A friend and I are going camping in the desert in a couple of weeks, and we need to either rent or buy a tent. Neither of us has any experience with tents, so we’re turning to you for advice!
It’s got to be trustworthy in case of foul weather (better safe than sorry, after all) and have some breathability, but we don’t need anything fancy, and it doesn’t need to protect us in extreme temperatures. What would you recommend?
I would go for a inexpensive dome tent. They are easy to set up and very stable. The one below is only $39 and has good reviews. It should be good for two people for a single trip.
Try Army surplus store, get two shelter halves, three if you want a floor.
If this is a one off then I would look at renting, if you are car camping then get a 3 man tent as the extra space is really worth it. You don’t say how long you are going for.
Cheap tent are cheap tents and will only work in gentle weather.
Are you backpacking or car-camping? It makes a difference.
Eagle makes a good, cheap 4 person tent that is nice and roomy for two people.
Their two-person is a bit cheaper, but I’d spring for the room myself.
Something like that should be fine - though I’m partial to a full ‘fly’ - the waterproof covering that goes over the tent rather - than the small one it has. I used something very simmilar for years, camping out at least 20 weekends a year.
Are you hiking to your campsite or driving in?
A two person tent will be pretty snug if if you’re walking and need a place to store gear as well.
Coleman Hooligan. If you’re backpacking, you’d want to spilt it up between the two of you. But it’s good quality for under $100.
Car camping or backpacking - makes all the difference.
For Car Camping (driving up to the camp site), get a cheap, free standing dome from Wally World or it’s local equivalent.
For Backpacking the equation changed drastically.
Yeah, a two person tent won’t truly fit two full sized adults plus gear unless you want to be really intimate with your tentmate the entire time. You have to go for at least a three or maybe four or even six person tent to get decent size.
I would pick a reasonably priced dome tent. However, the OP didn’t say what the real budget is. It matters a lot if we are talking about $50 versus $100 or more. You can buy fairly large dome tents all day long for less than $100 online or at large retailers. You don’t need to spend more than that for the conditions described. Almost any of them will work for a single trip in dessert conditions.
I personally wouldn’t rent one because, while you might get a better tent for the money, you still don’t get to keep the tent, it probably won’t cost much less and it can be a hassle to arrange such a thing with the pickup and dropoff plus you would be responsible for any damage to it. A new cheap tent is going to smell and possibly work better than a rental that has been used and abused many times.
Don’t go TOO roomy though, it can be cool at night and you want some body heat to gather and keep the tent warm.
Yep this is the tent I use when car camping for a night or two. Too heavy for backpacking but then again I am looking at ways to reduce the weight of my Tarptent Contrail, I mean it does weigh over 24oz!
The reason I suggested renting is if you only use it once a year at most you would better off. You will get a better tent for your outlay without having to worry about storing it etc. It also means that if next time you want a 5 man tent you just up the rent.
Better to rent good than buy cheap.
it’s going to be used for two short car camping trips in the desert (over night, over two nights), which should be in fair and mild fall weather.
However, it would be great if the tent were good enough to be used during foul weather (rain, colder weather, wind…). it’s to be used for a variety of environment: beach camping, forest, desert and canyons, high elevation.
A low weight would be great for the occasional hiking trip, but it is secondary to reliability, sturdiness and price.
I love my Quechua 2 second pop-up tent. There is no setting up involved, just pull it out and it pops into place.
They’re bulky though, definitely not for walking.
Personally I would go for a larger tent so you have space to keep your stuff, but the 2 ppl version of the Quechua does fit two adults. Just… snugly. And it’s annoying to try to get dressed in a tent like that.
Make sure to get a 3-person tent at a minimum. The people who make tents must think a normal person is only 5’ tall.
If you get a dome tent that is 7’x7’, there’s really not that much space. The sides slope up pretty quickly. Remember that you don’t want anything touching the sides of the tent on the inside. If there’s rain or even heavy dew, water will seep inside the tent. Something about surface tension.
You might want to consider an air mattress or self inflating sleeping pad also. Both will help you sleep better and can keep you warmer.
I spend about 5-6 days a year in a tent while doing a long bicycle ride.
The key difference between a car camping and backpacking tent will be weight and size. For car camping I have more stuff, usually stay in one place longer, and will hang out inside for extended time if it’s raining so that tent is quite a bit bigger. We can almost stand up in our car camping tent, you could never do that in any of our backpacking tents.
Buy from a reputable manufacturer and all tents will meet this criteria. They won’t keep you dry in a hurricane, but for some heavy rain they will do fine as long as you set it up properly, stake out the fly properly, and seal the seams.
I’d get a second tent if you want to backpack. If your main use is car camping it’s not going to be fun to buy a tent for backpacking. Cross that bridge once you decide it’s time to backpack.
I’d buy a reasonable 2 or 4 person budget tent from LL Bean, REI, or Eureka. Since weight isn’t an issue for car camping, and the cost isn’t much different, I’d recommend a 4 person.
Can I add that whatever tent you get, get a plastic paint drop cloth from Home Depot that is 2 feet longer & wider than the set-up bottom of the tent? You put the set-up tent on top of it and roll the excess plastic up underneath.
Its a way to keep the bottom of the tent dry from run-off if it rains.
Trust me, sleeping in a tent is much less fun when everywhere you sit/sleep gets your butt wet.
Or a big sheet of Tyvek building plastic. Cheap, light and you can chuck it away when you rip it, I also use a big sheet of this when hiking to rig up a sun/rain shelter between trees. Get it from Home Depot I suspect.
I purchased a roll about 5 years ago from a mate who was a builder for about $50, best money spent