3-Person Clip & Camp Dome Tent

We are four friends from Italy planning the classic national parks trip this July and August, spending 6 nights camping across Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Antelope, and the Grand Canyon. We're not super experienced campers and obviously are unfamiliar with the areas, so we could really use some advice. * Given the price of extra luggage for such a long flight, we were thinking about buying the tents directly in the US. Where to buy them? We're looking to either buy online for pickup or purchase them in-store. We are "sort by price" kind of guys, so any recommendations on where to find affordable options would be great. I know Wallmars sell tents and i've heard about REI for general outdoors-oriented gear. Our flight will arrive to Kalispell, MT so the in-store options could be limited? * Given the temperatures, especially at Glacier, do we need specific types of tents, or will any decent tent do? If you have any specific tent models that you think would be suitable, please share! * I've seen that nighttime temperatures can get quite low. What temperature rating should we look for in sleeping bags to ensure the girls stay warm and comfortable? We already have 2 bags with a 32°F comfort rating (bought for a camping trip to Iceland - that was a pretty cold experience ^_^), would you bring them or would you go for something lighter? * Last but not least, BEARS, The girls are terrified about the possibility of a bear crossing our path: is bear spray really necessary? I can't understand if the places we're visiting are flooded with bears everywhere or if encounters are a remote possibility, limited to the more remote areas... Thanks a lot in advance for your help! EDIT: everything went perfect, thanks everyone for the help! Settled for 2 [3-persons Walmart tents](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-3-Person-Clip-Camp-Dome-Tent-7-x-7-x-44-5-64-lbs/587622916?classType=VARIANT&athbdg=L1200), brought our good sleeping bags from home and camping went smooth. We just had to find one emergency airbnb 'cause weather forecast wasn't the best and we didn't trust the tents enough to spend one night in the rain. We got bear spray and ended up giving it away at the end of the trip. No bear to be seen but better safe than sorry.

I am almost definitely an outlier in this opinion... but I bought the Ozark Trails 3 person Dome tent for $30 at wal mart 10 years ago, and it has never failed me. It weighs 88 oz. I carry it in a 55L pack. This has been my only camping and backpacking tent for 10 years. I have slept in it in monsoon level rains and stayed dry as a bone. It's comfortable for 2 people, but it can fit 3 people easily. I have been tempted many times to upgrade to something like the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3, but that tent costs $500 and only weighs 20oz less. You will not find any serious backpackers on Youtube reviewing this tent because I don't think they'd even think to consider it, being from walmart. But here is a video of someone setting it up in the rain and comparing it to a $500 Big Agnes ultralite backpacking tent and you can see it basically performs just as well: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y0GuJT1vOg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y0GuJT1vOg) Here is another video of a guy who left this $30 ozark trail tent pitched outside in the elements for 365 days straight without ever taking it down. It finally failed at about the one year mark. But again, that's 365 days 24 hours a day. It survived tornadoes and hail storms during the year. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etsoo4SUT-w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etsoo4SUT-w) Comparing it to the one's you're considering: Naturehike Cloud Up 2 - Weight: 4lbs, Cost $169 Naturehike Mogar 2 - Weight 4 or 5lbs depending on fabric, Cost: $120-$170 Kelty Discovery Trail 2 - Weight: Just under 5 lbs, Cost $130 Ozark Trails 3 Person Dome Tent - Weight: 5.6 lbs, Cost $30 Especially if you're deciding between the Kelty and the Ozark Trails, that's an extra $100 to save only half a pound of weight (the 3 person version of the Kelty actually weighs \*more\* than the 3 person Ozark trails) Here is a link to the tent if you're interested. They haven't changed their design in over a decade, so it's the same one I've used for 10 years: [Buy the Ozark Trail 3 Person Dome Tent](https://www.walmart.com/ip/OT-3P-DOME-TENT/6311816943?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=6998&gclsrc=aw.ds&adid=222222222776311816943_117755028669_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-394283752452&wl5=9010957&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=6311816943&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=12420145346&gbraid=0AAAAADmfBIpNbGaCdwzkNoMV29vwkJ3xc&gclid=CjwKCAjw2rrQBhBuEiwAarLWHUofSgOIqT7uDnXavxLmanHTmsT5BW4u39_Z6uJRFDVGU2FbOPX6TRoC4sUQAvD_BwE) Especially if you're just getting into backpacking and you're on a budget, I'd recommend using this for a while and seeing how it goes. If it works as well for you as it has for me, you save $100. If you don't like it, just keep your receipt. They have a 90 day return policy and you can get your $30 back 😄

