In other words, one partner—or one partner’s gear—is always going to get a dose of weather when they head out. Like the Mineral King 3, the Tungsten 4 has a mesh canopy, though the opaque polyester part of its walls go higher, and provide more privacy, than the Mineral King’s. Its tape-seamed bathtub floor and fly had no problem handling rain. The Tungsten’s fly is not adaptable in the same way the Mineral King 3’s is, but it is treated for extra UV protection, which should help lengthen the tent’s lifespan. Finding a small, light tent is the logical approach when you’re backpacking.
Unfortunately, you have to buy a separate groundsheet for the Wawona 6 and for most other tents its size as well. Its walls are 75-denier polyester fabric (tougher than the Wireless 6’s 68-denier polyester and the same as the REI Co-op Base Camp’s) that extends about two-thirds up the tent’s sides, and then is topped with mesh. The partial fly does a great job of keeping rain out of the upper, mesh areas, and cleverly placed vents maintain airflow so it never feels too stuffy.
This type of pole tends to be less flexible and bulkier than pricier aluminum, and it can be a pain to handle. Underneath the fly, the Mineral King 3 has a full mesh dome with a waterproof, tape-seamed bathtub-style polyester floor. The overall feeling inside the tent is airy and comfortable. The tent doors are nearly wall-sized, and after you unzip them, you simply stuff them into pockets, rather than having to roll and toggle-tie the fabric. Another two hanging pockets plus loops for a ceiling hammock provide simple yet effective interior storage. Despite having the smallest capacity of the tents we tested—42.5 square feet—the Mineral King 3 easily fits two people with a full-size mattress, or two sleeping pads, and gear.
Families who regularly pitch their tent in rainy locales need a wind-fighting tent with a good-size vestibule for storing wet shoes and gear, as well as a full rain fly for added weather protection. Car campers who plan to brave miserable weather will appreciate the extra strength and protection of the REI Co-op Base Camp 4 Tent. The main bodies of our other picks are structured ozark trail instant cabin with two main poles with added support from smaller brow poles. The Base Camp, by contrast, has four full-size aluminum struts woven throughout it, somewhat like a basket, plus an additional brow pole that frames the front entrance and supports the larger of the two vestibules. The Base Camp also offers more privacy compared with our other picks—with or without the rain fly.
When heavy trade winds buffeted our Oahu-coast testing site, we pitched each tent in full face of the blast. We then rotated the tents looking for structural weaknesses, and we tested their guy lines and tabs to see which tents had the best and most intuitive design for withstanding wind. The Nemo Aurora Highrise 6 is another fantastic family-friendly camping tent with a little funky style. The super high ceiling, large footprint, and dual vestibules give this tent plenty of room and options for everyone. All this space does make a few things less straightforward. Setting up the rain fly and garage in the moderate wind isn’t as intuitive as it could be.
Clearance items may be display models or not exactly as shown. There is no administration fee charged for entering into a special payments plan. Each month during an equal payments plan you are required to pay in full by the due date that month’s equal payments plan instalment. An avid swimmer, surfer, hiker, and camper, she currently lives on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, where she can be found, as much as possible, in water.
The Tungsten’s two brow poles create an especially effective awning over the tent door, so very little water gets in when someone comes or goes. Though the Wireless’s fly kept water out of the tent’s interior, it took longer to fully dry once the rain stopped than some others we tested. If you don’t have time to let the fly dry before you pack the Wireless in its duffle, we recommend laying it out when you get home so it doesn’t mildew in storage. To compare tent fabrics, you also need to know their overall rip strength. For most fabrics, rip strength is expressed as a measurement of the diameter of the fibers in their thread, or a denier—the higher the denier, the stronger the fabric. We found 40 denier up to 150 denier to be typical for car-camping tents; you can read more about these measurements in gear manufacturer MSR’s blog post and in this Outside article.
Breaking the dome shape mold but still scoring top points are the MSR Habitude 4 and Snow Peak Alpha Breeze. And while a touch on the broadside, the included guylines and slanted vestibule face make this tent very ozark trail instant cabin wind worthy. The Alpha Breeze sports thick canvas and a robust A-frame-inspired design — features made to handle the elements with ease. It also has super thick poles, metal guylines, and a whopping 20 stakes.