|
|
Post by cweston on Mar 25, 2023 12:39:21 GMT -8
If I were going to buy a $500 4p tent at full price (or with my REI 20% code), this is probably not the tent I would buy (I’d buy the Snow Peak Alpha Breeze), but REI’s been making these forever and they get good reviews. For $250 (members-only sale), given that I’ve been wanting to buy a 4P tent, it’s a no-brainer. I also got the Mud Room, which is also 50% off.
This is mostly for trying to entice my spouse to do some car camping with me (which I confirmed with her is an actual possibility before buying), but will also be a palatial luxury home for my solo car camps before/after BP trips.
the sale expires 3/27.
|
|
zeke
Trail Wise!
Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,891 
|
Post by zeke on Mar 25, 2023 13:48:23 GMT -8
Let us know when you get the cot and end table. :D
|
|
|
|
Post by High Sierra Fan on Mar 25, 2023 13:54:10 GMT -8
Congrats! Yes big tents make car camping a lot more comfortable when the inevitable weather rolls in. My minimum for car is a 3 person while for stays pushing a week I’ll opt for a six person REI; once my plan extends beyond good forecasts I like having a nicer “inside” to retreat to. Or when I’m out in heavy bug season. For simple overnights my 4Runner is fine, just like my Copper Spur UL 1 on backpacks when I move every day.
Good reminder I should drop by there Sunday, the sale ends Monday so I should look around for inspiration. If nothing else I can pick up my dinners for this summer.
|
|
|
|
Post by cweston on Mar 25, 2023 14:02:01 GMT -8
Yes big tents make car camping a lot more comfortable when the inevitable weather rolls in. My minimum for car is a 3 person while for stays pushing a week I’ll opt for a six person REI; once my plan extends beyond good forecasts I like having a nicer “inside” to retreat to. Yeah, I've been using a passable-quality 3p tent (with a really poorly-designed vestibule) for car camping for several years. It was fine for me, a little cramped for the two of us, but more importantly it's just not functionally storm-proof anymore. Last time I used it I was sick and the water was coming in...it was the straw that broke the camel's back. This will be way more comfortable for anything more than a quick overnight stop. (I usually just use whatever BPing tent I have along for that.) |
|
|
|
Post by High Sierra Fan on Mar 25, 2023 14:13:37 GMT -8
One nice thing about a shelter big enough for a cot. Once down at Bahia Honda State Park I was using a Megamid floor less with a cot: woke up to a Florida keys downpour with water running inches deep through the tent: with the cot it just was entertaining…
|
|
|
|
Post by High Sierra Fan on Mar 25, 2023 14:32:59 GMT -8
My habit of also using my backpack tent in the night before a route has usually been breathablity coupled to bug proof: I’ve stumbled across screen mesh sleeves that can be slipped over my truck door frames so I can ventilate my otherwise stuffy truck.
If I find rain is an issue WeatherTech makes side window deflectors that provide a bit of overhang so the windows can be left slightly open.
The epiphany came back in the 90’s when I flew in late to SFO and so got to Yosemite very late and in pouring rain; I figured out a way to sleep reasonably in my thankfully slightly larger that usual rental; the next morning when I was gearing up to grab my permit and go the light went off; why was I habitually bothering with a tent setup? Tiny rental cars had been the answer, but that’s not applicable to my 4Runner.
|
|
|
|
Post by thedude on Apr 4, 2023 10:58:28 GMT -8
Somewhat related, I bought a Kingdom 6 about 4-5 years ago as our first real car camping tent and it has held up great. My wife is not a camper but will go on adventures if we are headed to a place she wants to visit. She requires a cot so I am glad I went with the larger sized tent. The garage sale is a great place to buy a tent, it seems like most of them have been used once before being returned.
|
|
|
|
Post by High Sierra Fan on Apr 4, 2023 12:33:59 GMT -8
I have come to really appreciate more "living room" in my car camping shelter for extended stays where I'm exposed to changes in the weather. it's enormously different sheltering from a rainstorm in a one person Copper Spur versus a six person REI. On a backpack pack where weight is an issue, of course, but for a car camp where that's less important than perhaps bulk? Well worth it imho.
|
|
