The North Face - Wawona 6

An 8-10 person tent would be huge, requiring significant supports, and become a ships sail in a wind. I’d use two 4 person tents. They’d go up and break down faster and be easier to pack. Also more versatile if needed later for smaller groups, and be a more adaptable arrangement in more restrictive spots. My recommendation would be the North Face Wawona 6 from REI. It comes with a large vestibule that accommodates the group and gear well. I’d also purchase a tarp that could create a breezeway between the two tents which would be more effective then ten people hanging out in one tent, gear and all. Second choice would be the REI Co-Op Basecamp 6.

It’s a great tent, designed to be functional and built solid. The vestibule is a very useful feature. And having two adds versatility for arranging camp. Not limited to one huge tent footprint. It’s gear that is worth the investment.

The vestibule is one of the defining features of this tent. If you use the vestibule on this one, but want one smaller, there is always the wawona 6. That should be fine for 2 adults, 2 dogs, and gear. Otherwise, there are plenty of other 6 person tents that could be even smaller overall if you don't need the wawona vestibule.

Wawona 6 is our car camping tent. Love it. Ginormous. Perfect for 2 adults, 2 kids and dog. 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.

Can confirm, it’s a great tent and the large vestibule is great for sun or weather.

The Wawona 6 is BALLER. I got mine on clearance too and I'm still mad about it being stolen.

Check out outdoor gear lab for bunch of reviews across the board, I’ve found it pretty reliable at least to get a picture of relative features and pricing for diff products. We have been using North Face Wawona 6 for a few years, pretty solid - 3 adult dudes or 2 adults and 2 kids plus dog, nice vestibule

Wawona 6 from North Face. Used in PNW for 4 years; coast, mountains, desert. Still going strong, have a queen air mattress and my wife and I, 2 small kids, and a dog. Vestibule is great.

It’s not in budget but i bought a TNF Wawona 6 from Amazon after reading reviews on outdoor gear lab etc. Been a wonderful family tent

I've got the Wawona 6 and love it. It's really convinced me that concerns about needing a full rain fly are overblown. I did a \*ton\* of research before buying, and found plenty of people online saying they're "concerned" about rain intrusion, but couldn't find any examples of people actually experiencing it. Check out [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6Y_iXNrJsI) (this girl's channel has a lot of really good camping gear reviews and tests). She sets the Wawona 6 up in a torrential downpour for three straight days. So much rain that at one point the ground couldn't hold anymore and it's just sitting standing water a couple inches deep. By day three, one of the walls got slightly damp to the touch on the inside, but otherwise everything stayed dry, which is about the best you can reasonably ask for. She has another video where she does a similar test with a Big Agnes tent with a full rainfly (I think the Bunk House, not sure), and while the rainfly worked fine on it, it had much more significant water intrusion through improperly sealed seams.

North Face Wawona 6. Its got the largest vestibule of any tent I've come across. I bought some cheap outdoor carpet at Lowe's and cut it down and it's great. I can fit a good sized folding table, two chairs, and a suitcase in there. Or at night I put out bikes in it.

Check if you have a north face outlet near you, I got mine for $200. The cashier said they get them periodically

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.

We have 5 of us (6'5' dad, mom, 11m, 9f, 7m) in a Wawona 6, which works fine for us. My eldest is at the point where more of the time he sets up our half done 2 for himself, but there is still room for him in our Wawona 6 when he wants to join us. We love the vestibule for keeping stuff in. We usually have a tote we use as a bench for taking off shoes and storage.

I just bought the big Agnes bunkhouse 8 and finished setting it up an hour ago. I’m very impressed with its quality, workmanship and design. It’s replacing an older rei kindgom 8. I also have the North Face Wawona 6. The bunkhouse has a lot of mesh for ventilation, although the fly goes to the ground limiting air flow. If the fly is fully shut, it get a bit stuffy. Overall I’m very happy with it and would recommend the Big Agnes or the North Face Wawona. Both great tents.

I have a Wawona 6 and I typically camp solo. But I also go for at least a week at a time and can always pull my vehicle pretty close to my campsite. I just like having the extra room when I'm car camping. I've taken people with me several times, and the tent has been perfect for 2 people as well. The vestibule is more like a front porch and makes a HUGE difference compared to other medium-sized tents I've had in the past.

