Cook 4 Man Tent

The coleman is tried and true. Its the workhorse of camping. The ones in the US are not known to be weather tight and will leak. Never used an inflatable, never found regular tents that hard to set up.

By the way I’m a member of r/snowpeak and thought your question asking about the Alpha Breeze entertaining to a bunch of Snow Peak nut jobs. lol I’ve had various tents for various situations over the years. Earliest memory was using a Coleman four man tent with my family when I was a kid, an acceptable tent for a child, but I also didn’t know any better. I would say any sub $200 tent now probably falls in the same quality of cheaper tent fabric and lower quality poles. In my teens and throughout my 30s, I got big into backpacking so it was with brands like MSR and Big Agnes. In that time of lightweight backpacking tents, I really loved the original MSR Mutha Hubba (3p), it was lightweight and very packable and was spacious relative to its total weight. I’ve since gotten a newer MSR Hubba Hubba (2p) which I like, slight lowering in quality since the 2000s era of MSR quality. Which brings us full circle to the Alpha Breeze, it’s now my dedicated car camping tent, having also slept in and seen other tents that friends bring on car camping trips. It’s something I view as a long term investment that features thoughtful tent design along with the durability that comes with quality. Last thing, the price is high, but I’m seeing this as something that will last me +10 years, if not 20. Which over time breaks down to about $60/year if using 10 years.

We moved from a Coleman 4P to a 6P, and it was a game changer, WAY more space for cots, and you don’t feel like you’re rolling over someone to get out at night. I’ve heard great things about Gazelle tents, especially for their quick setup, but I also agree they run a bit tight if you’re factoring in cots rather than foam pads. If vertical space matters (standing up, changing clothes, or convincing the dog to not sleep on someone’s sleeping bag), I'd say go for the biggest tent you can justify lugging in your car. Comfort > convenience when you’re camping with the fam.

For car camping, I’d get a Coleman 4p. I’ve had one for 5 years. Use it 3-4 times a year when I’m not backpacking. Then you can afford to get yourself a nicer backpacking tent. 3p Tarptent. Or 3p Marmot. I wouldn’t go down to 2, if you’re taking the pup.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how the boat destroyed my tent!!! I'm sure this will make a great story once I have the details. My Coleman was good to us, too. It was going to need another waterproofing, but it did a great job. I'll consider another one for sure.

I have a Kodiak 10 X 14 flexbow. Though it is heavy, it is quicker and easier to setup than my 4 person Coleman. If you get a tent with a lot of stake points, get a drill attachment. It makes things quick as well.

Really depends on the kind of camping. To start stay car camping. Get a cheap coleman 4 person tent and an ez-up canopy and two tarps that match its color. One close to tent footprint, one about twice as big as the canopy pitch the tent on top of the smaller tarp, fold it up under the tent if its sticking out. You want it 4" inside the tent footprint. Put the ez-up right in front, overlapping slightly if possible. Then attach the second tarp to that, and run it over the tent, staking it down behind the tent. In hot weather raise the back one up and move it around like a shade cloth to keep the tent cool. When the rain comes pull it tighter and lower on the back corners and put and high in the middle to make a roof. Use sticks to set levels and paracord to stake it out. Get a folding table. A big one. 6 footer. It goes under the canopy, with two coolers under it. One for food, one for drinks. Drink one gets salted crushed/cubed ice, but put a ziploc full of normal ice cubes in there for drinks. Food one gets block ice or frozen juice jugs. Cheap picnic tablecloth over the table to shade the coolers. On top goes a two burner propane stove. If it doesnt have legs, put it on top of a sheet of plywood or wood cutting board to not melt the table. Next to that a cutting board and one of those 5 gallon refillable water jugs for dishes and handwashing with a bucket underneath it. Get a closet hanging shoe organizer. Hang it off the canopy by/behind the table to put spices, oils, utensils, etc in. Keep a citronella candle bucket lit on the table. A roll of astroturf is nice under the canopy to keep it clean in the tent. Two zero-g camp chairs and throw blankets. Real pillows. Cots are better than air mattresses. Camp shoes. 12v rechargeable fans to circulate air in the tent and canopy. A small bluetooth speaker. Insulated tumblers for adult beverages. A shovel, a rake, an axe, and a broom. Multitool knife. Sunscreen. Bug repellent with deet. Board/card games of your choosing. A lantern. If you really wanna win points, get a camp shower and stall, and a bucket loo that you know how to use (hint, a little kitty litter in nested garbage bags, pull one out and tie it off and throw in another bucket with a sealing lid after every #2). They make toilet lids that snap on buckets. Get a floor grate so you don't stand in mud. I just use an old pallet that I nail the popup changing stall corners to with astroturf on top. My camp shower is a 5 gallon bucket with a little black garden hose, and a gardening soaker head with a shutoff valve. Little 12v pump inline. In the morning kick on a gallon of water on the stove to boil and mix with the other water in the shower bucket and start making coffee. If she wakes up and you're handing her coffee and pointing her to the shower, telling her that breakfast will be done after her hot shower... camping will live up to its nickname.

I always recommend a Coleman tent to new computers. A 4 person Colman isn’t expensive but you will get your money’s worth out of it. This will give you time to get a better idea of what is actually important to you, and what kind of camping you like to do.

Our family camps at assateague regularly most recently Labor Day week-into the weekend. We also love assateague even though it can have harsh conditions. We got stuck in a couple days of high wind last October. Fortunately the Coleman 4 person tent held up just fine. That’s terrible peoples set ups are breaking. The only thing I see here I would do differently if I was worried about the wind is possibly keeping your vestibule canopy down. It will provide less lift if the wind blows in that direction. It sounds like you’re well experienced and know what you’re doing. Happy camping!

Remember, when tents say sleeps, 4, 6 etc. Its never realistic. Im camping now in a Coleman 4 person tent. 1 is comfy, 2 is cramped. 4 if we were midgets.