Big Agnes - Bunk House 6

My boyfriend and I use a bunk house 6 with a queen sized air mattress. It’s a big and tall tent but I still feel like this answer depends on how big your bodies are, how much breathing room you like, and how much time you spend camping in colder weather because you tend to spend more time in the tent when it’s cold. We’re definitely not slim people, we like a good amount of room. When we bring a third person, we’re all fine in there. Personally though, it would feel pretty tight with 4 people and all our personal items. With a 60x80 air mattress pushed to the back corner of the tent, we have about 3 feet of room around the side and front. One big con (although one of the only cons) is that it doesn’t have anywhere near as many storage pockets as you’d expect. It’s got 6 side pockets total and 2 corner. I had upgraded from the 2012 model of the big house 4 and that one had way more storage even without buying the gear loft, so I’m always disappointed in that. Despite that, the bunk house series tents are easily my favorite and I wouldn’t buy any other tent. If it were me, I’d honestly get a smaller separate tent for the kids if you could afford that. I’ve been going camping my whole life and some of my favorite memories from my childhood are the nights my sister and I spent in our tent after we all went to bed. The times my parents decided to bring the huge family tent and sleep together, we were always secretly mad. Maybe your youngest might be a little young for being comfortable with that, but I just thought I’d throw it out there.

Big Agnes bunkhouse 6 which is a different tent from the one you were considering. Bunkhouse has a vestibule and a proper fly. It held up really well in multiple insane downpours and if you set it up just right the air flow is great. Additionally, it wouldn't have the problem the North face has which is excessive airflow and drafts. Being able to compare them side by side I can tell you big Agnes is miles ahead quality wise.

Yes. Tested that. You can open both front and rear vestibules just right so that the air flows well. On the opposite side of the spectrum, if it's cold and the wind is crazy, you can zip it down just right and be comfortable inside. Both vestibules can be opened (configured ) in 3 directions so you're in control

Look for a big Agnes bunk house 4 or 6. Excellent tents. I have the 6 and love love love it. It’s beastly and has a full coverage fly but somehow breathes extremely well even with the fly on and button all the way down. With the visit led open you can really set the ventilation to your choosing. Waterproof double layer doors. It’s great. It’s also not as orangey as it looks in the pics. It’s more of a burnt orange red. It’s does a great job blocking the morning sun.

Marmot Limestone 6p or Big Agnes Bunk House 6p if buying exclusively at REI. If you are open to other places then I would also add the Marmot Halo 6p. These are standing height family camping tents with tons of room and you can literally walk into the tent; no ducking or crawling necessary. I would avoid REI branded tents since they are limited to a 1 year warranty, they won't sell you parts and they do not repair gear. Full coverage rainfly, lifetime warranty, DAC aluminum poles are found on Marmot and Big Agnes tents. Also purchase the footprint to protect the tent floor. I always recommend purchasing aftermarket tent stakes and additional guyline. Paria Outdoor Products spiral Y beams work well and Lawson Equipment Glowwire or Ironwire works great for this. REI doesn't have the best prices but they have the best return policy for 1 year. They do not price match any competitor. They only price match their own sales for a 14 day period. If you can wait I would recommend waiting until November. REI's Get Up Gear Out sale will be in the second week of November and more than likely some tents will be on sale. This sale historically has not had as good of deals on tents vs their Anniversary Sale (May), July 4 or Labor Day sales. Typically Backcountry, EnWild, Campsaver, CampMor, SunnySports etc have better deals and a way better selection. We will have another deal megathread thread for Black November in a couple weeks. Another note; those cheap Coleman and Intex air mattresses will leave you very cold in the fall and winter in the PNW. There is ZERO R value and the ground will literally suckall the warmth out of your body. Consider getting a foam semi self inflating mat with a high R value such as the Stoic Cloud or Cloud Lux, Exped MegaMat, ALPS Outback Mat, Nemo Roamer 3D printer Big Agnes Captain Comfort. These have R values over 8 and will insulate you well against the cold ground. They are also way more comfortable than cheap air mattresses.

Marmot Halo, Limestone MSR Habitude or Habiscape Eureka Spacecamp Big Agnes Bunk House I own the Halo and did a review on it a couple years ago. I also did a review on the Limestone back in 2021. The MSR Habitude and Eureka Spacecamp have review on here too.

6p. Get one with a full coverage rainfly from a reputable manufacturer with a lifetime warranty. You want a mesh inner so you have better ventilation. * Marmot Limestone 6p * Marmot Halo 6p * Big Agnes Bunk House 6p * Eureka Space Camp 6p * Sierra Designs Nomad 6p * MSR Habbitude 6p * MSR Habbiscape 6p FYI July 4 sales are coming up. We will have another deal megathread posted in a week. I would wait to buy anything.