Got quite a bit of rain last Monday morning and everything stayed nice and dry. Got a little water running into the “front porch” but nothing concerning. The lines really helped keep that tent sturdy too.

We've got 6 tents and the only 2 that get use are the half-done 2+ (backcountry), and the Wawona 6 for car camping or canoe in (no portage). Somebody mentioned this above but IMO multiple good 2 person tents are much more usable than a 6-8 person tent.

We have a six person tent (wawowna 6) and have definitely been to more than a couple campsites that wouldn't fit it with the vestibule out. Personally I find it absolutely enormous and can't imagine using something bigger, but I grew up using backpacking tents even for car camping

+1 for the wawona 6, we just took ours out last weekend too

Wawona 6 won’t quite fit two queen mattresses I don’t think but it is perfect for a family of four. The vestibule is such a nice perk for gear storage that most tents don’t have. We love ours. 

Okay, kind of weird, but I used to backpack with my Eureka 2 person. Loved it. Still have it just in case I need it. But now I also have kids and dogs and a wife so I needed to make an upgrade. I went from my 2 person - 3 season Eureka backpacking tent to the North Face Wawona 6 and I love it. It's an amazing tent. Used to have 2 small areas on the sides of my Eureka tent for gear/boots - now I have a massive vestibule that fits everything under the sun. Amazing (size) upgrade.

The Wawona 6 is great. Very waterproof. Nice to hide stuff in the vestibule while you’re away from camp.

We just picked up the North Face Wawona 6 and used it for the first time last weekend. It was awesome! Tons of Room inside (it was just 2 of us) plus the massive vestibule for gear or a rain hideout! Ventilation was no problem and I set it up solo, so all good there. Thumbs up.

Yes this is what I’d choose. This is likely my upgrade tent when my Coleman fails. I love vestibules. Highly recommend the extra space for shoes and whatnot.

That makes me happy. I like the shape a lot too. We camp with a dog so extra space is welcome. We are mindful of our campsite choices. Our current tent is enormous!

North Face Wawona 6. It’s pricier than the Kelty (we got ours for around $400), but it’s an excellent tent and has held up in sun, rain, heavy storms, and wind.

Yeah we have that one. Its great reco

I have the Wawona 6, the "portable chateau". Don't judge me. It's essentially the same as the Wawona 4. We use it car camping and used it quite a bit last year during very hot weather - high 90s F. I think it's a pretty ok tent but I actually found the ventilation to be inadequate. Without the fly you don't have much privacy in the front and there really isn't good airflow with it on. They certainly tried - there are little vents and the windows up very wide but they are up high on the sides so you don't get much of cross-breeze. I was trying to take naps in the afternoon and it was always *way* hotter than the already hot 'outside'. Also, the fly is the absolute bare minimum for any kind of rain. Despite all this I think it's a good tent and was a really good value.

Yep, this is the way to go.

I have a wawona 6 and my wife, 2year old, 4 year old, and myself fit with room for clothes bags in the tent with us. My wife and I share a REI blow up mattress and the kids have REI kid sleeping mats. The vestibule is amazing and we have put our chairs in it during a storm and fit perfectly.

Getting the rainfly onto the wawona 6 by yourself can be a pain in the ass but I’ve done it plenty of times camping with my son. He’s too young to be of any help with a task like that. Attaching the fly to the back of the tent first and then throwing it up and over is how I’ve always done it. That tent is a castle. I love the space you have in the vestibule but it can be a pain setting up something with such a large footprint in some sites so make sure you book one where it will fit. I actually just ordered a marmot limestone 4p so I can have something smaller for when I won’t have the luxury of using the wawona and its massive vestibule.

The North Face Wanana 6 person. Simply awesome for car camping. Own it and love it. Great vestibule. Issue with pop up tents is the sole points of catastrophic failure. IMHO. If the main mechanism fails you and the tent are done. They do go up fast and easy. So it's a trade-off.

