Kelty - Daydreamer 6P

I have this same tent and love it. Torrential rains this past weekend while we were camping and not one drop of water got it. The vestibule is a great size for shoes, bags or even a color. And we “slept in” til 7 thanks to the blackout material!

I have the Kelty Daydreamer 6p and it’s the best tent I’ve owned. What I like about it: setup is as easy as a Coleman sundome. It just takes two cross poles, four stakes for the base and four for the full fly. Very easy for one person to put up in five minutes, there are thoughtful touches such as the corners being color coded for assembly. The poles are quite sturdy. The dark room feature is awesome and because it’s a full extending fly it pretty fully covers the tent. There’s a pocket in each corner plus a huge heavy duty gear loft on the ceiling. It has a good size vestibule to keep your packs and shoes dry. Even the takedown is easy and I pretty much jammed it back in the bag without having to finesse and figure out specific folds. No gear is perfect though because use cases are different, and that’s true with this tent. There are a couple downsides: because of the full fly coverage the tent is a touch warm. And the floor material is thin, so I got the footprint to help protect it from punctures.

There are guylines on the sides on the tent to pull the fly out and increase ventilation and they do help. The vestibule has a full length zip to open and it airflows directly into the tent. And the back of the tent has a full length zip to airflow front to back. The tent is fully mesh. It’s not terrible but if you’re sleeping in the 75f and over you should bring a small fan. It’s not as hot as my cabin style tent so it’s not terrible.

I just upgraded an old kelty four man tent to a kelty daydreamer 6. It won't get used until next weekend but when I test set it up in the backyard it was intuitive to set up, a good layout and features, seemed like a good build quality, and the black out feature was more effective than I expected. The old kelty tent has given me no issues in the 200+ nights we have used it so I am hopeful this new tent will be the same.

The tent was great. Easy setup, very dark, materials seemed good. You get a little light bleeding in under the rain fly and through the roof vent, but you could reduce that by cinching the fly down tighter to the ground and closing the vent. It still is dark enough during the day that you would need a flashlight to look for things in a pack inside the tent, even with the vestibule open. My dog and toddler slept in hours last when they normally would because it was nice and dark in the morning as the sun coming up didn't light up the tent. It is annoying that the window on the back of the tent is just a zipped up section of the fly and can't be adjusted from the inside. We left the window closed for the most part and if we wanted to let light in we tied back the vestibule flaps by the door. In that case with rain starting you are only leaning out the tent door to close the vestibule on the fly and you don't actually have to get out of the tent.

Get a blackout tent. I have the kelty daydreamer and my toddler and dog sleep in much later in the morning with that vs waking up at the crack of dawn when the sun lights up the tent. We were also able to put the toddler to sleep at the normal bed time when it was still light outside. I'm curious to see how nap times will go and if the tent stays cool under the summer sun with it closed up to keep it darker inside, but I haven't had to test that yet.

I'm a fan of the Kelty tents. They have held up well for me over the years. If you want your kids to sleep in later in the mornings, the Kelty daydreamer is a black out tent and keeps things very dark so everyone doesn't wake up with the sun.

I have had a normal kelty 4 man and the daydreamer 6. The 4 held up great for almost a decade of use (~6 trips a year with that tent) before we needed more space and upgraded. The day dreamer 6 is pitch black inside which is great for getting kids/dogs to sleep in later than sunrise. The thick fly to keep out light definitely adds a pound or two to the day dreamer vs a normal tent.

