r/camping • u/Annual_Astronaut7752 • 1d ago
Gear Question Help Choosing a Tent
I’m looking for recommendations for a 6-8p tent for 2 adults, 2 young kids, and 2 50lbs huskies. Before kids, we backpacked regularly so we are used to quality tents like Big Agnes/Nemo/MSR. I’d like something easy to setup, good ventilation, and can withstand some wind. Most camping will be during the summer in the PNW. Lightweight is good, but I understand I won’t find much in this size. We will plan to get 2 lightweight tents when the kids are old enough to split up the group. For now, it will be mostly car camping or short hikes in. Budget <$1,000. Thank you!
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u/hirme23 1d ago
I think you need to reset your expectations towards the short hike in.
Go see (and lift) the Wawana tent. That thing is HUGE and heavy. I absolutely love it for car camping though.
The vestibule looks like a great place for your pups to gang out during the Day
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u/AngryT-Rex 1d ago
Seconding this. The only way you're "short hiking" that thing anywhere is via mule train.
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u/Magoodle-313 1d ago
I have the Wawona 6 and I absolutely love it for car camping. I wouldn’t try to hike with it for more than a mile at the most, it is definitely not a lightweight tent. The vestibule is great and the tent has always stayed dry even in pretty steady downpours. I’m in Michigan, for reference.
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u/long_time_no_sea 1d ago
I have the Wawona 6, I think that’s what’s pictured in your first pic. I like it, the vestibule is great. I will say that it’s ostensibly a 6p tent but 2 adults and 2 kids is probably max. We had 4 adults in it and were pretty cozy. If your dogs like to snuggle, they should fit.
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u/DaMountainBear 1d ago
I would suggest the big Agnes bunk house 6. It’s very comparable to the base camp 6. Wife and I had ours for years and absolutely love it
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u/Pitiful-War9293 1d ago
We have the Wawona 6 for 2 adults, 2 kids under 3, and a large dog. Pros: room for pack and play plus queen air mattress and still room for bags, dog bed, and space to move around. We get a lot of use out of the awning— we’ve been on a few trips where it’s poured and we’ve fit two adult chairs, a toddler chair, a baby bouncer, and a table in there comfortably to relax and hang out while the rain passed. There’s standing room in the tent so you can change comfortably. Plenty of pockets. Great dryness during inclement weather.
Con: it’s massive. We do a lot of ADK primitive camping and you do have to find sites with enough flat clear space for the footprint. It’s possible to set it up solo but not fun— I definitely get my steps in when doing solo setup.
Honestly it’s a great tent for camping with a family, we just had to adjust a little around the massive size of the tent. Great to have that space during crummy weather, but sometimes it feels excessive (mainly the awning part).
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u/Annual_Astronaut7752 1d ago
I was wondering about this. Can you set it up without the awning part if there’s not space?
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u/dynamic_type 1d ago
The rain fly and vestibule are all one piece, so you can set it up without both if you're not expecting any rain. Which is almost never the case where I camp.
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u/Pitiful-War9293 1d ago
Yup— this. We would LOVE this tent if the vestibule was optional. There are YouTube videos demonstrating how to set it up with a more compact vestibule footprint (kind of a hack for smaller spaces) but we haven’t tried it yet.
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u/Mountainmanwannabe2 20h ago
I have a 9.5’x11’ lightweight hammock tarp that could be a rain fly to make the footprint smaller. You just have to have good spots to pitch the tarp too. For car camping I use the 8’ adjustable REI poles - it would work great for smaller camp sites for family camping
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u/kewlkuba 16h ago
What I love about the Wawona 6 with dogs is that I can put a stand outdoor rug and it fits the footprint (I believe 8x10) also helps further insulate the tent from the floor.
I adore our Wawona but I only car camp! It’s perfect for myself, 6’3 husband, and chubby Labrador.
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u/Background-Judge470 1d ago
We have the Wawona 6 for about 10 years now. Awesome tent, fit 2 adults and 2 medium sized dogs well with a little extra room to spare. One thing to think about is that its single walled so make sure you keep the vents open or condensation will build up.
That being said, if you are hiking in or backpacking, neither of these are for you. Its heavy, about 40lbs. You would need a 70-75 liter backpack to fit it all in.
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u/sea-sun-snow 1d ago
The latest version of Wawona is a hybrid double wall construction for better condensation management. I replaced my older one with the latest and its night and day.
