Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I just got this tent and I have only set it up in my house, haven't used it outside yet. I was looking for a tent that I could use car camping and also for backpacking. I wasn't happy with how small most back packing tents are and how heavy some of the basic car camping tents are. I wanted something that could work in both situations. I think I found it with this tent. Price: I look at three main things when figuring out a price point for a tent, size, weight, and features. I think this tent is hard to beat for the money, excellent value with good features. You are getting a light weight tent considering it is a 4 person tent that packs up in a small package. Look at some of the other 3 & 4 person tents out there and you will see for yourself, it's not easy finding a back packing tent at this size and weight. Size: I wanted a tent large enough for me (6ft tall), my girlfriend, and also my two dogs (if they ever go with us camping). This tent fits the bill, it is 8'6 x 7'6 in size, and I haven't been able to find a tent this size that also weighs less than 8 lbs. I can't sleep like a mummy; I toss and turn a lot so I wanted a bigger tent. I also wanted a tent that I could put a queen-sized air mattress in, it will fit easily. You could easy sit up in this tent and play cards if it was raining outside, good head room for a back packing tent. It has two vestibules but I don't think I will be using them for my gear, maybe just my shoes since the tent is so roomy on the inside. I think you could fit two adults and two younger children in here without a problem. You just won't have room inside to keep most of your gear; you would need to use the vestibules for that. It packs up to 7x23.5 inches when packed up in the stuff sack. Weight: Total weight is 7lbs 9oz and tent & fly weight is 6lb 12oz. This may seem a little heavy tent to those ultra-lighters that like everything as light and small as possible but for me it works. I don't plan on using it as much for backpacking as I do car camping but I wanted a tent that could fit both bills. If you are strictly using this for a backpacking tent, you probably would want to split the weight between you and another person. However, I don't think you are going to be able to find a tent this size at this weight unless you plan on spending 3 times the money. Features: I like how it has 2 internal stash pockets, a gear loft, and two vestibules. I do wish the stash pockets were a little longer, they are about 12 inches but I didn't measure them. I also purchased the tent floor saver for this tent. I have a Coleman tent light that would hang nicely from the gear loft. I live in Arizona and I think this tent will work pretty well out here but I wish the mesh walls & the mesh on the doors ran down another 12 inches towards the ground so it had even more ventilation. The stakes are your basic tent stakes, nothing special and I can see them breaking on you with ease. I do plan on replacing the standard stakes with the MSR GroundHog stakes. Color: All the pictures I have seen on this tent show it to be a brown bottom with a white body but it is actually more of a gray body. Kind of a weird color combination but it's not a fashion show, it's a tent. Repacking: Just on a side note, I suck at repacking tents to fit back into the stash bag, this tent is no exception. I just don't understand how to fold it up the way the factory does to get it to fit in. I guess practice makes perfect. I could barely get it back into the stash bag and I couldn't get the added tent floor saver to fit. I am sure I could get it all to fit; I just can't fold tents up for the life of me. Overall I am happy with the tent but like I said, I haven't actually used it yet. If you want a backpacking tent but are sick of them being too small, give this one a try. It is the biggest one I could find and the price is great. I think this tent will work out great as a car camping tent as well as a back packing tent. The added weight as a backpacking tent is worth it since it is so much bigger than the others out there. I am 6ft and this thing has plenty of room. It seems to have a solid construction and I hope to get many years out of it. ***Updated 09/10/13*** Used this tent for the first time, we had a down pour hit us as we were setting up the tent. It turned out the area where we had the tent was lower then the other areas so it was sitting in about 2 inches of water. To my surprise, the tent held up well, no leaks! I will say the tent is pretty hard to get in and out of when you have the rain fly on. I thought I was going to fall when I had to get out of it the first time. I almost wish the entry doors were a couple of inches lower to the ground so it would be easier to get in and out of. ***Updated 05/13/14*** For everyone that is looking at this tent, I want you to know that I still love mine. Packs in under 7 lbs and is 7" x 23.5" packed. The tent is 64 sq ft. with a size of 7'6 x 8'6. It is a very roomy tent and that is exactly what I wanted. It is nice to have something with these specs and also be able to strap it to a backpack. ***Updated 01/21/15*** Tent is still working out great and I am getting better at packing it back up in the stuff sack. Above I stated that the entry doors are a little high and it can be a little difficult getting in and out of the tent but this also makes this tent really good in the rain. One thing I still want to change out with the tent is the stakes, I think I want to get the MSR mini-groundhog stakes to replace the stakes that it came with. However, I have been using the standard stakes without any issues. Adding the mini-groundhogs will lighten the overall weight of the tent making it even lighter if you are going to backpack with it.