The North Face - Wawona 4
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 30, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
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1
"aluminum poles over fiberglass ... good quality screen ... the seams are still solid after a decade ... It’s just made really well"
"It's a seriously sturdy aluminum frame"
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"The best part is the huge vestibule. ... On super rainy days we can set up our camp chairs in there and cook with the stove no problem, the dogs sleep out there and it's a great place to dry stuff."
"Love the vestibule. ... I put down astroturf in the vestibule. ... Have cooked inside it when the weather was unfriendly and a great place to store gear."
"The vestibule is one of the defining features of this tent."
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"I’m pretty tall so I really appreciate the standing room. It made getting changed or just moving around so much easier than ducking in a tiny pup tent."
"Set up two cots, with plenty of room to stand and dress or whatever."
"I like to have enough room to stand, and bring a chair and small table inside incase it rains."
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"Best shoes for the pnw! What I use as well"
"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."
"They got me through an entire bandon dunes trip where it rained for 3 days straight."
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"The ventilation was so great. Never got too warm, never had an issue with condensation."
"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."
Disliked most:
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"I just ordered and received one and it's been the worst out of box experience I've ever had. ... The minimal quick start and lights on the device didn't match the documentation and it went downhill from there. ... It wouldn't connect to the app, then I eventually got it connected manually and it wouldn't play because it needed an update. ... Of course the update would fail to install every time. ... I spent an hour with support to learn that the battery needed to be at a minimum charge level to update. ... The device doesn't have a way to determine the state of charge without using the app, and won't connect to the app if the charge state is too low. ... In retrospect a simple "charge this device for several hours before attempting to setup and use" in the box would have solved all my issues. ... If it was just off and completely dead I would have figured it out quickly, but it actually displayed lights and gave the appearance that something was working at first and started to pair with the app for a bit. ... It wouldn't play the sound to identify the speaker so I had to manually enter the number as an alternative."
"can’t seem to get them to connect to my system. Keeps telling me they need to update and I get an error. I’ve been on the phone with support twice now doing all kinds of things to try and fix them. Apparently they are sending an email with info to return them within the next two business days."
"found it such a pain to set up"
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"Personally snapped a three season tent on rainier from the wind a few seasons ago. Granted it was a big Agnes tiger wall."
"Hubba tent has a single top tube, this design is made to be lightweight but it cannot withstand wind."
"These taller tents don't do well in high winds. ... They're like giant sails, and the poles tend to bend."
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"My wawona leaked all over the second time I used it."
"the Sundome only comes down halfway."
"My personal experience is with one of my older tent coleman sundome, where the fly kind of goes just below where the screen material is. In windy conditions, the, due to the gap, the wind finds its way in and make the fly very flap around a lot and hence its very loud."
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"traveling with it is painful. ... The pack size is huge and heavy."
"the packed size, it's fkn big ... You really need to be sure you can fit it in your car or be prepared to strap it to the top. ... When I had a Jeep, it BARELY fit! Bottom right corner. When I shut the tailgate, it would nudge it and that was having to move the passenger seat up as far as I could and still be able to sit in the seat."
"It's about the size of 12 by 12 popup shelter folded up."
Gazelle T4, North Face Wawona or Big Agness Big House. Agree the T4 is a bear to.load and carry. We use our Wawona a ton once we learned how to set it up hahaha
r/camping • Best way to sit up in tent ->I was thinking the tent is 82 inch long. I could sleep in it, but I would be more comfortably laying in a larger tent. I have a North Face tent that I thought was a great find, just to find out it's so tiny inside it annoys me (I think it is only around 80"). I would rather pitch a tarp and sleep in my bivy sack underneath.
r/CampingGear • Menards is almost giving away a decent tent for $34. Klymit Cross Canyon 3 ->Are you worried about any specific type of weather? I went with the Wawona after seeing a bunch of videos rain testing tents. It stayed dry even in a few inches of flooding!! I’m very happy with it. Have you checked reviews on YouTube for the ones you’re considering?
r/camping • Tent Purchase - Overwhelmed ->Wawona is a great tent. It's my car camping tent. Really well made and the vestibule is awesome.
r/CampingGear • Need a 6 person tent. Down to 2 options. ->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.
r/CampingGear • Need a 6 person tent. Down to 2 options. ->Honestly you just need something with a fly. We’ve had a North Face, and Coleman and a McKinley all with fly’s and all have been perfectly fine riding out rainstorms. A ground sheet/tarp tucked under the tent is never a bad idea either as long as it’s not sticking out catching rain. Set the tent up properly with the guy lines out and you should be good. A vestibule has always been something we have too, one with the full fly not just mesh screens.
r/camping • I need a tent that can handle some rain. ->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
r/camping • TNF Wawona 4 vs Big Agnes Spicer Peak 4 ->I’ve owned a lot of tents Eureka, Kelly, North Face, Big Agnes, REI and our last two have been Core (big and cheap) tents. Only one of my tents has ever leaked even with significant rain and thunderstorms. Make sure things are not pushing on the wall of the tent and properly stake out your tent and fly. Others have pointed out getting a better tent will help, and it will but if you have stuff pushing on the wall or you don’t stake it out, they will leak too. Pay attention to how you are storing your tent too. I had a wonderful North Face tent that got moldy and after that, the waterproofing was shot. Water literally pouring in the tent as a thunderstorm roared over Lake Superior. This was the only tent I ever had that leaked and it was an entirely my fault.
r/camping • I need a tent that can handle some rain. ->A 4 person like the Wawona 4p or the MSR Habiscape. They are huge palaces compared to the 1p tents you’re used to, but the footprint is small enough to fit into most public campsites. The extra space will be nice to have room to attend to your pup
r/backpacking • Solo backpacker's take on car camping/glamping tents? ->Will best to get an 8 person tent but maybe you can get by with a 6 person. Consider the size of your mattresses to see if the floor dimensions will work. Something like the Coleman Skydome or Northface Wawona. I think it’s nice to have a vestibule so you can dry/clean the dogs off before getting in the tent. For technique, don’t set up in the lowest spot on your site/depressions in the ground even if that seems the flattest. Get a tarp or a specific tent footprint to go under your tent. If it’s a tarp, fold it up so the edges are just under the tent. That way water will go under the tarp and not between the tarp and your tent.
r/camping • Looking for a tent for 4 people and 1-2 dogs, have been rained out EVERY time I have been camping ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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