Recommendations on a Quality Family Tent

[Regud]

I am looking to buy a quality Family tent in the coming weeks and am looking for recommendations.

Requirements:
I want a tent that will not rip when I bump the sidewall, has a good rainfly, holds out water well, room to stand up, and sleeps 4+ people.

I would like to spend no more than $250

If anyone has experience with a tent like this and can speak for the quality, I would love to hear about it.

Thanks!

[okieboater]

http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/ALPSM ... fitter.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I just picked up the above listed tent from Alps Mountaineering

I got it for car camping where I want to put a cot inside. It has a nice carry case but is a bit large for light weight trips. Maybe ok for raft or canoe but best for car camping

I have had mine up but no big time rains yet, the construction of the outfitter series from Alps looks pretty good to me.

[Richard]

My personal favorite is the Paha Que 10x10 screen room-tent. But you will go over your budget buying it. The walls are perpendicular so you get maximum stand up room. The rainfly is extra as is the floor. But for the Buffalo where I use cots, chairs and tables it is ideal. The recession hit them pretty hard but things are beginning to look up.
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Alps Mountaineering is located in the St Louis area (New Haven). If you are involved with the Boy Scouts you can get gear at a substantial discount. My experience has been mixed with Alps Mtn. I have a few of their tents, tables, chairs, sleeping bags, liners and pads. Their tents are great unless there is wind or rain. Here is what they say about their tents.

Tent Frequently Asked Questions: Here are a few common questions that we get asked about our Taurus and Meramac tents.

Awning Fly vs. Full-coverage Fly - Meramac tents have awning flys for easier ventilation ("easier" because the pole in the fly automatically forms an awning) and are best suited for summer use and conditions that are "less windy", since the awning fly can sometimes be a real "wind catcher". In slow, non-windy rains, the door windows can be kept open because the awning provides some protection from the falling rain. Taurus tents have full coverage flys, which give the best rain, snow, and wind protection. To increase ventilation, the vestibule zippers can be unzipped ... either a few inches up from the bottom, which gives you a little opening and still lots of coverage ... or most of the way to the top, giving the most ventilation, but obviously the least coverage. Full coverage vestibule flys, like those on the Taurus tents, are really good in windy conditions because the vestibules act line "guy out points", both anchoring the tent/fly and shedding the wind.

Lower Sidewall Mesh - Meramac tents (both standard and ZF models) have lower sidewall mesh. The idea is that awning fly tents are more "summer oriented" and therefore want the most ventilation, and adding mesh to the sidewalls helps to increase air flow in hot, muggy weather. Taurus tents have little or no lower sidewall mesh ... standard Taurus tents have an "elliptical shaped" section of mesh in the center of the sidewalls and Outfitter Taurus tents don't have any lower sidewall mesh at all. For now, most of our Outfitter tents are used by real "River Outfitters" in the West (Utah, Arizona, Grand Canyon, etc.) in the summer and because these climates are very dry, they quite often don't even need to use the flys and the sidewalls without mesh give the campers more privacy.

"Does lower sidewall mesh really affect air flow in the summer and winter?" - Now we're starting to get into areas of opinion, rather than easy to define facts, but I'll give you my opinion from 25+ years of tent design. In the summer, when air is hot and humid, mesh seems to help at least a little in terms of air movement and little breezes. The thing you do need to keep in perspective in terms of ventilation and condensation is that if it's really humid or raining, the air that is moving through the mesh could be just as saturated as the air already inside your tent ... and if it is raining, probably more saturated! In the winter, especially when it's really cold ... say down in the teens or even lower ... I don't think it makes much difference if the cold air is coming through the mesh or right through the breathable fabric. The flys, because they have a waterproof coating, will act as an "air block" but the breathable (non coated) sidewall fabric is as the name suggests ... breathable ... and the cold air will come right through. Meramac tents, which do not have a "second layer of fabric" on the front, because of their awning fly design, are just going to be colder in the winter and whether they have mesh or breathable fabric on the sides is not going to make much difference. Taurus tents, which have a full coverage fly, will have a layer of "wind blocking waterproof fabric" all the way around the tent, which will clearly offer more protection from cold winter winds.

[Crane]

Overstock.com has some of those Alps tents on a pretty deep sale TODAY! You might check their website...

[okieboater]

Jeez, great prices on Alps tents on overstock.com

I got mine direct from Alps and paid full retail plus shipping.

I have never purchased anything from Alps that was not well made and priced right even at retail.

I got the Alps merrimac tent for a special reason, I wanted a car camp tent that was relatively easy to pitch that I could put my cot into. This model was the smallest version I saw that fit my needs.

Alps has several other good looking tents on the overstock.com site.

I have seen a ton of sales like this from all the outdoor retailers. Now getting a bunch of flyers offering big discounts. My guess is they all built way too much inventory and got caught with their warehouses full. Now might be a good time to buy gear as they may try to raise prices for the summer seasons.

[Crane]

I bought one yesterday from Overstock ... mostly for the #10 heavy-duty zipper!! I went with the 5 person with fiberglass poles... It should last well, since I'm not too tough on tents... just zippers!

[Regud]

Which model did you order?

I bought one yesterday from Overstock ... mostly for the #10 heavy-duty zipper!! I went with the 5 person with fiberglass poles... It should last well, since I'm not too tough on tents... just zippers!

[Crane]

ALPS Mountaineering Meramac 5 ZF FG Tent

[panicman]

I just got this tent http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___28228" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
from campmor for 179.00
Eureka Tetragon 1210 2 Room 6 PersonTent

I have had the tetragon before in a smaller version and it was bombproof. Went through some major monsoons and wind and never had a leak. Also good ventilation. The new one is a bit heavier and packs down a bit bigger but for car camping or river camping who cares.

[TBC]

You can't beat the quick link poles on Alps tents. I would buy another just for this feature.

[Regud]

Thanks for all the input. I ended up getting the Alps Meremac 5. The ZF was sold out when I got around to ordering.

Now to test it out!

[AR-Nimrod]

Wish I had seen this earlier. We just got a Kelty Lounge 6 from Campmor for $199.99. They had the Lounge 4 on sale for $149.99.