These are all great tents with the Hubba Hubba being the most expensive but lightest. The Chinese tents from Naturehike are great quality and affordable but a little heavier.
I’ve camped for years with my 3 boys in a Big Agnes Copper Hotel with an Exped Mega Duo(?) covering the floor. The reason y’all don’t fit in a 4 person tent is probably b/c of all the wasted space from sleeping pads. Since you have a few more years of Cub camping to go, a 4-6 person with large vestibules will likely work if you get a big enough sleeping pad everyone can share. It’ll also be quicker to set up.
I’ve got a CS 3xl for my family of 3. This checks all the boxes on your list. (Maybe not the xl part but the tent itself. We’ve got 2 wide pads and a toddler (regular pad).
For sure not UL, but that’s a tall order when you have a toddler around.
The other one if look at is a triplex but I’m thinking they don’t have a flex kit for it (can’t remember).
Tarp tent has some really interesting designs. I’m trading my Xmid for a double rainbow Li. But I haven’t personally used one.
I’m not sure I understand your comment about BA’s customer service. I had an old tent break with BA once. Sent it in to get fixed, they couldn’t fix it and ended up sending me a new, upgraded tent totally for free. My friend has used their sleeping pads for 12 years because every time they spring a leak they can’t find, BA’s customer service department replaces it with an upgraded one. They’ve gotten 3 this way. I legit cannot think of anything else a company can do for you aside from pay you on top of that.
Good tent is worth the money. I bought a BA Copper Spur UL3 because it did exactly what I needed it to do. It lasted 10 years before the rainfly leaked. I’m now looking at fixing it. Since I got it at about $400 I likely got close to $2.00 per night I slept in it.
You won’t end up with a tent that checks all those boxes better than the Copper Spur.
There are lighter and smaller tents, by a good bit. But durable, pet friendly, good for humid climates, storm worthy, comfortable enough for car camping, and still fairly light- just go with the newer model.
Your focus should definitely be into “crossover” gear like for a sleeping pad, the NEMO Tensor All-Season or the Big Agnes Rapide SL are the gold standard that you can look into
For your tent, a high-quality 3-person backpacking tent like the REI Half Dome 3 Plus or the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3 which is the perfect middle ground. These are true freestanding tents that give two people plenty of “elbow room” and gear space while still being light enough to carry a few miles into the backcountry later.
Also consider investing in a good headlamp (like a Black Diamond or Petzl) and a solid camp chair (like the REI Skyward or Helinox). Having a reliable, hands-free light and a chair that doesn’t sag after an hour will do more for your monthly camping habit than you think. For the rest, you can try [52 Hiking and Camping Gears to Pack in 2026](https://alaskanarrows.com/hiking-and-camping-gears-checklist/) too
Other than that, take it slow, look around the market and choose your products wisely, you don’t need them all but eventually you’ll know what works and wha doesn’t
Top Camping Tents on Reddit
1
The North Face
Wawona 6
86% positive of 132 users
Spacious vestibule, strong in storms, but rainfly tricky solo.
BillyRubenJoeBob