I have to disagree with the walmart tent. Bad weather can destroy them, and if they don't have a good quality rain fly, you can get pretty wet. Of course, you need to pony up for better security. Yes, you'll probably be fine with those tents most of the time, but a bad storm will knock the cheapo tents out. Just a matter of whether you want o pay a few hundred dollars more for the extra level of security/comfort. If I was buying for my family of 4 today, I'd get something like these: https://www.rei.com/product/242726/the-north-face-wawona-6-tent https://www.rei.com/product/204109/big-agnes-spicer-peak-6-tent https://www.rei.com/product/246477/coleman-skydome-6-person-tent-with-full-fly-vestibule

I believe you're referring to Liz, channel name is "Camping Guidance". Her reviews are phenomenal and a great resource for those shopping for tents. I bought a Wawona 6 as a result of her reviews and demonstrations. https://preview.redd.it/hooque6e9aqe1.png?width=1008&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf5ed8b86615a51d26d48af48586fb76a9a92c64

I'd agree with that assessment. It's definitely a three-season tent only.

I just got and used a North Face Wawona 6 and it was great. We were able to setup two full size cots inside and had some spare room. Im 6'5" and can just about standup in the center.

Absolutely love my wawona 6. I’ll be camping in it this weekend. My family of 4 is comfortable in it.

I’d just get another Wawona 6 for the reasons you mentioned. I love mine.

Came here to mention this and not surprised it’s the top comment. We’ve borrowed our friends a few times and it’s at the top of our camping update list now.

As others said large tents limit camping options. My Wawona 6 I’ve even had to avoid some spots not many but it happens. I’d look at modular or pod tents that connect to each other. Shiftpod comes to mind with their tunnel connectors but they are expensive, they have like literal tent cities of these.

Nicest tent with best fabric I’ve ever seen is an Overlandish Basecamp. It’s a hub quick setup tent. Saw it at Overland Expo. Port holes for AC or Diesel Heater, Triple Layer Insulated fabric looks like quilted material and triple layer windows. It’s costly though but if was camping a lot I’d get it. I own a North Face Wawona 6 that is pretty good for a regular tent with typical fabric.

I have a North Face Wawona 6 that fits 4 narrow cots but they touch. You’re likely going to need a 8 person+ tent.

Off topic but I got a wawona 6 last year for 70% off at a North face outlet mall and I love the thing. What more would you want your tent to do? I think the wawona 6 is fairly easy to set up so I could imagine the 4 is easier. Do they make portable showers?

Love my wawona 6 for my 2 person trips, the vestibule has saved our butts in bad weather many times. Naturehike has a tent called the Dune, which has a similar huge vestibule with a few more features that might be worth a look. I own the predecessor, the smaller 2p Massif, which I really like as well. I think they actually even have a tent very similar to the Wawona, but with large window openings closer to the floor instead of higher up like the Wawona.

North face Wawona 6 is awesome.

I’ve used it in AZ for a lot of camping up to a week. Also for a long weekend during the monsoon season and stayed dry. The porch add-on is currently 1/2 price at REI with good reviews..

We have the Wawona 6 and love it- only downside is if you really open it up for airflow you do have to get outside to close it up if it starts raining. This has been inconvenient about once. On the privacy front, if the air is still you do need to open up the rear window/ door/ whatever you want to call it to get air moving well, which means it's generally helpful to pitch the tent so that side points towards privacy. We do a lot of walk in campsites so this hasn't been a huge deal. Having camped in both the Limestone and the Wawona 6 in rain with a kiddo, the much larger vestibule of the Wawona makes dealing with wet gear and muddy shoes vastly more civilized- we can keep a few chairs and a ton of hooks in the Wawona and have plenty of space for people and gear and taking gear on and off and etc.

Definitely a 2- burner propane stove, and get the refillable FireKing 1lb bottles, not the green 'disposable' ones that you have to cart to Household Hazardous Waste (at least in my state that's the only 'disposal' option) And with 2 adults and a kid and a dog, go for a 6-person tent. We like our Wawona 6. Memory foam is fine if you have a way to preheat it (hot water bottle works ok,) since cold memory foam is hard and sucks the heat out of you til it warms up and gets softer. Cots with z-lite are a good option and fold up small, if you don't mind camping with twin beds.

Yes, right, sorry. North Face Wawona 6

My camping buddy has one. He says it’s pretty good. The last trip we went on it poured out the first afternoon. Dry as a bone. He does miss the versatility of a vestibule though, which is clutch for keeping the inside of the tent clean. My boyfriend and I have had our North Face Wawona 6 (the original one) since 2017, we take good care of it, clean it and wax it. So it’s been good to us for an ungodly amount of time for a tent these days. My suggestion is to invest bigger and take better care of it for maximum return on investment.