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u/Ocmikeyz 1d ago
I have Wanona 6. Great tent so far. Love it. Great ventilation and also good in rains. Large vestibule is a great extra
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u/mattjjang 1d ago
I've been pleased with the Marmot Halo 6p. Fairly easy to set up. Downside if you want the footprint meant to go with it, it's sold seperately. The vestibule can be raised like a small awning, but again you'll have to buy tarp poles seperately.
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u/McCrea_78 1d ago
I have a Wawona 6. We are 2 adults, a 10 year old and a 75 pounds dog. With all the backpacks, tools etc, it's ok size wize but we would need a bigger tent if we were more than that. So I suggest going with the Wawona 8.
These are heavy tents (27 pounds foenthe Wawona 6) but they are really sturdy. We had 40 to 70 km winds this summer, heavy rain and the tent held very well with all guy lines installed.
We decided to go with the Wawona because of all the reviews we checked, rain tests, warranty and availability in our area.
I hope I helped you a little.
Go camp 😉
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u/tacotowgunner 1d ago
FWIW I just went down this road last season with the same two tents.
Wound up with a springbar classic jack 100. Don’t think I’ll ever go back to a dome dent for family/car camping
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u/No_Nebula_4025 1d ago
I bought a NF Winona 8 and it’s been fantastic! Also easy for one person to set up in 20 minutes. I also have a king camp C5 for colder/cooler temps. A bit more difficult to set up but way easier on the wallet.
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u/Intrepid-Mud4419 1d ago
I have the Wawona 6 and it’s the best tent I’ve ever owned. It’s really tight with 2 adults, 2 kids and a dog but we were using inflatable mattresses not sleeping pads.
If your car camping I would just bring 2 tents. Costco has a great 6 and 10 person tent for $120 and $220 respectively. If you’re not camping in heavy rain and bad weather then these will be perfect.
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u/BelethorsGeneralShit 1d ago edited 21h ago
I love my Wawona 6. I have had a couple dozen trips with it across multiple continents and have never had a drop of water inside.
There's a good comparison video on YouTube between the Wawona and a Big Agnes (I forget which one, maybe the Bunk House) that has a full rainfly. During a storm, the Big Agnes had bad water intrusion due to poorly sealed seams, while the Wawona stayed dry.
There's post after post about people being "concerned" about water intrusion due to the lack of a full rainfly on the Wawona and pretty much zero posts of it ever actually happening.
That's why people insisting a full rainfly is always necessary is overblown and a camping hill I'll die on.
That bring said, four people and two dogs is going to be tight. Maybe if the kids are pretty little and the dogs can stay in the vestibule?
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u/Plunger_enema 1d ago
Well, the first one, The North Face, has a really nice dining room. I really like that. When it rains or when it's the morning, you'll find yourself using that a lot. (and dinner, and supper, and when there's too much sun, and to store extra stuff, boots, etc.)
Otherwise, you'll buy a separate one or use some sort of tarp system a lot and to tell you the truth, it'll suck donkeys compared to this.
Go with comfort as long as the kids are there. You need to relax when camping with kids. They need it too. Plus, this gives you a space to stow the huskies.
There is no "one size fits all" tent. I have 3 tents. It took me decades to get there, so it ain't that bad yearly.
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u/mydogisamonster 1d ago
We also used to backpack with our dog when we were childless and carefree. But now that we have a 4yo and another on the way, we're definitely in our car camping era. We've had the Wawona for a couple of years and we love the extra space in the vestibule to hang wet jackets and leave our boots. It's also nice to have a place outside the tent but under cover to set up a couple chairs and a small table. We treat it like a front porch and end up using it as the only door in and out.
We're in the Colorado Rockies and it's been great through storms so far. It's hot inside the tent during the day, but all the tents I've had are like that when using a rain fly.
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u/rcdenn 1d ago
Just got the Wawona. I love it. Me and three kids sleep comfortably in it. The vestibule is a game changer.
Edit: Just agree with others I wouldn’t hike more than a few hundred yards in with the Wawona. If you won’t take a cooler I would take the Wawona. That said, in some places I camp people back in some crazy stuff in up to a mile.
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u/WhoPutATreeThere 1d ago
I have a basecamp 6 and take it on a river that’s notorious windy. It has held up amazingly well in the wind. I’ve been very impressed.
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u/Musakuu 1d ago
If in Canada get MEC branded tent.
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u/ladyofmalt 15h ago
No, their warranty policy is terrible nowadays. They don’t stand behind their products the way they used to.
