Tent question

Does anyone have any experience with this tent
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Max-6.6-x-4.6-Backpacking-Tent/13848689
It says its 5 and a half pounds shipping weight, so I'm sure its a bit ligher than that actually. The Q&A says it rolls up to 6x18.

Zero experience, as I generally avoid buying at Walmart.

If the weight is acceptable to you it will probably work as well as any other cheap tent, in fair weather. No idea what it would do in rain or wind. The pin and ring connectors - man, haven't seen those in a while. Looking at the picture I wonder what attaches the inner wall to the outer, and how close it is to the fly. And whether that makes it a real condensation trap.

I'd take that money and buy materials to make a sub 2 lb tent - Ray Way has tarp and net tent kits, Henry Shires posts his original tarp tent pattern for free, and Quest has a bilgy tent pattern they sell. But that's me - happy to poke holes in my fingers and try to sew a straight line to save money and weight.

I had been planning on making the henry shires tarp tent, but I decided I would really want a floor in it, which cancels out some of the weight savings of the design. I also figured out by the time I buy all the stuff, the price would be the same or more at this tent. I also dont know that I can sew that well to make the tarp tent.

Well, My reccomendation is either get sewing,

or spend a bit more

http://www.zpacks.com/shelter/hexamidtwin.shtml

http://www.tarptent.com/scarp2.html#specs

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___27854

http://www.rei.com/product/819973

http://www.rei.com/product/810183


etc. etc. etc.

Look at the Quest bilgy pattern - it has a floor, and it's a 2 person.

Spend once. Be happy. It's cheaper to get what you want up front - says the chick who went through four wrong packs, three pairs of the wrong shoes, multiple wrong shelters, and several versions of cooking kit. Glad I only got one spectacular failure in sleeping bag to get what really worked out.

ETA: here's the link: http://www.questoutfitters.com/patterns-tent,sleeping%20bag-cart.htm#Tent/Sleeping%20Bag%20Patterns

I would get the kit for the 2 man with silnylon 2nds - the 2nds have cosmetic blemishes but I have a tarp made of seconds that's pretty darn good, kept me dry lots of times. Yes, it's more expensive. Somewhat. But it's 2 lbs 4 oz and you can't really beat a nice roomy shelter that doesn't weigh 5 lbs.

Cheap tents work great in good weather, when a tent is unnecessary. When the weather turns, they can be unsatisfactory, or worse. Money spent on a cheap tent is likely to be money wasted..

Could you add a floor to the Shires tent? (As I recall, it's rectangular, so it would seem pretty easy.) Even if it added half a pound, the Shires tent has still got to be substantially lighter than the Walmart tent.

Check Out the make your own gear web site. The linkis available here on this site. I made the Jones tent two last year. It resembles a squall a beleive. This tent weighs 2 pounds flat with rear pole and stakes. If i did it all over I would maybe cat cut the ridge line a couple inches for tension. Over all I am very happy with this tent. I ordered ten yrds black and ten yrds blue from www.noalamport.com About 115.00 with zippers mesh etc.

I have never used that tent. But I will say that the coleman max brand is better than most cheap tent brands. If you are going to buy a cheap tent, that is probably one of the better ones. It says it has aluminum poles, which is great. If you get it, make sure and set it up in the yard and spray water on it. You might have to seal the seams in the fly and other parts of the tent. The welded floor seam description makes me think that the floor is made from heavy fabric. If it isn't the same fabric as the walls and fly, I would cut the floor out and use a lighter piece of plastic for the floor.

Of course, I make my own tarps. It is really easy to sew a tarp together.

The tent may work for you or it may not. It depends on what you expect from it. If it's for a base camp 3 miles in, the weight is not a major factor. But it is not suitable for a long thruhike. Will it be subject to snow loads? High winds? Can you afford a more expensive tent? Do you care about a vestibule? Will you use it solo?

There are lots of variables here. No one can give you a thumbs up without more information. It's hard to tell what your requirements are.

Lori, I took a look at the quest tent you mentioned. That looks like a very interesting design. The main question I have with it, is it seems a little large with all those flaps out. Do you think that would every likely be a problem?

Old ranger, thats why I was asking about it here. I know usually you get what you pay for, but there are sometimes exceptions to that, so I figured I'd check and see if this was one of those times.

Glenn, yes you can add a floor, his site talks about it.

Kent, I will look into that design too. I looked at the fabric (you forgot the h in noah by the way) and all I saw on there was urathane coated, it seems to me that silicone coated seems to be the prefered cloth around here. I'm going to have to look into those differences a bit.

Finallyme, I'm not sure what the materials are. I know that my coleman max pack is much better than some of the other cheap brand stuff at walmart, so I figured if there was any hope for a cheap tent to be decent, it would be this one.

Trailrunner, it will really just be for weekend trips, nothing too long. I wont be out in any snow with it at all, and don't PLAN to be out in any serious wind or stormy weather or anything like that. I wont be using it solo. Honestly, I dont really know that a vestibule matters to me. Like I said, I dont really plan to be out in any bad weather if I can help it, and from my understanding they're mainly used as a place to cook out of the rain and that sort of thing. Since I dont plan to be out in much bad weather I dont know that it would make much difference to me either way.

I've never heard of having plenty of coverage being a problem... it's roughly the same coverage I get with my tarp (which I have used on the ground, minus the hammock, with good results). You'll have a lot less condensation - air flow will be much better than with a ventless dome tent.

I was meaning more having room for the tent. It looks like it covers alot more area than alot of the other tent designs I've ran across, so I didnt know. I wasnt sure how much open room most camp sites along trails have. I've really just saw the more established camp sites at parks that have the little grills stuck in the ground and all that. I do like the ventilation it looks like it would have. It also looks like it would keep rain out better that some of the more open sided designs with no overhang covering the mesh side walls. Like I said, I dont really plan to be out in much rain, but around here the weather can change pretty quickly...

Lori,

Have you make the Bilgy tarp tent? I've got the kit but haven't started on it yet. After reading the instructions several times I'm still uncertain how the front and back mesh panels attach to the roof. Could you post pics if you have?

Thanks

I haven't actually, because typically I use just the tarp that I have - with or without my hammock under it. I'd probably just roll a hem in the netting and pin it in place on the nylon, and sew, then seam seal everything later.

I bet you could call Quest and ask the question. If they don't know the answer they might be able to direct you to someone who does... they had to get those pictures on the website somewhere!

I just ordered the two person bilgy a little earlier today. I requested that they send larger diameter grommets to fit over the ends of my trecking poles a little, rather than barely sit on the tip of them. I also ordered a little extra silinylon to practice on, because I heard this stuff can be tough to sew. I'm really looking forward to the kit getting here and getting started. I'll be sure to post some pictures as I go.

Edit: Wrong thread, I have to stop using tabs.

James sorry about the typo. Silnylon isnt shown on noahlamports site. You have to call and they will tell you what they have in stock.

No problem on the typo, I was just letting you know and letting anyone else looking at this thread know. I wound up ordering the kit for the bilgy tent from quest outfitters, so I'm getting my nylon from them. Thanks for the info though.