looking for a tent, but not sure what to buy

[jeepjunky]

Im looking for a 2 person tent, I dont need a 4 seasons. What I need is to stay dry when it rains. Also I would like to avoid a second mortgage on the house to buy the tent. Kinda thinking about a colman tent, But there are a lot of diffrent tents listed on ebay...any sugestions?

[Rocket-scientist]

You will get what you pay for in a tent. The big box brands have marginal waterproofing and are more for very short duration fair weather camping. I really like the REI quarter dome, when my current marmot tent gives up (4 years now, never a leak) it will most likely get replaced by the REI brand. They also have good service and replacement policies.

I also like the eureka A frame tents. Mine lasted 10 years before i replaced it and is still being used by my sister, but the DWR has faded and it will leak now in a heavy downpour.

Both of these options will run around $200 bucks, but spending a night in a puddle is really not worth the savings on a cheaper tent.

[HARDTRAILZ]

I like my Kelty. 2 person with good rainfly for under 100.

[brianwj]

We bought a large family tent last year from the Camping Equipment Company online. They have great tents that you never hear about and we had no problems with ours in 40 mph winds with pouring rain. I'm also a fan of REI but definitely stay away from the box store tents most of those went down on the storm we had on the beach.

[kilimats]

cant beat the user friendliness of an instant tent by coleman, love mine

[Ryanmb21]

I really like my REI Basecamp 4.

[nwoods]

I really like my REI Basecamp 4.

x2 on the Basecamp 4. Fantastic tent. Fits 2.5 people perfectly.

[BLK2000TJ]

Like was stated above you get what you pay for when it comes to tents. We do a lot of camping. The mornings after an overnight rain you can always spot the people that tried to save a buck on their tents. They're the one's drying out their sleeping bags. Cheap tents are OK if all you do is came in perfect weather but as soon as the weather turns sour you'll wish you had spent the extra money for a quality shelter. A full coverage rain fly is a must.Check out REI and Big Agnes.

[Craigwhitton]

Here's a quick plug for Mountain Hardware tents. We have the Drifter 3 but there is also the Drifter 2 available. Good quality construction and a lot of nice features make this the choice for us -- like handy reflective patches for finding it in the dark on the way back from a hike/latrine run. Also if you get the groundsheet you can leave the tent body at home and just use the groundsheet and fly which is good for no-bug areas or for weight savings or if you are caught in a sudden downpour. Besides that the poles are quality aluminum and the tent can be pitched very easily in a short time as everything clips on so there's no snaking the pegs through fabric sleeves as is common. Two vestibules for gear which are double zipped for ventilation. We re going on year 3 of moderate to heavy use and it's been great. The drifter 3 cost us about 170 bucks.

[ddog45]

Try to find a used moss tent they were the bomb. Ive bought two off of craigslist in the past.