ALPS Mountaineering - Taurus Outfitter Series (2/4-Person)

I like the Alps brand for car camping gear. They also have an outfitter line with heavier materials,  larger zippers, etc. https://alpsmountaineering.com/tents/outfitter.html

I have the Alps Mountaineering Taurus 4 Outfitter, but last week I wanted a bigger version so ordered the Taurus 5 Outfitter. I camped five nights in it last week, and it was very windy—gusts to 40 mph. The tent held up like a champ. BUT—here are my recommendations. 1) Take some paracord and two extra stakes along. The tent comes with cord to stake out the rain fly at each corner, but there are no stakes or cord to stake out the four side loops at ground level, two on each side. 2) Use some of that extra cord to make longer zipper pulls for inside the two vestibules. If the fly is wet with rain, reaching out to grab the vestibule zipper will bring you in contact with the fly, drenching you. Tie extra cord to those zipper pulls and leave it lying on the ground leading to the door for dry unzipping. 3) Consider bringing a push stick along for rezipping the vestibule. You won’t be able to push that longer string you just installed. I bring a wooden stick with a fork on the end for rezipping. It was sold to be an oven rack puller and pusher but literally any forked stick will do.

I have the Alps Mountaineering Taurus 4 Outfitter, but last week I wanted a bigger version so ordered the Taurus 5 Outfitter. I camped five nights in it last week, and it was very windy—gusts to 40 mph. The tent held up like a champ. BUT—here are my recommendations. 1) Take some paracord and two extra stakes along. The tent comes with cord to stake out the rain fly at each corner, but there are no stakes or cord to stake out the four side loops at ground level, two on each side. 2) Use some of that extra cord to make longer zipper pulls for inside the two vestibules. If the fly is wet with rain, reaching out to grab the vestibule zipper will bring you in contact with the fly, drenching you. Tie extra cord to those zipper pulls and leave it lying on the ground leading to the door for dry unzipping. 3) Consider bringing a push stick along for rezipping the vestibule. You won’t be able to push that longer string you just installed. I bring a wooden stick with a fork on the end for rezipping. It was sold to be an oven rack puller and pusher but literally any forked stick will do.

First off, if you and your son are in a Boy Scout troop, you should be tenting separately. Your son should be tenting with fellow scouts within 2 years of age and you should be tenting with the adults leaders. This is part of the program. For 2 people you want a minimum 3 person tent, ideally 4-5 people if you want some room. I am a big fan of Alps Mountaineering and their Hiker Direct program. They offer great quality products to scouting families at roughly half off retail prices. I would look at the Taurus 4 outfitter or the Glacier 4 tents. Both are 4 person tents and do well in all seasons. The glacier is a tall tent that you can stand up in and is my personal favorite. The Taurus is a dome tent and not as tall but packs much smaller.

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)

Scouts also have to be within 2 years of age to tent together, making a 6-8 person tent unrealistic in most situations.

If you are scout camping, no one wants a 6-8 person tent. Trust me. 4 person tent at max. My personal recommendation is to register with Hiker Direct and purchase an ALPS Taurus Outfitter in a size you deem appropriate. Probably 2-4 person. The tent is very affordable through HD and is about as durable as you can get while still being easily packable.

Alps Mountaineering outfitter tents. Many Scout troops have used them for over a decade. Our troop has them from before 2015 and they have been abused but held up nicely. They’ve been used on over 90 Campouts.

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.

I second the Alps Mountaineering, especially the Tarus, built well, easy set up, and you're not going to be taking out a second mortgage to pay for them. We use them in my son's Scout troop monthly and they've held up for years of use (make sure you get the Tarus with aluminum poles, it's a bit more expensive than the one with fiberglass poles but they last)!

I kind of have a soft spot for and like this style of tent (I had an alps brand 2p version that i used for myself and my dog, it was reasonably priced), but I gave mine to a friend in favor of switching to an "ultralight" freestanding tent instead. If i was only planning to camp in places where i knew i would be able to stake into the ground I might have kept it.

Anything by Alps mountaineering. Really good warrantee, great quality, good pricing.

All the tents from Alps mountaineering have treated me very well in wind and rain. Colemans not so much.

I have never used an Ozark Trail tent, but I have used other store brand tents. My experience is the difference between a cheap tent and a half decent tent is waking up with a puddle in your tent. I recommend an Alps Mountaineering tent, but they will run you 100-150.

I love my Alps tent and they’re not too expensive.

Second on the Alps, and I also own a Nemo dragonfly osmo. Some people will say they aren't necessary, but I disagree 100 percent, especially in your use case. Get. a. ground cloth/footprint. Even if it's a $4 dollar general blue tarp. If somebody in the troop has access to tyvek housewrap, even better. You can run that through a wash and dry cycle and make it a lot less crinkly if you want. Unless you plan on camping on carpeting, there will inevitably be a stick, rock, piece of broken glass or debris that will scratch or puncture your floor. As far as purchasing, also keep an eye on the REI Garage Sale. I've seen some really good deals on things that were returned after a couple uses or missing an item that could be easily replaced.

No. Just get an Alps Mountaneering and save yourself a lot of aggravation.