Big Agnes Chiminey Creek 6 Tent

How can you sleep with all those lights!

OMG, that thing is frickin' HUGE!!!

My personal opinion (very personal, NO ONE agrees with me) is that EVERYONE gets a much better night's sleep in their own tent. I probably own 20 solo tents, so having one for everybody isn't a problem, at least for me. I can understand how you might not want your toddler(s) to be in a tent by themselves, but anyone older than 4 or 5 should be okay in a tent alone, though, thinking back to my childhood, that might not mean they'll go to sleep right away. Of course, that means the parents get to "sleep in" - I guess.

Seriously, if GoLite was still in business, I'd be recommending one of their pyramid shelters. They're big, and (ask tigger!) they'll DEFINITELY withstand a storm.

ETA: Another "up side" of separate tents is that everyone gets to carry their own shelter. But there is going to be some loss in terms of redundancy. The "Chiminey" weights 13.5 - 14 lbs, so I could carry quite a few Tarptents or even several Sierra Designs solo tents and come out ahead...

ETA ETA: I once took 2 solo tents on a trip with my son (Total weight: 3 lbs for my Scarp 1 & 3.5 lbs - being generous - for the SD Zolo 1 for him), and carried a 12 oz tarp to link the 2 tents so that we could sit out between and relax. The linking tarp also (I like to think) reduced the "after bedtime" chatter-spread to other campers, but that may just be wishful thinking.

They're back, kind of: link

I dislike the whole concept of tent lights, but if that's your thing, and the light isn't disturbing anyone, I'm sure the BA is a nice tent, and plenty storm worthy, though I have no personal experience with this particular tent. You're right, though, the fly does not appear to have as many attachment points as the Base Camp 6. Which, by the way, is what we've been using for family car camping for over 10 years now, and which I can very highly recommend.

I know, and I also know that my previous post was sort of "off topic". I suspect many of my comments and interpretations and so forth are. The manufacturer of the tent in question is reputable enough, and I suspect there's no reason to think this one won't be, and it is a pretty good price, though I see these sales (on Kelty "big" tents and others) every year about this time.

I've watched people haul those giant cabin tents (this one isn't one, of course) onto campgrounds a number of times, and I always shake my head at the "family troup", however well-intentioned they might be. A good ol' "HYOH" is appropriate here, I guess.

I once watched in amazement as a family of six to eight towed a metal garden wagon (which itself probably weighed a good 40 pounds - I have one) back to a "primitive" campsite, laden with a cabin tent that would have housed a fair-sized revival-style congregation on the outskirts of town (we're talking 20' X 20' here, folks). They had two (2!!! 2!!!) of those queen-sized blowup mattresses to go inside the tent (the ones with the fuzzy stuff on one side that are about a foot thick), a sizable pump for the mattresses and two (2!!! 2!!!) coolers full of ice and drinks, plus chairs and other "camping gear". You had to admire their effort, at the very least. They got it all to camp, I admit, and I stopped by and said, faux admiringly, "Impressive!"

That tent up there will probably do the job, but the thing probably doesn't break down into many parts of that 14.5 lbs. So somebody (a couple, or maybe a few, of them) will be totin' 4, 5, or 6 pounds apiece to get that thing anywhere, assuming you break it up into fly, body and poles.

But I protest far too much. HYOH, HYOH. I'm sure that the family described above enjoyed their time a lot. They were, at the very least, entertaining for me.

Clearly, you made the RIGHT DECISION. :^)

If you ever need another spare solo tent, check back with me. I might have one or two lying around, free to a good home. I actually have two (2!! 2!!) now discontinued Sierra Designs Iotas from some years back, one of which is still in the packaging. (I bought it for the poles when they discontinued it.) I loved the look of it and the design, the way you can use the front door for an awning, etc. But it's a solo that weighs almost 4 lbs (3 poles add weight), and it's really too short for me. Wishful thinking at work here: I thought I could make it work, but then I discovered the Scarp 1.

Moral: there's more than one way to achieve insanity.

LOL; I've seen the same thing on the same trail at PFALLs.