Kelty Trail Ridge 8

[toxicity_27]

Looking into replacing my current Kelty Trail Dome with the Kelty Trail Ridge 8. If anyone has thoughts on other tents <=$500 that I should consider let me know. My biggest thing is that I like to stand up in my tent, so having at least a 6' height is a must. My girlfriend and I also typically bring a queen size air mattress that would need to fit in it as well as all our other gear.

I looked at the Nemo Wagontop 4, but it seemed like there was a lot of extra work going on with all the poles. I also looked at some of the Big Agnes tents, and they aren't tall enough. Haven't looked at much else.

On campsaver I can get the tent and the footprint for $466 shipped.

 

[Honu]

we have a trail ridge 6 we use as a room for hammock camping wife wanted stand up height and a place for the kids to change and stuff

got ours for $250 on amazon very happy with what we got it for

we sleep in the hammocks so not in the tent but in a tent I prefer a overhang or good garage out front in case of rain and the door being open to the sky

if I was buying a tent to sleep in and be my main thing when camping get the big agnes flying diamond on sale
rei has a hobitat on sale for about $275 nice overhang etc..... might be worth looking at
picked up a marmot in the last few years and found it not as nice as they were in the past so returned it


brain dump time
things I found looking at tents seems many have a front door and not a back which I like having
also liked having screen on both sides so I can get a breeze through quite a few tents recently seemed to have solid doors and screen rear but you cant get screen on both sides as easy
our current small tent is a screen one and can get dusty so dont like screen only here in AZ but maybe in other places wont be a issue
prefer tents where I can zip up the windows in case of dust but many dont have that option why I think the black diamond BA are about the nicest tents for the money on the market on sale

 

[toxicity_27]

The Big Agnes Flying Diamond is nice, but I'm not a fan of the two sorta separate rooms. It's also 20 feet long if you include the vestibule. Any other ideas?

 

[PlacidWaters]

Can you say more about why you like to be able to stand up in a tent? I'm virtually always either sitting or lying on my cot or sitting in a chair inside the tent and have no need to stand up except to enter and exit. You pay a big size and weight penalty for being able to stand up, so I would ask how much time you spend actually standing.

I have the Trail Ridge 2, 3, and 4 and love them. But for me personally the solid fabric door on the TR4 (same as the TR6 and 8) was a big problem---very hot in the summer with no air movement, plus you can't see outside. I replaced one of the doors with mesh and it improved the tent 100%. I'll probably do the same with the other door.

The TR6 and 8 have pole sleeves, while the TR4 has much more convenient clips. I'm guessing that the TR4 would be too small for you, but you might consider the TR6 to save a bit of bulk and weight, since it is 6' tall.

 

[toxicity_27]

Can you say more about why you like to be able to stand up in a tent? I'm virtually always either sitting or lying on my cot or sitting in a chair inside the tent and have no need to stand up except to enter and exit. You pay a big size and weight penalty for being able to stand up, so I would ask how much time you spend actually standing.

I have the Trail Ridge 2, 3, and 4 and love them. But for me personally the solid fabric door on the TR4 (same as the TR6 and 8) was a big problem---very hot in the summer with no air movement, plus you can't see outside. I replaced one of the doors with mesh and it improved the tent 100%. I'll probably do the same with the other door.

The TR6 and 8 have pole sleeves, while the TR4 has much more convenient clips. I'm guessing that the TR4 would be too small for you, but you might consider the TR6 to save a bit of bulk and weight, since it is 6' tall.

The girlfriend and I both change standing up. We could probably deal with having to sit and change. I thought I had looked at the TR6, but I guess not closely enough. I think the reason I chose the TR8 over the 6 was because for not much more money you get more space. The 3 pounds of weight difference isn't going to kill me since I'm not using it for backpacking, but the packed size looks to be noticeably different. Hmmm.

The solid doors shouldn't bother me too much since the mesh on the rest of the tent is more than what my Trail Dome has now.

I agree about the clips being more convenient as that's what my Trail Dome has. It makes set up a breeze.

Edit: Looked into the TR6 a little more, and it's actually about 2 feet smaller than my Trail Dome is. That's probably not going to work out. I'm thinking 100 sq. ft. minimum.

