It's already been said, but it's worth repeating since it's a beginner's forum. Quality gear is almost always the best investment. For tents, strongly consider buying a cheap REI tent rather than buying a tent from a walmart/sportmart etc. It's cheaper to buy good gear once, instead of buying okay gear and then replacing it.

Those cheaper tents will probably need seam sealing and re-coating, but the fabric will probably be a looser weave and still not be as waterproof. They work great on nice days, keeping the sun and mosquitos out, but they will just lead to cursing during the first real rain. If you own them for a while, you'll start seeing metal pieces start to rust and elastic stretching out and zippers failing. It's just that they are so big and cheap, it's hard to resist the temptation of buying one -- I know, I've been there.

Just consider, how much would hotel rooms cost a night? Multiply that as often as you need to in order to justify buying a really nice tent! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />