Would you critique my tent choices?

[Honeymooner04]

We're planning our first ever tent camping trip (not at WDW, at least not this year!). I've narrowed it down to these two choices but I was hoping to get some experienced campers opinion on them. Just so you know, it will be me, my tall husband, my 2 year old and our 165 great dane camping with us.

Option 1: Coleman Red Canyon
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-17-Fo...e=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1213818999&sr=8-2

I like that it's inexpensive. Amazon is running a deal now that if I spend $100 on Coleman products they'll knock $20 off the price so I could get the tent and a $10 item like a tent light for $80. My wallet likes this. I think it looks fine and I like that it's roomy. My concerns are that it's not that great of quality and that the two "rooms" off to the sides are going to be awkward. We're hoping to put an air mattress in the tent as well as a junior cot for my dd.

Option 2: Eureka Tetragon 1210
http://www.amazon.com/Eureka-Tetrag...e=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1213819156&sr=1-1

This tent seems to be better quality. All the reviews on Eureka tent are very positive. I like that the sides don't seem to slope down as much. The negatives of course is that it's essentially twice as much.

So Disers, what do you think? I really appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks!

 

[big kahuna1]

Well, based on what I read I would go with the Coleman foir the price difference. I did not see anything that made me say, Wow, for $100+ more this tent has this and this. They both seemed to perform like tents based on the reviews.

 

[Pirate-Jeff]

What are going to do with the dog? Disney kind of frowns on Dogs and tents. You may have to kennel him while you are there or gone to the parks.
Someone on here will know this answer for sure.

 

[Honeymooner04]

I'm not planning on going to Disney on this camping trip so the dog is fine.

 

[medic9016]

I would go with the coleman. I like the extension cord axcess. Both will hold up really well.

 

[cwgamer]

If it were me, for the price difference, I'd get the Coleman hands down. That's a good price on that tent model. If it's Coleman it's good quality and to me anyway, looks like a much more weather protective design than the other one. The Coleman has a 'tub floor', the other one appears to just be regular seamed tent nylon. Also the Coleman has the electric cord inlet port....didn't notice if the Eureka did or not. To be honest though, I know very little about that brand.

That Coleman is a very good tent....for half the price it would be a no-brainer for me.

 

[LarryJ]

We're planning our first ever tent camping trip (not at WDW, at least not this year!). I've narrowed it down to these two choices but I was hoping to get some experienced campers opinion on them. Just so you know, it will be me, my tall husband, my 2 year old and our 165 great dane camping with us.

Option 1: Coleman Red Canyon
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-17-Fo...e=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1213818999&sr=8-2

I like that it's inexpensive. Amazon is running a deal now that if I spend $100 on Coleman products they'll knock $20 off the price so I could get the tent and a $10 item like a tent light for $80. My wallet likes this. I think it looks fine and I like that it's roomy. My concerns are that it's not that great of quality and that the two "rooms" off to the sides are going to be awkward. We're hoping to put an air mattress in the tent as well as a junior cot for my dd.

Option 2: Eureka Tetragon 1210
http://www.amazon.com/Eureka-Tetrag...e=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1213819156&sr=1-1

This tent seems to be better quality. All the reviews on Eureka tent are very positive. I like that the sides don't seem to slope down as much. The negatives of course is that it's essentially twice as much.

So Disers, what do you think? I really appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks!

I haven't tented in over 35 years, but heck both of those are so inexpensive I would go cheap to see if you like that style. I prefer one that you can stand up in with fairly vertical side walls, but as I said for just sleeping either one of those should be fine and I would go with the Coleman and then you can replace with a better more suited one once you get some experience tenting. One thing you do need IMHO is something like a dining fly or something to protect your eating, cooking area from the elements. I don't think you can be fairly self contained in either of those tents so you will be spending a lot of time outdoors preparing and eating meals, etc.

