The North Face - Wawona 8

Yeah the Wawona 6 is pretty nice I have one. It’s one of the best tents we have used in a no facilities camp site. The vestibule is tall enough to stand. We use it as a mud room/ changing area to keep the inner tent clean. We put in a large outdoor mat that allows water to go through so you can easily strip down and take a sponge bath. The inner tent is talk enough so you can just walk right in. Its got plenty of ventilation and even in torrential rain, it remained quite dry inside.

The North Face Wamona 6 is an awesome tent! However it does not have a full rainfly. We have used it in torrential rain, had a few inches of rain with no issues inside the tent. The vestibule is large enough to stow a lot of gear and still have room to set up a small table to play cards or eat if it rains for days. If you truly meed it for 6 I would suggest the Wamona 8.It even has a room divider.

We have The North Face Wawona 8 but we are a family of 4 and fit comfortably (now). I say now because we were all using cots and barely had anywhere to move. One night we went sleeping bags and pads and appreciate the space in the tent much better. Ditching the cots. If you have a TNF store close by go check them out. Ours had a 60% off everything in the store sale so the $450 Wawona 6 tent came out to $180…. Almost bought one despite already having the Wawona 8 lol. Side note take advantage of REI’s memorial day sale on their website also!

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.

We just went out with our Wawona 8 and loved it. I just posted about it yesterday. [https://www.reddit.com/r/CampingGear/comments/1cw190v/first\_time\_with\_our\_wawona\_8/](https://www.reddit.com/r/CampingGear/comments/1cw190v/first_time_with_our_wawona_8/)

I own a north face wawona 8 and love it. No problem standing or anything. Best tent ive owned.

The other door has a screen and 2 popup ports idk what to call them. I thought the ventilation and privacy was great. Didnt suffer during rain either. The vestibule was nice to cook in or sit.

I did have a little portable battery pack and fan that i charged during the day with solar to help ventilate at night.

I am a fellow purchase agonizer! We have a Wawona 8 and the front porch (comes with the Wawona 6) is so good. It basically doubles your living space. We love being able to separate sleeping from some of our other stuff (potty, watertight boxes, etc.). The floor on the Wawona is good. Get the footprint though because it fits perfectly and there’s no guesswork. We slept through a pretty gnarly thunderstorm in RMNP and were totally dry. The only thing is to pay attention to everywhere the rain fly secures with Velcro underneath and fasten that every time. It was kind of a pricey upgrade for us but I was able to make it happen with sales.

no experience with any of the tents you mentioned, but I wanted to drop in a different suggestion - go straight to a 8 person sized tent car camping means you don't have to be as concerned about the tent pack size and weight tent interior space is always useful, for storage space, for floor space, for head space, which could be helpful for ventilation we used to camp in a REI Basecamp 6 when kids were toddler and baby, now we use a north face wawona 8, kids now pre-teen we were able to even have the kids' friends (two additional kids) camp a night in the wawona 8 and all be comfortable, not cramped second suggestion is to find a tent that has a big vestibule, or garage - exterior covered space is also very useful good luck!

I own the Wawona 6 and will never use another tent if it isnt cold.. That said, I imagine the 4 is the same you just don't get the vestibule. It's really good in spring and summer, maybe fall if you're in a hot area. I would never use it in winter though. There's a lot of air flow and it does not keep heat in at all.

I borrowed a Wawona 6, and ended up buying a basecamp 6. There's good comparison reviews on YouTube. The vestibule was amazing on the Wawona, but in smaller tent sites it would be a bit too big to fit. It also was a bit colder than I would like for a 3 season tent, the rain fly doesn't come down all the way and the main door is all mesh. You're basically heating up the whole vestibule with body heat at night. Super easy setup, like crazy easy for a tent that big. Basecamp is extremely sturdy, easy to set up, and very well designed. Pockets everywhere, color coded poles, huge doors, and a decent sized vestibule, although not as big as Wawona. Have camped in some wind and it felt solid. It's quite warm with everything buttoned up, but has plenty of ways to vent, including some cool triangular windows near the bottom and top vents accessible from the inside.

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.

I been in what seemed like monsoons in the old single wall Wawona 6, and a Tungsten 3. Both have been bulletproof. Honestly, I think any of the ones you listed, including the Big Agnes would be excellent choices. At this point, the nuance is in the details of each tent that would suit your camping style and existing kit.

I lean towards the Wawona 6 for the patio. I personally ended up going with the Wonderland X on sale (<$400). Neither will fit 2x queen mattresses and have much room for anything else. Queens are 60x80 so both would literally be wall to wall to fit both with about 10-20" available space. Bear in mind if they are directly against the walls if they are too thick they may not fit properly as most walls slope inwards. Far better if you need individual mattresses to get 2x Full at 54x75 ish which would still be plenty roomy for 1 person + 1 dog each. Or a Queen + twin at 38x75 for 1+2 dogs and 1. (don't know why I thought you had 2 adults and 2 dogs, might have confused another post) Could also go Queen + Full for adults/children if that is the case. Wawona is 120x90 floor 76" peak height Wonderland 6 is 120x100 floor 78" peak height Weights are comparable with the Wawona slightly lighter at 20lbs vs 22lbs but negligible difference as you'll most likely be using this for car camping anyway. Wawona 6 has a usable vestibule with room to sit under to have some shade in the day or when raining while the wonderland is only big enough for gear. To me this makes up for the slightly smaller floor.