If you're going cheap, I would get the Ozark Trail Clip'n Camp 3 person for the same price as the cheaper tent. Why? Because the Walmart tent has an all clip suspension system that makes pitching it far easier than the partial pole sleeves setup of the Magellan or Core Equipment tents.

Ozark trail is Walmarts brand, you can find durable quality gear that can take care of your needs for well under your budget. Additionally Walmart has an excellent return policy, and offers cheap extended warranties that you can easily use. Ive used several different [Ozark trail 3 person come tents](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-3-Person-Clip-Camp-Dome-Tent-7-x-7-x-44-5-64-lbs/587622916) over the years, and think they work quite well as 2.5man tents. They're small enough you can backpack with them using traditional gear. I also recently tried a large [A-frame Ozark trail tent](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-7-x-7-3-Person-A-Frame-Tent-13-44-lbs/5023865539?classType=REGULAR&athbdg=L1600&from=/search) but returned it as I needed something a bit different, I might buy it again I like the style. If you want to splurge go for it, but buying the Walmart ones could allow you to put that budget towards other gear like sleeping bags and pads, or fund a road trip to a scenic park to camp at. Also for sleeping bags you can use comforters or bedding from home, this can double as your sleeping pad if you put a few extra blankets folded down. It's not really a workable option if your trying to hike to your campsite but is great for car camping at state parks. As you mentioned camping and backpacking are a bit different, these cheaper tents often have more space and durability than light weight backpacking tents which is beneficial for car camping. You can make them work for backpacking too, or upgrade to something else once you've gotten some experience and know what your looking for in your next tent.

There are 3 types of sleeping pads. Foam, self inflating, and inflatable. I recommend starting with a simple foam pad. The thicker self inflating pads will be the closest to a mattress feel, and probably the most comfortable. Inflatable pads are like mini blow up mattresses and tend to be lighter than the self inflating ones, but are fragile and won't work if there's a single pinhole. Foam pads are the lightest, cheapest, and most durable, but are less comfortable than the other two. Sleeping pads are a personal choice. REI has a section on their store where you can go to lay on a bunch of different pads to compare feel. For the thicker inflatable pads consider getting a wide since your arm will fall off the edge which will wake from sleep. Personally though after using several thermarest self inflating pads, foam pads, and fancy inflatables like the Nemo tensor and neoair uberlite I'm back to the classic accordion style foam sleeping pad. I constantly had to patch the inflatables and a foam pad is perfectly fine and can't break so that's big for me. Quick side note about backpacking. You can backpack with your regular car camping gear, look at militarys around the world they make their troops hike with 80lb backpacks. Backpacking often focuses on lighter gear and minimalism because its easier to hike further which is useful when you have a time constraint and long distances you want to cover, but it's not required, you just have to fit your stuff into a backpack and start walking.

My son was 11 and in boy scouts. The rules were, he needed a tent and had to be able to put it up himself. I got him this one: [https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-3-Person-Clip-Camp-Dome-Tent-7-x-7-x-44/587622916](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-3-Person-Clip-Camp-Dome-Tent-7-x-7-x-44/587622916) We practiced a few times and he got the setup and takedown down pat and used it for camping that November. Haven't used it this year yet but we'll be camping in a few weeks :) Its NOT light enough for backpacking, but we car camp mostly :)

The Walmart Ozark Trail 3 person dome tent is $30 and very light and ideal for Texas, although based on your requirement for space I would go for the 4 or up to 6 if you are fine with carrying more weight. I'm using the 3 person one for just me in Texas and I love it. It's only 5.64lbs and extremely spacious. I usually use it without the rain cover and only add it if there's high chances for rain. Any kind of more expensive tent seems completely unnecessary in your situation.

I have used an ozark trail 3 person dome tent quite a lot with good experiences. Not very lightweight though, so car camping only.