In terms of how the two tents feel, the Marmot Tungsten 4 is more geared toward hunkering down and providing stalwart defense against wind, rain, and sun. In contrast to the Mineral King 3’s triangular vestibules, the Tungsten 4’s vestibules are trapezoidal, opening via a central door with protected areas on either side. This design does a better job shielding the tent from incoming—and sideways—wind and rain. 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. Like most dome-style tents, the Wireless 6 withstands wind like a champ—it fared noticeably better than the Camp Creek 6 in 15-mph gusts. The continuous curve of the dome shape allows for wind to pass over and around it.
Marmot uses color coding smartly to help you position the tent as well as set it up. Both of the doors zip open to the side that’s color-coded blue, as opposed to zipping open to opposite ozark trail chairs sides. In other words, one partner—or one partner’s gear—is always going to get a dose of weather when they head out. The Tungsten 4 design equalizes exposure and protection.
(Our runner-up pick comes with eight.) Six is enough to secure the tent and fly but not to fully secure the tent’s extra lines in very windy conditions. This shouldn’t be an issue in most situations, but if you’re headed into a particularly windy place or simply want some backup, we suggest picking up four extra tent stakes at your local outdoor shop or online. These inexpensive stakes are comparable to the ones that accompany the Mineral King 3; these slightly more expensive stakes will serve you well in any car-camping terrain. Some campers might find the Wawona 6’s footprint unwieldy in smaller campsites, or they might simply prefer a tent with a more straightforward design.
Unlike our top pick, the Tungsten 4 is coated with flame retardants. ¹Based on the promotion prices as advertised in accordance with this flyer’s sale dates. Our Lowest Prices of the Year are defined as the period between January 1 to December 31, 2022.
What you wind up with is a web of pipes and plastic pieces that falls apart at one end as you assemble the other. Then the instructions start to get really funny. ‘Insert the leg poles into the hubs to raise the screenhouse frame’ got the first laugh. The “frame” barely stayed together on the ground.
The separate fly, which covers the upper half of the tent, uses a third, shorter “brow” pole to form protective peaks over the door and the back window. In our tests, an experienced camper took only about six minutes on the first try to set up the tent body alone and stake it out. Getting the fly placed and staked properly took about five more minutes.
The new types that go right up without connections are so much better. It was a nice size though and ozark trail canopy eventually got up with extra tape. I bought two of these tents new last year from a yard sale.