Having a large porch area is great if there is inclement weather. The screen canopy would still require you to run through the rain unless you had raingear or a umbrella, or setup your tent adjacent to the picnic table which isn't always possible depending on the site. In addition, tent porches tend to be more wind resistant than the standing canopies. I definitely like the Wawona series, I was looking at the 6 before picking up a Wonderland X on steep discount instead. Also worth noting, the Columbia has fiberglass poles while the Wawona has aluminum. DEFINITELY prefer aluminum myself as I've had wicked splinters before from fiberglass poles as well as they just last significantly better. Nearly all premium tents now use Aluminum for this reason.

If the Wawona is a bit too close to budget (not sure about any additional costs/budgeting for sleeping gear, etc) the Colemans Tents (also available from REI) are pretty solid though only come with a 1 year warranty vs the Wawonas Limited Lifetime Warranty.

I have the wawona 6. Used it once so far. Didn’t get it set up correctly, but that was my own fault. YT some videos and you’ll get an answer on the interior floor footprint. There’s a girl who lives somewhere tropical that does a bunch of tent reviews- maybe she even reviews the other tent you’re considering. Anyways- No to two queens. But I used an ExLarge single cot, 2 yoga mats (all side by side) and still had another full “row” for gear. Nothing touching the side walls. Bonus for me is the standing height. I realize it’s a super big tent for one person, but would still be really roomy for two people and a dog bed. I like to keep my gear hidden when I solo camp. The atrium is a super bonus. I put a canvas tarp o the ground for a clean spot for gear and shoes. There’s about 4-6in between the ground and the side walls, enough to keep stuff dry (outside of horizontal rain) and nice for added privacy with the doors closed. Was easy throw my chairs and stuff under when it rained a few times, as opposed to packing things up in the car. I like it. Just need to learn how to set it up properly. Even though I didn’t, I improvised and understand how nice it WILL be. Cheers!

I’m 6’5” and love our Wawona 6. I can stand up in it! My “backpacking” tent is some cheap three-man that I sleep in diagonally. I don’t really like it. We have a Kelty Doublewide bag that’s plenty long enough for me. My solo bag is a piece of shit that barely covers my nipples.

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.

If you want a bargain the Eureka Spacecamp 6p is a great buy at $259. Very storm worthy and has a full coverage fly unlike the Wawona. The Wawona is a good tent if you want the porch vestibule area. The Limestone Ilis Marmot's classic done tent. I used to own this and iw rock the Halo 6p. REI Basecamp is a great tent with a terrible 1 year warranty and no after sales support from REI. Aurora Highrise doesn't have a full coverage rainfly; I would skip this one. Between the MSR tents the Habiscape is newer and a better design with larger vestibules. The Big Agnes Bunk House 6p is fantastic with it's awesome stuff sack, nice vestibules and tall peak height. The Marmot Halo 6p is a killer storm worthy tent and the one I went with.

I bought the Wawona 6 earlier in the year (for $50 more...) and am pretty happy with it although admittedly haven't really put it through its paces yet. A couple notes: It is HEAVY at almost 21 lbs. This is a car camping tent trending towards glamping, but thats what I need to convince my wife to get out there with our 6 and 3 year olds. The rainfly pitches with that vestibule which obviously needs a large space to pitch. The tent pitches without the fly but the entire front of the tent is mesh so you would have zero privacy. With the fly, this thing seems incredibly stormworthy.

Vestibule is required when using the rainfly

Rain and wind, it's a tank. For being so tall, it's surprising how well it performs.

Great video. Thanks for sharing.

I can tell you what not to get. I did so much research to find the perfect car camping tent. Read reviews, focused on the top rated, and saved up to get the one that ticked all my boxes. For the most part, I did get everything I wanted. Over 6 feet tall and holds up in high winds and rain, has a large vestibule for storage or space to get out of the sun/rain, easy to set up (with practice), and was able to sleep 4. I chose the Wawona 6. What I didn't get is a cover for the door to the main tent - it's just a screen. I guess they consider the vestibule is the door cover, but the vestibule doesn't go all the way to the ground, so there's about a 3 to 4 inch gap/lift where the air just blows on through. I had an extra footprint I put up to cover the screened door, and we plugged up around the vestibule gap with gear, but what a pain. I love this tent and will keep it because it's a tall tank and held up in a big windy storm and the option to set up a table, chairs and camp kitchen in the vestibule to get out of the rain was fantastic. Its rated a 3 season tent but some desert spring/fall nights get super chilly. I am working on adding a permanent door cover and trying to figure out a better way to block the vestibule draft, but paying $500 (a year ago) and coming from The North Face - I expected better. I've left reviews about these issues, and so have others now, but I thought I would share my experience just in case you were considering the Wawona 6. PS - it's kind of a tight fit for 4 people, too.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I got the wawona 6. Pretty happy with it overall. Consider hanging on to it. Where will you be camping? How cold / rainy? + The large vestibule is amazing. I'm not aware of anything like it + Setup is not that bad. + Good interior height (I'm 6' and can stand just fine. + Does fine in the rain - the fly goes halfway down. We had a full night of rain and didn't get wet, but I'd call it a cold tent if you're camping in early spring - I wish the second door was a little bigger. Def not a show stopper - I think there could be more interior gear pockets Aside from the half fly, all of the cons are minor for me.

