Tent recs for Cub/Family Camping

[Liz]

So, my husband and I are old. We kind of panicked when our other Scouts grew up and decided to have a couple more last-minute kids who are now in (or will be in next year) cub scouts. We own a nice 4-man tent that we like but by the time we blow up a queen sized air mattress there's no room left for the kids - and they're still too young to tent alone. We're too run down to carry heavy tents the long distances from the parking lot to the campsites at our local Scout camps, or to hunch over in a tent without enough ceiling height, or sleep on the ground so we can all squeeze into the 4-man tent we already own. Truth be told, we have become Glampers in our old age. When our older kids were cub scouts we never or almost-never camped with them, and when they graduated to Boy Scouts they started using one-man tents and I usually slept in my SUV in the parking lot if I went to camp at all. When we camp outside of Scouts we take the RV. 

I don't want to spend a ton of $$ on a tent. I know you get what you pay for, but I'm hoping it won't be long before at least one of the kids will be tenting with another Scout or in her own one-person tent, and we can squeeze the small one in on a small air mattress into the tent we have. We only need something that might last for 3 or 4 camping trips (two summers of cub scout family camp). 

I need it to have a nice tall height with enough room at the max height to walk around (Ok, this is my husband's demand). 

I need to be able two blow up a queen size air mattress and still have room for gear and two children - can be on twin or smaller mattresses or share a double size or whatever. 

I need it to be waterproof. We live in Oregon. 

I need it to not be too heavy. Bulky when stored is OK, but not too heavy. 

The easier to set up, the better. It gets really dark really early around here so setting up camp in the dark is a fact of life. Packing up rarely happens in the dark, so easy to tear down isn't as big of a deal. If there were a pop-up "instant tent" in existence that fit our other criteria I'd buy it; but the biggest I've seen are for 3 people and are only about 4 feet tall. I may have a small cheap pop-up tent from Harbor Freight around here somewhere already, if we didn't ditch it when we moved last. I loved that thing, but it wouldn't be big enough. 

Ideas? Links?

[Thunderbird]

Below is a tent that we are trying out.  We usually treat our tents with Camp Dry, even if they are supposed to be "waterproof".

Pros:
-Fast set-up, because it's basically a pop-up tent  (recommend you set up at home before taking it on a campout)
-Nice tall height

Cons:
-Getting it back in the bag is a bit of a challenge
-A bit on the heavy side (30 pounds)
-Kind of bulky, because it is basically a pop-up tent

Gazelle T4 Pop-Up Portable Camping Hub Tent, Easy Instant Set Up in 90 Seconds, Sunset Orange, 4 Person, Family, Overlanding

 

[qwazse]

Coleman produced a really nice 6-man that we relied on for years. It even had a doggie door - a.k.a., a toy cache so the kids could get their specials without tracking through the tent. 

[MikeS72]

I have multiple tents, depending on what type of camping we are doing.  When camping with the pack, or something like camporee with the troop, where size and weight are not an issue, I use a Coleman Flatwoods II tent.  I like it because it is more than big enough for comfort, with a 10x10 footprint and a 6" center height.  It is relatively easy to set up, I can do it by myself in about 10 - 15 minutes.  For the size, it is not particularly heavy, at just under 15 lbs.

 

[Liz]

9 hours ago, Thunderbird said:

 

Gazelle T4 Pop-Up Portable Camping Hub Tent, Easy Instant Set Up in 90 Seconds, Sunset Orange, 4 Person, Family, Overlanding

 

Aw man, the next size up would be perfect if it weren’t almost 50 lbs. and so expensive. 

Cool looking design though. 

[Liz]

2 hours ago, MikeS72 said:

I like it because it is more than big enough for comfort, with a 10x10 footprint and a 6" center height.  It is relatively easy to set up, I can do it by myself in about 10 - 15 minutes.  For the size, it is not particularly heavy, at just under 15 lbs.

 

Under 20 is my wish so this would work for me but my husband wants to be able to stand up in more than just the center of the tent so most done styles are out. And cabin style tents are all 30+ 😕 

maybe I should just get one tent for him and one for me. 😅

[Liz]

I think we're going to give this one a whirl. https://slumberjack.com/overland-8-person-tent/?gclid=CjwKCAjw8qjnBRA-EiwAaNvhwOn-xO2BcfZqzQ3K4HmosUIQWnYrRWdysHaIL0FuVU4vdAFslNosYBoCICIQAvD_BwE 

[Chadamus]

@Liz how is the tent working out?

[Liz]

On 7/25/2019 at 6:30 PM, Chadamus said:

@Liz how is the tent working out?

We love it, actually! My husband convinced me to get the 10-person one. It's too heavy for hauling very far, so we accepted the provided canvas-on-wood-frame tent at Cub camp this weekend, but we really enjoyed the roominess on a family campout with the Pack. 

[69RoadRunner]

REI brand tents when they have their big sales are usually a good price/quality option.  Don't pay full price.