Tent big enough to fit family of 5?

Small Dog

New member
This tent is heavy, but canvas has some real advantanges over sythetics. It is very strong in wind, great desing and roomy. You can even have a stove inside.
sibley-500-ultimate-pro.html
 
And he can put that remaining money to much better use than throwing it away for a "made in USA" label and a feel-good pat on the back.

I tried giving USA manufacturers preferential treatment, paying for supposed "quality," (great reviews and all) and got burned with crap products every time. No more.

Quality and value for the money are the only things worth giving a damn about. If a USA manufacturer comes out on top for this criteria - awesome; if not, too bad. We live in a global world, and if local manufacturers can't compete with overseas, tough, the world will forget about them, adapt and move on. (It's exactly the same in my profession - any person with an internet connection can be my competition - and I know how to provide value that's worth the extra $$.) I'm not going to be "bailing out" poorly ran businesses, and neither should anyone else.

Everything I've read suggests Kodiak tents are of fantastic quality, so that's where my money would go (and likely soon will).
I have thousands of products made in China - and thousands made in other countries too!

But at the end of the day, Kodiak Canvas is an American company based in Utah with American customer service reps and they ship their tents via UPS, an American shipping company that employed Americans.

I'll goto sleep knowing that my hard earned American dollars helped feed not only a few Chinamen but also a handful of Americans too!

It's a damn good tent that serves my needs well and their customer service reps were professional and handled my issue efficiently and shared their expertise. They then shipped replacement parts immediately. I'll buy from them again.

Just my $.02. Well, I have to leave and pay the eBay auction that I won for an ARB bull bar for my Jeep, hopefully I won't catch any flak since it's made in Australia (which was British dumping ground for convicts)






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Honu

lost on the mainland
IMHO Kodiak are the better tents :)
better floor material
better ventilation
side window options
superior door
not sure but they have a few nice accessories for hanging inside ? spring bar might to
also the awning option to have a windbreak is something I do not think spring bar has ?

bottom line IMHO and many others Kodiak are the better tents so to me its always buy local if I can and its worth it but I am not going to pay more for a inferior product (IMHO)
 

jk6661

Observer
Springbar told me they can put in the same triangle-shaped side windows that the newest Kodiaks have, but it's a special order and takes longer. Also, they do have some kind of hanging gear loft thingy, but I don't know how it compares to Kodiak's. They don't have Kodiak's semi-enclosed vestibule, but they do offer an awning with side attachments.
 

StomperNJ

Bound is truckless man.
My wife and I use a Marmot Limestone 6P, and its just us both on cots. We had the same tent in the 4P model before and the cots wouldn't fit. My point it....however many people the manufacturer says the tent will fit....it wont....unless you wanna be really cramped.
 

JJMAC

Adventurer
I agree but it's worth a bit of work for the comfort this setup provides. I mean, look how well your daughter (I assume) sleeps in your pic. :)

for sure. The setup is great for long term campsite setup. But if one was overlanding and packing up and moving every day, that is another story. That is the setup I am trying to find. Comfort and ease of setup/takedown.
 
for sure. The setup is great for long term campsite setup. But if one was overlanding and packing up and moving every day, that is another story. That is the setup I am trying to find. Comfort and ease of setup/takedown.
Nice setup and I agree with what you are saying. I see you have the Kodiak cabin tent which is a pain to setup. I have the Flexbow, and the hardest most time consuming part of the setup is hammering all the pegs into the ground. Other than that it goes up in a few minutes.

Now the disc-o-beds, as awesomely strong and comfortable as they are to sleep, sit and or stand on; they completely suck when it comes time to carry them and put them together.

If I was only staying for just one night, I would keep using the tent and skip the cots and just use a Thermarest Dreamtime or something comparable.

But other than that, the Kodiak and cots is one hell of a Basecamp!





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JJMAC

Adventurer
yeah. I keep coming back to the basic tent set up in my head but quickly shut it down. Personally I dont think I will ever go back to ground tents with kids. Just a PITA to set up and take down and then re-setup and take down and store when you get home. I am trying to find the perfect setup for multi day/multi location camping trips. I am thinking an RTT on a small trailer will be the best, most comfortable and quickest set up. Good for multi day/same location basecamp and also good for multi day/multi location trips. Then when we get home just park the trailer and gear and done. At least in my mind it works that way....
 
yeah. I keep coming back to the basic tent set up in my head but quickly shut it down. Personally I dont think I will ever go back to ground tents with kids. Just a PITA to set up and take down and then re-setup and take down and store when you get home. I am trying to find the perfect setup for multi day/multi location camping trips. I am thinking an RTT on a small trailer will be the best, most comfortable and quickest set up. Good for multi day/same location basecamp and also good for multi day/multi location trips. Then when we get home just park the trailer and gear and done. At least in my mind it works that way....
I was thinking along those lines too, however I personally can't stand those little ladders and the fact that the whole thing shakes when you move about, exit and then re-enter. The constant slapping the nylon makes during a windy night in the soft tents wouldn't be good for sound either. But then again I'm a light sleeper. You also would have to open it and air it out each time it got wet, just like I already do with my Kodiak.

If I ever went the RTT route, I'd have to go hardshell and that would be after I killed myself for many months working overtime to cover the expense of one. I honestly don't camp enough tines a year to justify that expense right now anyhow, I'm just a weekend warrior not a crusader.

Down the road, a few years away yet, I hope obtain a teardrop and a smaller tent for the kids (they will be bigger and can set it up too!)












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xterratime

Observer
I was thinking along those lines too, however I personally can't stand those little ladders and the fact that the whole thing shakes when you move about, exit and then re-enter. The constant slapping the nylon makes during a windy night in the soft tents wouldn't be good for sound either. But then again I'm a light sleeper. You also would have to open it and air it out each time it got wet, just like I already do with my Kodiak.

If I ever went the RTT route, I'd have to go hardshell and that would be after I killed myself for many months working overtime to cover the expense of one. I honestly don't camp enough tines a year to justify that expense right now anyhow, I'm just a weekend warrior not a crusader.

Down the road, a few years away yet, I hope obtain a teardrop and a smaller tent for the kids (they will be bigger and can set it up too!)












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Yeah to me thee only rooftop tent worth considering is the hard top Autohome US type. Those literally set up in minutes. The other ones with all the little ties for the fly and what not don't seem that quick, couple it with the extra times to take down and put back for running around and it's kind of a wash.

We can set up our 8 man Big Agnes tent in a pretty leisurely 10-15 minutes. We always stay put for 2 nights minimum, usually 3+.

And again to JJMAC you seem to really not like setting it back up to dry when you get home but rememebr you will have to do that with a RTT as well.
 

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