Rei Co Op Base Camp 4 Tent

This tent also boasts about 60 square feet of floor space and a peak height of five feet, allowing campers to stretch out and get comfortable. The Cabela’s is the sturdier of the two in seriously rough conditions—it’s even rated to withstand wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour. To start, we much prefer the REI’s aluminum poles, which are less susceptible to breaking under stress than the fiberglass ones used for the Alaskan Guide Model. Secondly, you get two large doors and vestibules with the REI (the Cabela’s comes with just one). And finally, the Base Camp has far better interior storage with its 14 well-distributed pockets. Unless you need 4-season-worthy weather protection, the Base Camp is the more well-rounded design.

Less poles is easier to set-up and carry, but sometimes not as sturdy in the long run. The double wall is great for staying warm and dry but we were concerned about the airflow and condensation. The large vents on the inner tent worked great at keeping the tent ventilated in cool weather. It would be way too warm for summer camping, but that’s not what it’s built for.

One Response To rei Kingdom 4 Review

There are some features that every good tent should have built in. It has to keep the rain and bugs out, it has to stay upright and stable in high winds, and it has to be insulated to help you stay warm. These are the essentials that you should never compromise on when you’re looking for a shelter to house you, your friends, or family. A solid product by REI, the Base Camp 4 would be a nice addition to most people’s camping inventory.

The process is a rather straightforward affair, thanks in part to color-coding on the poles and sleeves. You’ll start the assembly by feeding two tentpoles through fabric sleeves from corner to corner, crisscrossing through the center, and forming the main structure. The fifth pole feeds through the rainfly to create a roof for the front vestibule. In fact, we found that deploying the rainfly was much easier with the Base Camp 6 than with some of the other tents in our review. The REI Base Camp 6 is a great choice for those looking to dip their toes into colder, windier, and rainier adventures.

There are larger, sturdy tents for big groups, but the reliable ones will cost you a pretty penny. The Nemo Kunai is a 4-season tent that was designed for short and light mountaineering trips. Feel free to buy the optional footprint as well, but if you’re getting into serious mountaineering, you may not need it. We recommend this tent to climbers with short nights and long days, small loads, and much experience.

Despite an identical floor area and peak height, the Wonderland trades full-coverage vestibules for narrow awnings above each door that offer little in the way of protection. REI does sell a separate Mud Room attachment for $125 to cover the entryway and increase storage space, but it tacks on another 100 inches to the tent’s already-substantial footprint. The scalloped rainfly also leaves a good portion of the sides exposed to moisture, although REI did drop the top roof vents, which were a source of vulnerability on the Kingdom. Finally, the Wonderland lacks the crisscrossing pole structure of the Kingdom, and we don’t expect its upright shape to be a standout in foul weather.

Coleman Instant Tent 6 Review

We identified products that fit the needs of families looking to car camp in warm weather, along with families hoping to hit the trails, minimize weight, and gain protection from the elements. I have used tents from REI Co-op and can attest to their quality, but when it came to other brands, I looked towards product reviews and other experts to identify my other top picks. I made sure to look at several sources for each product, including GearLab, New York Times’ Wirecutter, Wilderness Times, Adventure, and more. The Sundome is not meant to last forever, built with cheaper, less durable materials than pricier tent options.

For smaller parties of two or three, or those needing to limit their footprint size, the Base Camp 4 is a viable option (its floor area is 100 x 86 in. and peak height is shorter at 60 in.). But in most cases, we think it’s well worth erring on the side of a little extra room. There’s a reason six-person models are consistently the biggest sellers among car camping designs. Nearly every tent on the market will provide information about floor dimensions , which is a key indicator of overall livability. In general, tents with similar sleeping capacities will have similar total floor areas (80 to 90 square feet for a six-person model). For example, the REI Wonderland 6 boasts 83.3 square feet of floor area, the Marmot Limestone 6P has 83 square feet, and REI’s Base Camp 6 has 84 square feet.