Edit 2: The Kelty Acadia 8 looks to be decent, though it has fiberglass poles.

 

[PlacidWaters]

For changing clothes nothing beats sitting on a 15" high cot. More comfortable than standing up to change and the cot holds your clothes as you change, plus you can store your clothes under the cot.

Everyone has a different gear philosophy. My philosophy is to get the smallest, lightest, most compact gear that is also comfortable and easy to set up. I notice a big difference in my enjoyment of trips when I simplify things: set-up can take 15 minutes as opposed to more than an hour, giving me that extra time to sit and enjoy the surroundings. I'd much rather pack up a small wet tent than a large wet tent, especially if it's raining on moving day.

Each person's idea about space is different too. The TR6 has 80 sq ft. To me that seems humongous for two people. The TR4 has 55 sq ft. I use it by myself with a cot and it's palatial.

 

[toxicity_27]

Some of my reasons for wanting to stand up is because of my back and knees, and the girlfriend. I was actually looking at other tents that I would use if it were just me. I plan on getting a Malamute in a couple years and having the room would be nice. I appreciate all the feedback though. I ordered the TR8 last night.

 

[calicamper]

For changing clothes nothing beats sitting on a 15" high cot. More comfortable than standing up to change and the cot holds your clothes as you change, plus you can store your clothes under the cot.

Everyone has a different gear philosophy. My philosophy is to get the smallest, lightest, most compact gear that is also comfortable and easy to set up. I notice a big difference in my enjoyment of trips when I simplify things: set-up can take 15 minutes as opposed to more than an hour, giving me that extra time to sit and enjoy the surroundings. I'd much rather pack up a small wet tent than a large wet tent, especially if it's raining on moving day.

Each person's idea about space is different too. The TR6 has 80 sq ft. To me that seems humongous for two people. The TR5 has 55 sq ft. I use it by myself with a cot and it's palatial.

Snooping ideas for Grandpa's set up going to stick him in his own tent with a cot. Standing or almost standing head room would be good for the 70yr dude. The trick is I'd like to find a tent that packs up small so we could set up his gear combo to fit in his SLK 350. The trunk is a hair too short to fit golf clubs but it holds a decent amount of stuff even with the roof down. Wife and I spent a few days on a wine road trip after New years two small ish duffel bags, some shopping clothing things she picked up and 15 bottles of wine and we still had the top down on the way home. LOL Figured I could come up with a solo camping gear combo that would work also. That way he could join us on a trip and bail out earlier than us if he chose to head home etc.

 

[PlacidWaters]

Okay, here's what you need for Grandpa:

VERSION 1: 15" high cot; large tent; luxurious mattress. Maximum possible comfort in a tent. Set-up time 30 minutes.
TENT: Kelty Trail Ridge 4
COT: Camp Time Roll-a-Cot Wide
MATTRESS: Exped Synmat 12 (NOT self-inflating, but very comfortable)
Total cost about $550

VERSION 2: Smaller, lighter, lower to the ground, set up time 10 minutes:
TENT: Kelty Trail Ridge 3
COT: Helinox Cot One

Plus an LL Bean rectangular down sleeping bag, 20 degrees. http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/77723?page=llbean-down-sleeping-bag-with-downtek-rectangular-20
MATTRESS: REI Campbed 3.5 (self-inflating)
Total cost $600

 

[ikk]

I have an REI Kingdom 6, they are under 500. I love that tent. it comes with a oversize backpack storage bag so very easy to put away.They have an optional garage attachment which I have and use often as a bathroom at night, as well as store your gear out of the sleeping area. the tent peak is 6.3ft. I am 6'1 and tend to lean a bit when changing. There are a bunch of youtube reviews for the Kingdom tents they have a 4, 6, and 8. I can set it up in less then 10 min.

Here are some pics of our Kingdom 6 with Garage attachment

 

[SlowCarFast]

At that price point you should probably at least consider a springbar or kodiak canvas tent. Might not be right for you, but it meets the easy to set up and able to stand up requirements and everyone who has one seems to love them. Probably worth checking some of the outlet sites for deals. I got my Nemo 4 person for a steep discount on one of the big ones. It's not the same model you're looking at, but I've been real pleased with our Nemo tent.