The North Face Wawona 4

Running these analyses costs money. Buy through my links to help keep lights on! I may get a small commission.

Overall

#21 in

Camping Tents

according to Reddit Icon Reddit

Sentiment score86% positive
25
2
2

Top Pros

Top Cons

No summary available.

Last updated: Jun 18, 2026

Reddit Reviews

Reddit IconAggressive_Key5504
4 months ago

I have the Wawona 4 and love it. We use the Wawona much more than our Gazelle T4. Took us two setups to figure out the fly, but now the wife and I set it up in a jiffy :) With the dogs etc, look at the Wawona 6

4 months ago

We use two, a Gazelle T4 and a North Face Wawona 4. The North Face has become our favorite. We can stand up in both. For your situation look at the Wawona 6.

4 months ago

We love our North Face Wawona 4. It took us a couple times to learn how to set it up, and now we can get it set up rather easily. Can stand in it and I am 6ft 1 inch. We prefer the Wawona over our T4 Gazelle. The T4 is just a huge beast to deal with. I also looked at the Big Agnes Big House as well.

3 months ago

We love our North Face Wawona 4.

about 2 months ago

2 tents in our rotation 1. North Face Wawona 4, our fave 2. Gazelle T4, Overland edition.

8 months ago

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

Reddit Iconalicewonders12
4 months ago

Yea your going to have to spend more than that to get a decent tent imo. Nemo high rise 4p or north face wawona 4p is my vote.

Reddit IconAylaWandering
about 2 months ago

Second this with my whole heart. Wait for the REI sale and it will be in budget. I love the height & space. I have a Wawona 6 now, but started on the 4 when I was solo, put in lots of years on that.

Reddit IconCute_Antelope9345
4 months ago

Have the Wawona 4 and survived tornado events in the immediate area. Woke up the next day bone dry. Set up is magical. Amazing cross breeze for warmer weather. Highly recommend. For backcountry, I use a MSR 3-person Elixir and very happy with the quality of that one too!

Reddit IconGlimmer_III
3 months ago

Late to the thread...in the best way, ChatGPT is often worse than "just a starting point". Why?... It quiet often will point you in the wrong direction, and if you go down its suggested path, once you realize you're "headed in the wrong direction", you must backtrack, and the net-distance-traveled is longer than if you'd just asked the right folks at the jump. e.x. If you start at "0", and you want to get to "+2", and ChatGPT sends you to "-3"...instead of only having to travel 2 units, you're now traveling 5 units. The folks over at r/camping, r/carcamping, and r/backpacking handle these questions every day, and they do it much more effectively than ChatGPT ever will, and probably better than r/Subaru_Outback. (Yes, there is overlap, as you're seeing in this thread.) So nothing wrong with having queried ChatGPT, but for next time? You have free access to folks who do it all the time, and who will **probe you for further clarity** when appropriate. ChatGPT will indulge your confirmation bias every time. `` If you live near an REI, start stopping by to look for a recently returned 4P or 6P tent in their "REI Garage". You can get $500-$600 tents for a fraction of that. As for "quick and easy", what's great about being a novice is you and your son do not yet have any "bad habits". Pretty much any decent tent is "easy to pitch" by your 3rd or 4th time. Just watch a how-to YouTube video and follow the order-of-operations. Makes it a breeze, even for a novice. Just go slow. `` _For a parent and kid car camping?..._ Save your roof-rack for gear storage and transport. Just get a proven 4P or 6P car camping tent. Don't reinvent the wheel. For suggestions, the Gazelle you mentioned is fine. But I don't like a key feature **it is missing**: A vestibule. You want to be able to leave your muddy shoes out side but be sheltered from the dew and rain. Therefore, I'd want to put these others in the mix. Having a sheltered vestibule is a feature worth having. * Northface Wawona 4P * Northface Wawona 6P * REI Westward 4P * REI Westward 6P * Nemo Aurora Highrise 4P * Nemo Aurora Highrise 6P Any one of those `^` would serve you well. All are VERY simple to set-up, again, especially by your 3rd or 4th time. The Wawona 4P and 6P effective have "defined the family car camping tent category" for years. It's a fantastic, proven tent. (And it has a vestibule.)

Reddit Icongraybeardgreenvest
about 1 month ago

If you do not need to stand up in the tent, I second the Stormbreak 3, the only other tent in the non light weight category of domed tents would be the Half Dome 3 by REI. If you want to stand up the NF Wawona 4 is amazing… as is the REI BaseCamp 4. I am pretty sure all of these tent will be on sale starting the 15th

Top Camping Tents on Reddit

1
The North Face Wawona 6

The North Face

Wawona 6

84% positive of 134 users

Spacious vestibule, strong in storms, but rainfly tricky solo.

$550 Amazon
2
Gazelle Tents T4 Hub Tent Series

Gazelle Tents

T4 Hub Tent Series

89% positive of 141 users

Fastest setup, durable, but bulky and awkward door.

$399 onwards Amazon
3
Durston X-Mid 2

Durston

X-Mid 2

83% positive of 146 users

Ultralight, spacious 2P, but not for very strong winds.

$289 Amazon
4
Durston X-Mid 1

Durston

X-Mid 1

82% positive of 102 users

Budget ultralight 1P, spacious, but large footprint.

$239 Amazon
5
Naturehike Mongar 2 Backpack Tent (Nylon)

Naturehike

Mongar 2 Backpack Tent (Nylon)

89% positive of 63 users

Budget 2P, spacious for price, but not for 4 seasons.

$109 Amazon

Rankings by Use Case

Other Reddit Recommendations:

FAQs