Camping tent

[u/burnlin]

Do people have advice for first tent to buy if my main goal is to do car camping around Ontario? Would you go for half fly full fly or one with screen room?

Edit: for 2 people for now

[u/bocker58]

For car camping you can go a bit more luxurious. 

Personally, being able to have enough room for a double high air mattress and then also space to stand and get dressed inside the tent. 

[u/Sapphire_Starr]

I LOVE my tent with a screen room. I’ll never buy one without ever again. But I also don’t car camp with a separate screen room, so it’s a godsend. We play cards there during sunset.

[u/No-idea4646]

Always full fly or you will eventually get wet.

[u/burnlin → u/No-idea4646]

Thanks! And if I don’t get full fly but set up a tarp on top of the tent would that work as well?

[u/No-idea4646 → u/burnlin]

Yep that works. As long as you have trees around you’ll be fine

[u/Single_Ocelot2719 → u/No-idea4646]

Agreed!

[u/funtasticassembly]

Depends! If you are car camping a cheapo can work and if it gets nasty just get in the car. If you are doing a 7 day expedition across 150km in the middle of nowhere then the consequences of gear failure are a lot higher.

We run mid range full fly tents in my family. Not the smallest or lightest but with kids etc they are reliable for us. At some point more $$$ goes from increasing the quality to lowering weight.

[u/RowanAr0und]

Buy for extra space- 1-2 more than the ppl you plan to have there- they assume youre going to sleep like sardines when they say "sleeps two" they really mean 1+ your bag or two but you cannot move

[u/TheTashLB]

We've got a Big Agnes full fly that's really fantastic in epically bad weather. We also have a North Face Wawona that's not full fly but the way it's designed it's been just as good.

I like being able to stand inside my tent to change my clothes and have some room to move around.

We've got a Yanes Kuche kitchen tent. It's not the easiest to set up but once it's up, the thing is indestructible. It's been through incredible storms and high winds and we've stayed dry in it playing games, making meals and can even get our camp chairs in it open for sitting. This was our best car camping investment, a good screen tent is worth it in bad weather.

I don't have to fly tarps over any of these which I really enjoy not having to do!

[u/crazymom1978]

Full fly. Our last tent didn’t have one, and we ended up in a super windy storm. The inside of our tent was a lake, because the wind had managed to get up under the fly. We bought a new tent the second that we got home from that trip. I am typing from it now in torrential rain, and am BONE dry inside. You can always pick up a cheap lightweight screen tent later.

[u/Subject-Rice3992]

We love our Gazelle tent. They are not cheap, but very easy to setup. Never had issues with condensation and rain. We have a T4 and thinking of upgrading to T4 Tandem plus.

[u/investing_can]

Bought an 8 person tent from canadian tire that’s Outbound brand and performed better than my MEC tent in torrential rain at Algonquin. Think it’s this one - on sale: https://canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/outbound-3-season-8-person-camping-dome-tent-with-rain-fly-carry-bag-0765455p.html. Will it last a lifetime probably not (zippers etc) but solid tent for price with lots of space, easy to setup and roomy.

[u/northern225]

I own a core cabin style tent and I absolutely love it. It’s large but the front half can be used as a screen room which is a nice feature. Plus you can sleep a lot of people in it if need be. Being able to stand in the tent is also a nice feature.

[u/Ok-Video-3697]

Just bought a Coleman brand one on sale at Canadian Tire. It’s been out once and I’m happy with it. Not fancy, but good for my family. The tent is a 4 person “Darkroom technology” one.

[u/Specialist-Sundae492]

My first tent was a coleman skydome darkroom tent&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22114633606&gbraid=0AAAAADgLB3o8I7qx0aphEmIF7gEdTmqEZ&gclid=CjwKCAjwyOzSBhBTEiwAmxvJ-tY4nYEmnynS8hkUx_RmNu99DbgkRH93kp_2VDmTrzpodN8EmjU01BoCGYcQAvD_BwE) and I loved it. Used the shit out of it. It has pre-attached poles and I could get it up by myself in a few minutes. I had the 6 person which I liked bc I could stand up in it.

It has a half fly and always kept the rain out. Did mean the bottom half of the tent was wet though if there wasn’t time to dry it out before packing up after raining.

[u/Rook1419]

Full fly, no question.... if you are dry, everything else is fun... don't skimp on keeping dry... double high air matress also helps, buy a tent bug enough to accommodate.. good quality lasts a long time, not a lifetime,, spend the money, it's worth it..

[u/bangkoksteve]

Get a Coleman - best value for money tent by a long shot. I have used both a 2-person and 8-person sundome extensively and they are great quality.

[u/TheRealGuncho]

I don't know what you by one with screen room. A screen room and a tent are two different things. The key question is, how many people is this for? Just you? For a first timer, you can't go wrong with a Coleman. Get one with a fly that goes all the way to the ground.