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Reddit Reviews
4 person with a 6' height so you can stand. you want extra room for gear and if it rains... maybe a chair or 2. I used an 8 person for just me and a dog. that way i had a table and chair in there plus room for the dog and her steel cage (yes i had to bring a steel cage for her - she was not a "people person" After the dog died, I got a coleman 4 person (10'x10')
Coleman makes decent lower cost tents. I had an 8 person that withstood several crazy winter storm fronts in florida while island camping (60-70 mph)...I did use all the guy lines and they were secured to trees or tree roots. I have also had a 4 person 10x10 dome tent from coleman that worked great https://preview.redd.it/f61egic2lptf1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a7894d5619f7bcf8c2db3f933bfa9419af460dc4
personally i would buy 2 10x10 coleman dome tents.
I’ll add this, we used a 10x10 Coleman for years while car camping with two kids and felt it was plenty roomy. The same size Springbar feels much larger in comparison due to the straighter walls & high ceiling. You mention Burning Man and wind being a concern. I set this tent up in the yard for ten days to season. Completely dry through two rain storms, including one with 50mph gusts. I’m starting to believe the hype surrounding these tents.
I’ve used the North Face Wawona 4 and 6, along with a 4 and 6 man Coleman. The Coleman’s held up surprisingly well. They don’t do as well in the wind or rain though. The NF tents are a much higher quality though. Thicker poles, stronger fabric, better in the rain, better features. Something to think about is size. The smaller tents are easier and faster to setup. Plus you need less soft. The Wawona 6 has a huge vestibule/ rain fly. It takes a lot longer to setup, and while I can do it all solo it takes much more time than the 4. My 2 and 3 man backpacking tents are even faster. If you are getting in late and go with a normal tent, smaller is probably better.
I do a lot of beach camping, and have a 4 person Coleman dome tent that has stood up to 35+mph winds on Cape Lookout. The only issue was that the wind was blowing the sand so hard it came up and into the vents in the top of the tent. It has gone through other thunderstorms too. One wiped out 3/4s the tents at Ocracoke and ours was standing strong. Probably not the best tent, but it has survived a lot of heavy weather. Ours has the little patio entrance thing, which is nice for sand. Just make sure you have good stakes.
Assuming car camping, a simple Coleman 4 person dome tent that they are capable of putting up/taking down with a friend.
Two people in a two person REI Backpacking in a four person Coleman with a blanket on the top of the two person. The four person had ice on it , but we were cosy warm inside. Some gear inside the 2 person. Some gear between the 2 and the 4 person and some gear in the vestibule.
I picked up a used Coleman four person tent for my boys for $40 on eBay. They started sleeping in it when they were 4 and 6 years old.
I camp alot, using an economical 4 person Coleman.
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