North Face Wawona 6

omg the vestibule on the wawona 6 is massive.

Love our wawona 6! The vestibule is amazing

Second, this recommendation we love our wawona 6. It's just us two seniors but big enough for a queen size air mattress. When the kids join us, they get the wawona (2 adults 2 kids), and we go smaller. The vestibule is great for shoes and gear, and we sit a couple of chairs in it for when the weather is bad.

Wawona 6 has been our favorite tent for years.

I have the wawona 6 and I’d say it’s overkill for one person. It’s doable to set it up alone but it will take more time , especially taking it down and packing it neatly. I’d go for a 4 person tent if you’re solo and want space.

I agree with the other poster. The Wawona 6 is fantastic especially the unbelievable vestibule. It's a bit of a pain to set up the fly but it's very roomy. It is our go to for our family of 4 when we aren't trying to save weight.

The fact the Wawona 6 actually comes with one is terrific.

North Face Wawona 6, no contest. I'm 6'1" and I stand up comfortably, routinely sleep four with plenty of room for gear, and the vestibule is incredibly handy when it rains for three days straight like it did this past weekend.

I have 4 tents, and only 1 on this list - Wawona 6. It's a great tent for so many reasons, but it's not the one I always pick for family camping. I really do enjoy a tent that's easier to put up, even if it lacks some features like the massive "garage" area. That said - if i need to bring one I know I can trust in a storm and for extended stays - there's no question what I'm bringing for the family.

I have a few tents of varying quality, and I still say a cheap Walmart tent is hard to beat for the occasional camping/testing the waters family. If you want easy and have plenty of space in your vehicle when car camping, their 10-person easy-up has gone through it and held up fine for me. Their was slight water pooling in the corners during an intense storm, but I also wasn't using a ground cloth (back yard camping). I love a large vestibule and just saw a standard 10 person with a screened "porch" there for $120. Saves money and packs much smaller than easy up. I mainly like a vestibule to keep water out when I open the sleeping area door during rain. That said, for quality, I love my Wawona 6. Tighter fit for 4, but ideally, you're just using it for sleeping, anyway.

I watched a guy on YouTube use this in a storm and it leaked. Not a lot but water did breach. I will say I love my Wawona 6! I really wanted the Habitude 6, but oh well lol.

I love my North Face Wawona 6. It's a 4-seasons tent that I picked up on sale for about $375.

Recently bought and used a wawona 6 in the Olympic peninsula. Of course it rained heavily one day. No issues with it

Agreed. I went a little on the comfort route as my only other experience "camping" was with the Marine Corps. I got the 6 for 4 people and 2 small dogs so there was nothing outside of the tent. The vestibule was used as a transition area to take muddy shoes of. We will probably use ours as much as you do yours, but I feel ours was money well spent.

we have a wawona 8 for a family of four, I think the wawona 6 would be good, we especially like the giant vestibule, covered exterior space is very useful

I’m in az and car camp a lot, got the NF Wawona 6 with the vestibule and like the size and functionality.

Larger tents aren't always better tents or truly more spacious tents. The cheaper and bigger they are, the less actual usuable room them have. My North Face Wawona 6 *easily* fits 4 people, and a boatload of gear extremely comfortably. It fits me and my partner (who are both tall), with ease. We fit a full double air mattress, basically 2 night stands, and would still have room for a dog bed if we weren't cat people. And we can stand up. And it's incredibly well put together and durable and takes all of 5 minutes to put together by myself. A 10 person one is 3x the effort, and absolutely requires 2 people to put up.

Just took our new wawona 6 out this weekend. We got 1" of rain yesterday and it did well. Little to no wind though. We had one spot where we set the fly up incorrectly and it caused the fly to touch the tent, and a small drip did get in, but nothing major and it wasn't ongoing and I believe a better setup would have kept the two layers from touching.

Bummer! I think this style of tent is super touchy as far as the fly touching the tent. If they touch then water will transfer and then drip.

Wawona 6 is definitely going to be more of a struggle to do solo, but not impossible. Maybe a bit overkill unless you're bringing glamping-level amounts of gear with and plan to hang out in the tent. For 1-2 people where weight isn't a factor, I think I'd actually lean towards some of the newer Coleman or even Walmart designs that include a divided layout, where you can even use the front portion as a screen-tent for eating or hanging out bug-free but not have to bring a separate screen shelter along. If your itinerary while car camping is more active and you're in the campsite mostly just for sleeping and dinner, then I think a pretty standard 4 person will do just fine. If you don't need super harsh weather capability, maybe consider something like the Coleman Peak1 4-person with a peak height of 70 inches.