Larry

 

[clkelley]

I would go with the Coleman also. I've never paid more than $100 for a tent, and with proper care, they last awhile. Even my $40 Wal-mart tents are over 6 years old and still doing well with very regular use. (Not so much in the last year). One thing I did to save on wear and tear is just got rid of the bags. I bought a large Sterilite bin, and in that bin is the tent, linens, air mattress, etc. loaded in the bin in the order I need to set up. So when I would go on weekend camping trips with Scouts, just load the bin(s) in the truck, pack a small bag of clothes and toiletries and we'd be ready.

After EVERY trip, even if there was no rain, I would take the tent out when I got home and air it out some hanging over the fence before packing it all back up. We tended to leave camping trips early on Sunday morning, so all the morning moisture had not had a chance to dry.

 

[djblu883]

the Coleman tent looks to be a 3 season tent and will hold up better in rain and be warmer in cooler temps...the price is right too...I had a tent like this one a few years back and it held up well...a friend liked it so well he and family borrowed it and still have it lol....

 

[Honeymooner04]

Thanks for your input! I think I'll go with the Coleman. My wallet thanks you too!

 

[Tent Camping Mom]

Our previous tent was a Coleman, our current tent is a Eureka. We had different models than what you are showing. Here's what I liked and disliked about ours.
Coleman
Like: The polyethylene floor was the best! No water ever got through it and we went through several downpours in it. In fact, the whole tent stayed dry.
Dislike: Not enough windows, hottest tent we ever had.

Eureka
Like: The large windows and a skylight in the rainfly.
Dislike: No polyethylene floor. It's fabric but coated...I still don't trust it. We haven't gone through a heavy rain in it yet. Just a constant sprinkle for about a half day but it stayed dry.

 

[ntsammy5]

Unless it's for backpacking I always go for cheap. I've never been disappointed.

 

[yoopermom]

Check with your local library to see if they carry Backpacker magazine. Even though I don't backpack, I subscribe for their excellent reviews of products. They cover tons of tents, and are very specific about uses, good/bad, etc.

Good luck and have fun!

Terri

 

[jimlin]

I have to go with the Eureka. The higher sides mean more room to me. And the Coleman rain fly isn't really covering much on the sides. Past experiences tell me rain and wet in the coleman on the sides.

Jim

 

[schmitty]

The Coleman has seperate rooms also so you can put the dog in a specific area if you choose.

 

[Blue_Pearl]

We got a new Coleman tent last year and I wish I had checked it more closely before we went camping. Be absolutely sure to check the nderside of the rain fly. On ours (a Denali) the seam seal tapes are discontinuous which caused leaking. It looks like the tape was applied over wrinkles. I have tried several times to seal it. Cross your fingers. FWIW Yesterday I found the 5 year warranty in the bottom of the bag. Now if I only had time to send it in before this years' camping trip!
Like I said. Be sure to check the rain fly!
In its favor, we really like the tall center 7feet, and the bathtub floor has not leaked even in downpours.
YMMV

 

[stky6]

Go to gigatent.com and check out their models. We just purchased a Mt. Barren 18x12 familt tent...very good quality and their customer service is top notch. When our first tent arrived it had a bad zipper, emailed them and they had us a new tent in 5 days and all they wanted back was the main tent body so we wound up with an extra set of poles and rain tarp.

 

[5stljayhawks]

I am fans of all three retailer/internet stores. I bought a large familey tent from costco for 90 or so and a smaller back packing tent from both REI and serria trading....


You should be able to get a nice fam. tent for under $100. Enjoy and welcome.

SP

 

[ntsammy5]

Here's a cheap tent I bought last year for less than $50. It was one of three I bought last year and the cheapest by far. It's the easiest one to take for weekend trips and it works well. I got a huge Swiss Army cabin tent that weighs about 500 pounds, at least it feels like it, that I can set up by myself, but it's too big for most trips, and a little backpacking tent that is great for backpacking, but too small for anything else. They're all great tents and work well depending on what you use them for!

 

[Barnabus]

You might want to see if you can find any online reviews for the tents.

I have a Wenger tent. Was not cheap. Very well built. Light. But, when we get those crazy sideways florida rains water comes in through the bottom of the door. Basically a design flaw. Circular doors suck + the rainfly is not big enough.

This is something you would not find out unless you are lucky enough to find someone who has camped in one of these tents in a rainstorm.