Rated 5 out of 5 by fengshuimama Great Tent
After years of drooling over this tent I convinced my husband to purchase it and new camping equipment instead of staying in a hotel while at a weekend history reenactment. It was spring break and we took our two children along for the weekend. This tent could not have performed any better! We actually purchased this and a competitor's tent (think 3 letters). This was by far the easiest to set up and offered everything we wanted. While camping we had a 30 minute hailstorm and followed by about 12 hours of rain through the night. We were unfortunately on a slab at the campground and water was running all around us. We did not have one drop inside the tent nor was it damaged by the hail. Our beds stayed warm and cozy all night. I did give a 5 but I do make this observation - if I had it to purchase again I would have purchased the 6 person tent for my family of four. The tent fit a queen size air mattress which 3 of us slept on. We could not fit the twin mattress in too. So, one of the kids slept on a camp pad each night which is not a big deal but we would have like to have been able to have everyone on an air mattress. If you are only using sleeping bags and pads you should have enough room though it is still tight. Great tent. Would purchase again. Oh! Make sure you get the footprint. We are headed out again this weekend and can't wait to get the tent set up.
October 3, 2012
Rated 5 out of 5 by tekkster Serious overkill for 1 person, good for 2.
My camping experience is limited as a near novice camper, but I've gone on 3 solo hiking trips and 3 group car camping trips, so I'm starting to get a feel for things. What I've discovered so far is that car camping is luxury camping, and if you're gonna go for luxury, why not try going all out?
With that in mind, I was seeking a tent that could fit a cot, but more importantly, much much more importantly, I wanted a tent with an area "in-between" the outside and the inner tent. If it's raining, it would allow me to get wet clothes and shoes off before going into the main "bedroom". A place where I could have a small chair or two and a small table, so I could hang wet clothes on the chair, keep smaller items off the floor, and maybe use a jet boil to heat up some food or a hot drink without worrying about the inner bedroom area getting messy.
So what I cared about was:
- porch/garage/changing area
- mesh screen for front porch but also full zip on all sides.
- main "bedroom" for cot and gear
- ability to stand
What I didn't care about was:
- weight
- packed dimensions
This 4 person tent is just about perfect. It just barely fits a standard height cot, which allows me to store gear underneath. It also allows a table and luggage rack. Or you could do a queen sized air mattress and still have room for the table and luggage rack (luggage rack keep backpack off the ground in case rain leaks.
A lot of people wish that the porch had a floor. I couldn't disagree more. A mud mat is a nice addition, but my goal was to have the main bedroom be no-shoes allowed, so the front porch is where dirty stuff goes. I wouldn't want to have to clean the floor there, so no floor is PERFECT.
All in all, this is luxury living for 1-2 people, cozy with 3 people, very tight with 3 people. And in extreme situations, doable with 4-6 people if utilizing the front porch with cot and a tarp.
Love love love this tent.
If you're into car camping, have a small family, or just two people, this is one of the best tents to get for the price.
May 15, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5 by Weekendcampers Gale winds did not bring this tent down
I do not often write reviews, but this tent has my backing. We like to weekend camp at the beach, so this May we packed everything up and headed out. The forecast for the weekend had changed and when we got there we realized we were in for some rough weather, but we decided to camp anyway. We thought at times our tent was ready for lift off, but through downpours and gale winds this tent held! For us the tent takes two to put up, but it is color coded, and we found easy to follow. We did buy the recommended footprint also.
May 15, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5 by adnor LOVE my new tent!
I've been eyeing this for awhile. I finally bit the bullet since I has some reward coupons. It sets up easily and is quite roomy inside including standing room. I LOVE the "porch" as I like to call it. The construction of the tent (seams, etc) is great. I think I will have this for a long time.
May 8, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5 by cassiacs Great performance w/ brazilian tropical weather
Just returned from a 12 days camping trip in Brazil, and this tent did just great, outstanding the heavy tropical rains and wind.
I appreciated the fact that It was warm when closed, but could be open to air during the day, because of the many well constructed screen doors/windows.
It was roomy and confortable for two people, keeping luggage in the main room and other gear plus boots on the sccreen room. I would not recommend for 4 people- maybe for a family of 2 adults plus one/two small child/baby.
Great tent!
April 2, 2013
Rated 4 out of 5 by OutnIn Great Tent
This tent is pretty good with no real complaints except that I wish the screened in area was also sealed with a base layer because when it rains I like to move my gear into the screened area and our chairs to wait out the rain but your feet get wet and your gear can get muddy since there is no base layer, it just sits on dirt.
March 13, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5 by missmel The only tent still standing
Last summer on our camp trip we encountered a terrible thunderstorm that quickly turned into a horrific lightening and hail storm. Along with other campers, we abandoned our site leaving all behind and checked into a local motel. The next morning we returned seeing tents sunken in, up in trees, torn apart. However, when we arrived to our location our tent was the only one left standing...and without a scratch on it! The poles withstood the fierce winds, the fabric held up superbly in the hail...definitely the best tent we have ever owned and would highly recommend to anyone!
February 1, 2013
Rated 4 out of 5 by HappyWhenCamping easy set-up, odd porch design
I camp in New England with two young kids so my primary concern was finding a tent I could set up myself (I'm 5' 2"). It was a fairly easy task - taking maybe a half an hour - and, yes, the fly was the most challenging part - but doable. My biggest complaint is that the floor does not attach to the walls in the "porch". As a result, the area gets dirty (& shifts a lot) AND the skunk that wandered by one night could easily have gotten inside had he been curious enough (we kept a lot of gear in this area). I hope LLBean improves upon this. It rained hard on us and water pooled under the footprint (we stayed dry) but it also managed to get between the footprint and the tent floor which was problematic. Overall, a good tent for kids and adults!
January 24, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5 by OwnedByPug Perfect!
I absolutely love this tent. We purchased it for our first camping trip last September at Big Basin in California. My boyfriend of 22 years, a committed non-camper, was ready for any excuse to call the trip a disaster. The tent was surprisingly easy to assemble with the color coding. Being so close to the coast, we used the rain fly in case of heavy dew although it turned out we could have left it off and enjoyed a view of the stars through the screen vents in the ceiling. There was a nice hook inside for the lantern and convenient pockets along the lower sides for essentials like headlamps. During the day, we could make the entire tent into a large screen tent with all of the walls rolled back for sunlight and air circulation. At night they all zipped down for privacy. The screen porch was a great second defense against mosquitos. I highly recommend buying the footprint. It really helped to keep dirt out of the sleeping area.
All of the details of the tent are very well thought out. It was easy to put up with two people. The interior height was comfortable for my 6'4" boyfriend - no crawling or hunching over. Our two extra long sleeping bags zipped together fit great but basically made this a two person tent. It was so easy taking the tent down after three great days of camping. Everything fit easily back into the bag. The boyfriend even talked about "the next time we go camping." Thank you LLBean for helping with the success of our first camping trip as a couple.
January 5, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5 by WildernessandCarCamper Maiden Voyage
After a year in the bag, our 4-person dome tent finally made it to the back yard for a dry run (highly recommended) in preparation for 2 weeks of car travel in the West. Our first night of camping was in Yellowstone and our new tent performed admirably. The color coding (tent, fly, and footprint) makes it easy to lay out and erect the tent. We would strongly suggest purchasing the footprint, so your tent is not right on the ground, and it provides a floor in the screened-in portion. We like the screen room for kicking off shoes at night and storing clean clothes and other non-food items for morning. We look forward to new adventures with our L.L. Bean tent.
October 16, 2012
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