Bunk House 8

I just bought the big Agnes bunkhouse 8 and finished setting it up an hour ago. I’m very impressed with its quality, workmanship and design. It’s replacing an older rei kindgom 8. I also have the North Face Wawona 6. The bunkhouse has a lot of mesh for ventilation, although the fly goes to the ground limiting air flow. If the fly is fully shut, it get a bit stuffy. Overall I’m very happy with it and would recommend the Big Agnes or the North Face Wawona. Both great tents.

What I did when I wanted to test out TV sizes was to make a paper template the size of the screen to see what fit best in the room, You could make a template with kraft paper the size of the tents that you are considering so that you will have an actual visual of how large a tent you will feel comfortable in. You may find that a 6 or 8 person tent is sufficient for your needs and easier to set up and transport. My husband and I have always camped in at least a 8 person tent, our current go to is an eight person Big Agnes Big House tent. It is perfect for us for car camping. We take a smaller Big Agnes Big House 6 person tent for trips that include airline travel but we took a smaller 4 person tent for international travel and camping in France. The different tents and campsite setups is a constant learning process. Walk around the campground and see what others do and you'll find that there are tents of all shapes and sizes. Do whatever makes the camping experience enjoyable for you. I'd suggest the 6 person Agnes as one that you can stand up in and be comfortable with plenty of space for your gear, and a large enough to not feel closed in if you are stuck in on a stormy day. See if there is a place to look at tents fully set up so that you can see how large/small they are.

If you’re looking for something similar with good ventilation, you want the Wawona 6. Huge vestibule, tons of mesh and ventilation, etc. I’ve taken it out in the winter though a few times and it works great as well. I believe Nature Hike makes a knockoff for about half the price called The Kota. It looks almost the same but has some other features like a stove jack, etc. However, quality would not be near what the Wawona is (massive DAC MX poles…). You mentioned the Big House tent from Big Agnes but I think you’d actually want the Bunk House. It has a bigger vestibule area. It’s a great tent, but it has a full fly and substantially less ventilation than the Wawona. I’ve only used a Bunk House in the winter and it was great.

I've got a Big Agnes bunkhouse tent that's got a nice vestibule on the front for deshodding and storing gear.  It's been in some heckin rainy weather on scout campouts and never gotten wet inside. 

Big Agnes Bunkhouse. I'd say the essential part is putting something down to protect the inside surface of the floor from the dog's claws. I also have a cot to give my bed some height so that my Exped doesn't get damaged.

Basecamp is a great tent with a garbage warranty and repair policy. REI only warranties for 1 year, they don't repair tents and don't sell parts. For this reason alone I would take the Bunkhouse hands down. BA has a lifetime warranty.

For being "green focused" not having replacement parts and repair services not not green at all. They have a new CEO and they finally got rid of Eric Artz so we'll see if they improve on this. Even Stoic (backcountry.com brand) and 3F UL Gear (inexpensive Chinese backpacking brand) has a lifetime warranty.

I’ve spent a few nights in the Bunk House and it’s a solid tent. My experience was during a windy and rainy storm. The tent handled it well. I currently own a couple of Big Agnes tents and I love them all. No experience with the Snow Peak.

That 37in ceiling height on the Nemo is kind of a bummer. This new BA tent is just a roomier tent (and heavier for the area), but it's 40in peak height is also kind of a deal breaker for me to want to bring for long trips. I'm not even all that tall.