Just used this last night for an impromptu winter camp out. Definitely Not a 4 season tent but it did well enough. I use it a bunch over the summer, it's small enough to take on a small hike and is budget friendly too.
For three months on the road you want something you can set up alone in the dark when you're tired. Freestanding dome tent is the move. Don't go too big or you'll hate packing it every morning. I ran a Kelty Late Start for about six weeks straight and it held up to everything short of a tornado. Quick pitch, good ventilation, and fits on most platforms.
Need a tent for the weather. I live in a hot, humid environment so I ended up getting a kelty late start. It has lots of mesh for air flow and has a good rain fly and has stood up to rain storms and stayed dry. Not an expensive tent or heavy, goes up fast and easy to pack up.
https://preview.redd.it/yqx57nupyazg1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6f8f559fe2f7f23b7eee2fcbc027e9a8aa1cea55
A ShiftPod or an ice fishing tent might be fine if you can afford it, but there are less expensive solutions as well. if you are willing to do some work. I camped for 10 years in the cheapest 3-person dome tent I could find at Big 5 Sporting Goods. It cost me $35, plus labor and materials to harden it for the Playa. That's cheaper than the cheapest insulated ice fishing tent I found on the Internet: $137.90 at Home Depot.
I modified my cheap dome tent by sewing nylon cloth over the mesh windows to block the dust. If I did it again I would probably just glue the nylon fabric over the mesh windows, leaving just one corner to Velcro strips I could pull open to get some top ventilation in times of mild wind.
To make it cooler, I added a Reflectix (aluminized bubble wrap) cover to the top and South facing sides to keep the sun and heat out. This has the added advantage of helping to keep the tent dry when it rains. Covering the tent with an opaque cover undoubtedly reduced UV sun damage that weakens the nylon tent fabric. The Reflectix cost more than the tent itself, but it was worth it for the heat protection.
I set grommets in the Reflectix material so I could secure it to the tent and tent stakes. Some may get a fancy grommet setting kit, but I just bought the grommets and pounded them down with a hammer to set them into the fabric. This was very inexpensive.
Then I got a thin dashboard sun screen to hang across the main door. I also replaced the puny tent stakes with 18" rebar, and the tent felt very secure even in the highest winds on the Playa. I surrounded the tent with some solar lights, and draped more solar lights over the top, hoping that this would prevent anyone from running over my tent at night.
Does it stay cold all day? No, but it stays a lot cooler than the oven-like temperature I experience with no Reflectix cover. I can sleep in there until mid-morning if necessary. Does it stay dark inside? No, but the Reflectix blocks the sun very well, and it would be relatively dark during the day if I added a Reflectix panel to cover the door.
There are some limits to this solution. On the tenth year, one of the corners separated from the rest of the tent. At that point I retired this tent, in favor of a 4-person Kelty dome tent (formerly used for family camping) that also is a good size for one person and all of their gear. After 10 years the Reflectix aluminized coating started dropping off and turning into moop on the Playa, so the next year I replaced it with an aluminet tarp that someone gave to me. When we had high winds during Build Week, some dust was blowing through the tent fabric.
Still, for the price it can't be beat.
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.
AddendumOk5735