We just got the North Face Wawona 6 for our family of 4 and it's wonderful. Very easy setup and tear down, especially with two people. The vestibule is unmatched and why I chose it over the Nemo Aurora Highrise.

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

I would encourage you to consider an 8 person tent if 4 people will be in it. We had the Wawona 6 and it was tight with 2 humans and 2 large dogs. We upgraded to the Wawona 8. The 8 is perfect. It's an incredible tent -- we were poured on in the Hoh Rainforest and remained completely dry as did the interior of our tent.

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.

My wawona leaked all over the second time I used it.

Love my wawona 6 when it’s just the wife & I I have considered upgrading to the wawona 8 for the trips with the kids.

Just returned my 20 yr old North Face 6 person tent for a broken zipper. NF stated it was too old to repair and offered a $400 gift card instead. I paid less for the tent when it was new.

It was never questioned. I'm going to add to this story. I bought this from an LL Bean outlet. About five years ago I sent the same tent rainfly in because the velcro restraints had become detached. They replied that the UV protection was worn out and they offered a 4400 gift card which I took. But they made a mistake and sent the rainfly back to me., So I ended up with $400 and a still usable tent which I used a couple more years until the zipper let go. Payed $400 used for 20 years and received $800 back. I feel slightly guilty.

I had a bad experience with the north face 6 person tent, 2nd time using it and the bug netting on the doors started ripping at the seams. I had to send it in and they did fix it but beware. It’s a shame cause my other tents from them lasted at least a decade before starting to fall apart. We also have a Big Agnes 4 person tent since 2018 and it’s been flawless.

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.

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

Wawona is a great tent. It's my car camping tent. Really well made and the vestibule is awesome.

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.

REI brand tents are actually great. The base camp 6 is my favorite car camping tent, hands down. First one I owned I knew NOTHING about tent maintenance and never once cleaned or treated it and it lasted 15 years through tons of use and some crazy storms. Replaced it with the 2021 model and was very happy with it. The Nemo aurora would probably be my second pick but it lacks a full rainfly and the windows are poorly designed. The North Face wawona is fine. Also for the record I worked at REI for 3 years in the camp department, but we call it hardgoods (started after I purchased my second base camp)

The kingdom is not a well made or long lasting tent. With a 2 and 5 year old, ours lasted a year and a half. Returned it and got a second one that unstitched itself even quicker. Poles are not great either. Wawona has been solid so far for us

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. 

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.

I’ve slept through a few huge rainstorms in my Wawona. It’s a great 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.

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.

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.  

Second what others have said. UL is always a bet that the worst won’t happen and you can ignore discomfort in the name of weight as comfort. The same can’t be said for winter camping where the margins are much tighter. With that being said alpine climbing has been doing UL since before it was cool. There are plenty of 4 season (in reality 1 season) alpine single wall tents like the Rab Latok, Samaya 2.0, MHW AC 2 that are all around 1.7kg and designed to take intense weather. They tend to be designed for snow not rain, so struggle above 0. I got a TNF one on pro deal it’s only useful for mountaineering ascents. But they’re cramped and you get wet every time you run any body part along the wall. I’ll take the extra 1kg of an MSR Fury which is more spacious and more comfortable any day. For ski tours I prefer pyramid tents and dog down using the snow for insulation. One option that balances out fairly well is the SeekOutside hot tents. Tent pole pyramids with the option for titanium stoves. They get super hot, too hot really while you feed the fire. Unfortunately the stoves only accept small bits of wood and require regular feeding. You often go to bed sweating and wake up very cold. You also need the time to gather burnable firewood, which is not always easy in some environments. Without the stove they are lighter than compatible pyramid tents, especially the Dyneema version.

Yes and no. I have a half dozen tents that I bought for less than $100. Most are decent enough and for the casual camper they’ll last quite some time. I also have a $600 North Face tent that I could live in for years.

The easy answer is that it’s a well built solid piece of gear. Color coded tabs so there’s no guesswork with the fly, aluminum poles over fiberglass, good quality screen and the seams are still solid after a decade. It’s just made really well.