If you want a bargain the Eureka Spacecamp 6p is a great buy at $259. Very storm worthy and has a full coverage fly unlike the Wawona. The Wawona is a good tent if you want the porch vestibule area. The Limestone Ilis Marmot's classic done tent. I used to own this and iw rock the Halo 6p. REI Basecamp is a great tent with a terrible 1 year warranty and no after sales support from REI. Aurora Highrise doesn't have a full coverage rainfly; I would skip this one. Between the MSR tents the Habiscape is newer and a better design with larger vestibules. The Big Agnes Bunk House 6p is fantastic with it's awesome stuff sack, nice vestibules and tall peak height. The Marmot Halo 6p is a killer storm worthy tent and the one I went with.

The Halo 6p is an awesome choice. So is the Big Agnes Bunk House 6p or 8p. Other great choices are: MSR Habitude MSR Habbiscape Sierra Designs Nomad Eureka Space Camp. This one in particular is a great bargain as Johnson Outdoors is discontinuing this brand. You can get this one for as cheap as $250 or so. Marmot Limestone 6p Marmot Midpines or Pacifica 6p. This is the exact same tent except the colors. The Midpines is sold exclusively at Amazon and the Pacifica is a Dick's Sporting Good/Public Lands exclusive. This one only has one door as vestibule. Most family camping tents have 2 doors and vestibules. The footprint for the Midpines fits the Pacifica. Big Agnes Mad House Nemo Aurora Highrise. This one is decent but lacks a full coverage fly. North Face Wawona. As cheap as $300 on sale. Has a giant porch vestibule. Lacks a full coverage rainfly though.

For that many people it would be best to have two smaller tents (like two family camping 40p or even 6p tents) or a single 8p tent. 4p family camping tents are not usually standing height. You want tents with full coverage rainflys and semi mesh bodies for better ventilation and ability to hold up to crappy weather. Aluminum poles, not fiberglass. You also want to buy the tent footprint and I recommend buying aftermarket tent stakes and additional guyline. Personally I like the Paria Outdoor Products Spiral Y beam stakes for family camping tents. 4p and 6p options: * Marmot Limestone * Marmot Halo * Big Agnes Bunk House * MSR Habbitude * MSR Habbiscape * Eureka Space Camp * Sierra Designs Nomad There are not allot of 8p tents on the market anymore. They're also pretty expensive. * Big Agnes Bunk House 8p * Big Agnes Mad House 8p * Nemo Wagontop 8p (discontinued, might be hard to fine) * Marmot Limestone 8p (discontinued, might be hard to find) * Cheapo Coleman, Core, Ozark Trail tents. These are not full coverage rainfly and don't hold up very well to strong weather. You get what you pay for here.

Big Agnes Bunk House. Unlike the other ones mentioned it is a full standing height tent. You can also score a Marmot Limestone 6p, which would be a better choice that those tents listed, for $225 from backcountry.com. Full coverage rainfly, DAC aluminum poles, lifetime warranty and the manufacturer will sell you parts after 1 year (unlike REI tents)

Marmot makes a great tent. We have the Limelight 3 and use it for backpacking.  However, we're tall & can't stand up in the Limelight. So we have a Big Agnes Bunkhouse 6 (bought on sale) that is epic for us. Waterproof, easy to set up, comfortable,  and its bag is actually a backpack. Great tent.

Big Agnes Bunkhouse 6 will work. We love ours.

I’m going to recommend the Big House 6. Used it twice since I picked it up last week, can’t recommend Big Angus products enough. I upgraded from an older 4 person tent of theirs that lasted well over a decade with heavy regular use. People will recommend the Wawona, but if you check the pics the Big House has much better fly coverage which goes all the way to the ground. Ask away if you have any specific questions.

I’ll try to answer this and other questions I saw you post below. It’s one intricate pole for the main tent, doable solo once you do it once or twice but as stated it is faster with two. I’m up in Canada so the venting was less of a concern for me. The entire roof is screen which helps the fact that the doors only partially have screens you can open. By peeling back both vestibules I would imagine you could get good airflow across the tent keeping things cool enough. Last trip we did had decent wind comjng off the lake. It was fine, but we did have the vestibules secured closed and staked to ground, preventing it from turning into a kite. The footprint is large enough, we easily fit a queen sized air mattress, dog bed, and a pack and play infant bed and still had room to move around in the middle. The ceiling height is a major bonus.

Have you looked at the Big House vs Bunk House? I use a Big House 6 for car camping which has 82" of headroom. Standing up all the way is a massive game-changer for comfort, and the rain fly does a pretty damn good job of keeping the elements out.

We have a Big Agnes 6 that I've used for work, and I love it. It fits a queen-sized air mattress, a small rack to keep clothes off the floor and a camp chair so I have a place to sit that isn't the air mattress.

+1 for Bunk House

Big Agnes Bunk House. It’s a bomber tent with a huge vestibule.