Mountain Hardwear - Mineral King™ 3 Tent

Must haves (I’ve passed over and returned tents for these) Poles that clip instead of slide into sleeves. Makes setup/takedown super fast and easy.  High Quality zippers/fabric/hardware Full rain fly with vestibule for shoes. Double doors.  Good ventilation and plenty of mesh. Available oem Footprint Nice to haves: (Increase comfort and usability but aren’t total dealbreakers) Headroom is important to my family, but not a big deal for me personally.  Straight walls which keep the interior feeling open.  These two hit all those marks for me: Mountain hardwear Mineral king https://www.mountainhardwear.com/p/mineral-king-3-tent-2102591.html Marmot tungsten https://www.marmot.com/equipment/tents/4-person/tungsten-4-person-tent/SP_1031644.html

looks like there is not much mesh, so unless you're going winter camping, it's going to be real hot in there. i have the mountain hardware mineral king 3, and it is mostly mesh and quite comfortable even on the hottest summer trips. it is 3x more expensive though. https://www.rei.com/product/164811/mountain-hardwear-mineral-king-3-tent-with-footprint

I owned the REI Half Dome 2 1/2 or 2+ (forgot the exact name). Great tent. Only replaced it because I went lighter for a 2 person bikepacking tent. I currently have the Mountain Hardware Mineral King 3 for car camping. Both tents are good, and both have a full rain fly which I consider a must. Either will serve you well

I think it depends on your use case and what characteristics you value the most.  Car camping or backpacking?  Kids and/or dogs?  Durability and warranty or lighter weight materials and size?  I have both tents (except SL2+ version) for different purposes.

Neither. Get the Alps Mountaineering Lynx 4 from Hiker Direct for far less money and a better tent. The Browning version of that tent (Countryside 4 iirc) might still be on sale too. I like the Mineral King except dirt and sand kick up from the ground into the tent through the low mesh even with the rain fly on when there’s wind or a good rain. REI customer service has unfortunately gone downhill and their tents aren’t what they used to be.

Mountain hardware is heavier but has a far better warranty. REI only warranties for 1 year and will not sell you parts or repair gear.

I got the 3p mineral king and love it! Super spacious, very functional and got a great discount on their website earlier this year, like ~$120ish.

I have the same problem with the doorway mesh getting caught in the zipper, definitely a two handed to close it up. I still like the tent though.

They are close enough that I’d go Mineral King purely because of the lower cost. Unless you’re exceptionally tall or actually putting 3 people in there. But I’m not sure 10” and the slight weight savings is with the savings here. Plus the MH warranty is product lifetime vs REI being 1 year.

Also “lifetime” warranty vs 1 year

I have both, and I personally prefer the Half Dome

Good tent. Served our son during boy scouting days and myself a number of times. Sold it off because we moved to Travel Trailer camping because we are both too old to be trying to sleep on the ground. 🤣

I’ve put almost 50 nights in my Mineral King 3 since June. I am very happy with my purchase. I did get mine at heavy discount but would still be happy having paid more. It has some well thought out features. It’s held up well in downpours, heavy wind, and snow that would’ve really tested my old Walmart tents. My two issues are the rain fly color and mesh durability. Daytime naps are difficult because the rain fly lets in a lot of light. I came from a tent that was marketed as being dark inside so it’s noticeable for me. Luckily I don’t sleep in. The doorway mesh gets caught in the zipper a lot (user error?) but I can see the mesh’s weave getting messed up.