Not sure about long term durability, but I got a Sierra Designs Full Moon 3 on sale for like $70 this last summer, and it's worked well for me and my spouse and our dog. We've only used it a couple times but it held up well in moderate wind and hasn't leaked on us yet. It's a mesh body with full coverage rainfly, so my main concern for long term durability would be the mesh tearing. No issues yet though, even with an excitable 80 lb dog in the tent with us. I remember we had Coleman tents as a kid for car camping, and they were durable but seem to be more expensive now. I think the only issues we had were zippers, and over 20 years I think it's reasonable to replace a zipper or two on a tent that was mostly used by my siblings and I and our friends while we were younger kids/teenagers. My spouse and I also have a Kelty Daydreamer 6 that I got for under $100 used at REI because they wanted to be able to stand and have space other than sleeping bags to hang out inside. It's been nice the 2 times we've used it, but I can't speak to durability yet aside from the stakes it came with sucked and I don't see the plastic buckles to attach the rainfly to the tent body lasting as long as the rest of the tent. This one is also mesh body with full coverage rainfly. It's a blackout material, and I'm not sure I like how dark it is inside in the morning but ny spouse loves it. I don't know if there's a 3 person version of that specific tent, I've had good luck with other Kelty products and it did hold up to a night of 30 mph wind gusts (aside from some of the stakes that came with it pulling out of the ground, so the rainfly on the sides was flapping against the tent all night). If you want something affordable that will also last a long time, you might want to look for something lightly used on FB Marketplace, at REI, or at another outdoor gear resale store. You might not find a specific brand/model but cheap new tents are not going to be as durable for the same price as a slightly used higher quality option. If you can find a Coleman tent for a good price that is probably your best bet. Just check reviews, buy from a real seller instead of a random Amazon storefront, and be ready to waterproof it. Whatever you buy, taking good care of it and storing it properly will extend its life quite a bit. A footprint or tarp used under the tent will help, too. I really do recommend looking at used tents if you don't mind waiting to find one that works for you! I've saved so much money getting used gear where I can, and I don't usually buy stuff that I know needs immediate repairs. If you're willing to replace some broken or missing tent poles, that will give you even more options at a lower price.

Kelty Day Dreamer 6p - Simple, only two poles, blackout rainfly and large back vent Coleman Peak 1 6p - Cabin-esque tent with plenty of mesh and large front door that has a canopy mode in the fly Aurora Highrise 6p - Another canopy mode tent with windows on the inside for catching cross breezes even with the fly on and a back vestibule and door Snow Peak Alpha Breeze (bit heavier here) - Four doors/windows to catch all breezes, clean white rainfly helps deflect more heat, large doors and canopy mode in the fly REI Basecamp 6 - Extra poles for a more wind resistant tent, symmetrical design allows the rainfly to be pitched on either side, one side has an extended vestibule for more space and shade, canopy mode on both sides of the rainfly, and internal windows to let cool air in and plenty of vents. Lots of privacy even with the rainfly off and the choice to open panels for better ventilation. Honorable mention because it's a unique one: Big Agnes Wyoming Trail 4 - Its one tent, comprised of two smaller sleep sections (think of two roomy two person tents) conjoined by a sort of common space between them all under the roof of one large rainfly, each tent section has its own entry and the common space has two doors, and canopy mode feature.

I just got a kelty daydreamer 6 with black out. Its very nice. However you will need a lantern or flashlight to find things even in daytime. Other than that I do enjoy the blackout material.

Kelty is my go-to “budget” brand but Coleman will work too for beginner stuff. I wouldn’t splurge on Big Agnes until later on. Get cheap basic stuff and then upgrade as you go along.

Kelty Daydreamer. It is made for your exact situation. It comes in a couple different sizes. You can find it at REI or at Kelty online.

I've never had a CORE tent, but Coleman and Kelty have both worked well in the past for car camping. The Coleman "instant cabin" would probably be an easier setup, but not much easier, and at cost of some sturdiness. Coleman Dark Room and Kelty Daydreamer are also neat; they're designed to black out sunlight, so the material is a bit heavier... and yeah, you can sleep in past dawn much more easily.

it fits my kelty 6 comfortably with space on the size. it was very tight with my kelty 4

I like the Walmart brand Ozark Trail. We have had a smaller tent from them for quite a while (it does leak now but we set up a tarp over it). Our nicer Kelty tent tore and the zipper broke. They’ll fix them for you but I lose the receipt :(  Since you’re new I’d go on the less expensive side first.