Taurus 4-Person FG

This is the way! My troop uses the Taurus 4.

[Hikerdirect.com](http://Hikerdirect.com) Make an account using your BSA credentials. All Alps Mountaineering gear at generally 30-50% off retail. The Taurus 4 is roomy but not tall for standing. The Taurus 5 is about 6' at the peak. Hot tents are a gimmick. There is a reason no reputable company makes one at a price under 1k.

Three years ago, seeking a tent with more space, I bought a cheap Alps Mountaineering Meramac 3 \[with a footprint $145\]. It's a solid - conventional dome tent, and has held up well. The only issue I had with the Meramac is that the tent fly doesn't fully cover the entries, and since it rains in sheets on the PNW coast, I bought an Alps Taurus 4 \[full tent fly/aluminum poles\]. The Meramac with excellent ventilation is for Spring/Summer, the Taurus with less ventilation is for Fall/Winter. Alps has several 6-man tents that you might like. I'd take a look at the Lynx 6 person. Between value and price, Alps has hit a sweet spot.

For easy summer camping, you might want to look at the Alps Mountaineering Meramac 4-person dome tent \[$143 plus $40 for footprint\]. It's a conventional 2-pole tent with 1 pole for the door openings. I've used the Meramac 3-person \[not available\] for 3 seasons on the PNW coast and it has withstood some heavy summer squalls without problems. These tents are simple to pitch and a very good value for the price. I was so impressed with the inexpensive Meramac I bought the Alps Taurus Expedition 4-person \[heavy duty\] for the harsh storms of coastal PNW during winter. Good luck.

3 person minimum for two to sleep comfortably. Need to decide if you want room to stand up or not. Full size cots (normal bed height) or low profile cots (4” off the ground) or just sleeping pads on the tent floor? A couple options to look at. I own both and can confirm they do VERY well in Washington state. We use them once a month for Boy Scouts camping. Alps mountaineering Lynx 3 or the Taurus 4 if you want more room Browning glacier 4 if you want 6’ high for standing and full size cots. All those options have a rain fly that goes all the way to the ground with vestibules for keeping gear out of the rain (chairs, coolers, muddy boots etc)

Troop scoutmaster here. If you are in a troop (11-17 year olds). I strongly recommend getting two tents. One for you and one for your scouts. The scouting program wants to encourage SYT best practices and youth independence by having adults and youth tent separately if at all possible. The challenge is finding a tent that is big enough to be comfortable but small enough to pack and travel well. In general, a 3 person tent will be big enough for two people plus their gear. A two person tent will be big enough for one person and their gear. You can go smaller or larger but that’s a good starting point. If you’re just starting out, I might recommend looking at more car camping style tents which will be bigger, heavier but more durable and comfortable than more compact backpacking style tents. Depending on your area and typical weather patterns, you might want to look for something with a full rain fly that goes all the way to the ground and has covered vestibules. These will keep you the driest in rainy weather. As for specific recommendations, I strongly encourage you to create a free account/profile on www.hikerdirect.com. It is an unpublished website owned by Alps Mountaineering that is intended for scouts to purchase good quality gear at nearly 50% off retail prices. I have used their products almost exclusively in my 8 years of scouting with my kids and everything has been great quality. My favorite tents are the Lynx, Taurus, glacier 4 and Ranger 1. (I currently own over 7 tents)

Coleman tents will work fine. Consider the additional effort required of setting up a huge tent and then having to set it up in your home to dry it out afterwards. If it’s just you, you don’t need anything bigger than a 4 person tent. If you wanna step up in quality/duarbility, I’m a huge fan of Alps Mountaineering. I camp once a month with the Boy Scouts so I need something that holds up well. I know people who use Ozark Trail brand and it works for them.

Our Trail Life troop bought a bunch of the Alps Meramac 2-person tents for the troop. After a while I decided I liked the tent, but just wanted more room. So got the Taurus 4 person tent. Also switch from an air mattress to a cot. Now my back is happy, and because of the bigger tent, my head and feet are not poking into the sides of the tent.