
11-Jan-2017
9:10:31 PM
Macpac tents come with a tube of seam sealer. The logic is that seam sealing is so labor letting the customer do it knocks a lot off the sale price. Can't argue with that really.
Cams
12-Jan-2017
10:12:34 AM
On 11/01/2017 martym wrote:
>On 11/01/2017 Cams wrote:
>>Looking at a few similar options at the moment myself as a lightweight/small
>>car camping tent. I have had a Tarptent Scarp 2 for a number of years
>now
>>and I love it, so top of my list is the Tarptent Hogback. Similar concept
>>as the Tectite, but the pitchlock corners make a big difference for usable
>>interior space vs footprint.
>>
>>https://www.tarptent.com/hogback.html
>
>Impressive specs - really weird to have a tent not seam-sealed at purchase..

Yep, their whole range is great. The Scarp/Hogback design has a lot going for it. Integral pitch, dry entry. Can convert the scarp to freestanding with a couple of extra poles. Scarp has a summer and winter inner option. The hogback has the option for one extra crossing pole to help a bit with stability or light snow loading.

You can pay a bit extra for them to do the seam sealing. I think Australian orders are done by Franco (from the bushwalking aus forums) in Adelaide. He also provides a great point for local support and knowledge of the brand. I did the sealing on mine and it seems to be holding out fine.
martym
13-Jan-2017
8:47:06 AM
On 11/01/2017 JamesMc wrote:
>Macpac tents come with a tube of seam sealer. The logic is that seam sealing
>is so labor letting the customer do it knocks a lot off the sale price.
>Can't argue with that really.

$US439 for the Tarptent... without seamsealing..

There are 17 messages in this topic.

 

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