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05/21/2021 02:11PM  
I have a REI half dome 4 and has always been great for what I have needed it. I don't find fitting 4 adults in there too cramped. It has been great for my 2 young kids and wife with a dog too.

However I now have a new larger dog (Great Pyredane) and the kids are getting bigger so I see it being a little squished.

Using another tent isn't an option as the kids would be scared not being with a parent and my wife would be scared not being with me. So we need to fit in one.

I am having a hard time finding a 6 person that is semi lightweight, has a complete fly, and also worry about some tent pads in the bwca accommodating the size. I couldn't find any 5 person tents either.

So asking for any ideas, thanks.
 
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05/21/2021 05:08PM  
I've looked at this some for similar reasons. There's just not many options in the 5/6 person space - I do not consider a 20 pound tent to be 'semi-light'...and most 6 person tents are.

The Big Agnes Bunk House 6 is about 18 lbs...looks like it could take a blow.

The Eureka Tetragon 5-man is only 12 lbs, but its looks does not inspire confidence when considering bad weather.

That same not-so-stormworthy look graces the Big Agnes Dog House 6...13 pounds.

What about a CCS Lean 3? Has more floor space by ~30% than the above options. Even with the optional floor and poles, it's under 7 pounds.

Now here's your out-of-left-field recommendation:
Stephenson's Warmlite 5RS. 5-man with windows is under 6 lbs. 87 sq ft interior.
4-season, mountaineering expedition tunnel tent.

Warmlite tents link

I have a 40-year-old 2-man of theirs that is still going strong. But they emphatically ain't cheap.
 
05/21/2021 08:24PM  

Now here's your out-of-left-field recommendation:
Stephenson's Warmlite 5RS. 5-man with windows is under 6 lbs. 87 sq ft interior.
4-season, mountaineering expedition tunnel tent.


Warmlite tents link


First time I've seen a tent advertised for "winds 95 - 160 mph"!
 
05/21/2021 10:43PM  
sns

That warmlite looks amazing. On the high side for price... but it is intriguing especially given that yours has lasted so long. I have seen people talk about ccs leans. I should investigate those a little further. If I recall my issue correctly is that there was no screen protection from bugs but i might be wrong. Thanks for the ideas and yes those other ones being 16 lbs and higher is what is turning me off as well.
 
andym
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05/21/2021 11:00PM  
I'd carefully map out the space in the Warmlite 5-person. They say the rectangular area between the poles is 90" x 64" but that is only 40 square feet. Maybe there is a lot of room to tuck feet under the ends. I've always been intrigued by their tents but, wow, the price has really gone up even higher than it used to be. It could be that the TarpTent Hogback has about as much space at a much lower price and still plenty light. But at 49 square feet it is less square footage than the REI Halfdome 4.

The number of people you fit in a given amount of space is definitely a matter of opinion. Some of the ultralight backpacking tents definitely are on the side of less space per person because they are trying to minimize weight per person and are willing to sleep tight together to do that. That may work for your family but I would carefully check it out.
 
05/22/2021 01:01AM  
REI has an Alps Taurus 6 on sale for $186 in the Outlet. If you are an REI member you could take 20% off that price until Memorial Day. I have an Alps Taurus it it works fine.
 
Lawnchair107
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05/22/2021 05:54AM  
x2jmorris: "sns


That warmlite looks amazing. On the high side for price... but it is intriguing especially given that yours has lasted so long. I have seen people talk about ccs leans. I should investigate those a little further. If I recall my issue correctly is that there was no screen protection from bugs but i might be wrong. Thanks for the ideas and yes those other ones being 16 lbs and higher is what is turning me off as well. "


I’d definitely look into leans+. I won’t be switching back to a tent anytime soon. The lean3+ has suited us (5) very well. I’ve added a couple customizations and it’s been awesome! Lean 3+, pre- rigged cordage, some hardware all fits into the ridgeline bag, weighing in around 5-6 lbs. Hard to beat that when trying to accomodate 5 bodies but still thinking about weight.

My 2 cents.
 
05/22/2021 08:00AM  
andym: "I'd carefully map out the space in the Warmlite 5-person. They say the rectangular area between the poles is 90" x 64" but that is only 40 square feet."


This is a true statement however the trapezoid ends are enclosed and are part of the interior, not a vestibule. So total area of the living space is about 87 Sq ft.

I've actually wished they offered an option for the trapezoidal end to be a vestibule, and then to have an interior screen-wall in the plane of the arched pole.

You mentioned the Hogback - I just bought one and have not used it yet. Will be nice for 3 but I would not want to pack 4 in it. I think Tarptent makes an extremely high-quality product.

The Stephenson's Warmlite 5RS will be almost double the interior space and probably much more than double the volume of the Hogback.
 
andym
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05/22/2021 10:46AM  
87 square feet is a lot. Sounds like a good fit.

We love our Hogback as a palatial 2-person tent and could definitely see it as a 3-person. But when Henry designs the tarptents he counts people as the width of sleeping pads and much less room for gear or spare clothes than we want. And that is an honest view of how he uses the tents.
 
Northwoodsman
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05/22/2021 06:56PM  
I have a Nemo Bungalow 4 person that's actually a decent sized tent for 4 people. The floor area is 90" x 100". That works out to 62.5 sq. ft. Relatively easy to find a spot for it. It's not sold anymore unfortunately.
 
