When my spouse and I had children, one of many first issues we did was get a much bigger tent. Fifteen years in the past, the nicest automotive tenting tent I might discover was REI’s Kingdom 6. All these years later, that tent remains to be going sturdy (a buddy is off tenting in it proper now), nevertheless it turned out that we by no means actually wanted all that room. I might fortunately commerce that room for little extra energy in stormy climate, which at all times appear to search out me after I’m tenting, and a smaller footprint that may match in additional spots.
That is precisely what REI’s Base Camp 6 tent presents. It is smaller in total livable house than the Kingdom 6, however in my testing it has held up significantly better within the wind whereas nonetheless being large enough to comfortably sleep 5.
Household-Pleasant
{Photograph}: Scott Gilbertson
Earlier than I dive into the Base Camp, I ought to word that whereas REI now not makes the Kingdom 6, it makes one thing shut within the Wonderland 6, which is an possibility I am going to talk about on the finish. I made a decision to swap the house for the stronger design of the Base Camp. I additionally like that the squarer form of the Base Camp suits higher on smaller tenting websites.
The REI Co-op Base Camp tent is accessible in four-person and six-person sizes. I examined the Base Camp 6, which I might say comfortably sleeps 5 adults and is nearly excellent for 2 adults, two youngsters and one 10-year-old. REI’s specs declare 84.3 sq. toes of inside flooring house, which, in comparison with the remainder of the household tenting tents in our information, is nearly precisely common for a six-person tent. You possibly can technically match six sleeping pads, however it may be tight, which is just about par for the course with tents. If you would like a greater day-to-day dwelling expertise, dimension as much as at the very least one particular person bigger than your precise group dimension.
One factor that the Base Camp has that makes really feel extra livable is a plethora of pockets and ceiling hooks for storing garments and equipment out of the way in which. There are 14 mesh packets across the tent (roughly the entire decrease portion of the tent is mesh pockets). Maintaining issues tidy and arranged at all times makes life in a tent higher.
{Photograph}: Scott Gilbertson
There are two big doorways with full zippers, so you may fully open it up while you’re loading stuff into it. The highest of the tent is mesh, and there are two triangular mesh vents on both facet of the tent, together with mesh panels on the doorways. All of those might be closed up with zippers apart from the roof, which is simply mesh. All of the venting choices mix to make this an awesome tent for hotter nights as there’s a technique to get the air shifting regardless of which method the wind is blowing. Even when it is useless nonetheless, it is good to know that some warmth is escaping out the highest of the tent. There are vents within the rainfly as effectively, which might be propped open to permit a breeze via even throughout a storm.