Among large, six-person camping tents, the Base Camp 6 is one of the easiest and most intuitive to set up. Its poles, sleeves, and webbing are color-coded, which means all you have to do is match them and clip everything together. As with pitching most large tents, we think it’s best done in pairs—and it never hurts to do a test run in your backyard before heading out—but even solo the Base Camp only takes about 10 minutes. And it’s worth noting that REI has attached detailed set up instructions on the stuff sack, which serves as a nice refresher if you haven’t used the tent in a while. Regarding the included carry bag, its simple tube-like shape and shoulder strap make it fairly easy to haul to and from a vehicle.

Gear Review Of The Rei Kingdom 4

Extra guyouts anchor you to the ground and a lampshade pocket overhead converts your headlamp into a nightlight. For easier assembly, poles come color-coded and once constructed, the Fortress’s vertical walls give you a roomier feel inside. We recommend this spacious 2-person tent to hikers, climbers, and alpinists journeying into woodsy, wet environments. A single side door is placed right in the center, which does limit ease of entry/exit, but the sheer size of the thing makes it a nice match for groups of four to six people.

So tall, in fact, that if you’re 6’2″ or shorter, you can stand straight up inside without having your head touch the ceiling. This makes it an attractive option for families with kids, or anyone who likes being able to stand inside their shelter without hunching over uncomfortably. When something is water resistant, it will deflect moisture up to a point – but in heavy downpours, or showers that don’t seem to want to stop, eventually they’ll let the water through.

Tents vary pretty widely in cost with some around the low hundreds and other’s teetering up to and over a thousand. As a general rule of thumb, the more expensive the tent, the more durable its material and the more likely it is to withstand more inclement weather. When you start searching for your next or first mountaineering tent, there are a few things you should take into consideration before making your decision. For starters, take a look through what REI and Gear Junkie have to say on how to choose a backpacking tent and an explanation of how to pick the best mountaineering tent for you.

Rei Kingdom 4 Overview

Currently Nate works as a freelance writer and explorer and competes for the Israeli National lacrosse team at tournaments around the world. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Nepali and proficient in French and Arabic. This past Spring, Nate became the first ever foreigner to porter in the Himalaya. Make sure to double check whether or not your tent comes with a canopy.

It has a 150-denier polyester floor that is both abrasion and puncture-resistant. Thick aluminum poles, fabric, seams, and zippers all look and feel top-notch. The Wawona 6 is made by The North Face, a well-known brand for quality, and this tent is no different. The main tent is made out of 150D polyester taffeta, the floor out of 68D polyester, and the poles are DAC MX — strong and light.

The extra-large vestibule easily fits two chairs and a small cooking table, and we were able to fit a full and a twin air mattress inside with plenty of room left over for gear, dog beds, and more. Add to that a ton of pockets and hang loops, and you have a very versatile and strong almost-year-round tent. If you have dreams of setting up the ultimate backcountry base camp with this tent, we’ll just stop you right there.

Rei Kingdom 4 Tent

We’ve done the hard work for you to roundup the best four-person tents for backpacking, camping, or car camping. If wind and wet weather protection are near the top of your list of must-haves, then we think the Base Camp 6 is a great choice. All in all, REI’s Base Camp is properly equipped for foul-weather camping.

Most of the tents reviewed above have a version that can fit up to six people, and give you that additional wiggle room. Tents also vary in the amount of storage space they have, though most tents have some sort of pockets inside. For camping with big groups, more pockets can allow people to move in a bit and keep their belongings organized. There’s nothing like snuggling up under the stars with your friends or family in a four-person tent.

Having said that, two things would have made packing up the tent a better experience. One, its relatively small size requires careful and precise folding and rolling to make everything fit. And two, internal dividers would be nice for separating and organizing the rainfly, tent body, poles, and stakes. In our opinion, REI should have used their backpack-style Kingdom storage bag for the Base Camp, as it addresses these two main issues. Outfitted with internal storage areas and a well-designed support system, this heavy-duty tent can withstand the blows of severe weather for extended periods of time. Offered in four- and six-person capacities, the car camping-focused model is a top choice among those looking to…