REI Co-op - Kingdom 8

The BC6 is amazing… it is super durable and easy to set up. At 5’4” you might struggle a little at first with set up, especially in the wind, but once you do it a bunch of times… it is easy to do. (poles are all color coordinated and chorded together. I use it beach camping so it stands up to the wind… and has plenty of mesh to be breezy on those hot days. Given the sale… I would recommend. I really miss the kingdome 6 and 8… it had a built in screen porch side that gave you the choice to have a tent and screen porch all in one. A true glamping tent! If you get it, post photos!

The REI Kingdom 8 is worth every penny at around $500, super spacious for 4 people + gear and the poles are sturdy af even in heavy winds (used mine for 3 years with no issues).

I’ve had both of those tents. I hung the kingdom out to dry during an overnight stop at my cousins on the way back from the boundary waters and took off without it. Stopped at REI in KC and they had the wawona returned for $160, so I bought it. I didn’t have the extended vestibules for either. I give the kingdoms the advantage in comfort. The pockets are perfect and everywhere. The Wawona seems better constructed and better materials. It took about 40 family trips with young boys over 2.5 years to have the kingdom pretty warn out. I just remembered that I swapped it out at REI halfway because the zipper eats holes in the rain fly, so really less than 2 years of hard use and it’s shot. The poles also bend too easy. One windstorm and it was never exactly in the right shape again. The wawona is about the same weight, but everything is sturdier. Thicker poles, mesh and fabric. Better zippers. No deforming after storms. I miss the stow pockets for the tent doors every time I use it. The pockets feel minimalist. The ones on the back door don’t help that much because it self empties when you unzip it. You can put a tablet in there and watch shows as a family. Both tents are cavernous. You need to stake everything out if there is going to be a storm. If you put the wawona with the front door facing away from the wind it actually does well in heavier weather.

>staying cool will be more important than staying warm if that's relevant. Have you slept overnight outside in the desert yet? In my experience, unless it's high summer, night in the desert gets colder than you'd expect, and air mattresses suck the heat out of you quickly. (I have both small backpacking tents and a biiig REI Kingdom 8. I'll almost always go with a tent I can stand in when car camping! )

Yes, I do. The footprint of the Wawona 6 is 116.1 x 93.7 and the footprint of the Wawona 8 is 166.5 x 94 The vestibule is absolutely incredible and I cannot foresee ever using a different tent. The Wawona gets some heat because it doesn't have a full fly but, being PNW based, we've never had an issue in either the 6 or 8. We had the REI Kingdom 8 before this tent and had issues with water getting in and overall tent integrity (ie the poles). I cannot recommend either version of the Wawona enough. Also, check out YouTube for reviews by Camping Guidance. One of her reviews of the Wawona sold us on it and we are so glad it did.

I have had some significant challenges with REI branded gear specific to the zippers and poles in tents (had a Kingdom 8). As far as I am aware, REI has the equivalent of a 12 month warranty through their return options. Whereas, Big Agnes has lifetime (if purchased through an authorized reseller). That that for what you will, of course.

We have a 8 person REI tent for two of us and doggo. Look at how they rate the sleeping capacity of tents with sleeping bags squeezed next to each other like sardines in a can. Our tent comfortably fits us with room for our belongings and we attach a vestibule as well. It’s comfortable and makes the camping experience all the more enjoyable. Not a big deal in my opinion.

We have the kingdom with the garage. Perfect for four. Garage is great place to store things and make a rainproof hang out area. Good pockets. Easy to put up and down for a big tent. We have had some other rei tents destroyed in windstorms but in spite of its size - it has held firm. Even repels buffalo:)

You can find a used REI kingdom for that cost. We really love ours

The kingdom tents from REI are great. the tubeshape and features are quite nice so are the extras.... but if you want easy to put up an down the instant tents from Ozark Trail I used with my family when kids were young in cub scouts for 5+ years. I the integrated poles made for putting it up and down very quick and easy even by myself, and I could stand up and had 4 cots in them. The may be cheaper than others but there are a few brands that make the instant tents with integrated poles. I was surprised how well my ozark held up. also check out the alps brands, they are built well, but heavy.

Get something with a full length rainfly, and if you stake your guy lines out further than you think, then double them (each tie down point has two lines spread out like 45 degrees) you’ll be in pretty good shape. Take the time to re-adjust to get everything nice and taught. Worth the $$$ to get some quality stakes and line, you’ll need more than comes with the tent. This is what I’ve done with a big, tall REI Kingdom tent that has near vertical walls, and it’s pretty good through even gusty 30 mph winds.