The North Face - Wawona 4

I use a Wawona 6 for one person. Mostly because my cot was touching the sides of the Wawona 4. It's the perfect amount of room for me and my stuff.

No experience with the BA one, but I own the Wawona 4, got a great deal at it at the outlet and have spent a lot of time camping in it. It’s a great tent. It feels like a palace. I love the huge open screen on the front and the fact that it angles forward. It meant that even if I was in the tent in the rain, I could usually have the fly in front rolled up and still “feel” outside, without any rain getting in. I will say it’s heavy, and I hate the bag it comes in. The ventilation was so great. Never got too warm, never had an issue with condensation. No issues in heavy rain. Did get caught in a bad windstorm on one trip. Tent was very stable but it was pretty cold inside the tent because the rain fly doesn’t go all the way to the ground on three sides. Editing to add: if you’re interested in this tent and have a North Face outlet near you, it’s worth checking out. I got this tent for $70 at one of their locations last year because it was the previous years model

I have the 4- love it.

absolutely love my wawona 4

The wawona 4 is just as tall and more than enough for 2 ppl. Smaller vestibule but still plenty of room for two.

Buy once - cry once Don't skimp on shelter. A good tent (like the big Agnes) will last you a lifetime. Kelty is a decent second option (but usually heavier) and Coleman is more likely to tear or break a pole (I have one for family car camping and it broke a pote...repaired the pole but still swapped for TNF Wawona 4) It only takes one failure to make you wish you'd just spent the extra $. Buy the Big Agnes and move on.

The North Face Wawona 4 has plenty of room and a floorless vestibule in the front. I ditched my coleman cause it leaked at the last scout outing and we were miserable. The wawona was the only tent in this entire shootout(there was a video of like 6 or 8 top brands) that stayed 100% dry through all her tests. I just snagged one. Haven’t tested but I did setup and this thing is solid. Pricey, but man sleeping wet just ruins the whole experience. Any tent is fine for fair weather, if you can guarantee it. I live in Florida, so…. https://youtu.be/G6Y_iXNrJsI?si=O2voTqRF3Jh9pm-4

That Megallan tent is awful. You would be better off sleeping beneath a plastic tarp. The pack weight is like 30lbs. It's an absolute dump truck of a tent. 30lbs and none of the seams are sealed, and the rainfly doesn't cover the sides. You would be better off spending more and getting something like The North Face Wanona 4. Wawona 4 ● 13lbs ● Waterproof seams ● Floor area: 58.13 ft² (5.4 m²) ● Tall / vertical headspace ● Huge vestibule

All of these are car camping tents. The Wanona and Homestead are 13 lbs, and they're absolutely massive when packed. The skydome 6p is enormous and weighs 19 lbs. You wouldn't ever want to hike with these tents. The North Face tents suffer from outdated design philosophies. There are no clips. You have to feed all of the poles through sleeves. The fabric can bunch up, so you have to be mindful while feeding the poles through. Slow to set up, slow to take down. The Wanona 4P performs well in the rain. It's lovely in the rain, but not so terrific to set up or break down in the rain. These taller tents don't do well in high winds. They're like giant sails, and the poles tend to bend. Questions to ask yourself: What type of camping do you envision for yourself? How many people will you be camping with? Do you plan on thru-hiking? Your ideas about camping will evolve as you gain experience with equipment.

Coleman’s are absolute trash tents. 2 season max until something breaks guaranteed. A similar style tent I’d absolutely vouge for is the north face Wawona 4. One of the best tents I’ve ever owned.

I am also partial to Big Agnes, but my current car camp tent is a North Face, and it is built very well. Go to REI and have a look at their various offerings. Nemo, MSR, Big Agnes, the REI brands (half dome series of tents have a great reputation for value) Mountain Hardwear, Marmot, etc... all have great products.

If you want a “good” tent you will need to spend more than $400 unless you get lucky. However if your girlfriend wants a big tent and previously bought an outbound one, she doesn’t seem too concerned about having a really good tent (I don’t mean that in a rude way, but outbound is not considered quality and people looking for “good” would never consider one, and most people looking for something really technical are buying at most a 3 person, it’s just how this works). I’d just get the same one if she was happy with it. That said, as another suggested, if you keep an eye on sales you may be able to get her a slightly fancier tent like the north face Wawona for a good deal, and if she knows about good gear she’ll probably be stoked, because the wawona is just about the only tent people will suggest as a good big tent. Depends on whether you are looking to just replace/make things right, or try to treat her at the same time. Either way is fine.