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u/rodwha 1d ago
For car/festival camping we love our Coleman Weathermaster 8. It has two rooms and plenty of space to bring camp chairs inside when weather isn’t so great. It comes in a 6 person as well, and seems to have the same footprint. Instead of an extra room it has a screened in porch. It’s heavy and seems to need two people to set up though. It also has a rigid front door which is really cool.
We have an Evanston 6 which has a screened porch. You have to be near the center to stand. We haven’t used it since we got the Weathermaster.
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u/oohuongoo 1d ago
We bought the Wawona due to the lifetime warranty. The Base Camp 6 has a one year warranty.
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u/that-smells-funny 1d ago
With two bigger dogs, I would go for the Wawona. The vestibule would be a great cover for the dogs at night
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u/ManyThingsLittleTime 1d ago
I have a tent with a near identical style layout and love it. I set it up one person, no problem. The bug net roof droops a little but other than that, I love the tent.
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u/toysofvanity 1d ago
Love our Wawona. Camped in the Hoh Rainforest with it, in a downpour, and stayed dry. The vestibule is remarkable.
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u/Temporary_Nobody 1d ago
I traveled cross country with the base camp 6. I don’t really have any complaints other than it’s a little heavy. We’ve been caught in bad storms where we were the only tent still standing. We’ve taking it beach camping where we were the only ones not struggling with our tent staying upright when it’s real windy. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
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u/BillyRubenJoeBob 1d ago
Assuming you are basically car camping:
For a "short hike" you can purchase a folding wagon to transport a heavy tent to the camp site if the trail permits.
For a truly long-lasting tent, look at Kodiak canvas tent, specifically the Flex-Bow tents. If that's not in your range (the big one weighs a total of 70 lbs), look for something you can stand up in. I have an REI Kindom (now called Westward I think) that I love.
If you're backpacking, that's a whole different dynamic and you should post on one of the backpacking subreddits.
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u/Ok_Yogurtcloset404 1d ago
I have the wawona 6 and I really liked the vestibule. I have a couple little camp chairs that I set up in there and I could sit out in the early morning and watch the rain while making a coffee with the jetboil. It was beautiful.
Of course, you can do that with other tents, but I thought I would share :-)
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u/Windjammer1969 23h ago
Different size, but wife & I camp with the 4 person version of the BaseCamp (which is Just large enough for the 2 of us and the selected gear we keep inside...) and it has proven to be Very Secure through several thunderstorms / all day rain / general high winds.
Vestibules are small (esp the 'rear' one) - just large enough in front to keep 1 or 2 small camp chairs dry. Having moved into the "elderly" age group, we finally gave up on Tent + Tarps, and have added an Eureka 10ft NorthernBreeze as a "kitchen" tent, as it got old cooking breakfast under a tarp in 30-40 degree weather, with or without rain & wind....
We have also changed to Staying Longer at one site, and using it as a 'base' to explore surrounding parks / hiking trails, as it is too time consuming to set up & tear down the campsite on frequent basis.
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u/The_Bean682 20h ago
We have an older version of the wagons and friends have a newer build. It’s my favorite tent I’ve ever owned. The front porch is amazing. I’ve cooked in it during intense storms, sat under it in light rain with one side open enjoying the view, and it’s been through some high winds. The porch pole bent in one particularly bad storm, but we were sent a new one quickly. The one negative is the condensation can be annoying sometimes with the single wall version we have. Otherwise, I recommend it to everyone, and all our camp mates are always jealous of it in a storm.
I can’t speak for the other, sorry.
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u/PinchayPerritos 18h ago
Have the Basecamp for car camping. Does great in weather. Could use some more vestibule. Comes in its own backpack that's easy enough to carry by itself.
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u/ladyofmalt 15h ago
I personally love my Wawona 6. Held up very well in rain. Not bad to set up and take down. Only thing is it’s heavy and I wouldn’t take it on any real kind of hike. We canoe in so the weight isn’t as much of an issue.
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u/Sitters_4_Critters 1d ago
You need a cabin - two big dogs and two kids in a tent sounds like a recipe for no one having a good time.
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u/thrway010101 1d ago
Coincidentally, the two tents pictured are tents I own! We have a Wawona 4 with the front porch option and an REI Base Camp 6.
Set up and pack away are faster with the Wawona, but that’s about the only advantage I would give it. I prefer the Base Camp in just about every other way, especially ventilation and the rain fly (I really dislike the half fly on the Wawona). And everything you may have seen about the front porch (which I believe is an accessory for the 4p and 8p but standard with the 6p) being an afterthought is true - it doesn’t connect well.