The North Face - Wawona 4

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

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 The North Face tents suffer from outdated design philosophies.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.

I have a Kelty, an Alps, a North Face, a REI, a Magellan and one from Bass Pro (I can’t remember the name). All are for different situations. Kelty is a great brand. Just realize you are entering a world where you are going to wake up and ask “Do I need another tent?” and the answer is always yes. Applies to backpacks as well :)

We also have an rei half dome, used a lot when bike camping. We progressed to car camping long trips and bought a north face tent that my spouse ( and me too) can stand up and move around in. Fantastic!! On multiple day stays we love it. we took the little tent too and if just getting somewhere late and moving on the next day we used that. The bigger one has a porch and in bad weather having that space and more inside space is so good.

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.

DAC poles, lifetime warranty and full coverage rainfly. Marmot Halo 6p Marmot Limestone 6p MSR Habbiscape 6p Eureka Spacecamp 6p Big Agnes Bunk House 6p Sierra Designs Nomad 6p The North Face Wawona and Nemo Highrise are also good but they don't have full coverage rain flies. Buy additional guyline and upgrade your tent stakes. The stakes that come with lost tents are not good.

I never buy anything that is trying to be sold to me by an “influencer“.  I’m sure they are pretty neat in the way they go up, probably a lot less so when you are putting them down. I highly doubt they would last as long as a similarly priced normal tent. More moving parts always equates to more problems.   I guess if you have space in your car/truck/trailer for it, the extra cash, and dislike of a regular tent then go ahead.  I will stick with my lightweight REI, or my Wawona for more comfortable car camping. If I wanted a more convenient solution I’d get a rooftop or a teardrop trailer. 

6'4" here, also Halo 6. Upgraded from a first gen NF Wawona, which I could also stand up in.

In that price range my top two would either be a Wawona or the REI Wonderland. Both have space to stand up inside, more roomy design that the Base Camp style l, and do great in even super rough weather with a couple guy-lines staked out. Go for at least a 4P, but we have a 6P, and it was worth it the few times we've been stuck inside it for hours waiting out a heavy rain storm.

Look at Northface Wawona and Marmot Limestone. Both are solid, seam taped and built like bomb shelters. The Wawona is taller, 6'2 in the middle, so slightly taller than Limestone. But if you want standing room being 6'4, you might have some tough time finding one for 4 person.

That's how we fell in love with the Wawona by watching Liz!