We just borrowed a friends Wawona 6 and will be buying one ourselves to replace our old car camping tent.

I had a Wawona 6, I loved that tent, but when it gets windy there is too much mesh and sand can be blown in. I returned it after a few trips and got the Base Camp 6. If you are not going to hike in the Kodiak 10x10 or 10x14 are good options. Depending on where you camp the 10x14 might be too big for some campground tent pads.

No, on my Wawona the mesh starts around 6" off the ground. On my REI Base Camp 6 the mesh is only in the top 4" or so and the door and windows can zip close.

I recently upgraded to the Wawona 6. The vestibule is great. It's worth considering.

Agreed, I recently got one on sale. This tent may meet most of your needs. The fully screened inside is slightly small for a 6p, but the massive vestibule is a huge and you can easily fit 2 chairs (maybe a 3rd small one) plus a big dog in there on a rainy day. The back window is large and can be used as a small door as well. The rain fly only comes 1/2 way down the tent, and can be rolled up to expose the side windows so it can be well ventilated on hot days.

I got one, have only camped in it twice, but it's been great so far. I'd the vestible was somehow at least bug proof I'd 100% recommend it. I'd sleep in that vestible if I could, it's like the perfect dad compartment... Anyone have some neat tips to make this part sleepible? I mean one could just wrap themselves in bug netting. Not sure if it's big enough for a portable hammock unless vestible doors are open

I was in the same position, I went with wawona because the sale price was too nice, and it has an incredible warranty. Idk about the others warranties tho. The rainly/vestible needs some tinkering by them tho, it should be split/modular, and the main door should have a double layered door like it's secondary door has. Not deal breakers but certainly annoying

100% worth it for car camping. We are looking at getting a Wawona 6. We already use a Coleman Skydome 6p for the two of us.

We have a wawona 6 and it is my palace! We have a comfy megamat duo in there and still room to do a full yoga routine (including standing up) in the tent if it is raining outside. 

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

Wawona. Its fantastic 

Just bought the Wawona 6 at REI on sale after a year of researching tents. Camping Guidance on YouTube was such a huge help. The best tent reviewer out there.

I just used it at the phish festival this past weekend and it was incredible

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. 

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.

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

I second the Wawonas. TNF makes excellent tents (a real PITA to assemble the first few times IMO). I have a bastion 4 for winter and a wawona 6 for the other seasons. Both have stood up to over a hundred nights often with two adult males, two golden retrievers, a Great Dane that refused to get pedicures and a German shepherd. No holes and never had a leak in either. My besties bring their pack n play for the baby the wawona 6 fits it and a queen sized mattress if that puts it into perspective size wise for you. 2 tents is ideal but with the kids being young you might could get creative in one for a year or two. If you really wanna go all out, canvas tents are hecking awesome. Took one to Moab last summer and it was remarkably comfortable. My buddy bought one that was outfitted with a wood stove for winter hunting trips, he has no complaints about winter camping in that bad boy. Heavier and requires a little more upkeep but so cool. And huge!! Davis tents is local to me and they’re great.

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 :)

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.

Do you care about wind resistance or weight? Tall tents are nice but don’t resist wind well.  Wawona or limestone are both good. Use a tarp or footprint underneath.  If you care for it, some tents have an awning, like https://www.rei.com/product/202983/rei-co-op-wonderland-mud-room

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.

On the other hand a tarp is easy to cut to size and is often thicker and more protective than a footprint. This is what I do with my Wawona after a sharp twig went through my Big Agnes footprint and tent floor

In scouts where you have to buy your own tent then I highly suggest getting a sub 3-4lbs backpacking tent, and spend the $$$ money once. That way you have a tent for all occasions s. Big agnes is my favorite brand for that for a tent you can stand up in that is cheap and good I highly recommend getting over to a North Face outlet store right now. They have the extra tall Wawona tents for under 100$

I own the Kaiju 6, which is the predecessor for the Wawona. NF has backtracked the Wawona design so it's pretty much identical. I also use it to car camp with a 5 & 8 year old. I would look for something else. The REI kingdom series with a garage would be my do-over setup. 

I have a Eureka, Marmot and North face tent. All of them have been very good.

I have had no issues with my Wawona 6 in the rain.

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