Wife and I want to start camping more and we need to buy a tent. I want to get one that will last for a while. It will be the wife and I and maybe our dogs using it, no kiddos yet. What brands, size, and shape are good?

REI, Mountain Hardware, Sierra Designs, North Face, etc.

Get on Steep & Cheap and get the notification download. They've had alot of really nice tents for cheap recently.

First you need to decide how you are going to camp. Backpacking? Minimalist? Car camping?

How much luxury do you want in your camp? Will you make ground beds with or without sleeping bags or will you use cots?

Campmor has as good a selection of tents as anybody, and their website is good about details.

campmor.com

I personally like Eureka and Kelty products, but there are other equally good choices, such as Mountain Hardware and North Face. Coleman products won't ding your wallet as much and will do just fine for most car camping.

Cabin Tents for car camping provide more headroom than either dome shaped or A-frame tents, but tend to be heavier. They aren't real good in high wind conditions - domes are better. Dome tents provide a little more room in a backpacking tent than A-frames or some of the odd-shapes that are available. For backpacking, weight is important, but also protection from the weather and the ability to handle winds. Most dome-shaped backpacking tents are a little heavier than some of the streamlined odd-shapes. For me, I insist on a vestibule of some sort for a backpacking tent so I'm not uncomfortably crowded inside.

I personally have 2 Eureka Timberlines which I really like - an Outfitter for long term camps and a 2-person Timberline w/vestibule for backpacking and have no reason to replace either. Both are over 10 years old and have several hundred days and nights of use in various environments. Neither are in the lightweight category, but the Timberline w/vestibule, poles, pegs et al weighs in at about 7 lbs and suits me just fine. The Outfitter is definitely a car camping affair at 20 lbs. It has served me just fine in week-long elk camps in Colorado.

I also have a Kelty "tarp" that I can pitch in various configurations for minimalist backpacking. All have served me well.

For 2 people I would probably get a good size dome tent. You can't stand up straight in them, but they're way easier to set up by yourself or with a female assistant. Plus they're a ton cheaper than the cabin/lodge tents. The eureka timberline is a pretty basic no-frills tent, but every boy scout troop in America can't be wrong. They're rock solid tents. Kelty's also a good brand, so is Sierra designs. Columbia is kinda hit or miss. The north face I feel like you pay a little too much for the name. I'd steer clear of Coleman, wenzel and the like. Lots of failed zippers and leaky seems with those brands. I'd probably get a good quality dome or a-frame tent, but don't break the bank and make sure you also have a quality lantern, camp stove, sleeping bag, air mat / ground pad, etc.

If you aren't backpacking and are trying to get the lightest, smallest tent possible, I would get a a 3-4 person tent. It is just really nice to have room to keep all your stuff in.

I second REI. Even if you don't buy from them, the website is a good source of info.

ANd they have an outlet site. http://www.rei.com/outlet/search?cat=22000022&sortby=Percentage+Off+%28Descending%29&hist=cat%2C22000022%3ATents

Log probably has a cheaper route with his post.

And I would go ahead and get a "footprint" at the same time.

Basically, a tarp for your tent to sit on. Adds life to the tent.

I have a Marmot that I like. The rainfly fell apart after about six seasons, but I like it. My brother has a Marmot I bought him - the poles are all connected now and it takes about 2-3 minutes to set the tent up.

I would recommend the steep and cheap route. I got a sweet deal on a kelty screen shelter and a sierra designs tent a couple years ago.

I have a gigantic marmot down parka. I bought it the first winter I moved north. I severly over estimated how cold Pennsylvania winters would be. Really nice parka though, if i ever move to Alaska I'll be set.

Bought a Nemo Losi 3P, fantastic tent. Extremely easy to set up after you've done it the first time.

Only the wife & me when camping, don't do any backpacking with her yet. For amount we'll end up doing, wish I had purchased the 4P for just a little more head room.

I'd be willing to part ways with my tent if you're interested so I can buy the 4P. Tent has been used a total of 4 nights. (obviously we haven't gone camping much...thanks Texas heat) Also bought the matching footprint for it.

FWIW, if you are camping in nice weather, a cheap tent is sufficient. If there is any chance of heavy rain or wind where you might camp, do NOT go cheap, meaning buy a higher quality brand.

I have a couple of cheap tents, and they're fine so as the weather doesn't get too nasty, but they cannot stand a strong wind...I once camped in a big, cheap tent and it was fine until the rain started, then it leaked in a dozen places, and you had to sleep in specific places to avoid getting wet.

CRAIGSLIST. always tons of tents on there... On the San Diego pages anyway.

I've tent camped all my life and have hunted of tents in the snow and rain. This is what I've learned:
The larger and roomier you can comfortable pack/store in your vehicle the better; especially if you're rained in for a week.

Use a ground tarp underneath, and preferable one above the tent for shade and protection from rain.

Have a good awning w/ poles/ropes etc for cooking under/storing gear when it rains and for keeping the ground near the tent door dry. This is hugely important.

Cheap tents aren't worth using if you get in windy, rainy, snowy weather.

We have Springbar brand canvas tent. It is fantastic in all weather. It's biggest drawback is its bulk. We use a cheap Coleman for quick weekend trips and break out the Springbar for longer trips

I am a freaking gear SNOB when it comes to my backpacking gear, but if you're not going to carry it too far or camp in bad weather, just about any Coleman or Eureka will do for most folks. I have a $70 Eureka tent and a $400 TNF tent and I probably use the Eureka tent 3:1 over the more expensive tent.

Lots of good advice in this thread already, I'll echo some points...

Buy a footprint (or buy a tarp and grommet kit and make one yourself)
Watch steepandcheap.com for tent deals
Buy last years model from Campmor or another catalog/online vendor.
Look at REI tents. A little more cheese, but in 10 years if the zipper breaks they'll fix it or give you a brand new one. Seriously, they are THAT good!!

steepandcheap.com

I should have bought mine there. Some of their deals are really good.

REI if you can (or want to) afford it.

I got a good deal on a very large eureka tent. A couple of the poles have split, but otherwise it has held together very well. Glad I bought it. Did need to seal some of the seams myself however.

quote:

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Look at REI tents. A little more cheese, but in 10 years if the zipper breaks they'll fix it or give you a brand new one. Seriously, they are THAT good!

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I take that to mean REI brand tents, but i'd vouch for anything at rei since i just returned a MSR tent two days ago that i bought 5 years ago because the rainfly was delaminating

I have a 8 year old REI full dome I got when I was in Boy Scouts and the zipper recently broke on the rain fly. I took it into a store and they replaced the whole zipper no questions asked. I have also purchased a 2 person Mountain Hardware backpacking tent that I am very satisfied with.

On a side note if you want to have space for dogs, 2 people, and some gear make sure to look at the 3-4 person tents. A 2 person is going to be tight with 2 people and dogs.

My wife and I just bought the REI half dome 2 plus (http://www.rei.com/product/794296/rei-half-dome-2-plus-tent) and we can't wait to get out and use it this fall. It's just the two of us plus two dogs and we hemmed and hawed a bit about the size. After getting it, though, it's big enough for us all to fit. That said, I'm 5'9 and she's 5'2 on a good day and our dogs are both about 40 lbs, so take that for what it's worth.

Anyway, good luck on your search.

Seven, where are you located? I have a 10'X13' heavy canvas tent as well as a 10' square screened shelter.

Bought a 9x7 Montana style Coleman today. We happened to pass by a Coleman outlet store and they were having a sale. Got it for about $60. Needs to cool off just a touch so we can get some use out of it. Thanks for the help.