Mad House 6

Also a Minnesota camper (car camper who prefers cart-in sites). I don’t know what you consider modestly-sized, but since I started camping with 2 dogs, I have grown to love my Columbia Mammoth Creek 8-person, which has a rain fly that doesn’t cover the windows. (I also have a Big Agnes 6-person and an REI Kingdome 4, which are more modestly sized, but each of those has a full length rain fly.) Last summer I took the Columbia tent to Whitewater State Park and there were horrible storms. It rained so hard, I expected to wake up to puddles inside. Surprisingly, everything stayed dry. I really love that tent. They’re hard to find now, but the Coleman Tenaya Lake tent looks kind of similar. https://preview.redd.it/eocaiq3nmcff1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=900e81b78d8a67ba02e760e016eb7cc424849e99

Big Agnes is selling some tents at 50 to 70% off. I have seven tents, I need one for car camping, so I bought a 6 man tent for a little over $200. High quality. Relatively light weight.

I have a Big Agnes six-person tent. It’s been camping, to many, many festivals, and Burning Man several times over ten years. It also survived a brutal desert windstorm that left its shape with a bit more personality but still 100% functional. That tent is my ride or die. However, I did take the tent down during the first hour of the desert windstorm. The real hero was my friend’s 1960s metal-framed canvas tent that withstood the entire 12 hours. A Kodiak would be its modern equivalent.

Big Agnes, MSR, and Nemo are 3 of the best tent brands available. I ran the warranty desk for an outdoor gear company, and saw the least amount of warranty issues with those brands. They’re not inexpensive, but, you get what you pay for. I have a Big Agnes tent that’s at least 10 years old, we use it regularly and only have to hose the dirt off. It’s amazing. Nemo is awesome too, I know a lot of people with Nemo tents and they love them. I just got an MSR 3 person tent and absolutely love it. Definitely get a 2 person tent. The general rule is to take however many people will be sleeping in the tent, and add 1. So 1 person = 2 person tent, 2 ppl = 3 person tent and so on. A 2 person tent is more comfortable for having your gear inside the tent, changing your clothes, etc. If you don’t plan to go backpacking with it, I’d get a 3-4 person tent just for the space.

After dealing with a warranty issue with Durston I would rather deal with Big Agnes

Big Agnes warranty and customer service help is top-notch. I sent them an email earlier this week and they responded within minutes with a fix that allowed me not to send the tent in and repair it myself.

Try the REI re/supply. I got a Big Agnes tent that retails for $499 for $134. Also, REI sale is coming up in a few weeks and there will probably be a good deal on their own brand tents and others.

Ive had my big agnes longer than any other tent ive owned so far! I think its at least ten years old.

My big Agnes tent got a hole in the mesh the first time I used it. I returned it for the MSR.

Paria is a glorified dropshipping company. Durston and Big Agnes are good options, you don't need anything more niche honestly