05/22/2021 08:58PM  
Zulu: The Alps Taurus 6 doesn't look bad at all. I was hoping not to go so heavy though. Sounds like it packs small enough though which is nice.

Andy and Sns: The 5RS seems perfect except why does it have to be soo much lol. I don't keep any gear in the tent so how they measure seems perfect as well. I wish somebody made a cheaper clone of this.

Lawnchair: I have thought about the lean series and specifically the lean 3 and I see the plus comes with a screen I guess. I see lots of comments about these. Though it does seem to be the perfect combo of the above ideas. Lightweight and not crazy expensive. I am hesitant on them though for a few reasons. First is being unfamiliar with them, second is I see it relies on good rope use....of which I very much lack, just look at how I rig tarps... it does the job but isn't pretty and requires many adjustments. I'll try to find some videos on their setup though.
 
scotttimm
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05/22/2021 11:04PM  
I've always thought there was a sweet spot that nobody is on top of - and that's the 5-6 person tent that is 8 lbs or less in the $300 range. Maybe it's not physically possible...but I've been looking for years and yet to find it. We were about an inch from buying a lean 3 this year, but have to maybe wait another year for such a big splurge. Now we do three hammocks for half the fam and I just pulled the trigger on Ebay for a Kelty Night Owl 3P, got it for $175, for my wife and daughter. It's right around 6lbs and lots of great bells and whistles. I think they make a 4 person - though I don't know if the big pooch will fit in it as well.
A couple years back I bought a nice, quality, big, roomy tent with aluminum poles that worked well but it was in the 15lb range. Seems to be the only option if you are going big, it's going to be 15 lbs, split it between packs. We only used it a couple of times before switching to hammocks and a 3p tent. I think it is also a kelty...could dig it out, sell it to you cheap lol!
 
05/23/2021 12:07AM  
fadersup: "

Now here's your out-of-left-field recommendation:
Stephenson's Warmlite 5RS. 5-man with windows is under 6 lbs. 87 sq ft interior.
4-season, mountaineering expedition tunnel tent.



Warmlite tents link



First time I've seen a tent advertised for "winds 95 - 160 mph"! "


Huge turn off right there. Total joke. I'd like to see "any" tent after 100mph winds. Nonetheless 160mph which is like 4 times(*** edit actual right at 3 ***) higher per the force wind exerts on a surface. I stopped looking after I saw that. 120mph will destroy most homes.........
 
05/23/2021 08:14AM  
WhiteWolf: "Total joke. I'd like to see "any" tent after 100mph winds. Nonetheless 160mph which is like 4 times higher per the force wind exerts on a surface. I stopped looking after I saw that. 120mph will destroy most homes......... "


WW, you have better weather data than any of us - here's a question I do no know the answer to:

What are the highest wind speeds on Everest at South Col (Camp 4)?
 
05/23/2021 10:20AM  
sns: "
WhiteWolf: "Total joke. I'd like to see "any" tent after 100mph winds. Nonetheless 160mph which is like 4 times higher per the force wind exerts on a surface. I stopped looking after I saw that. 120mph will destroy most homes......... "



WW, you have better weather data than any of us - here's a question I do no know the answer to:


What are the highest wind speeds on Everest at South Col (Camp 4)?"


The highest speeds at the summit are well over 150mph, supposedly in Feb 2004 a wind speed was measured at 175mph. No clue how that was measured. :O)
Being the South Col is roughly 3000 feet lower with a ton more friction involved I would say routinely 50-74 mph with Hurricane force 74+ in strong storms. Probably has gone over 100mph at times in severe events.
 
LilyPond
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05/23/2021 12:21PM  
The problem here seems to be people's level of comfort with being in the woods at night. That can be overcome with brief experience. A lot of people feel some fear in the woods at night in the beginning. The fear is worse before you go to bed, and maybe for the first 15 minutes in the tent. Then you fall asleep and before you know it it's morning, and the next night is far easier.

Your kids' fear is understandable, if they're young. Your wife, to be honest, needs to get over it. Plenty of women do wilderness trips alone and survive just fine. Adults need to have confidence, skill, and independence in the outdoors. That's part of wilderness tripping, especially if there are kids along.

There's an easy solution to this fear thing: get two 3P tents (total 12 to 14 lbs) and place them facing each other, as close as you want. Leave the fly doors unzipped, turn on the lanterns, and you'll be able to see each other and talk until the kids are asleep. These smaller tents will be easier to handle, in fact the kids can set up one of them if they're old enough. Two 3Ps also have more flexibility on a small site. The easiest solution for you is to keep your current 4P and add a 3P. Parent, child, and dog in the 4P and parent and child in the 3P. Lots of room for everyone as they grow.
 
andym
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05/23/2021 05:38PM  
I’m curious what weight you would wind up with if you took the Alps Taurus 6 and replaced the fiberglass poles with aluminum. It might also make the tent more reliable.
 
andym
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05/23/2021 05:52PM  
This might work: Alps Taurus 5 person Outfitter model: 80 square feet, aluminum poles, 13 lbs 5 oz.

I was trying to figure out how much the poles weigh and came across it.

Link on Alps site
 
leier11
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06/13/2021 11:22AM  
I’m going up on June 30th and will be bringing the Kelty Discovery Dome 6. It’s 87.6 sq ft and weights 14 lbs. is anyone familiar with this tent?
 
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